Reunion 2007

The reunion of 2007, celebrating the 100th birthday of Camp Moy-mo-da-yo, was an idea suggested by Dottie Mae Bartels in March of 2007. At that point in time the Town of Limington asked Howard Allen to put together a plan for the town owned property that was once Camp Moy-mo. Howard, a resident of Limington, had stood up during the annual town meeting and asked why the town was neglecting the property, estimated to be worth over $3 million, but which had been abandoned by the town since 2003 when the last caretaker "retired". Over that 4 year period the property became a local hangout for drug users, all night parties, and a dumping place for old shingles, televisions, and unwanted furniture.

Howard, noticing the monument to Mr. Pete erected some years before by Dottie Mae and some former campers, did a Google search and came across a message board for campers looking for other camper friends to connect. Dottie Mae was one of the three that he found. He began emailing her about the camp and its history and found that she knew of a few other old campers. Eventually by sharing emails and contacting new connections as they came up, a group of about 70 former campers came together and planned a grand celebration for July 2007 to be held at the former camp grounds. Howard, going to the site for the first time in many years found the place in shambles and wondered what the girls would think if they every saw it in its present state. Clearly something had to be done.

The Committee formed by Howard enthusiastically began its work, meeting weekly and discussing the possibilities for the site. Along the way they planned a cleanup weekend in early May. After hauling three truckloads of junk and trash to the dump, they focused on taking stock of what was there. The tennis courts had ten years worth of debris on them, there was a shuffleboard that was cracked and unusable, and there was some recycled swingsets and a tether ball stand. That was about it. The beach was still there and there was the retaining wall needing some attention. The next several months the Committee attempted to wrestle control of the area away from those who didn't want the area reclaimed. The access road was closed with a chain and lock, which were cut numerous times over a two month period. Police were called to chase away interlopers and their fires doused.

In the meantime donations were made enabling the erection of a large tent, plans were made for catering a luncheon, Dottie had a bunch of "wish boats" made for the evening's closing event, T-shirts were designed, and even a 100 year MMDY pennant, fashioned after pictures of the originals were procured for the festivities. Dave Downs promised to bring a selection of memorabilia with him and the Limington Historical Society helped by lending the original MMDY street sign so it could be hung one more time. The Selectmen agreed that the girls could have the run of the place and it was shut down to the public for the day of the reunion.

During the reunion the old songs were sung from a new songbook collecting as many songs as people could remember, a time of sharing in the tent where everyone told a story of their time at MMDY, and a collection of remembrances was published. A memorial ceremony was held and so many old campers, having been out of touch for 40 or more years renewed their friendships. Small groups quietly walked the grounds, clearly missing what was gone so long ago. Finally, the closing ceremony with the launching of the "wish boats" ended the wonderful time. Out of all of this came the idea of the "Friends of Moy-mo-da-yo" which today boasts about 45 members, both old campers and local folks, working together to keep the memory of Moy mo alive and relevant today.

Please enjoy the photographs which are courtesy of Wendy (Estabrook) and Phil Jefferies plus Candy Warshaver.