80 Years After: Kathy McMahon – Camp Memories from the 1960s
At 71 years old, Kathy McMahon’s memories of Pine Tree Camp go all the way back to 1959 when, as a five year old girl, she stepped foot at camp for the very first time.
“I was young but I could tie my shoes and dress myself, so they let me go to camp,” she recalled.
She attended Pine Tree Camp for two months every summer for the next 11 years. The experience was nothing short of life changing. Born with cerebral palsy, the physical therapy she received each summer, coupled with immersive time outdoors with friends, set the stage for a lifelong love of nature.
“It changed my life drastically. The activities…the counselors…my physical therapist, Carl Nelson. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him,” Kathy continued.
Every summer at camp, Kathy spent part of the week in physical therapy with Carl. He employed all the options available to him at the time, including: leg stretches, exercises and heat lamp therapy. With his help, at 15 years old, Kathy was able to move her right hand for the first time in her life.
“Until that moment, I had never really lifted my right hand. Carl made a splint and did adjustments and, one day, I could lift it. It was amazing.”
To this day, Kathy downhill skis and still snowmobiles with a machine adapted to control with her left hand. She also continues to swim in the lake by her home.
“It’s important for me to continue to do all these things so I don’t lose the ability,” she said. “I need to maintain all that I can.”
Kathy is a substitute teacher and her experiences at Pine Tree Camp recently came full circle when she had a student with cerebral palsy.
“It is very meaningful to me to be able to work with him and share the lifetime of experiences I’ve had, which all started at Pine Tree Camp. My father always wanted me to be independent and able to do things on my own, Pine Tree Camp gave me a lot of confidence in my personal life.”
Bonus Content: Kathy’s memories of Pine Tree Camp are as fresh today as they were when she was a young camper. To see her memories of a day in the life of summer camp in the 1960s, continue reading at this link.
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