80 Years After: Janice Fournier – Memories from the 1940s

“When I started going to Pine Tree Camp, we stayed in log cabins and were there all summer long.”

The year was 1947. Janice Fournier had cerebral palsy and Pine Tree Camp was her home away from home every July and August for the next eight years.

“My name is up on one of the plaques. I was Janice Peterson at the time. I was born in Caribou and have lived in Old Town my whole life. Back then, I would take the train from Bangor to Waterville and a driver would pick us all up at the station and bring us to camp in a big car.”

Her memories of that time are as fresh today at age 88 as they were when she was a girl.

“Pine Tree Camp gave me the confidence that I could do anything I wanted and that no one was going to tell me any different,” she said. “If I went after something, I expected to get it!”

Janice had a 45 year career working for the Maine Department of Agriculture and Maine Public Broadcasting.

“I can’t say enough about how Pine Tree Camp and the Shriner’sHospital truly got me on my feet. I’ve always had a feisty attitude, but I had a lot of help and encouragement.”

One of her fondest memories is of the Saturday night campfire gatherings.

“I don’t know how they did it, because it was magic,” she recalled. “Someone hidden up in a tree would send a lighted match down an invisible wire to start the fire. It was truly magical.”

She remembers carnivals, performances, dances, learning to cook over an open flame, working in the garden and sneaking across the street to a farmhouse for homemade donuts and cookies.

“We would dive for clams in North Pond and, if you got 10 clams, you were able to stay in the water 10 minutes longer.”

The Red Cross would also come and teach swimming lessons and water safety courses.

“If we swamped a canoe and could bring it upright, the Red Cross would take us on a three day camping trip around the pond. I earned my Red Cross swimming card and got to go on those trips.”

Back in those days, on Sundays, the counselors all wore white and campers had to wear green shorts and green t-shirts because that was the day parents could come visit.

Janice also remembers playing baseball for the very first time at camp.

“I knew nothing about it. If I got a hit, they would tell me to run and I’d say ‘Run where?’.”

Perhaps her fondest Pine Tree Camp memory is of her late husband, and teenage sweetheart, Richard Cote. They lost touch when he went off to college and, 45 years later, met again and were married for eight years before he died of cancer.

Like everything at Pine Tree Camp, their marriage was like magic for them both.

For 80 years, Pine Tree Camp has been a place where lifelong friendships are made. As we reach this major milestone — 80 years of discovering abilities together — we’re celebrating our community all year long.

“80 Years After” is a monthly spotlight series highlighting people who embody the spirit of Pine Tree Camp. You’ll meet leaders, alumni and campers spanning eight decades of compelling, personal stories about life-changing experiences at Pine Tree Camp.