Ben, this is everyone visiting the official camp web site.

As was the custom for Spoonhowers of his generation, Ben completed his post-secondary education at Cornell University. Ben currently makes his home in Baltimore, but travels frequently for his work. He thinks it’s alright. Chances are, he’d rather talk to you about other stuff. Like sports: he skateboarded as a youngster, played lacrosse at Cornell, is now an avid golfer, plans to learn to snowboard, and will probably do just fine in the Tug of War and Three-Legged Race. Or music – you may find him wielding a guitar at some point. Or, if you’re sitting around the campfire looking to chat someone up about Policy Analysis, Ben’s probably your guy. That was his college major.

Ben will be making his camping debut at Spoonhowopic, and is excited for the experience. He’s been a big fan of Kathy Copic for many years, and is looking forward to meeting more members of the clan.

Hailing from the gritty streets of Cleveland, Ohio, Liz has left behind her rock-n-roll sensibilities for the greener pastures of indie rock elitism. Living (predictably) in a trendy Brooklyn neighborhood and attending the New York Film Academy, Liz’s passion is film production and she’s currently producing a music video for Shira’s song “Mischievous Lover.” When she’s not jotting things down into the Palm Pilot, she may be found cooking up some tasty food and hosting friends at a weekly Supper Club.

She’s living in Florida these days, though I met her in Chicago and she hails from Nebraska. She has been known to jaunt off to see a concert in Germany or plan a drive to Mexico to enjoy a beer on the beach with Roger Clyne.

If you sent back a questionnaire with a “carpool: yes!” box checked, Tina should be contacting you soon. If not, and you are interested in providing a ride to someone else, let Tina know by emailing travel@campspoonhowopic.com or calling her at the number in your camp info packet. (Or let us know!) The same goes if you are looking for a ride, either from the city that you live in, or from an airport close to camp.

As the weekend approaches, Tina will be helping us confirm your travel plans to make sure everyone gets in safe and sound.

Rachel is now living back in Rochester, NY where she grew up. She is working at a local hospital and coaching a lacrosse team at a small college called Nazareth. In her spare time, Rachel says that her and a group of friends enjoy going out and playing darts and other games like that. Maybe it’s just me, but she sounds like someone who is going to be extremely easy to talk to. She is now continuing to take classes and is applying to grad school right now to become a physician’s assistant.

After speaking with Rachel I can tell she is going to be a really fun person at Camp. Between her intellectual side and her love for the outdoors, Rachel is someone everyone will be able to relate to and should definitely talk to while staying at Camp Spoonhowopic!

Eileen is a native of western Pennsylvania but has lived in Cleveland for more than 20 years. A political science and business major in college, she was very involved in the restaurant business but more recently has changed careers and now is enjoying her job at Progressive Insurance. She sounds exactly like the person you would like to speak with if you needed to collect on your insurance policy – friendly, helpful and anxious to meet your needs.

As Dan’s mom, interviewing her was a pleasure because she is very talkative (an Irish gift) and, believe it or not, had nothing but good things to say about Dan. She describes him as “the nicest boy” who is always helpful, especially in the kitchen, and he fits in very well with her “noisy horde of a family.”

It’s too bad that Cleveland is not closer to Allegany State Park because Eileen’s vegetable garden sounds worth a visit. By the end of April her beans and lettuce were already planted. Hopefully, she will bring some of her herbs and vegetables to camp. She loves gardening but is happy to share her produce with others who are willing to do the cooking.

Eileen is interesting and willing to talk and learn about almost anything from theology to yoga to men’s attraction to gadgets. Besides celebrating with Dan and Kathy, she’s another good reason to spend some time at Camp Spoonhowopic.

An open, caring humanitarian is the way Cyndi describes herself and after a long conversation with her, I wholeheartedly agree. I would also add outgoing, friendly and thoughtful, so we can all look forward to the spirit and personality she will bring to this event.

Cyndi and her husband Steve have recently moved to Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle and are eally enjoying being near her son John, Candace and their daughter Isabella. This is her first time living away from Cleveland so she is still adjusting and missing proximity to many people and things, especially her beloved Cleveland Browns. She loves to write and is proud to have recently completed a book which is both an autobiography and an explanation how people strive to lead happy and fulfilling lives. Besides writing and just enjoying listening and talking with people, Cyndi is also an avid poker player. Beware of being her opponent at Texas hold ‘em; she’s proficient!

Cyndi definitely is happy to celebrate Dan’s (i.e. Spoons) relationship with Kathy and has long considered Dan part of the family. She must love a challenge because she really enjoys bantering with him. A really interesting part of talking with her was learning more about Kathy. Hearing that Kathy was always an independent, positive child who never backed away from a challenge was not surprising. Discovering that Kathy was once shy was a revelation. One way she dealt with this was joining Drama Club in middle school. Her portrayal of Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker” was so credible that people actually thought she was blind. (For Cyndi, this was truly one of those “proud mother” moments!)

So bring a deck of cards or your story or just a willing ear and pull up a chair next to Cyndi at Camp Spoonhowopic this September! You’ll enjoy it.

