First Bell

Description

Tighten your harness because Episode 8 of First Bell is a wild ride through space, time and the beautiful mind of Assistant Director Tim Downey.

In the final episode of First Bell’s first season*, we join hosts Pat, Zach and Matt on the big ballfield, where they rendezvous with Tim for an off-the-record interview about projects underway (a new ropes course), projects planned for next summer (a new Junior cabin) and Tim’s ambitious long-term vision for camp: solar power, Coca-Cola and a battle for the directorship decided in Little Council. Tim also discusses the launch of K&O Connect, a new networking platform for friends and alumni of Kooch-i-ching and Ogichi Daa Kwe.

When first bell rings for lunch, Tim heads up to the Dining Hall and the boys hang back to test out the new ropes course. But just as Patrick gets “all girdled up” in his harness, they spot a shiny object wedged between two nearby boulders. Naturally, the three hosts decide to touch it at the same time. What happens next? Listen now to find out!

*Fear not: First Bell will be back with a “Friendsgiving” special and new episodes in the spring.

It’s Jimmy Buffett night at Red Lodge and Pat and Matt are snarfing chicken burgers and swapping polar bear tales from the Big Knife, Yellow Seal and Churchill Bay trips. Under the questionable leadership of Henry “H-Dawg” Cordeal, the Seniors still haven’t decided on a theme for the carnival, so Pat and Matt give Zach a call on the Red Lodge pay phone.

Fortunately, Zach is with Bill Johnson, a charter member of Red Lodge, who joins the boys inside the iconic log building to answer some questions about its early years. Who built Red Lodge? Where did the Red God come from? Has the Pop Shack always been there?

We join hosts Pat and Zach in the Prep biffy, brushing their teeth before bed. A sudden squall blows in and a mysterious howl pierces the night. Prep counselor Quinn Pinaire invites the pair into Cabin 8 for a bedtime story: a Cheyenne myth about the hubristic Coyote and his desire to dance with a star.

As the story begins, a camper, Leroy, visits the biffy to unburden his bowels. But little Leroy's nocturnal No. 2 is interrupted by his No. 1 fear—a sighting of the feared Demon Deer. Petrified, he bursts back into the cabin to tell the others what he saw. Pat, Zach and Quinn head to the biffy to investigate and see the sinister stag for themselves.

The Demon Deer chases them across the campus and down the Bear Trail. Hiding behind the ice house, the terrified trio recalls a song—taught to them as campers by Essence-in-Residence John Jolly—that sends the Demon Deer, dancing, through a portal to the netherworld from whence it came.

While piloting the Endeavour through the Northwoods, Zach and Matt bump into Intermediate Unit Head Roger Miller mid-trip. Roger leaves his campers on shore to collect firewood for tuna melts and boards the vessel to discuss his tripping philosophy. Later, the hosts stop at Raspberry Island to pick up "Dirty" Mike Esselman, who shares his secrets to a successful layover day.

In this episode, we join Zach, Pat and Matt at the Parent Fish Fry, where an ordering mishap threatens to make the event to go belly up. Fortunately, recent staff man Andrew Paulik saves the day with his angling aptitude.

Later, with a concurrent celebration underway in the dining hall, alumnus Pete Center shows up in the sunken garden to share his favorite memories from this night of pseudo-sanctioned mayhem. He also talks Trash Crew and ponders the prescription “Be helpful."

Zach, Pat and Matt are back! In this episode, they watch the annual Around-the-Island Canoe Race with current record holder Kyle Ronemus, who shares some secrets from his 1974 victory. The boys also catch up with new Urban Wilderness Program Coordinator Trace Dunning to talk boatbuilding—and the importance of hands-on learning.

Zach, Pat and Matt scale the climbing wall to interview alumnus Bobby Ecker, who recounts the epic conclusion of an early version of Hunger Games and spins a golden yarn about bravery.

In the first-ever episode of Kooch-i-ching's first-ever podcast, Patrick Risberg interviews Cleveland Smith about Woodsmanship while his co-hosts, Zach Schiller and Matt Collins, trade trip stories in the storage room under the dining hall.