The View from Squam - our Blog
The View From Squam - our Blog
Annual ice harvest to begin later this month
SANDWICH- The ice harvest is a tradition that has been going on for more than a century at Rockywold-Deephaven Camps, and due to a strange start to winter with unseasonably warm temperatures, the start has been delayed slightly.
Camp manager John Jurczynski has been monitoring the ice on a daily basis and believes they should be able to start the harvest sometime around Jan. 19.
"The earliest I'd say we'll be doing it is a week from Tuesday, a day after Martin Luther King Day," Jurczynski said. Realistically, it will be the following Monday, but it really all depends on the weather.
He said surprisingly, this isn't too much later than normal, as last year the harvest started about a week earlier than this year's projection. The starting date tends to vary, with two occasions happening as early as the week between Christmas and New Year's and others, like in 2014, being as late as Feb. 7.
Normally mid-January is the time we do it, said Jurczynski. It will be close to that, and maybe a little bit later.
There are two locations where the harvest has occurred. Jurczynski said on Saturday that Squaw Cove has more than seven inches of ice, while the historic location of Deep End has next to nothing. Twelve inches of ice is required for the harvest to happen, and he said unless something drastically changes, they will be harvesting in Squaw Cove. He said there is a 99 percent chance they will be at Squaw Cove.
Odds are, we will be harvesting from Squaw Cove, said Jurczynski.
Jurczynski said about 15 years ago, there was a similar winter with mild temperatures. Ice wasn't forming in Deep End, so they sought out Squaw Cove to continue the harvest. He said with only a few inches of ice that year, they became nervous and started searching for a spot that was more protected. They found Squaw Cove and now it has become one of their harvesting spots.
Jurczynski said with the rain on Sunday, it should actually work out fine for the ice because the temperatures are expected to drop as the week goes on. He said issues arise when there is too much wind or snow, as the snow will insulate things and decrease the speed of the growth of ice. Fortunately, there is not much for snow in the forecast.
The ice harvest is an annual tradition on Squam Lake, and one of the last remaining ones in the entire country. While the camp has been open since 1897, organizers have to make educated guesses on how long the tradition has been going. Back in the day, there were no trucks and chainsaws. Instead, there were horses pulling the ice from the lake.
Each year, a crew of about a dozen people cut through the ice with a massive straight saw and several chainsaws. Many have been involved for many years, including Norman Lyford, who has been helping cut the ice for more than seven decades. He learned from his father, Colby, when he was only a teenager.
Each ice cake is about 12 inches-by 15 inches-by 19 inches. The ice is moved along in an assembly line fashion, being pushed with long sticks, and taken up on a ramp into a pickup truck. The truck then takes the blocks of ice to a couple of ice houses named Rockywold and Deephaven that are lined with saw dust for insulation.
Each block weighs about 120 pounds and each year there is more than 200 tons of ice harvested. There are about 1,200 blocks harvested per day. The process tends to last about three days.
Each cabin at Rockywold-Deephaven Camps is equipped with an old-fashioned ice box instead of modern refrigeration units. There was actually a time when the camp toyed with the idea of having mini-fridges in the camps, but this was frowned upon by guests.
During the summer, ice is distributed to the cabins to be put into the ice boxes for keeping food and beverage items cold. Guests generally stay at Rockywold-Deephaven Camps for a 14-week period over the summer.
2015 RDC Photo Contest
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1st Place
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2nd Place
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3rd Place
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Scenery |
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 Rich Lundy |
 Brice Eldridge |
 Mitja Pelcl |
Fun & Adventure |
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 Christine Joern |
 Nancy Roberts |
 Lee Bagwill |
Flora & Fauna |
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 Betsy Komjathy |
 Jana Macikova |
 Holly White |
Off Season
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 Stephen Anderson |
 Klement Perko |
 Jana Flores |
Congratulation to the winners and thanks to everyone for submitting great photographs to the RDC Photo Contest. Click on a photo above to see a large image in a new window - note: you may have to disable pop up blocker settings in your web browser.
RDC Photo Contest
Photo Contest winners will receive a gift certificate to the Camp Store and all photos will be considered for the RDC Calendar.We look forward to viewing your photos of RDC and Squam Lake!
Photo by Rachel deRham Kelly
Photo by John Kerr
Photo by Caroline Sanford
Squam – a Film by Will Strathmann
SQUAM is an aerial cinematography film created by Will Strathmann (RDC Guest) on Vimeo.
Community “Dinner and a Square Dance”
Experience an RDC Friday Night Tradition
Just before our summer season kicks into high gear, come join us at Rockywold-Deephaven Camps for a community dinner and square dance on Friday, June 19th. A buffet dinner with salad bar, desert and non-alcoholic beverages included will be served from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Rockywold Dining Room. Just a short walk away at the RDC Playhouse, a square dance will begin at 7:30 p.m. and continue until you have had your fill. The cost for "Dinner and a Square Dance", including tax, is $20.00 per person, $12.00 for children under 10 years of age. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to 603 968-3313 by Wednesday, June 17. Space is limited.
RDC's Friday Night Dance will feature Tom & Annie's CaravanBand. Tom and Annie have been leading New England Barn Dances and performing throughout New England for over 20 years. Tom tailors each dance to the ability of the dancers, from beginners to experienced ensuring that everyone has a great time that is memorable and fun. (Sit in musicians are welcome to join in on stage.)
To learn more about RDC visit our website @ https://www.rdcsquam.com/
Also visit CaravanBand's Website @ www.caravanband.com where you can watch an RDC Friday Night Dance, learn more about Barn Dances and Listen to CaravanBand's music.
