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Registration opens September, 2010

 

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Take the Larry and Pearl Quiz!

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The Story of Larry and Pearl

As you know, this summer will mark 50 years in camping for Larry and Pearl. For the past few months we have shared with you the impact that they have had on us, some great pictures and some interesting facts. With the summer around the corner, we thought we would share some of Larry and Pearls memories of their first summer at Robin Hood and a few of their thoughts and memories of the past 50 years.

How did it all begin you might ask. Well, it all started when Larry was a popular student, athlete and prefect at Forest Hill Collegiate. He noticed Pearl, the new tennis playing student from Sarnia, but did not really include her amongst his friends. Then one day, Larry was giving his cousin, a nursing student, a ride home from University of Toronto and his cousin asked if he would mind giving a ride to her friend as well. Of course, Larry said “yes”, the friend was Pearl and the rest is history. So started an incredible journey.

In 1961, Larry and Pearl responded to an ad for staff for a day camp. Larry was a competitive swimmer and a Phys Ed student and Pearl was in nursing. Larry was hired as the Swim Director and Pearl was hired as a nurse. The camp was not yet at the current Markham location but at Sportsland Park at Highways 400 and 7, just outside of Toronto.

Pearl’s earliest memories of camp include an infirmary with no running water and no building. Things certainly have changed since then. We now have a Health Centre with so much more and lots of running water. One of the first things that Larry remembers about the Markham site was the lack of grass. Camp was due to start in just weeks and there was no grass. So, they laid sod and nurtured it so that by the time the first bus rolled in, there was enough green grass for all to enjoy.

As the world started to embrace technology, Larry always seemed to be two steps ahead. He remembers being the first camp to use a computer. He also remembers how his first computer blew up when it was first plugged in. It was a 32k Radio Shack model. That was soon followed by the first hard drive that set Larry back a fair sum, but he had to have it. There continue to be so many firsts that Larry was and is still a part of.

Pearl has many great memories of watching her family grow and thrive at camp. She can still picture Sari bouncing in her jolly jumper in the door frame of the infirmary (now called the Health Centre) . Raising Sari and Michelle at camp and having them be a part of the camp family is something that Pearl could not imagine happening any other way.

So many of our summer memories revolve around Larry, Pearl and Camp Robin Hood, and so many of their memories revolve around Camp Robin Hood and us. We can’t wait to share all these amazing times with you and all of our Robin Hood family at the Tribute Dinner on February 24, 2011.

Mark it on your calendar.
We look forward to seeing you there!