Longtime Mim supporter Jennifer Ferguson passes away

Jennifer died earlier this month. She was a former Mim camper and staffer and a dedicated supporter of camp. My condolences to her family and all her good friends from camp.

--John F.

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Jennifer Ann Ferguson, age 30, of Madera, California passed away on Monday, June 8, 2009, suddenly to the shock and great sadness of all who knew her. She lived her life to the fullest devoting much of her time to work in a wonderful career as an industrial engineer that she had worked so diligently to achieve. When not at work, her exuberance for life was shared with her boyfriend, Michael Sierze, and close friends including Bobby, Bobbi, Gail, Connie, Fred, Michael Yung, and many others.

Jennifer was born on May 5, 1979, in Billings Mt., the youngest of four children born to Mark and Sharon Ferguson. She graduated from Billings West High School in 1997, and went on to graduate from Montana State University, in Bozeman, Mt. with a degree in Industrial and Management Engineering in 2001. After college, she went to work for JBT FoodTech (Formerly FMC Food Tech) in Madera, Ca. at the beginning of 2003, where she worked the rest of her brilliant, short life. In 2004 Jennifer earned her APICS CPIM (Certified in Production and Inventory Management). She served as a board member on the San Joaquin Valley Chapter of APICS for two years, and completed the chapter's own Trainthe-Trainer program to become an APICS Instructor. Jennifer's generosity of time to her fellow employees and her community included mentoring at the local high school and providing leadership in the employee activity committee (SPARK), especially in the monthly events and the company scholarship and grant golf tournament benefiting the children of Madera schools.

Jennifer was baptized at Mayflower Congregational Church in Billings as a child. She loved being a part of nature, was an avid camper, and later on joined the staff at Camp Mimanagish near McLeod, Mt. She made several loving, lifelong friends there. Jennifer's faith was an important part of her life and most recently she was an active member of the College Community Congregational Church in Fresno, Ca.

Jennifer is survived by her loving and devoted family, parents, Mark and Sharon Ferguson of Billings; her sister Gina; brother-in-law Greg; nephew Tyler; niece Kirstin of Billings; brother James; sister-in-law Candice; niece Téaghan of Denver, Co.; brother John and his significant other Dorothy; nieces Baily, Elizabeth, and Arionna; and nephews Trai and Cooper of Billings.

The family will honor Jennifer's wishes by bringing her ashes home to Montana for her final resting place.

A Viewing will be held at Jay Chapel, on Friday, June 12, 2009, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

A Funeral Service will be held at Jay Chapel in Madera on Friday, June 12, 2009, at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Camp Mimanagish, Jennifer Ferguson, c-o Montana-Northern Wyoming UCC, 2016 Alderson Ave., Billings, Mt. 59102.

Mimanagish Fifth and Sixth Grade Camp 2009

Mimanagish held its first youth camp of the season June 14-20 and it was a blast!

Kids from throughout the conference enjoyed a week of fun and fellowship, making new friends and reuniting with pals from previous years.

We hiked to Four Mile and up the Meadow Trail; held a dance and talent show; held the Mimanagish Olympics and sang silly songs in the dining hall and more solemn ones on Vesper Hill. Focusing on the theme of breaking through, we discussed ways we can overcome preconceptions and differences to come together.

Remember, it's not too late for YOU to go to camp! A number of events are still to come! Check out the schedule here to register!

Get ready for Mimanagish 2009!

The 2009 season is underway at Mim! We have a great permanent staff in place and the camp is reportedly looking great.

A small group of people were present for camp opening last weekend and this weekend, Memorial Day, is family camp!

I'll be attending Fifth and Sixth Grade camp as a counselor again and am looking forward to it.

To register for a camp, or just help out with a donation to Mimanagish, visit the official site here.

Also, in addition to the Alumni mailing list and this blog, there are even more ways to stay connected with your camp friends.

Those of you on Facebook should join the "Mimanagish By the Roaring River" group. More than 100 people have joined so far!

And there's also a Mimanagish Twitter feed here!

Wishing you a wonderful summer,

John

P.S. Stay tuned here later in the season for pics of my adventures. And if you'd like to contribute pictures or recollections of past or present camps, send them my way.

Fifth and Sixth Grade Camp 2008

Fifth and Sixth graders have lots of energy, and they put it to good use during this busy, fun-packed week.

Under the direction of Nancy Staigmiller, we focused on "Caring for the Earth," with an emphasis on the challenges faced by the world's refugee peoples.

Activities included constructing a refugee camp, hauling water back from Four Mile and packing up donations of school supplies for children in Africa. We also decorated a Tent of Hope, which will be displayed with similar tents later this year in Washington, D.C., as part of a project meant to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

And we took plenty of time to indulge all the old Mimanagish traditions: Hikes to Four Mile and across the river, meal-time songs, crafts, playing in the Little Hudson, gatherings on Vesper Hill and in the Chapel and a talent show. There was also a dance, which included advance lessons in break dancing and jitterbugging (the U.C.C. celebrates diversity, don't you know).