John is a man in motion. His mind positively buzzes with projects, opportunities and the things he wants to learn next. He is very proud of all of his children, the things they are accomplishing and the directions they are going in their lives. When Kathy, Liz and his son, John were young some of John’s fondest memories are of the time he spent with them during the day as a ‘house dad.’

I read The Hobbit to my kids, a chapter every night. We did a lot of reading. I love the fact that Kathy will recommend books she has read to me now.

John had a fantastic Camp story for me, in his own words:

“I went to camp Michigania and I got in trouble there. Apparently fireworks weren’t legal and I brought fireworks and thought my son and I would shoot some off. They were supposed to go one way but they went another and they almost caught a bunch of stuff on fire. The people in charge were going to send me away and I was just going to drive home. They were actually small fireworks, just a little bigger than bottle rockets. They were just going to shoot up in the air, no big deal… They made it sound like I almost started the 3rd world war.”

These days John enjoys playing World of Warcraft with his son and reading as well as making and sharing good food with friends and his wife Eileen. He plays eclectic musical selections for his guests and also enjoys dancing, even alone; “I never met a song I didn’t like.”

I haven’t met a Spoonhowopian I didn’t like and John Copic is no exception.

“It is a science fiction love story and it was the most beautiful story I have ever read.”

Speaking of love stories, Sue was introduced to Kathy by Spoons in Ithaca but she didn’t immediately identify her as “the girlfriend.” That came later. She has always felt that Kathy was an easy fit with the family. According to Sue, Kathy is open and easy to talk to, even about her research: “accelerating protons.” Dan on the other hand works on more esoteric subjects and is simply said by his family to “work on secret code.” Sue was extremely proud of the puzzle game that Dan and his CMU cohort invented for a conference this last year. When she read the description in a local paper it reminded her of Dan’s Dungeons and Dragons days, about which she said,

“In the 9th grade he was really into it. He was the only one who understood all the rules so he was the ‘dungeon master.’ I thought this puzzle game must be similar but he says Dungeons and Dragons had nothing to do with it.”

Sue has fond memories of arriving at campsites all over New York and taking a leisurely walk with her younger children Rachel and Ben while Tom and Dan erected the “city of tents” that was to there home away from home. This summer she is really looking forward to meeting Kathy’s family and the Spoonhowopic friends.

Daniel John Spoonhower started making a big impression on people in 1977. In the photo above, Spoonhower brothers John (left) and Tom (right) hold their new sons at Christmas. Jeff Spoonhower (left) is already four months old, while cousin Dan (right) is only three weeks old!

Dan grew up just outside of Rochester, NY with a younger brother and sister, Ben and Rachel. At Webster High School, he was just like any other hockey-captain trombone-playing computer-programming giant-pear-sculpting high school student. After adventures as an undergrad in Ithaca at Cornell, and as a young software architect in San Francisco, he has been settled into graduate student life in Pittsburgh since 2002.

At Carnegie Mellon University, he’s pursuing a Ph.D. in the Computer Science Department’s programming languages group. Last year, this group made the news with some less-than-scientific results: “Fiction-filled computer code mystery peppered with ‘ancient’ puzzles.”

Trips for work to places like Rio de Janeiro, Nice, and Venice, and internships in Seattle and outside of NYC have provided opportunities for travel. (These are beyond the “opportunities for travel” to Ann Arbor, Chicago and next, Switzerland that our relationship provides. ) Though he hasn’t had much summer camp experience, he’ll take any excuse to get outside: biking, hiking, snowboarding, and rock climbing are good examples.

A few words on names: Just as my middle name (“Ann”) is the first name of both of my grandmothers, “John” is the first name of both of Spoons’ grandfathers, and two of his uncles. While he is called “Dan” (or even “Danny”!) in a house of Spoonhowers, he is “Spoons” amongst friends. There will be around six Dans at Camp Spoonhowopic, but even more Spoon/Spoons/Spoonhowers, so you can just call him Mr. Director.

Some etymology: Kathy is named for a friend of her mom’s (and because “Katherine” has so many great diminutives, like Katrina). Her middle name, Ann, also belongs to both of her grandmothers. Copic is a Slovenian name and was (at least I’m told) originally written ÄŒopič and pronounced more like cho-PEACH.

Many of Kathy’s camp experiences took place at Camp Michigania,* a camp for University of Michigan alumni (like many of Kathy’s relatives on her mother’s side). Pictured here with her younger siblings (John and Liz) Kathy spent several vacations at Camp Michigania playing capture-the-flag, drinking bug juice, and doing arts & crafts, especially boondoggle (which she called “making lanyards”).

*No, we didn’t make this name up.

Kathy Copic met Dan Spoonhower far above Cayuga’s waters, when they were both living on the “3rd main” hallway of Risley Residential College. She still knows more verses of the alma mater than he does.

Fast forward ten years to 2007, and Kathy Copic is nearly-almost-totally done with her Ph.D. in particle physics. (She too will be a UofM alumna!) For the last year, she has been living in Pittsburgh while she applied for jobs and finished writing her thesis. Soon, she will be off to Switzerland to work at CERN (on behalf of Columbia University) as a Post-Doctoral Researcher (a.k.a. post-doc)!

When she is not shopping for food, or looking at recipes, or baking desserts, or barbecuing, or taking pictures of numbers, she’s writing on her blog (from time to time, at least).