Camp Paquatuck Helps County s Handicapped Children

QUIETER PLEASURES •':.„*£handled by stuff st camp. Pictured is counselor.Jinet Fef itf iva teaching her group i.platter

painting. Students in this outdoor class are,left to right, Joan Gallo, Kathleen Mortimer,Kary Ann Philipp, Susan Engebretsen and AlicePasquale.

VISITING DAY ™ a £lured: viHiting their nine-year-old daujsMvr , I*ri*-

cilU, are Mr. and Mrs. Peter-Balezos .of Hunt-ington Station. With them are their four otherchildren.

RFA f TRF A T for fh * < amp ^i--"'***IVL«/~U~. I I\L*/-\ 1 rhildren j s Snt, «m »» ilhost tri p on Moriches bsy. The happy rxitit» -nient refl ected by ine campers shows the v»Ji *of tun and na therapy. The boats were ittu-

plicd and manned by William Hetzel, LouisLukert, Clifford Bowdich, Dr. Leo Hersh andHarold Mienhardt, all Moriches Bay Area menand interested in the welfare of Paquatuck.

IN THP g\X7T]y/f None of these citizens of Camp Paqua-11N I l i£« kJ VV 11V1 tuck appear to be afraid of a gooddunking in the lake. The counselors appear to be enjoying them- 'selves as much as the children.

A A'P.CIMPM These- campers are en-VSrllVJlVUJLT thusiastic as counselorsMary Ann Kober and Margaret Davis preparethem for row boat ride on Lake Paquatuck. The

youngsters are, left to right, Joe Ruland, StevenLind, Sammy Lange, Willie Hayes and WalterPaul.

MISSION COMPLETED- ir6oarsmen pictured above have launched twoPaquatuck rowboats and are now on their own

—except for counselors, Mary Ann Kober andMargare t Davis, who keep a wary eye lest thechildren fall overboard in their enthusiasm.

RI TQV M A M on weekends is Harold Chap-DUJ I IVl/iiN man , president of the Mor-iches Rotary Health Camp Paquatuck. He is

pictured taking some of the campers on aCook's tour of the area. Truck is speciallyfitted for the children.

PIONEER RIDE Te ETfCamp Paquatuck by Martha Heine of CenterMoriches and. Dorothea. Einpersej c gf. Bellport,

owners of rig. Miss Rippcrger is seated inwagon and Miss Heine, disguised as man withfalse beard and jeans, is at right, _,

HELP FOR CHILDREN-' ;v;D2.Mli i* (»r.-**-ni<nd Harold < frsprnart , p rc -Kl i . i t<rf t amp l**(juu>tBck . by On>r%¥ t ruwer . ehair.W*B oi gwutee Trail B&*n utociatios horto

show held this past summer for the camp.Other* are. left to right, Herb Smith, president«t Trail Riders, a Riverhead organization, and ,right, Harold H. B, Lukert, president of Mor-iches Botaxy club.

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fr>f, > - • ' 4 M *'"&* , V ; ^M '* ni^^'Jo» (•' . , , r - ' • - " Jf ' ' * "J* ,»''» **, *"*..*,?"- «54'T . **#>!

CAMP PA»QUA'TUCr(=* f - - > , i • » *

7200' Club Has Openings:

By AL VOGL and JOE GOMEZ

The visitor to Camp Paquatuck in East Moricheslooks most closely at the children. They are physicallyhandicapped, which is the general and traditionally politeway of saying they wear braces and use crutches. Withthe easy curiosity of all children, they glance up at thevisitor, then turn away when something else takes theirfancy. Most of them have conquered the bewildermentand fright. They are not heedless of the stares of pity,but they have also learned that to be self-conscious orworry about the stares will not help them. The campis helping the children become self-reliant.

They uon 't need the sympathetic looks, or pity, or sad andwindy speeches. All they want is a chance to grow up and live likeother children. Camp Paquatuck is giving most of them their firstchance.

The visitor sees the devoted counselors and staff of the camp,the cool and breezy Lake Paquatuck , the splendid facilities, but thesefade before the cnildren. They are the meaning and the symbol ofthe camp, the only reason tor its existence, and they till everyvisitor's iieart because they are some of the gamest kids in the world.

Despite mental or physical handicaps, they learn to swim andplay baseball , they ride horses and donkey carts, they make craftarticles to proudly show their parents and they sit and sing aroundcampfires. For tne first time in their lives, they are just like theother boys and girls down the block.

¦ • • ¦After the camp session ends, the children return home. Most of

them have more confidence and are better able to withstand thedifficulties and loneliness outside Camp Paquatuck.

A Local Enterprise.-, ~M° far-away or lofty organization operates Camp Paquatuck. It

"isTan enterprise of people from „the Moriches Bay area. Many of. thepeople who help belong to the' Moriches Rotary club,' which sponsorsand directs tile camp, but others are housewives, farm and factoryworkers, doctors and businessmen and lawyers — the people whomake up the life of the Moriches Bay area. v • '

Horse shows, baseball games, music and dance recitals, cakesales are all used to raise money for the camp. Caretakers of thegrounds are citizens who offer their time to man a power lawn mOweror a rake or shears. Some of the Moriches Kotarians take the chil-dren out on boats across Moriches Bay to Fire Island.

But it is no light task for people of this .area to support acamp which serves handicapped children of the whole county.Many of the children come from the northern and western paits ofSuffolk, yet funds are sparse from these areas. Though donationscohie from Easter Seals and the Heart Fund , and United CerebralPalsy donates the set vices of a physical therapist, this counts up toless than one-third of the needed funds.

But the children won't wait , and this year the Rotary clubdirectors nearly doubled its budget' so Camp Paquatuck could serve100 children in two camp sessions, instead of the 50 formerly helped.The budget of $12,000 was increased to $16,000, which is the budgetfor next year. The directors hope that Bay area residents andother people' in Suffolk will donate money to keep the camp inexistence.

The 1200' ClubThe "1200" club is open to those who want to help Camp Pa-

quatuck and the children it serves. The "1200" refers to the numberof $10 units needed for the yearly maintenance of the camp. Thedirectors have stated that this money is only to be used for medicalcare and health building activities. Fund-raising expenses are tobe paid by priva te funds.

The camp directors are hoping that people in the bay area andthroughout Suffolk will subscribe to as many units as they can afford.

They feel that it is only through such sustaining membershipthat the camp will survive and grow to help the handicapped childrenof Suffolk.

If you want to help Camp Paquatuck, please fill in the sub-scription blank on this page and send in your contribution.

M A I M Rl l l l niMr of CamP Paquatuck is located onIVimn DUll-.L/ii>IU hill overlooking lake. The structurehouses sleeping quarters for 50, combination dining andrecreation hall , kitchen and large screened porch. Constructionof camn building was started in 1947 with donated labor andmaterials. Since that time, counselor's house, arts and craftsroom , physio-therapy building and dormitories have been added.

The "1200" Sustaining Membership ClubThe Moriches Rotary Health Camp, Inc.

Center Moriches, L. I., N. Y.Because 1 want to help Camp Paquatuck, I agree to

pay annuall y, when billed or before, the sum of $10 aunit for units. Unless I notify you in writingthree months in advance of the time payment, which isdue July I of each year, I agree to make this payment.Signed : Address: Date :

(Please make checks payable toThe Moriches Rotary Health Camp) ._ L "**

EM Camp Seeks GashFor Increased Budget