18 Reveille! Fall/ Holiday, 2008 Andy Williams, Director Ohana News Greetings from Lake Fairlee! It is late September and the geese are flocking up. The loons are still here but the bats have already migrated to southern Vermont caves as we anticipate our first frost tonight. In spite of the quiet, the wonderful spirit of our first year of Ohana Family Camp still rings through the halls and grounds of the camp. After four years of hard work with help from so many different people, we finally opened our doors to families at the beginning of July. This summer found us with eight weeks of family camping with a variety of wonderful folks of all ages. We realized that the beautiful camp and its lovely buildings were just that, buildings and land, until the families arrived, bringing a breath of life and spirit into the site. I am sure it is much like the first families who came here 100 years ago – or the first campers of Aloha with Mother Gulick in 1905. Thank you all for making this a memorable inaugural year. We look forward to welcoming you all back next year. We would like to share a perspective from one of Ohana Family Camp's first participating families. Their extended family came together from far flung geographical areas – and brought all ages - from babies to grandparents. We thank them for sharing these thoughts. Ohana Camp Week Two, July 8th – 13th Over the last few years, our family has been seeking a place to come together, where we can all enjoy ourselves, be together as a whole extended family and our many different groupings. Ohana turned out to be the perfect place for us; a place and a way to share experiences, a place to return to each year. For four genera-tions this Ruben family has been involved in the Aloha Camps as campers and counselors. Ohana provided a place for our genera-tions to be together, and to experi-ence a return to this beloved lake and environment and the Aloha spirit which is alive and well. It's the closest thing to being at camp that we could imagine. We shared the aroma of the pine needles, the smell of the earth after an afternoon shower, the feel of the breezes coming off the Green Mountains, the distinct smell of the ferns, the peacefulness, the return to simplicity, the bonding between people and the earth, all the things we loved and remembered about going to camp. The staff was incredibly generous and responsive and caring, creating for and with us, a cozy comfortable and smooth week. Ohana has been a place for all of us, ( we range in age from 1 to 78) and helped us to have the most enjoyable family gathering ever. Lisa and Ernestine Ruben We will think fondly of our Ohana friends, old and new, throughout the winter. Three generations of the Ruben family returned to Fairlee to reconnect with each other at Ohana Camp.

Fall/ Holiday, 2008 Reveille! 19 The State of Vermont, Division of Historic Preservation, has granted the Aloha Foundation a $ 10,000 matching grant to start renovation on Ohana's historic barn. The state awarded this grant to a number of worthy renovation projects with the goal of preserving the historic barns of Vermont which are such an impor-tant part of our landscape. If you are interested in helping with the match for this grant, please contact Tom Miller, Development, or Deb Wil-liams, Ohana Camp. Scenes from Ohana Camp 2008 Ohana Camp Receives the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation Barn Grant