Our major project: the Tom Baird Memorial Bridge

The 38th Ybee Weekend was a marvelous success and one of the best ever!

From August 30 to September 2, the Ybees gathered at Camp Wakonda near Halltown, Missouri for our 38th annual work weekend.  The weather scared us, but Friday was clear with a few sprinkles and Saturday was cool and overcast the whole day.  Perfect!  Our major project was (is) the Tom Baird Memorial Bridge, a 104' span over the Goose Creek.  The Baird Bridge replaces 7 previous versions that  

were swept away by the raging Goose Creek during flood stage.  We also added a storage building at the Ybee Climbing Tower, improved the gravel roads, removed dangerous trees, built 25 benches, organized the tool shop and prepared hundreds of fabulous meals including our famous Friday Night Seafood Feast.  Everyone agreed this was the best Ybee event ever!

PalVal prepares the giant Friday Night Seafood feast

Will hangs the official Ybee banner

Beau dodges the smoke from his BBQ cooker

Travis Miller inspects the bridge he designed with Mike Chiles

Jim and Kent begin work on the old pool house door

Mike and Travis Miller, the bridge engineer, inspection the two bridge sections.

Philip, Brian and Ed secure new fittings to a faucet.

Martin, Leif and Tom begin building Leopold Benches

Young Ybees pose for a picture

Staff members offered archery lessons to the Ybees

Will and Will prepare cedar planks for the bridge

Myra and Palval prepare lunch

Tom fastens together a new bench

Tom, Shawna and Martin build a bench

Mark makes a cut on the Tower Storage building deck

John Michael normally operates the heavy equipment but here he shows his painting skills.

Leif cuts treated lumber for the new Leopold Benches

Derrick Nowlin is running for public office, but he made time to help with the bridge

Mark explores the lovely back roads near camp with one of his high tech bikes.

Saturday evening featured a spectacular rainbow that covered the whole camp!

Brian and Beau secure all-thread anchors to the foundation

John and Todd saw floorboards to the right size

Twins John and Memes apply multiple layers of paint

John works on the bridge paint crew

Myra is a camp director and also a talented painter

Jim shown here in the cab of the Cat digging a trench

The Mighty Wills tighten the big bolts that old the two main sections together

Myra asked camp staffers to help rust proof the bridge

John used the big 88 excavator to smooth and improve the gravel road leading to the bridge

Matt sets posts and joists for the new Tower Storage Building

Ed and Brian ran cold water PEX piping from the source to provide drinking water to the bridge

Jim uses the Cat and a fancy trencher to run the new PEX water pipe

Originally we planned to run the floor boards tight together then we started thinking about possible water damage...

Joe Cool works to remove a dead ash tree that threatened the new bridge

John is returned from teaching on the west coast and at Harvard and now he works on the paint crew

The Wills work to get the spacing right on the native Ozarks cedar planks

Normally, Memes is a writer and photographer, but here she shows her paint chops

Planks organized on the bridge deck with Will spacing them

Lunch on Saturday was a big feast featuring shrimp cocktail from the previous night

From this drone shot you can see the layout and work area for the bridge

Jim used the Cat to move gravel from the foundation pit to the road where it was used to fill holes

There were a number of trees and debris that had to be removed and John and the 88 were a huge help

We saved big chunks of the fallen logs to be used for campfires next camp season

Martin is a valued member of the Bench Crew shown here making sure the new Timberloks are properly placed

Beau did the BBQ for the weekend but he is also handy with a chainsaw

The hard working Bench Crew made lots of long and short benches for camp including a set that will be used for the all-camp meeting site by the Bridge

John is shown putting yet another layer of rust proofing paint on the upright that will support the bridge

Camp provided staff to make sure visitors could safely climb the famous Ybee Climbing Tower

Matt finishes up the deck on the new Tower storage

Hannah sets out a huge lunch

Over half way to the top!

Shawna is on the Bench Crew but she also helps in the kitchen

First time to climb the Ybee Tower

Iris and Hazel ring the lunch bell

Jim and Brian carefully place the camp side upright on its concrete footing

Mary and Amada prep food in the new remodeled kitchen

Goose Creek was beautiful and lots of families were able to stash in the clean, clear water

Iris and Hazel on the bell!