And then there was the Mimanagish Olympics. This year's events included a French toast toss, a water relay and an intense round of water balloon volleyball.

It was a great week and we hope to see all our campers back again next summer!

Mimanagish: Faces of 2007

As we begin the 2008 season at camp, how about a look back at last summer?

Here are some shots from the various sessions last year. Maybe you'll see some familiar faces!

For more pictures, look here on the official Mimanagish site.


Young Adults


Third and Fourth Grades


Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Grades


Seventh and Eighth Grades


Seasoned Adults


Men's Retreat


Grandparents and Me


Fifth and Sixth


Confirmation Camp


Family Camp

Marvin Pelo passes away

If you grew up attending Camp Mimanagish, or ever worked there as a director, counselor or staffer, there's a good chance you knew Marvin Pelo. He lived and breathed Camp Mimanagish and was a huge supporter of the place over the years.

Sadly, I recently became aware that Marvin had passed away Jan. 14.

I thought I'd post this obituary, which ran in the Carbon County News:

Marvin William Pelo was born Dec. 21, 1920 in Red Lodge to William and Bertha Cunningham Pelo. He died in Red Lodge, Jan. 14, 2008 at the Beartooth Hospital.

He lived his entire life in Montana. He attended Draper Community School for his elementary education and graduated from Carbon County High School in 1938. He worked on NYA for three years before going into the navy for a short time. He was discharged from the navy with a medical discharge and arrived home on Dec. 7, 1941. His discharge was official the next day which made him one of the first veterans of the Second World War.

He farmed with his dad and brother Ray on a farm west of Red Lodge, until his father was killed in the Smith mine disaster in 1943. His brother enlisted in the navy. He farmed for one more year until bleeding ulcers forced him to give up the farm. His mother and he sold out and moved to town. He worked for Olcott Implement and Carbon Implement in Bridger for 25 years, then Billings for eight years.

When he retired from Carbon Implement, he went to work for Al Bedo Shrine and then was hired back as parts man by Nash Brothers and finally Double E Implement.

He retired in 1987 and started serving the Red Lodge Senior Center as president in 1988.

He served the Red Lodge Congregational Church as Deacon Moderator and was on the merger committee to form the Red Lodge Community Church. He served eight years as lay leader and over 30 years as counselor at Camp Mimanagish.

He is a 50 year member of the Masonic Lodge Golden Eagle at Bridger where he served three times as Worshipful Master.

He served on the Grand Lodge of Masons while Jack Rehberg was Grand Master. He is a member of both York Rite and Scottish Rite, having served as Head of all York Rite Bodies and was Most Grand Illustrious Master of the Grand Council of Montana in 1979.

He served as Dad Adviser of Carbon County Chapter Order of DeMolay for 21 years and state adviser for seven years and is an Honorary Legion of Honor. Also a member of Al Bedo Shrine.

He is a 50 year member of Eastern Star serving as Worthy Patron 15 times.

He served on the Beartooth Hospital Foundation for 20 years. He is a member of the Elks for 50 years.

At Bridger he served as Secretary of the Volunteer Fire Department for 17 years. He played Santa for over 60 years, especially at the Nursing home.

Marvin was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Raymond. He is survived by his brother Dale and wife, Renae of Orem, Utah, nine nieces, four nephews and over 50 grand nephews and nieces who all considered him their grand dad.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 19 at the Red Lodge Community United Church of Christ. Burial will be in the Red Lodge Cemetery.

Third and Fourth Grade Camp 2007

This year's Third and Fourth Grade Camp brought 21 lively and loud kids to Mimanagish--many for the first time.

We engaged in a variety of camp traditions--the hike to Four-Mile and wading in the Boulder River, a walk up to the Sacred Place of the Most High, the talent show and silly songs in the Dining Hall--and we did some new stuff, too. Like learning to hula dance!

Favorite songs included (of course) "Mimanagish By the Roaring River" and "The Austrian," along with the relatively recent hit, "Baby Shark."

The river was high and fast so we did our wading in a calm spot right near the Four-Mile campground instead of the usual swimming hole. The rock many of us oldtimers remember risking hypothermia to swim out to is almost entirely underwater at the moment.

We also held a Mimanagish Olympics, featuring action-packed events like an over-the-shoulder marshmallow toss, racing with ballooons held between the knees and a relay race to see which team could fill a cup with spoonfuls of water from the Little Hudson.

And we made "welcome" posters to hang in the cabins as a friendly greeting to those attending camps later in the summer.

Our program was "On the Way," and included lots of discussion about the spiritual journeys we all make in life. We focused a lot on the story of Moses and made staffs/walking sticks for our trip to Four-Mile.

The food was fabulous thanks to Dawn Archer, who stepped in to cook for the week as Mim is without a full-time cook at the moment (apply here if you're interested).

Janet Koostra directed the camp and counselors included Diane Welhaven, Joni Hector, Katrina Peterson, Walt Gulick and John and Lisa Firehammer.

A great time was had by campers and staff alike, and we're hoping to see you all back next year!

Do you have Mimanagish pictures or memories you'd like to share (from any year)? Contact us!