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Opening Camp: An Annual Return to a Piece of Paradise

May 27, 2009 - GRAY -- Three generations were at work Sunday to get Camp PeNoGi running for the summer season.

As in other years, there were plenty of chores to complete. There were leaves to rake, dishes to wash, outdoor furniture to put out and flowers to plant. Later, the deck would be put out and the repainted shutters would be installed.

The property on Little Sebago Lake is the summer retreat of Esther and Jake Noble – retirees from Gorham – their three children and their spouses and those couples' children. The different family branches each contributed a couple of letters of their surnames – Penna, Noble and Gilvey – to form the camp's name.

Memorial Day weekend may be the traditional start to Maine's summer tourism season, but for many – including this extended family – it's the time to open camp. It's a flurry of activity that opens the door to future warm afternoons of swimming and tubing and evenings of s'mores by the fire.

The annual ritual is repeated in summer homes all around the state this time of year, whether in rustic camps or seaside mansions.

According to the last state-by-state count, Maine has the largest percentage of seasonal homes in the nation. In Maine, 15.6 percent of all housing units, or 101,470 units, are for seasonal use, according to the 2000 Census.

On Sunday morning, 15 people converged at Camp PeNoGi. The six grandchildren, ranging in age from 12 to 22, are all old enough to do their share. The boyfriend of the eldest granddaughter was also on hand, having been initiated into camp life.

"All the hands – it makes it quick," said Laurie Noble, a project management director at Unum who is married to John, Esther and Jake's son.

Division of labor also helps, said Paul Penna, one of Esther and Jake's sons-in-law. Each family, for example, is responsible for painting part of the camp each year, said Penna, the principal of Gray-New Gloucester High School.

Summertime for the extended family is largely about camp, not faraway travels. Esther and Jake will move in full time in mid-June. Their children and grandchildren – who all live in Windham – will meet up with them nearly every weekend until Labor Day.

"It's a very special place for all of us," said Sandy Penna, who works in human resources at Sappi Fine Paper and is one of Esther and Jake's daughters.

Jake built the camp in 1953. Woods then obscured the lake and no other camps were in the area. Now Camp PeNoGi enjoys a tranquil water view and the shoreline is dotted with homes, both seasonal and year-round.

Fond memories abound at Camp PeNoGi.

A wall of the covered porch is adorned with each grandchild's certificate of "advanced degree of rowboat engineer."

Melissa Gilvey, Esther and Jake's other daughter and a stay-at-home mom, remembers looking forward to water-skiing with her siblings.

"We'd have our life jackets on, be lined up, waiting for Dad to come home from work," she said.

Sunday was not all work. When the raking was wrapped up, some of the cousins lounged on the yet-to-be-installed dock, designed by John, who is handy like his father and works as Unum's long-term care director. The boys took a quick dip – probably the earliest in the year they've ventured in – before a heavy rain started up.

Inside, Melissa and Esther cooked up cheeseburgers and grilled cheese on griddles normally used for pancake breakfasts. The cleaning of the grill was still on the to-do list.

"It's been a great joy," Esther said. "All our children were brought up here. Now all our grandchildren are being brought up here."

By ANN S. KIM, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, May 25, 2009


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