There are many wonderful things siblings share, but there is one I’d like to chat about today.  I think it is one of the most special bonds brothers and sisters share - memories of their mother.  These are powerful memories that evoke immediate reactions from the heart. They often cause one to glance to one another.  I too have a sibling whom I am blessing to share memories with.  We often can be caught smiling at one another recalling a childhood memory of our mother, our little inside joke so to speak.  Though there were many challenges and some memories that were unpleasant, we choose to see them as building blocks and we focus on the good ones. 
 
We can recall particular moments in our lives with our mom that brought us comfort, stability, joy, a sense of belonging, and of love.  Unknowingly we have taken great care in our memory to recall specific details to create a mental image of that specific instance.  We remember what mom looked like; her approximate age; the clothing she wore; her hair color; and how she styled her hair.  We could recall what she was doing and where she was.  We even remembered other things that later became more significant to us like the smell of fresh baked pies; mom’s perfume; and every detail of the very jewelry mom wore.   
 
The same is true for Susan.  Susan is a local high school teacher who shared with her sisters a wonderful memory.  A memory of their mother wearing a scarab bracelet.  Susan’s desire was that all three sisters would enjoy the bracelet, but how?  She would solve the problem by giving each sister two scarabs.  What do you do with two scarab cabochons with such importance?  You seek help to create unique custom jewelry.  A friend of Susan’s suggested she contact me to commission the redesign of the bracelet into three sets of earrings.
 
Susan and I met for a short consultation where I listened to her story, desires, and style preferences.  After I examined the bracelet, it was very evident that her mother loved wearing the bracelet because it had obvious signs of being worn a lot.  Such a special piece with all the wonderful memories associated with it is a key element in the memories of their mother.  I wanted to bring honor to those memories by making something each sister could own, wear often, and even pass down to her children. Together we agreed upon a process, redesign plan, and I set to work.
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I’ve introduced you to Camp Breac back in January with our “Leaping Trout” chainsaw sculpture project.  Now I’d like to share with you a bit more about Camp Breac’s mission and how we made a boot rack into art.  Camp Breac is a historical site and is a fly fishing community for our military, veterans, and their families with the mission of conservation of natural resources, the arts, & education conveniently located on Spring Creek in Bellefonte, PA.

It all began in September with a phone call from Jim Lanning.  If you ever met Jim, you know you are going to spend some time…as you enjoy an Irish Coffee or a cold beer from the tap while you are brought up to speed about the latest happenings within the camp.  Jim relies on many volunteers to help with projects ranging from stream improvements, land and facility upgrades and maintenance.  Always with conservation, community involvement, and recycling in mind. 
During one of these chats, Jim shared a problem, a wet stinky problem.  As part of the camp’s mission to educate they offer fly fishing education, hands-on training, and even supply the equipment needed.  The problem was lots of wet smelly fishing waders and boots.  After a great day on the stream fisherman and women hang their boots and waders up on hooks in an upright position indoors.  The result is they don’t get completely dry.  Jim’s needed was a growing concern and he desired to have an outdoor boot rack conveniently located allowing the boots and waters to dry out in the fresh air before being stored indoors.  As easy as this may sound to do, Jim had some pretty interesting requirements…

First it had to hold at least twelve pairs of boot and tall waders. Next, it had to be constructed of recycled materials, materials sourced from the camp itself or locally.  It also had to fit within the camp’s theme and mission.  The location had to be easy for the fisherman and women to get to and close enough to the indoor storage area. Jim, Ed, and I scouted the landscape and agreed upon the location.  With such a visible location Ed and I knew a board and some pegs just wouldn’t do.  We truly wanted to show our appreciation to the many veterans and service members visiting the camp.  We left the camp with a 14’ board laying on the passenger side mirror and tied to the side of our pickup truck.

 Ed and I were excited about the project and discussed ideas all the way home.  After tossing around several ideas, we landed upon one we both had passion to build.  It started out as a simple and relatively easy project and grew into a very large and detailed project.  We took great care to use recycled materials, selecting materials sourced or manufactured in Pennsylvania.  Thanks to the Penn State students who unknowingly suppling us with wine bottles, and Yuengling beer cans as we pilfered through their recycle bins.  And a big shout out to the staff at Champs on North Atherton as they collected bottle caps and shared in our enthusiasm.

