Rick Reese
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Checked back into Camp Rick Reese |
Back to The Lodge
Rick Reese The Hyde Bay years were great times. I remember swimming off the dock, the raft and the tower; boating in the rowing kyacks, aluminum canoes on the lake and up into Shadow Brook; sailing, and the occasional ride in the African Queen (while it was still afloat); crafts with Jack Garver; and exploring the grounds and woods around the camp. We built lean-to’s in the woods with roofs made with the large-leaf skunk cabbage that was readily available. I also had an opportunity to meet and get to know Walter Lord (Hyde Bay’s Commodore), as well as other Hyde Bay notables such as Jack Garver, George Chandlee (Chiefie), Bob Pickett (Mouldy), and of course Herb Pickett (The Director). The camp trips were always an adventure. The Susquehanna River trips and the Trenton Falls trip always provided adventure, fun around the campfires, and battles with “no-see-ems” at night and the early morning hours. These trips were all good opportunities to test your ability to push yourself and find out what you could do if you really tried, like jumping off a bridge. Each year I returned as a camper, and when I was 14 I came back to Hyde Bay as a UL - first in a tent, and then I finally made it to the UL cabin the next year. We certainly learned all about cheap labor that way, but it was still lots of fun. After that I worked as the assistant riding instructor, until it was time one year to leave Hyde Bay Camp behind and work in the real world before I went to college. I have a BA in Business Administration and an MBA in Marketing from Loyola College (now Loyola University). My wife Linda and I married in 1968. We will be married this September for 44 years. We have a son Rick (43) and a daughter Ashley (39). Rick lives in Nashville and is a very talented musician. Rick is the bass player for the John Sutton Band. Ashley lives in Atlanta, is married to her husband Mark and has two children (son Parker – 10 and daughter Samantha – 8). Ashley has been focused on sales and marketing for Mimeo, Inc. and her husband Mark works for IBM selling business solutions. I retired from United States Gypsum Company after 31-1/2 years in product management, sales, sales management, and sales training in the building materials industry. Over the years we lived in Baltimore, MD, Danbury, CT, Pittsburgh, PA, and Chicago, IL. We are now living in Atlanta, GA. This puts us close to our daughter’s family with our two grandchildren, as well as our son in Nashville. I enjoyed retirement for a year or two, but found that I needed more activity. I am now involved in the energy efficient lighting retrofit business focused on selling to commercial and manufacturing businesses in the southeast and national accounts throughout the US. I was an electrician in the Marine Corps, so this seemed like a good fit – and I am having fun doing it. I always will look back fondly as I think about my years at Hyde Bay Camp.
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However, my favorite activity was horseback riding, in fact I spend lots of time at the Hyde Bay stables (later to be re-named the Hyde Bay Hunt Club). I learned how to ride the horses, slowly at first, but stayed with it year after year at camp until I was comfortable riding the horses at all speeds. Then I learned how to jump the horses over the hunt course set up around the field around the stables and the baseball field. It was all great fun. My wife and I made a trip back to see Hyde Bay in 1968 after the camp closed. 