Cottage Photo Slideshow
Photos of RDC Cottages by Cindy Jones.
RDC Ice Harvest Video 2015
WMUR – Annual Ice Harvest Underway
WMUR Ice Harvest Video:
RDC Ice Harvest 2015
Photographs of 2015 Ice Harvest by Eric Morse:
Cutting the first ice field
Cutting the ice field and filling the channel
This is Norman Lyford’s 70th year harvesting ice at RDC!
The icing crew in front of Norman's Place
The Grinch at Squam
-with apologies to Dr. Seuss!
Every Loon down in Loonville liked RDC a lot
But the Grinch, who spent all his summers across the lake, did NOT!
The Grinch hated RDC! The whole summer season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It might be the sailboats, kayaks and hydrobikes
Or doing the laundry, which he really dislikes,
But I think that the most likely reason of all,
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.
Whatever the reason, His heart or his hampers,
He stood there in summer, hating the campers,
Staring out from his cove with a sour, grumpy scowl,
At the happy-go-lucky swimmers, in their flip-flops and towels.
And what's happening with canoes! He snarled with a sneer,
Going backwards, even swamping, with their hands trying to steer!
Then he growled, with his green fingers nervously drumming,
I MUST find some way to stop the campers from coming!
Because next Saturday, more campers would arrive,
They'd come with bicycles and racquets, from the west and east.
And then every night the campers would sit down to a feast.
And they'd feast! And they'd feast! And they'd FEAST!
FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!
They would feast on gluten free chicken parmigian, ice cream, and roast beast.
Which was something the Grinch couldn't stand in the least!
And THEN they'd do something he liked least of all!
Every Camper in RDC, the tall and the small,
Would go to the Playhouse, with fiddles-a-playing.
They'd stand hand-in-hand. And then they'd start dancing!
They'd dance! And they'd dance! And they'd DANCE! DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!
And the more the Grinch thought of this Summer Square Dance,
The more the Grinch thought, I must take a chance!
Why, for fifty-three years I've put up with it now!
I MUST stop next week from coming! But HOW?
Then he got an idea! An awful idea!
THE Grinch GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!
I know just what to do! The Grinch laughed like a rat.
And he made a quick RDC t-shirt and hat.
What a neat little trick! he said with a chuckle and laugh
With these cool clothes, I look just like Rec Staff!
Then he loaded some bags and some old empty sacks,
On a little golf cart he sped down the dirt tracks,
Toward the cabins where the campers lay asnooze in the beds.
All their windows were dark; quiet filled the crisp air.
All the Campers were dreaming sweet dreams without care.
When he came to the first house with a little lawn chair.
This is stop number one, the old Grinch hissed,
And he opened the door, empty bags in his fist.
He walked in the living room, the fireplace still aglow,
And he saw the puzzles, games, and books, sitting all in a row.
These bathing suits,he grinned, are the first things to go!
Then he slithered and slunk, up to no good,
Pranced around the whole room, and took everything he could!
Frisbees! Racquets! Laptops! Fishing Gear!
Monopoly! Chessboards! Baseball gloves! Even the beer!
And he stuffed them in bags. Then tiptoeing across the floor,
Threw all the bags, one by one, out the door!
He did the same thing to other Rock and Deep houses
Leaving crumbs much too small for the chipmunks and mouses!
It was near dawn. Bell Tower hadn't rung, twas too early to start,
All the campers were still snoozing when he packed up his cart,
Packed it up with their goodies! The gloves and the balls!
The kayaks! Bicycles! The playing cards and dolls!
A thousand feet up! Up Mount Rattlesnake,
He rode to the tiptop to dump his huge take!
Pooh Pooh to the Campers! he said with grinchly gall.
They'll find out Squam Lake is boring, no fun at all!
They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do!
Their mouths will hang open a minute or two,
Then the Campers in RDC will all cry Boo Hoo!
That's a noise, grinned the Grinch,That I simply MUST hear!
So he paused. And the Grinch put his hand to his ear.
And he did hear noises rising over the trees.
It started in low. It carried in the breeze.
But the sound wasn't sad! Why, this sound sounded happy!
It couldn't be so!
But it WAS downright sappy!
He stared down at RDC! The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise!
Every RDC camper, the tall and the small,
Was having fun! Hiking, swimming, singing, with no gizmos at all!
He HADN'T stopped the fun! EVERYONE LAUGHED, THEY SMILED!
They were having a a blast, every man, woman, child!
And the Grinch, his Grinch-feet as cold as ice from the lake,
Stood puzzling: How could it be? Can't they give me a break?
There was no Journal, Globe or Times!
Not even the internet, ipods, or (like this poem) good rhymes!
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
Maybe joy at RDC,he thought, doesn't come from a store.
Maybe summer at Squam means a little bit more!
And what happened then? Well in RDC they say,
That the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day!
And the minute his heart did't feel quite so tight,
He whizzed down Rattlesnake through the bright morning light,
And he brought back the games, kayaks, Frisbees“ quite a sight!
And all the breakfast for the dining hall the fruit salad, French toast, even hot chocolates
And he, HE HIMSELF! The Grinch he prepared all the omelettes!
Poem by Andy Pugh for the RDC Talent Show, Augut 1, 2013.
"We feel rooted within our own families as well as with those special friends we meet at this place. We are regenerated by Squam Lake's natural wonders-- fragrant pines, mountain summits, star-filled night skies, and haunting loon calls, to name a few.
Those of us lucky enough to spend some summer days at RDC share in a restful calm. We are certainly grateful for this unique place of simplicity and peace. I know we take this spirit with us when we leave Squam, counting the days until we can return".
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