October 25-31

This Old Yew

This story begins with a walk I took to Near East Beach on Friday morning. There was something a little bit mysterious in the air as I headed down the path toward the beach, so in a sense it wasn’t surprising to find a beat up old rowboat resting on the shore of the beach with the waves lapping gently against its side.

The boat must have been shaken loose from wherever its previous resting place was by the storm winds that blew through the islands last week. It was clear it had been neglected for some time, as there was sand, driftwood and shells sitting inside it. West Beach” was stenciled on the interior of the boat in a couple places and if that is where it originated it has been on a long journey because Orcas Island’s west beach is on the outside of the island almost due west of camp, so it would have to somehow migrate seven miles or so south along the shore, then east through the narrow channel that separates Orcas and Shaw islands, then all the way up East Sound to the camp shoreline.

However it got here, my eventual feeling was that it would be best to send it further on its way. So I coaxed it along the shoreline and around the point of rocks at the east end of the beach and back out into open water.

In doing so, I found myself tangled up in a cluster of yew tree that has its own story to be told. The Yew is a tough gnarly old tree. Both in medieval Europe and among the NW native people, the yew was often used for the making of long bows. In recent years, it has become endangered in places because of over harvesting. The yew above near east beach is perhaps the only one that can be found within the camp boundaries. (If you know of another, please advise in the comment section.)

Much of the tree has recently fallen to the rocks because the earth that held it for many many years finally eroded enough that the tree became un-rooted and fell to the rocks below.

This yew is the source of the beautiful tree branch that has sat proudly above the mantel in the dining hall for many a year. Susan Brady (Carol and Helen Bee’s mother) was responsible for the cutting and mounting of the this beautiful branch. The remainder of the branch that the cutting came from now rests solidly against the rocky shoreline.


Is the demise of the yew a further sign of the effects of rising sea levels? As the scientific community and media are generally careful to say, no single event can serve as proof of a much larger evolutionary trend, but it is sufficient, along with the deepening signs of erosion along other sections of camp shoreline to make one wonder how the rising waters of the world will affect this particular place.

In other news, John & Shelagh Levey arrived on Thursday and stayed overnight in the Roundhouse, on their way to the Indralaya Board meeting, which met near Seattle over the weekend. John wanted to check on some financial information to help in preparing his Treasurer's report for the meeting.

The Board met on Saturday and Sunday. Among other actions taken, the votes of the Friends of Indralaya election were tabulated and Kim Erickson was elected by the voting members of the Friends of Indralaya to a three year term. Lin Bauer was appointed to a three year term on the Board and Meg Sather was appointed to complete the two years remaining in the term I was elected to last year. The by-laws for the Orcas Island Foundation provide that people cannot serve as both a board member and camp manager, so I resigned from the board on September 1.

Meg is a Senior Vice President for GMMB, an issue advocacy public affairs firm with offices in Seattle, Washington DC, and Los Angeles. She provides strategic counsel to global organizations working to improve health and provide opportunities to people living in poverty. Her work on a child nutrition project with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation takes her to Bangladesh on a regular basis.

Her first visit to Indralaya was in 2003. She has been on fellowship staff and attends family week and work parties regularly, where she can often be found doing something wonderful in the kitchen.

Lin first came to Indralaya through her friendship with Neila Campbell. Her first program was a Therapeutic Touch program in the 1990's. She also attended several of Pat Moffit Cook's Sacred Sound weekends and continues to study with Pat through the Open Ear Center. In the time since that first visit, she has attended many programs, including therapeutic touch camps, Deep Singing, and numerous work parties. She was head cook for this year's Advanced TT week. Lin will soon be retiring from a 32 year career in Special Education with Oregon Public Schools.

Lodging and meal fees were also set for the coming year. The overnight fee for plumbing cabins will be lowered by $2.00 to $68 per night, while unplumbed cabin fees will rise by $1.00 to $47 per person per night. Fees for the Roundhouse will remain unchanged at $70 per night.

More information about decisions made at the Board meeting will be provided in the weeks to come.