Iris, Ingrid, Hazel and Tom in Goose Creek

We decided to add space between the cedar planks and Mark is shown here securing them to the steel frame

John and Mike are using spacer templates to get the right gaps in the planks

Big Ben helped drill holes and rig the lifting chains to put the riser in place.

The bridge crew sitting on the new plank floor: Jim, John, Mike, Mark and Will

Members of the Bench Crew take a break: Leif, Tom, Martin and Shawna

Another drone view of the bridge construction site

Drone view of the famous Climbing Tower and the new Tower Storage building

Commissioner Dave showing the work he did to clean up and organize the all important garage and work shop... originally built by the Ybees!

Jim cuts cedar planks and soon will be covered with bright red "Mars Dust"

Mark, Beau and John Michael rig the chapel side riser so we can get it across the Goose Creek

John muscles the big 88 excavator across the Goose Creek with the Chapel side riser.

Mark and Beau rig the riser so it can be spun into the exact position

John is a master of the big 88

The Chapel side riser crew: Beau, Mark and John Michael

View of from the bridge crossing looking west up the Goose Creek

Looking east down the Goose Creek

Planks are in place and the side walls are going up

Last big chore for the Bench Crew: distribute the new benches around camp

Mike stands on the new plank floor and works to put up the safety siding

Finally, the bridge gets inspected by PalVal, Hannah and Shawna

37th Ybees 2023 Weekend was Spectacular and clearly the Best Ever!

Under the watchful eye of the Blue Super Moon, Ybees gathered from the nether regions of the known Universe for the greatest Ybees event ever!  

​Attendance was strong, the food was amazing, the weather was perfect and we got everything done we promised the Y we would do.

This year we brought back the famous Friday Night Seafood Dinner and we had BBQ and fresh food from Ybees at every meal.

We also held a memorial service for two beloved Camp Wakonda camp directors who died recently:  Ally Barnes and Steve Altheimer. We sat on new Leopold Benches and enjoyed a new Leopold Table design that will help with outside dining.

Thanks to everyone who made this a wonderful experience and for the contributors to the Ybees Fund at the Community Foundation of the Ozarks who paid all of our material expenses!

​See you next year!

Our weekend begins with a Seafood Feast and then BBQ!

We move the Ybees BBQ Cooker into place.

PalVal sets the tablecloths

PalVal and Beau with fresh seafood ready for cooking

Yes, it was the best Friday night dinner in Ybees history.

Carolyn, Amanda and PalVal prepare the giant Friday night supper.

We used a big sea food cooker.

Hurry! Fresh food to the tables.

We served about 45 people Friday night.

Emily and her daughters helped wash the dishes!

Amanda found fresh Chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms and we enjoyed the for dinner.

Shawna and Cussin' Jeff prepare our Saturday dinner.

Sarah Simpson!

Lunch on Saturday.

Hadley is delivering food to the serving tables.

Saturday morning Carolyn made breakfast casseroles.

Hanna and Beau are smoking the brisket for Saturday dinner.

Jeff served his famous BBQ Pork Belly

PalVal and John Michael.

Lots of hungry people Saturday.

Saturday night dinner with BBQ brisket, ribs and all the fixins'

Seen from the drone, here is BBQ central at camp.

Carolyn mixes up her famous biscuits and gravy.

​We build a beautiful new Crown Deck

John Michael's got his big 88 machine working to prep the ground for the new deck.

The first ledger board goes in place.

John and Mark secure floor joists to the new band joist.

All the new joists are in place.

Matt and Will level up the new 6x6's.

You can see the new pergula structure taking shape.

Mark is in charge and making sure all is level!

Matt and John secure the new shade structures.

Drone shot of the progress.

The roof structure is complete.

Meet the Deck Crew: Mark, John, Matt, Amie and Will.

Here you can see the shade structure protecting campers from the afternoon west sun.

Will secures concrete bolts to the existing slab to hold the new deck.

Matt makes sure the first board in place is level.

Here's an early look at the new deck.

John digs another hole for the big 6x6 posts.

Mark makes sure the new uprights are secured to the existing deck.

Will lops off the tops of the 6x6 posts.

Mark looks at the crown features that will grace all sides of the new deck.

Wood going up!

Another drone view

Will cuts a lot of crown features.

We build 26 Leopold Benches and 7 new tables 

Kent Brown and Tom build the first Leopold Bench this year to make sure they have the perfect result.

