Raquette Lake News

  Issue: 2 Volume 16 • Summer/Fall  

Upcoming events

Kirby Camp Registration
Open Jan. 2

Wilderness First Responder
Jan. 6-15

Summer Alumni Camp Registration
Open Jan. 30

Alumni Winter Camp
Feb. 12-17

Contact Information

outdoor.edinfo@cortland.edu

607-753-5488

cortland.edu/rl-events

Mary Jo Carey Retires

For as long as I have been director and longer, there has been a steady, dependable person in the office in Cortland that always had the answer to any question that’s come up, and if she didn’t, was able to find out with a few quick phone calls to other campus offices. Mary Jo seemed to know everyone and be familiar with every system in the College. More than that, she was someone you wanted to talk to because of her warm, friendly manner and genuine desire to make each and every caller feel important.

From the Director's Desk

It’s been a season of change and new beginnings for the Parks Family Outdoor Center at Raquette Lake. The first is our bidding a fond farewell to longtime Secretary Mary Jo Carey, who left at the end of October. She will be missed and we wish her well in her retirement. Cyndi Perelka was hired to begin working as secretary in mid-November.

Art and Art History: Natural Interpretation

Students and faculty from art and art history spent a day in the woods this September creating delicate installations composed of natural materials that convey a message to the viewers.

Whitewater Rafting Kicks Off Spring Season

Spring rafting season on the Upper Hudson River has long been a staple of Adirondack recreation, and now the Outdoor Pursuits Program at SUNY Cortland has taken advantage of it with its first group of student rafters on April 30 this past year. Now that Antlers is open for pre-season occupancy in the Main Lodge, students can ...

Arethusa Sorority Creativity

The Arethusa Sorority sisters were at it again this July, this time building rustic slab tables for the bedrooms in McDermott Hall.

Allyn International Sips and Paints

Each year a global corporation based in Fort Meyers, Fla., returns to Camp Huntington to bring employees from several far-flung offices together for team building, training and fun. This year, in addition to a contra dance and picnic paddle to Golden Beach, the company hired Thirsty Painters from Booneville, N.Y., to lead a workshop called ...

Hamilton College First-Years Return

For over thirty years, Hamilton College freshmen had the option of starting their year with a program called Adirondack Adventure, started by Geri Knortz ’74, when she worked in Student Life at Hamilton. The last day and night for some of these students was spent at Antlers and on the Camp Huntington ropes course.

History Made at Camp Huntington

During Labor Day weekend, 18 majors and five faculty members from SUNY Cortland’s History Department visited Raquette Lake. The department has recently developed a relationship with the rich history and resources available at Camp Huntington, and this year was a first for students to earn one credit hour for participation in ...

Spotlight on History

We had a hunch that turned out to be correct…the old work bench in the Antlers shop is truly old. It is clad with the same wood and finishes as the Main Lodge. Possible uses include a check-in desk located in the Main Lodge or a service station in the dining room.

Raquette Lake Champions

This column typically identifies one individual Cortland faculty, staff or student who gives of themselves above and beyond the call of duty in service to Raquette Lake. This issue’s champions are neither singular nor Cortland based. But what they contribute to the programs at Raquette Lake is immeasurable. They are Jim and Renee Clarke, ...

OEP Poem

The poem was written by the students and staff of the second session of the Outdoor Education Practicum (OEP) from the Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies Department in June. Each participant added a line only reading the one above theirs.

Nature Nook

It has been a year of noticeable human and black bear interaction. The number of visible bear with offspring in Raquette Lake and surrounding areas was high this past season. We have seen bears on Long Point and at Antlers. The cub picture was taken by Chris Bode at Camp Marion. A mother entered a window at St. William’s on Long Point’s main house and was found eating in the kitchen before being shooed away. She later returned with her ...

In Passing

With sadness we report the passing of Mr. William H. Parks, the namesake for the William H. Parks Family Center for Environmental and Outdoor Education, on Dec. 5, 2016. Mr. Parks was 96 years old.