Avon Old Farms School - Winged Beaver Yearbook (Avon, CT)

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NIMROD CLUB Left to Right: FIRST ROW.' Bennett, Mr, Durpheyg Jones, R., Riendeaug Estabrook. SECOND ROW: Slaymaker, Fa- vorite, Bannigan, Pepper, Raffa, Sherman, Stokvis, J., Lin- On Sunday mornings, when most people are still in bed, a small group of boys can be seen heading for the woods, usually with an axe over their shoulders. These are members, or potential members of the Nim- rod Club on their way to Sunday morning work crew. The Nimrod Club is, in essence, an outdoor club concerned with the woods and streams of Avon, and this work crew is an important phase of its activi- ties. In the fall months, during work crew, the club generally chops wood for use in the cabin during cold months ahead. In the winter, roads and the club driveway are kept clear from the ever present snow. Extensive work on the interior of the cabin is carried on. When Spring arrives, work crew devotes itself to stocking Avon's waters with trout. The stream is cleaned out and dams are built providing better fish- ing conditions. Wlork crew, although not always the eoln. THIRD ROW: Scarlett, Walker, H., Jones, H., Towers, Duff, A., Duff, R., Carson, Zinsserg Valentine. FOURTH ROW: Herz, Minnick. most enjoyable, is certainly one of the most important of the clubis activities. Thursday night cabin suppers have always been a suc- cess and probably always will be as long as Sid Riendeau is around to cook them for the club. Each Thursday night after a delicious dinner, the club has its weekly meeting. It is here that the affairs of Avon's woods are brought up and discussed by all the club members. During the winter months excellent Fishing and hunting movies are shown after the meeting. The club officers for the first half year were Rick Duff, President, Rob Jones, Vice-President, John Towers, Secretary, and Dick Bennett, Treasurer. A great deal of thanks is to be given to Mr. Durphey and Sidney Riendeau for their help in making this year a successful one for the Nimrod Club.

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t sf, , .w -f Left to Right: FIRST ROW: Herz, Favorite. SECOND ROW: Lincolng Folcikg Hosfordg Pepperg Bannigang Estabrook, Mr. Durphey, Jones, R. The Sugar Bush Club, under the direction of Mr. Wilbur Durphey, carries on a rather unique operation considering Avon's geographical location. It is not un- common in traveling in a more northern section of the country to see the sap buckets clinging to the sugar maples but such a scene is not commonplace in Connecticut. Awaiting the advent of the warm days needed to make the sap flow, the club chops wood to be used the following year, and readies the equip- ment that will be needed shortly. The sugaring process is not overly complicated but requires vast amounts of physical labor and time. Since the club's evaporator, especially built in Burling- ton, Vermont, is heated by a wood fire, many cords of wood must be cut before operation begin. Holes are then drilled in the trees and spickets hammered into the holes. A bucket is hung from the tap, from one to 95 three buckets depending on the size of the tree. Dur- ing the warm day the sap Hows through the veins of the tree and drips into the buckets. The sap flows drop by drop but the buckets are often filled in a period of twenty-four hours. The sap is collected once a day and stored in a tank beside the sugar house to be then fed into the evaporator. The sap is then boiled into syrup. Since thirty-five gallons of sap are required to make one of syrup, one can easily see that a great deal of boiling is necessary. Mr. Durphey then cans the syrup and prepares it for sale. It is sold to students and friends of the school, and the profits are put into the club treasury. The funds are then used to provide necessary items such as bucket, cans, filter, and a steak dinner for the boys who give their time.

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