Leif and Tom assemble the first of 7 new design Leopold Tables!

Leif and Tom are assembling one of the many Leopold Benches they made this year.

The Leopold Crew made 26 beautiful, sanded and sturdy new benches this year.

Seen from the drone, notice the layout of the Leopold work area and the finished products.

Tom, Richard, Shawna at work.

Tom is making an adjustment to the new table.

Leopold Crew working on a new table.

Leif made a zillion precision cuts for all the new benches and tables.

Marty helped deliver new benches to the Crown Deck Crew.

Shawna at work!

Mee thé Leopold Crew: Richard, Tom, Shawna and Leif!

The new Leopold Bench table is sturdy and good looking.

We build a 42 foot long Ally B Bouncy Bridge2! 

Will loads 4 sets of cattle panels that will form the structure of the new Bouncy Bridge2.

We dropped off the new tubes at camp wondering if we could pull this project off...

First chore: Steve, Mike and David cut the tubes into 4' lengths.

David cuts over 40 2x8 treated wood planks for the walking surface.

Cattle panels on top and below.

Will loads 3 sticks of 20' long 2" poly drain pipes that form the body of the new bridge.

You can see the cattle panels being unloaded.

Once the tubes are in line, Steve and Mike place the cattle panels on top.

Steve Schweitzer, a YMCA camper from 1955 secures the panels to the tubes.

We had to flip the whole structure over several times to secure everything.

Working on the top again, the Crew secures the new wood planks.

Mike, Mike and Steve make plans to secure the 4x6 ramps to each end.

Once again we flip the structure. For this work, we borrowed the Kitchen Crew, the Bridge Crew, the Leopold Crew and casual passers-by!

Brian fabricated custom pipe elements to tow the bridge and in this picture to allow the ramps to hinge.

Steve and Mike use carriage bolts to hold the wood deck in place.

You can see the detail of the new ramp and how it folds in place for hauling.

We needed everyone again to adjust the partially completed top deck.

We're getting ready to load the new bridge on a trailer to haul it down to the river site. We needed every hand to move it.

The big 88 excavator pulled the bridge on to the trailer.

The drone shows the bridge hauled into place. It is designed to be hauled on high ground each time rain threatens. So, we leave it here until next Spring.

We do projects all over Camp!

Storage is in short supply at camp, so we installed a new 8'x12' building behind the Archery Range with help from Camp Director Myra!

Dave worked all weekend to organize the camp garage and workshop.

Shawna with a new paintbrush applies UV protection to the handrail the Ybees built last year.

Marty seems to enjoy this task. Go figure!

Derrick carefully places the new building and makes sure it's level.

We started with a mountain of lumber and Will and Ed got it distributed to all the jobsites.

Will is our technical specialist, but he's also pretty good with a paint brush.

We needed a small crew to move a new cabinet to the pool area. Thanks to Myra, John Michael and Todd.

Loading and moving the cabinet.

Myra making sure everyone has a nice first impression as they enter the Rec Hall.

The bouncy entrance to Cabin 1 need attention from Beau and Hannah.

We had lumber left over for next year's work and John and Will stack it neatly.

That's me with a chain saw cutting a giant sycamore tree that fell on the path between the camp director house and camp.

Ed can do everything at camp and here he's fixing a plumbing problem in the ShowerHaus.

Beau made sure the entrance got new cables.

Myra is one hard working Camp Director.

The Rock & Road Crew at Work!

Rains washed out the main road at camp so John Michael and his 88 fixed the major ruts.

John Watt is a long time member of the famous Rock Crew.

Philip's Rock Crew rebuilt a popular rock structure along the cabin road.

The Rock Crew with giant rocks they harvested from the woods and stocked piled for use around camp.

The drone shows the new rock entrance to Cabin 2. Rains had made a mess so the new walkway will be strong and safe.

Kinda hard to see, but the new walkway is embedded and ready for use. Philip is the Lead for the Rock Crew.

Then, John graded the road with his CAT. Big Thanks to John and Jerry Hamilton of Hamilton and Dad for the great equipment.

John Michael uses the big 88 to fix the ruts on the gravel road that leads to the athletic fields.

Christian inside the CAT.

A lot of prep work is necessary for the new rock entrance.