The Crow’s Nest was buzzing with activity.  Ed started his chainsaw and chips were flying everywhere.  When the saw stopped, I hardly recognized the plain flat board we brought home.  After large holes were drilled into the textured wood, I began painting.  Using colors native to the creek at the camp the board was no longer a board, it had been transformed into a flowing stream that 2 large 4’ trout were going to be leaping out of to catch a tasty handtied fly.

With the vision of the art piece was clear in our minds, it was time to prepare the site, the location where the art in boot rack form would like.  I was very grateful to be accompanied by Jim, and two volunteer veterans Chuck and Godfrey.   They made quick work of pruning and weeding.  Chuck being skilled at building rock walls took on the task constructing rock tiers within garden area and Jim filled in the platform with pea gravel.

It was a large project and admittedly I felt overwhelmed, not just by the size, but I had underestimated how much more difficult it would be to turn recycled materials into usable pieces and how many hundreds of pieces I needed for just one 4 foot fish.  I truly understood the saying “Nothing is ever as easy as it looks!”  Thankfully my mother, Sandy stepped in to lend a hand with cutting hundreds of rows of scales out of aluminum cans. 

The rest of the story is better told in pictures. Click here to view the album of our visual story making the fish boot rack.
On Veteran’s Day, November 11th, 2020 we honorably dedicated “A Good Day Fishing” aka Art in Boot Rack Form with everyone wearing masks due to the Covid 19 pandemic, to all veterans and service members who were there and will visit Camp Breac.  We thank you.

A pair of empty military and a pair of fishing boots in honor of those who served and did not return home will be bronzed and place under the rack on pedestals as soon as possible.

I encourage you to visit Camp Breac, meet Jim Lanning, and see if he has time for a tour and a beverage. Tell him “The Crows sent you”.
Comment back to me and tell me all about your experience at Camp Breac and how you like our art work.

​"It is with great respect and appreciation to our family, friends, and community who have served in the armed forces, we say thank you.  May the one that got away, be as large as our Yuengling Trout."   Janise & Ed Crow

Veterans Godfried, Charles (Chuck), Walt, & Jim
Sandy, Tani, Holden, Sparkles, Ed, & Janise

​I want to tell you about a little-known place that is making a big difference. It’s called Camp Breac and is located in historical Bellefonte, PA along Spring Creek which is a popular trout fishing stream.  It’s proprietor James Lanning, Jim for short, has a heart that is bigger than his body.  Jim is a retired police officer from California whom has continued his public service by acting as an advocate for military veterans, public service members, and Clearwater Shed.   Jim and his wife, Denise’s compassion, hospitality, and vision are contagious and all who meet them are quickly brought into the fold.  That’s how it was for Ed and I.  What started as favor for a friend to look at an old tree that had fallen down leaving a rather tall ugly stump standing in the center of the front yard, quickly turned into a lifelong relationship. 
After a tour of Camp Breac and one of Jim’s famous Irish Coffees made with local spirits from Big Spring Spirits the place begins to feel like home.  You quickly settle in and the many faces you meet are new family members that you share a common connection to.  For Ed and I, we are children of veterans with many family members that were part of the armed forces.   I particularly felt at home.  As I sipped my coffee, surrounded by veterans listening to their stories, my mind drifted to images of my childhood surrounded by military and civil servants and the feelings of comfort and a sense of belonging came over me.  Memories of my father, an Army veteran, came to mind as I sat chatting with and observing several more veterans.  I wondered if they realized how simply being in their presence brought me joy.  We left that day honored to be a part of Camp Breac’s mission and became part of the family. 
Jim had a dream to turn that ugly stump into something special for everyone to enjoy.  As family members do, we help each other out with time and talents, it was not different to Ed and I.  We agreed to take on the project and understood why Ed was recommended for the task.  Ed is known for his giant leaping fish carvings and this tree stump was perfect for one.   
It was winter when Ed began cutting into massive stump with his chainsaw.  It took him two weekends to carve the “Leaping Trout” that stands about 9 feet tall and faces Spring Creek.  After the color was added to the base to resemble the creek, Jim and veterans painted on the clear sealant coat. Another avid fisherman tied the large fly that hangs above the trout. 
Art in the outdoors is part of our mission and teaming up with Camp Breac is a natural fit.  We look forward to meeting more of our community and working on projects together in the future.