Mowglis Memories

Call him Rabbi Unger, Dr. Unger, Professor Unger if you will but Mowglis brothers and sisters refer to him simply as Abe.

In 1977 Abe Unger joined the Cubs as a young movie celebrity - coming one week late because he had been starring in and shooting the "Bad News Bears in Japan" movie. Abe was barely aware of all the hub bub that occurred before his arrival, Mr. William Hart, Mowglis Director had manufactured that with newspaper clippings and promo photos but everyone at camp was aware that they were about to be joined by a "celebrity". Abe, however, treated the whole thing as just another life experience and he was soon fully immersed in the Mowglis experience, including starting the "Holt Elwell Memorial Band" with Tomo Nishino and Ian Brown, accompanied by Mr Hart. Their first performance was "Hello Dolly" and though we don't know if they were joined by Mr. James "Iggy" Westberg doing his famous imitation of the great Satchmo Armstrong, I'm guessing that at some point it all came together.

I caught up with Abe recently and our conversation was filled with fond memories and a good deal of the life philosophy as written by Kipling: "We be of one blood, brothers (and sisters) all."

Dick Backus came to Mowglis on the staff in 1965, introduced to the camp by his sister who had worked at Onaway. He joined an iconic staff that included the Boicourt Brothers, Robert Ulery, Stu Klein, John Gilbert.

Dick laughs when he describes coming to camp as the nature counselor with equipment his father, an amateur entemologist  and full time Doctor provided to him - including kill jars - and he was promptly told by Mr. Hart that killing our insect brothers and sisters was not the "Mowglis way" a point of view that Dick admired and adopted himself.

As a student at Harvard, Dick had already caught the acting bug and he was actively acting in college and stock circles but he was caught up in the Mowglis spirit and luckily for us he continued to return to Mowglis for 3 years when he could easily have been acting in summer stock.

Of course that didn't stop him from bringing his skills to Mowglis and in this podcast he describes a Sci-Fi play involving the camp dishwasher as time-travel machine with detailed costuming and makeup provided by the iconic Stuart Klein!

Dick went on to an illustrious career as not only an actor but also a writer. 

Julian Kingsley joined the boys who would one day be the Den of 2006 in his Baloo summer 2003. Today he has a young family, a career and a new patent!

EP 57 Mowglis Memories with Ted Mariner (Den 1995). Ted came to Mowglis in 1991 when he joined Toomai for the second half of the summer. He never looked back after that attending for five years as a camper and one year on the Jr. Staff.

Paul Popinchalk came to Mowglis along with older brother Andrew in 1968. In 1968 the two were crew leaders with Paul heading the Blues and Andy the Red Crew. In 1969 both brothers returned with Paul coming back as the crew coach. Although Paul was only on the staff at Mowglis for 2 years his impact has had a very long tail with many Mowglis folks citing Paul as a staff member who had a big impact on their lives. Mowglis also had a big impact on Paul himself. Who rejoices on hiking in the Whites in both summer and winter with his Mowglis brothers and being introduced to rock climbing as well as the White Mountains.

Scott Frantz (Den 1974) is the son of Leroy Frantz who went to Mowglis in early 40s and the brother of Ted Frantz who was a member of the 1973 Den.

After Mowglis Scott, who stroked the winning Blue Racing Crew, rowed for Princeton in college, won a national championship, and was invited to row at Henley. His crew's performance was so exciting that a race fan came running over to the boat to greet them at the end of the race. I won't take away the thrill of having you hear about that race and the excited fan from Scott himself.

Chris Hedges is a pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of 14 books. His courageous work as a war correspondent led him to refuse to be "embedded" during conflicts with Iraq and others to protect the integrity of his reporting. He also found himself the target of a bounty on his life from Saddam Hussein following the first Iraq war because he was determined to tell the honest story of the Kurds.

From the lanai of his home in Honolulu Hawaii 1973 graduate Robert Collins Howe shared with me some of his Mowglis memories including a Cub raid on the Den after several of the Cubs had been unceremoniously introduced to the Den Mouse. Mr. Hart was none too happy but the daring dinnertime raid became part of the legend of the summer in Bob's first year.

Peter Kingsley came, officially, to Mowglis in Baloo after 2 years as the child of Director Darwin P. Kingsley. His brother Jim also has a storied history at Mowglis, including a stint as Cub Director back in the early 2000s.

In this interview he shares with us his own memories of Mowglis including his fondness for counselor Shad Farouqi of India John Harmon, and Bill Hart Jr. as well as his memories of his father who was director at Mowglis following the retirement of Colonel Elwell.

Peter has been an instrumental part of the process to document Mowglis history and is a regular at work days and other pre-covid activities.

Peter shares with us the very interesting story of coming to live in NH in recent years in a unique co-housing community in Peterborough as well as his love for contra dancing.

"Rob" Werner (Den 1974) and his wife Marianne Gashnig make their home in Concord NH. Rob is New Hampshire Director of the League of Conservation Voters, a national advocacy organization and a member of the Concord City Council.

Rob has made his life's work fighting for the kinds of environmental and human rights policies that Mowglis helped to instill in him. Today, he is a national leader in the fight to slow the ravages of climate change and create a more sustainable future for all of us.

Rob was also a critical player in the fight against the Northern Pass Electric transmission project that would have brought 135' steel transmission towers straight down through the heart of the state including the White Mountain National Forest.

As the New Hampshire State Director for the League of Conservation Voters, a national advocacy organization Rob works to turn environmental values into national, state, and local priorities. Rob also previously served as the National Field Director of Americans for Campaign Reform.

A public policy analyst and advocate, Rob has also organized successful advocacy and legislative campaigns for the American Heart Association, Smoke-Free NH Alliance, and the American Cancer Society. 

Rob is a 1974 graduate of Mowglis, a graduate of Northfield Mount Hermon School and the University of Vermont. He earned a Masters of Business Administration from Suffolk University as well as two certificates from the Harvard Kennedy School, Senior Managers in State and Local Government and Climate Change and Energy Policy. Rob serves on the Concord City Council, chairing the Energy and Environment Advisory Committee

Active in the Greater Concord, NH Chamber of Commerce, Rob serves on the State Government Affairs Committee.. Rob serves on the board of the Harvard Club of New Hampshire and Chairs the Harvard Kennedy School New Hampshire Network. Rob is a graduate of Leadership New Hampshire and a member of the Bow, NH Rotary Club.