Fine sandstone rocks are nearby but they have to be harvested, hauled and stored for new projects. Philip is at the controls.

We celebrate the work of two
​Camp Directors

Kent Childs conducts a Memorial Service for Ally Barnes and Steve Altheimer, two beloved Camp Directors who died recently.

Becky Logan sang during the service.

Former camp counselors: Dan, Kent, Russell, Pinto, Mark Becky and Mike.

The final resting place for a beloved friend: Steve Altheimer. That's me, Mike and Mark holding his ashes.

Several people stood and talked about the great work of Ally and Steve.

Myra holds a new quilt made of Camp T-shirts over the years. These were collected by Ally during her tenure at camp.

One of Steve Altheimer's final requests was for his ashes to spread at Chapel Rock. Mark, Mike, Amie and Dan are on the trail to the top.

Now Steve belongs to the sandstone rocks and the four winds.

Meet some of the Ybees!

Myra with bows.

Mike and Myra.

Carolyn and Marty.

Leif and his beautiful Mom, Becky.

PalVal and Mikey.

Taylor and Grant.

A tradition with the Ybees: Low stakes Poker!

Yes, the competition was fierce!

Philip and John.

Sisters! Carolyn and Sarah.

Newlyweds Matt & Myra.

Rene and Foo Gibson on their 33th wedding anniversary!

All the way from Texas: Luke, David and Jen.

We couldn't have the Ybees without Mark Sechler.

Ybees gather for the Sunday night BBQ chicken dinner.

The pool was open and Myra provided Lifeguards.

Joe Cool and Mike.

Memes and Mike.

---

Last Year's Ybee Event​

36th Annual Ybees 2022 Weekend
​was the Second Best Ever!

After a two year Covid delay, Ybees from the known universe met at YMCA Camp Wakonda over Labor Day weekend to work, build, feast and frolic!

The weather was perfect.  The view of the Heavens from the top of the Ybees Tower was spectacular.  The food was sublime.  The company was beyond compare and the projects were a huge success. ​

​You can see the pictures below.  If you like any of the these, feel free to download them and use them for any purpose.

This year, we were made possible by generous cash donations from Ybees supporters including Kent Chiles, Lora Thomas, Steve Altheimer, Steve Schweitzer and Mike&Dan Chiles.  We have a new account with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks under "Ybees" should you have any amount you'd like to donate.

Everyone agreed, this was the best Ybee event ever.  Make plans for next year when we hope to meet again from September 1-4, 2023.

Huzzah!  Dan

We install the new Ybees StoreHaus

John Michael preps ground for the new StoreHaus

The new StoreHaus arrives just in time.

Matt sets the foundation posts.

Philip, Ed & Matt lock in the rock steps with gravel.

John & Kendall set the foundation blocks

Ed & Matt set the frame for a small deck.

Philip and the RockCrew set the rock steps in place.

PalVal & Dave enjoy the view from the new deck.

We make major repairs to the Garage

The Garage Lean-to needed serious repairs. Beau & Mark were the leads on this project.

We decided the old 30 year old roof desperately needed replacement.

John & Mike do the dirty work.

Pierre & Steve pounded down the old nails.

Will did the heavy work of handing up the new roll roofing.

Tom rolls out new roofing.

Not a pretty picture, but you can see the repaired lean-to and the new roofing.

Mark rebuilds the lean-to.

Mark & John set new framing.

We put together a crew to clean up all the old shingles and the nails.

Steve tracks down every nail.

John made repairs to the roof deck.

Mark presses down the new adhesive roofing.

We rebuild the Rec Hall Railing

The old railing was in terrible shape and had to be removed and completely rebuilt. Beau was the lead.

Will sets a new 4x4 post.

Beau shows how a married couple stays together.

Blake sets the new pickets.

Philip, Robert and Will sort out the lumber supply.

Beau explains the bottle jack to Blake and Robert.

Hanna & David straighten the new 4x4 post.

Robert is a famous little league pitcher and now he is setting new pickets for the new railing.

Hanna, David & Will at work.

Shawna & Hanna set most of the pickets in place.

Will & Hanna know this is a high profile project.

The new railing is beautiful.

We build 22 new Leopold Benches

Richard & Tom start cutting pieces for the new Leopold benches.

Marty drives in TimberLoks to secure the side pieces.

