...
I nominate Birdie Elizabeth Kallman (1880-1963) for the Northrop
Hall of Fame. She served as treasurer from 1925 until her death in
1963. She was an extraordinary fund raiser and served as camp
director for several years during the 1950's. These two photos were
donated by her nephew, Lee Mergentine, who joined the board shortly
after Miss Kallman died, and remained on the board for almost 30
years.
--Joe Gerver
"I've got soup to sell, boys" said Miss Kallman. That invitation usually resulted in several campers partaking of more, but not this evening. I declined firsts. Most others did so on seconds. This was extraordinary - food returning to the kitchen. If Mrs. Foster cooked it, how could we not like it? How?...It was pea soup!
The next day at lunch, Miss Kallman brought out the biggest batch
of gravy I had ever seen and announced that we could have all the
bread and gravy we wanted. What a treat!
"How's the gravy", she asked.
"Delicious".
"Do you notice anything different?"
"Well, it tastes okay and the texture is kind of grainy." - (but what
it lacks in quality, it makes up for in quantity).
She wisely waited till evening when all of lunch was digested and
before supper was served to announce, "Do you remember the
gravy?"
Nods.
"I asked Mrs. Foster to use last night's pea soup as the base." and
she grinned. And after gagging mildly, I grinned too. She was one
clever camp director and I carefully watched and listened to her to
see what else I could learn.
--Gus Hercules, Camper '56
Does anyone else remember some other version of this true story?