Ryck Birch
Ryck Birch has been a member of the Birch Rock community for more than three decades. Ryck started as a young camper and has grown up through the ranks. In 1982 when BRC started having a Board of Trustees, after Onie's death, Ryck joined the Board and has been a member ever since. He has held the position of Secretary for many years.
Contents
Life Before Birch Rock
Camper Years
Summer of 1972-1976
Staff Years
Summers of 1977-1978
Summers of 1980-1985
Ryck was the Nature counselor and lived in Cabin 3 for years. You never knew what fun area of camp you would end up exploring with Ryck. With fish tanks and baby pools, shovels and dirty hands, one would end up turning up rocks to explore the critters underneath. Perhaps bring a salamander over to a fish tank to view a little closer before letting it go again. Day hikes into the woods would bring us back many finds for the camp's museum. Snake skins, spectacular rocks or crayfish from the lake were commonly brought up the hill to the museum.
In his final years on staff he led the hiking trips into the mountains of Maine and New Hampshire. It was always fun to go on trips led by Ryck because he knew everything one could know about the plants you would see. Ryck knew which were edible, poisonous or great medicine. It was fun to nibble on the random plants and get the histry behind the species. Ryck would bring his years of teaching Nature and his vast knowledge about plants right out into the woods with you, perfect!
The Board of Trustees Years
Ryck has been on the Board of Trustees since the early '80s. For many years Ryck has been the Board's Secretary and has taken many hours of minutes about all the big business that is Birch Rock. Many major decisions in the recent history (the last three decades) have been officially documented by Ryck. He is still the Secretary to date and hopes to see his sons at Birch Rock in the future.
Ryck's Summers at the Rock
| Year | Cabin | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Cabin 2 | Camper | with a swedish counselor |
| 1973 | Cabin 6 | Camper | with Counselor Chris Putnam |
| 1974 | Buzzards Roost | Camper | with Counselor Phil Goodwin |
| 1975 | Cabin 8 | Camper | with Counselor Pete Haas |
| 1976 | Cabin 8 | Camper | with Counselor Jeff Tucker |
| 1977 | Lions Den | CIT | with counselor Dave Weeks |
| 1978 | Lions Den | Junior Counselor | Nature & Sailing |
| 1980 | Cabin 3 | Counselor | Nature |
| 1981 | Cabin 3 | Counselor | Nature |
| 1982 | Cabin 3 | Counselor | Nature |
| 1983 | Cabin 3 | Counselor | Nature |
| 1984 | Cabin 3 | Trip Leader & Counselor | Nature & Hiking Trips |
| 1985 | The Swordfish | Trip Leader | Nature & Hiking Trips |
| 1986-Present | Trustee |
