Pablo Lloyd came to Mowglis in 2013 along with his brother Alexander. In the summer of 2021 and 2022 he returned as a member of the Mowglis staff, following in the footsteps of his dad Tom who came to Mowglis as a young camper and then returned to become a member of the staff. Pablo obviously cherishes the memories of his year as a camper but his years on the staff have really made it all come together for him.

All the Way to Mowglis from Area Code 69148 - Singleton Bender Jr.

Jr. Bender came to Mowglis in 1968 from his home in Piney Woods Mississippi. Mr. Hart had made a conscious effort to begin diversifying Mowglis and reached out to leaders in the African American community seeking out boys who would have an interest in attending Mowglis. Today he is living in the San Francisco Bay area and has been for many years. Junior relays a few tales from his days at Mowglis that I had not even heard about!

Dr. Tomoharu Nishino, “Tomo” to most of us, is the epitome of quiet competence. He’s always been that way even as a cub, even when he was playing “Hello Dolly” along with Ian Brown on the trumpet and Abe Unger on the guitar! (He’s also obviously a good sport - who doesn’t take himself too seriously!)

Since the position of Akela is already occupied by Mowglis Director Nick Robbins it is difficult to place Tomo in a specific role, vis a vis the Jungle Book, but perhaps it is the role of wise old Baloo who zealously guards the pack from his position as wise and respected teacher. 

For a man of such accomplishments: Cox of the winning blue racing crew, member of the Mount Washington Squad, and now President of the HEMF Board of Trustees, Tomo is a modest and quiet leader to whom we all look for his wise leadership.

In this podcast Tomo marvels at the amazing staff who occupied the Mowglis firmament in his camper days, including Mr. Hart and , while acknowledging the amazing Mowglis campus and the great traditions, especially attributes the Mowglis Spirit to the men and women who - over the years - have given so much to make Mowglis, Mowglis.

Mowglis Memories Podcast

The Winding Road to Mowglis Spirit

A Conversation with Tom Lloyd

1982-84, Staff and crew coach 1993, Trustee - Holt Elwell Memorial Foundation

Tom came to Mowglis in 1982 with his best friend from elementary school Michael Lampson and he remained through his Toomai year. Michael convinced him to come and it was only later that he learned that his family had a long history with Mowglis.His Grandfather also attended Mowglis (1910 & 11 camper and in the 20’s as camp doctor) as did his great uncle, though he didn’t discover it until after he was already a Cub.

After a stellar high school career at the Shipley School where he helped power one of the best high school crew teams in the US, including being invited to race at Henley in England, Bob Bengtson convinced him to return to Mowglis as crew coach in 1993. It didn’t take much convincing, Tom was already a loyal Mowglis and this was his chance to “give back.” As it turns out, his experience was as transformational for Tom as it was for the boys he coached and within a few years Tom joined the Holt-Elwell Memorial Foundation Board of Trustees, helping Mowglis through a very difficult period, reflecting a changing world transforming from one era to the Internet age. 

Tom’s sons Alexander and Pablo both went to Mowglis, Pablo is now on the staff.

Al Reiff is a name that spans a lot of time at Mowglis. The tongue in cheek title of this podcast really just ties together the Al Reiff we know and love and the long-time teacher of Mathmatics at the Taft School (38 years - though looking at him you'd never know it!). Al remembers his Mowglis experience from his early days in Cubs and Toomai as well as sharing many of his thoughts on the Mowglis experience.

James came to Mowglis in 1980. His dad is Arthur Bradbury who was a camper and staff member including a number of years as Mowglis Watermaster.. James rose through the ranks to become tripmaster for 2 years.

From his position today at the Georgetown University Climate Center James Bradbury takes the science that he has learned over the years, beginning here in New Hampshire and later at Colorado College (BS), the University of New Hampshire (MS) and UMass Amherst (PhD) and turns it into policy and strategy to help the states address the many challenges of Climate Change. 

James attributes his love of the natural environment to his years at Mowglis, School of the Open, where he developed skills that have paved the way for a life of purpose bringing him to today when he is a leader in environmental policy around the challenges of Climate Change. 

Jeff Gilfoy came to Mowglis in 1962 and graduated from the Den in 1965  

Living at the time in Needham, MA and Jeff and his dad went to a Mowglis presentation, probably by then-director John Adams. He was enthused by what he saw and signed up immediately. The following summer he beganis Mowglis years in Toomai when it was the second youngest dorm in the pack.

Den 1965:  Jim Edwards, Sam Bettle, Jon Feuer, Worthy Johnson, Robert O’connor, Scott Gibbs, Sam Hertzler, Chris Howard, Jeff Gilfoy, Chris Spindler, John Ross, & Dave Beall

Will Scott is part of a long Mowglis Legacy. Both his father and his uncle attended Mowglis as did his cousin Jon and his nephew Ethan. 

His first visit to Mowglis found him sitting at the “Household Table” under the watchful eyes of Irene Gibbs with John Woods (Den 1969) as table boy.

While today Will is an avid hiker he did not start out that way and he recounts the journey from reluctant hiker to Washington Squad in this podcast.

Will has returned to Mowglis regularly and has served as a member of the Holt Elwell Board of Trustees most recently. 

Woody Merriman comes from a long line of Mowglis men. His dad and his uncles all attended Mowglis and his father (also Lockwood Merriman) was a member of the Holt Elwell Memorial Foundation Board of Trustees, as was Woody.

Like many Mowglis alumni Woody can rattle off all of the important, and prestigious, institutions with which he has been associated in his life and adamantly states that Mowglis was the most important source of who he became as a person.  Who he became as a person is a fellow that everyone is fond of, who still hikes and camp but eschews the limelight (if you wondered why we used a 1961 Red Racing crew photo for this podcast it’s because Woody is a very private fellow and shies away from having his picture taken!). 

We caught up with one another at the Mowglis work weekend where I interviewed Woody, with some “help” from my Belgian Shephard Kodi - no, all that panting you hear in the background isn’t Woody, but he was kind enough to say that it helped create an air of authenticity so we went with it.

Jay and Sandee Brown

Cub Parents 1977 - 1987

Sandee's family - the Wooleys - were close friends with legendary Mowglis Director William B. Hart Sr and his college roommate Harvey Russell who wrote the Jungle Song and the Mowglis Goodnight song.

The Browns came to Mowglis in 1977 and were Cub parents for 10 years. 1977 was not their first visit to Mowglis which came in 1963, on their honeymoon trip. 1963 was year 1 of the Holt Elwell Memorial Foundation and Director William B. Hart. 

Sandee and Jay had 25 Cubs in their first year, likely a record number and those numbers remained fairly consistent throughout their tenure.

Sandee was named US Conservation Teacher of the year in 1990, she credits her Mowglis experience with inspiring her understanding of the natural environment and her love for it that led her to receive this national recognition.