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Over 40 Years at Clearpool
An Interview with Maria and Roger Febles
The spotlight this summer is on two people who know Clearpool best as they've been here the longest. We consider Roger and Maria Febles family
members—the kind you don't mind visiting with around the holidays. Enjoy this interview as you learn about our organization—theirs marks a beautiful and long chapter in the history of Clearpool.
When did you start at Clearpool?
R: I started over here in 1963 cooking for the summer camp. Back then Camp Clearpool and Camp Hines were
one. In the summer of '64, I actually worked at Camp Hines. During other years, until it was sold in 1968, we would make the supply order and send over the menus for them.
Were you working here then, too, Maria?
M: No. We didn't get married until after Roger came back from the army in 1968. He came to
Mexico where I was living with my family and we planned everything in 40 days! My family and friends were so surprised. They didn't know him.
R: Yes, I was in the army in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968. I would write to her every day.
M: The mailman would say to me that he was my personal mailman because there were always letters for me. He asked me who was sending these letters but I never told him.
How did you learn about Clearpool?
R: I worked at a private school for boys in Stony Brook, Long Island. The chef there told me about
it. We lived in Stony Brook and Maria and I started coming to Clearpool together in the summer of 1969. When it was a summer camp, we would have 500 people to feed everyday! The kitchen was much
simpler, too. We didn't have all of these nice appliances and no freezer back then. We had to be to work by 4 AM to get ready for the day. Students who were as young as 13 or 14 would assist us and we
had to train them. It wasn't always easy but they would learn everything within a few weeks. A lot of them really wanted to work in the kitchen because they could use those skills back home. Some of
them went on to become chefs.
M: If someone would've asked me if I was going to work in a kitchen before I came here, I would laugh at them. I graduated an accountant and I had been very focused on my studies.
How did you get started in the kitchen, Maria?
R: Oh, that was terrible! It was very hard to keep kitchen staff back then!
M: One
year early on, when Roger went back to Long Island on a day off, all four of our paid kitchen assistants packed up and left. We never even knew why. Roger's brother in law, who was only 17 at the time,
realized what had happened and somehow got in touch with Roger. It was not easy back then. When Roger found out, we had to come all the way back to Clearpool from Long Island in the middle of the
night. The director at the time said, "Maria, you're going to be Roger's assistant now." I told him that I knew nothing about cooking, but he said that he knew that I could do it.
And you really did it!
M: Yes, I loved it and I still do.
When did you start living here full-time?
R: I was asked to take over the kitchen full-time in the early 90's after the camp reopened
following the renovation. But I still had a daughter in school and because I worked in the private school, my children had been able to attend there for free. It was a very expensive school. I didn't
want to take Gina out of school, so we continued to work there until 1999. Also, we loved it there. It was very hard for us to leave the school and to leave our house in Stony Brook. But when Bob Behr
asked me to come here in 1999, we decided to make the move. It was more isolated but we loved the camp and the natural beauty.
What major changes have you witnessed at Clearpool over the years?
M: When girls came in 1972! That was a big change! It was about that
time that our school in Stony Brook also accepted girls.
How did it change things at the camp?
R: More trouble! But it was still a lot of fun. On hot summer evenings, we would give each kid a
hotdog, a bun, and a small drink. They would stick them in their pockets and we would hike up to either Indian Village (a rocky area across the lake) or up to Mount Siniva (sp?) (today the Blue Meadow). We
would roast hotdogs and relax. All there was to do was to look up at the stars and we loved it.
M: Back then it was like the country here. In the 60's Roger and other staff would walk to Carmel – there were no cars!
How long did it take you?
R: Oh about 45 minutes. We would go to the cinema to see a movie or to the store.
M: It was like an old country store – you could buy everything you needed in that store. Carmel was much smaller then.
What else is memorable for you?
R: In 1979 meningitis struck the camp. That was terrible and we were all very scared.
M: I was pregnant with our last child, Gina. When the nurse came, she told Roger to get me away from the camp immediately.
R: All of the kids had to go home then. The camp was quarantined. Several campers became very ill and one died. That was a very sad year. We never learned how it came here. The next year was much better.
M: Gina was born three weeks after that. We were very lucky that I was not infected and she was healthy.
R: In the summer of 1980, we celebrated her first birthday at the old farm. We had a big party for everyone. Maria made five big sheet cakes for all the campers! It was wonderful. We had so much fun. All of our children grew up here and they loved it. They loved being outdoors and playing with the farm animals. There were pigs, goats, rabbits and sheep.
What are your future plans? Will you stay at Clearpool?
R: We have property in Florida in Palm Coast. We discovered that area in
the mid-1970's and we love it down there. Back then it was remote like here at Clearpool. Today it's more crowded, but the beaches are still nice and quiet. We invested in real estate back in the 80's
and we have a house down there. We've been going there every year since then and we're looking forward to living there. Now we'd like to spend more time there and we'll be going down for about four months
a year in the winter until we take full retirement and move down there for good.
What will you miss the most when you're not at Clearpool?
R: Fishing! I've been fishing here since the very beginning and I love it.
M: I will miss everything. This is the second of only two jobs that I've ever had. I grew up in an urban setting in Mexico and coming here was where I learned about nature. Roger taught me how to
fish – how to hook the bait and everything. We would go in the afternoons after work. Even if we were tired, he would say "Let's go fishing!" and we would go.
What will you miss the least?
R: Getting up so early in the morning and the cold winters!
M: I agree, I won't miss getting up so early, but I don't mind the winters. I love to see the sun coming up over the tall trees and shining on the snow. I love the trees all year, especially in the fall. The colors are so beautiful!
What will you do when you live down there?
R: Fish! The fishing is great down there. I like to surf fish from the shore and I'll buy a
small fishing boat and go in the Intracoastal Waterway. And we'll relax.
M: I want to volunteer. There are opportunities through the local church. I want to help immigrants and children and wild animals, like the sea turtles. There are many things that we can do and I want to help people.
Well, we're glad that you've decided to stay with us for a few more years. We love you two and Clearpool wouldn't be the same without you!
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