Diamond Jubilee Collectibles

We've put together some collectible items for Cachalot's Diamond Jubilee. These are not yet available for purchase, but two of the items can be pre-ordered either for delivery at our Diamond Jubilee Homecoming event at Cachalot on September 18th or to be shipped to you. Proceeds from the sales of all of these items will be placed in the Association's Project Fund, which funds our efforts to provide program and make improvements at Cachalot.

First up, we have our Diamond Jubilee logo patch. This will be available in two styles: the standard version, and a limited, numbered version that adds an embroidered "75" and uses metallic thread for the border. Both are pictured here. Only 75 of the limited edition version of the patch will be produced, and they will come with a numbered certificate. The standard version of the patch will cost $10, and the limited edition version will cost $35. A set of both patches will cost $40. These will first be available at our Diamond Jubilee Homecoming event; any that remain after that event will be made available for order.

We also have the Camp Cachalot 75th Anniversary Hat and Camp Cachalot 75th Anniversary Short Sleeve Performance Polo shirt. Both feature an embroidered logo of the same design as the standard version of the patch, and the polo shirt can be customized with two lines of text of your choice under the logo at no additional charge. The hat costs $20, and the polo costs $30. These items are available for preorder beginning today. To ensure that they will be available for pick-up at our Diamond Jubilee Homecoming, preorders much be received by end-of-day on Saturday, August 14th.

Finally, our archivist and historian has gone through the nearly 10,000 photos and documents in our historic archives and selected several hundred photos to produce our 75 Years of Cachalot: from the Archives of the Camp Cachalot Alumni Association photo book. This hardcover book, 90+ full-color pages of photos covering the entire life of Cachalot from 1946 to today, is a keepsake like no other. It includes tidbits from Cachalot's history, and shows not only the evolution of the scenery over the years, but also features many photos of the people who worked, volunteered, or just had fun there over the last 75 years. Pricing has not yet been set for the book, but will be announced soon. Like the patches, this will first be available at the Diamond Jubilee Homecoming event on September 18th, 2021.

To preorder the hat and polo, please visit our web site at www.cachalotalumni.org/75th_preorder. You can either fill out an online form with your details, or download a preorder form to print and mail in. Remember that to ensure that your hat and polo will be available at Homecoming, we must receive the preorder form by end-of-day on August 14th.

Memories of Cachalot: At the Copa…

Our fourth installment of Memories of Cachalot features former camp staffer Todd VanCantfort! Todd started at Cachalot as a camper in the early 1970s, and went on serve on Cachalot's camp staff in various roles from 1976 until 1981. After his tenure at Cachalot, he went on to a long and storied career in the Air Force, the Houston Police, and in the Department of Homeland Security, much of that time focused on counterterrorism and on threat assessment.

Be sure to stick around until the end, where Todd shares a favorite campfire memory with us!

Check out previous interviews along with our complete video archive on our YouTube channel.

Our 2021 Wall of Fame Honoree

We're please to announce that Dennis J. Wilkinson, II, a founding member of the Association and our Archivist, Historian, and Communications Chairman, has been selected by our membership as 2021's Camp Cachalot Wall of Fame honoree! Dennis has been coming to Cachalot since he was a Cub Scout back in 1978, is an Eagle Scout, Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow, a former summer camp staffer and Program Director, a long-time Campmaster at Cachalot, and the recipient of the District Award of Merit.

Dennis is being recognized for his long involvement at camp, but especially for his contributions to Cachalot through his work with the Alumni Association. His contributions with the Association are substantial, and span over the entire lifetime of the Association. Congratulations to Dennis, and we hope that all of you who've worked with or known Dennis over the years will be able to join us at Homecoming as we recognize him for his efforts!

Homecoming 2021 and Diamond Jubilee Celebration

On September 18th, 2021 we will be hosting a Homecoming event like no other Homecoming event so far: Cachalot is turning 75, and we’re pulling out all the stops to celebrate!

Arrivals begin at 11:00am, and we’ll get started over at the Noquochoke Lodge Pavilion by Tom Cullen Field for a cookout lunch with your fellow alumni. You’ll have plenty of time to catch up with old camp friends, or maybe introduce yourself to some new ones, and check out camp memorabilia and some of the Association’s photo and video archives under the pavilion. Lunch will begin at noon.

After you’ve had some food, we’ll get started on the day’s events. We’ll begin with a brief meeting of the Association, as wth the events of 2020 it has been well over a year and a half since our last meeting at Winter Gathering 2020. We’ll talk a bit about the state of the Association, update you on recent goings-on at Cachalot, and give you a look at the projects we have planned at camp and the events still to come in our Diamond Jubilee year, which we won’t wrap up until March of 2022.

We’ll then relocate over to the Bill Joyce Memorial Flag field for our Wall of Fame induction. We are honoring both our 2020 Honoree, Marcel Hudon, and our 2021 Honoree, Dennis J. Wilkinson, II at this year’s event.

After celebrating our Wall of Fame honorees, we will shift to celebrating Cachalot itself! The program for the celebration is still being developed, but is sure to include lots of stories and memories from seventy-five years of spring, summer, fall, and winter activities at Cachalot.

We also plan to offer historic tours of Cachalot, to give you the opportunity to see those places you remember from your time at camp (or, if you haven’t been out in a while, to see what has changed at Cachalot since your last visit.)

Once we wrap up our formal program and our tours, Cachalot will remain open long enough for you to take in sunset over Five Mile Pond, and continue your conversations with other alumni.

We expect to provide additional details as we get closer to the day, and those will be made available on our various social media channels and on our 75th Anniversary landing page on the Association's web site.

Spread the Word!

Are you still in touch with any old friends from camp who may not know about our Diamond Jubilee activities? Forward them this issue, and let them know they can sign up to receive it in their email inbox by subscribing online.

You and your old friends can show your support to help Cachalot serve the next generation of Scouts by joining the Camp Cachalot Alumni Association. All of the information on how to join, and how your membership donation helps at Cachalot, can be found on the membership pages of our web site.

More information will be made available on our various social media channels, and on our 75th Anniversary landing page on the Association's web site.