John & Marty with Timberloks.

This year, Iris is our youngest Bench Builder.

This was a very good year for bench production.

Will drove all the way from KCMO to help.

Tom & Ames secure the backs of the benches.

Ames practices her wood sculpture skills.

Tom & John work to distribute the new benches throughout camp.

We enjoy four days of fabulous food!

Beau, PalVal & Araceli worked tirelessly in the kitchen.

The IceCream Crew ladled out cool homemade ice cream.

Beau preps the chicken for the huge Sunday Night feast.

PalVal watches the Saturday night ribs carefully.

Hadley & Sarah were on clean up duty.

Amanda helped with al the dirty dishes.

Jen & PalVal make homemade biscuits.

Carolyn made bacon for a hearty breakfast.

Cussin Jeff adds rub to the chickens before they go to the smoker.

Iris & Tom with the lavish lunch.

Carolyn made treats for the Bench Crew.

Nobody went hungry all weekend.

Hamilton & Dad Earthmoving Projects

Thanks to Jerry of Hamilton & Dad, we had access to two earth moving machines!

Christian works the 88 Tractor to remove old logs from the lagoon.

Christian cuts the old logs that were blocking a trail.

Off goes another irritating stump.

The 88 excavator sets rocks for the new StoreHaus.

Christian and the 88 dig out old nasty stumps.

John removes an old stump.

Philip and the RockCrew found hundreds of big rocks in the woods. We used these for the StoreHaus steps.

We install lockers in the ShowerHaus

Ava was in charge of the Crew to clean the lockers at the ShowerHaus.

Pierre made sure the new lockers were bolted securely in place.

Steve & Pierre bolted the lockers to the wall.

The new lockers will keep towels and other stuff off the floor.

We install new LED lights in the Rec Hall

Amanda & Will worked for days to remove all the old lights and install brilliant new LED's.

The new LED lights are safer and more efficient.

Will worked with the old wiring somehow...

This picture isn't great, but you get the idea. New, brighter, safer and more efficient lights for the Rec Hall.

The Garage Shop gets organized!

Dave found the garage ( A Ybees project) in this shape...

Mike & Mark hold a Kaizen event to clean the garage.

Aimee sweeps up nails and debris from the old roof.

And after four days of work, it looked like this!

Mark uses his famous jump show muscles to help clean the garage.

Dave manages the old chemicals.

We fix a drip & the Arts Building

Mark plugs the roof gaps so the air conditioning will work better in the Arts & Crafts building (A Ybees project).

Random scenes from our Ybees weekend

Tom & Iris haul scraps to the Camp Pig.

Not everyone needs a cabin for the weekend.

Mike, Dan, Dave and Mark discuss the plans for the future camp from the Long Range Plan.

How many Ybees will fit on a golf cart? Erin, John, McKayla, Marty and Taylor.

Kiddos and their moms in the shade.

The camp pool was clean, cool and wonderful.

We use a lot of tools during the annual Ybees weekend.

We've conducted the annual Ybee poker game for 36 years.

The crews meet at the TP right before the supper bell.

The Ybees event was well attended this year.

PalVal drives the human powered camp truck.

Ybee Portraits

Shawna.

Myra and Matt.

Hazel, Tom, Ingrid & Iris.

Ice Cream Crew PalVal & Mike.

Mark & Aimee.

Mark, Mike, Mark & Aimee

Mike and Mark talk about the Park Board.

Tom & Iris

John Michael.

Philip.

Richard & Sarah.

The final clean up crew at camp: John, Mike, Dave, Beau and Will.

Mark on his high tech mountain bike.

Jerry & Carolyn.

Ybee One Mark & Doctor Jen.

Dave in the garage.

Mike.

John Watt and John.

Sarah.

Ava.

Jen, Ames, Iris and Mary Ellen.

Assistant camp director Myra.

Baby Hazel.

Sarah.

Hannah & Jen.

Iris.

Sarah & Mary Ellen.

Christian and the Cat.

Mark & PalVal.

Araceli, Casper and Blake.

Ole Cussin' Cousin Rich.

Mike the Neighbor.

Brian and passengers.

Will.

Jen, Hazel, MargyMay and Luke.

Luke & Jen.

Mike and Will.

Jeff & Casper.

John.

Dave.

Luke and David.

Margo & Casper.