Mowglis Memories

Ep 112 Double Emmys on his Trail from Mowglis mark Jordan Kranis' Path 

Jordan came to Mowglis as a Cub in 1980, joining his brother Andrew who was in Toomai. He quickly established himself as a friendly and capable fellow and would continue on through the Mowglis program graduating in 1985 and stroking the Blue Racing crew two years in a row.

Since leaving Mowglis he has established himself as a documentarian and producer, winning two Emmy awars and being nominated for a third. He is currently the long-time producer of the "Big Brother" reality TV series producing more than 100 episodes. 

Some folks would say that Mowglis is in the DNA of the Popinchalk family. 

Mark Popinchalk came to Mowglis as a member of the staff in 2011 and while also working his way through a degree in astrophysics, he returned for two additional summers.

Growing up as a boy of the world, living in many different countries where his dad, Michael - also a former member of the Mowglis staff - was teaching and serving as administrator in numerous American schools throughout the world.

Today, Mark Popinchalk is not just a Mowglis Man of the world, he is a Mowglis man of the Universe from his perch at New York's famed Hayden Planetarium.

Whether it's introducing elementary school children to the wonders of the universe or sharing the secrets of Mar's moons on TikTok, or reveling in the fun April fools "papers" that some of his colleagues create for April 1 publication, Mark points to his Mowglis experience as the source of his love for teaching.

Nick Robbins has been at the helm at Mowglis now for a decade and what a decade it has been. When Nick began his tenure Mowglis had fewer than half the campers considered to constitute a full camp, today Mowglis is looking full and robust heading into the 2024 summer.

In this episode, Nick shares the road that led him to Mowglis and the journey since then that has led Mowglis back to its rightful place as one of the premier summer camps in the US.

It is said that we humans have two families, those into which we are born and those whom we choose. Holiday tables are filled with the families we choose, and who choose us, and express the power of belonging and camaraderie borne of our free will and affections. Often times, these members of our families are the ones for whom we have the greatest affection. Jay Kranis is just such a Mowglis brother. He is a brother of our choosing - and of his own choice.

Jay first heard about Mowglis from John Sprung, whose boys Jason and Larry had come to Mowglis through their mutual friend, Mowglis icon Donald Cummings. Jay's own sons, Andrew and Jordan, were Mowglis campers, and today, are a great source of pride for him. Andrew is a celebrated architect and preservationist, teacher and tour guide in Italy and Jordan is an Emmy-winning producer who from time to time runs with the same crowd as Mowglis brother Benji Ringe.

Jay was a member of the Holt-Elwell Board of Trustees at the critical time in the later 1990s and early 2000s when Mowglis' future was very much in doubt, though he is quick to say that the members of the board themselves were never in doubt. Thankfully, their determination saw Mowglis through that period, and today, he and the other members of those boards can take great pride in the vigor of Mowglis's life. We are all fortunate for the gift of his time and talents that helped to bring us to this place.

James Hart: A Heartwarming Farewell 

If there is one name that speaks Mowglis over the last 50 years it is the name Hart. So you can imagine the pressure that James Hart, 38, was feeling when he was chosen to be the very first Development Director at Mowglis. Sure it was nice to have so many fondly remembering his grandfather William B. Hart Sr or his uncle Bill Jr, his father Jim Hart, and his uncle Phil, but it also carried with it expectations that must have felt very weighty for James. Luckily, for all of us who love Mowglis, James was not deterred by the challenge of carving his own path, and he has done it in spades. diamonds, clubs and Harts. 

Before you panic about the fact that James is moving on from his full-time role at Mowglis, let me assure you that he's still expecting to play an active role in helping to build Mowglis' future. Additionally, he and Director Nick Robbins and the rest of the incredible team at Mowglis have orchestrated a smooth transition with a very strong duo of Mowglis men stepping in, without a moment's hesitation. 

James is moving on to the very important work of helping to conquer hunger and to address the problems that food waste creates including the climatic problems of that waste. 

In this podcast James reflects on his years at Mowglis and looks ahead to the challenges of working on development at Food Rescue. 

Harry Kendall came to Mowglis in 1965 and continued on every other year through Den and then a year on the staff. In 1969 Harry and Nat Hemenway set off on a day off intending to hitchhike to Woodstock but the best laid plans went awry and they landed at Hampton Beach after being told that getting to Yasger's farm was an impossibility. Because there were 3 boys in the family each was expected to work odd jobs to play a part in the expense of attending Mowglis and they did so without reservation.

Harry attributes the environmental ethos of Mowglis as the inspiration for his outlook on life and his professional priorities. Harry's company BKSK Architects would go on to develop the first civic building to earn the coveted Platinum LEEDS certification in New York City. The Queens Botanical Garden Visitor Center was NYC’s first civic building to earn a LEED Platinum certification.

Baird Standish came to Mowglis in 1969 and graduated from the Den in 1971. Along with his cousin Steve Minich . . . ok, yeah and Jr. Bender and Doug Beal among others His Blue Racing Crew holds a 50-year-old course record.

Steve Turnbull came to Mowglis in 1970 and graduated from Den in 1974. This coming summer will be his 50th anniversary and he's hoping to get as many of his dorm mates as possible to be there. He readily admits that living side by side with big achievers like Dave Cummings and Scott Frantz, Rob Werner and others brought out the best in him. Like many Mowglis he would pursue a lifelong career centered around the environmental ethos born at Mowglis, Steve as a Hydrologist, now working for the Army Corps of Engineers.

Jim Kingsley has a remarkable catalog of Mowglis traditions stored in his brain and having been through several major turning points for Mowglis those traditions matter to the sustainability and continuity of the Mowglis experience.

Jim Kingsley is a Mowglis enigma. While there is no doubt that he is a Mowglis man through and through his presence at Mowglis came in fits and starts. Few of us can say that we were there from the start . . . not the camps start, but our own. Jim Was. 

Jims dad Darwin P Kingsley was assistant Director at Mowglis under the Colonel after World War II and when the Colonel finally decided to sell Mowglis (it was a privately owned company back then) Colonel turned to Jim's dad.

Jim describes playing on the rocks outside of the Jungle House as a toddler as if he was in the "Valley of Giant Boulders" 

Milestones are kind of his thing when it comes to Mowglis, beginning with Colonel Elwell selling Mowglis to his dad, a reverent passing of the torch; then his father's traumatic decision choosing between the life of a camp director and a career in more traditional education. Finally, Jim witnesses the transition from private company to the Holt Elwell Memorial Foundation - securing Mowglis future. 

But Jim was witness to more than the milestones, he was also a keen observer of Mowglis traditions and he remembers them with an acuity that is remarkable. They are the stuff of future Mowglis Trivia quizzes - What exactly was the "mines report?", and, perhaps even the story of a patent opportunity missed - when porchball games built in the Mowglis Craftshop - became the "invention" of someone else: Fooseball.

He foldly recalls learning to play Cricket with Mr. Farouqi and following Mr. John Harmon the Tripmaster on the trail. 

Greg Coplans came to Mowglis as sailing instructor in 1972 and returned at the invitation of Mr. William B. Hart in 1973. In those two years he captured the hearts of campers and staff alike, was chosen to be Blue Crew Leader and honored with selection as the staff member on the Mount Washington Squad to join Mr. Andy Popinchalk, Mowglis Tripmaster.