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Polanichka Wing Project Completed at Camp Nazareth
In the 2024 Summer Camp article we talked a lot about memory and what good memories from Camp can do for campers and staff alike. A truly good memory from Camp (really from anything) can “feed” a person for a lifetime and lift them up again and again each time that memory is recalled. The completion of the Camp’s Business Wing remodel, newly dedicated as the Polanichka Wing in loving memory of Very Rev. Protopresbyter Michael and Pani Eleanor Polanichka, is something that helped Camp, and those involved in the project, remember two people and their family who were dedicated to the Camp and the Camp’s ministry even before there was a Camp Nazareth. Given the stories we heard about Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor, it is safe to say that without both of their efforts, there would be no Camp Nazareth as we know it today.
Fr. Michael served as the Chairman of the Diocesan Building Committee and head of construction of Camp Nazareth, having been appointed to the position in 1975 by Bishop John Martin of blessed memory. The children of Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor told us about their many trips up to Camp from Sharon, PA where Fr. Michael was priest of our Diocesan parish of St. John’s (now in Hermitage, PA). The many visits (and picnics!) at the Camp that was being developed are some of the beautiful memories their children have as the Camp was being constructed. Those many visits were a testament to the care and love shown by Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor towards a Camp ministry that was just beginning to be developed.
After the passing into eternal rest of both Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor, their children – Valerie, Justine and Michael – asked if there was something they could do for the Camp in memory of their parents. The result of conversations with them was the project to remodel the Business Wing and rededicate it in memory of Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor, calling it, affectionately, the Polanichka Wing. In the end, the remodel consisted of reworking both the inside and outside of this part of Camp. Here’s a quick list of what was done in the remodel: new flooring in the office spaces, new ceiling tiles and new recessed lighting in all areas, new wiring, painting of the office spaces, a beautiful new shiplap area of the ceiling with two chandeliers in the main entrance of the Wing, new A/C and heating units in the hallway and Staff Office spaces, new grout on the floor throughout the entrance and hallway, moving the door to what is called the Program Activities Office (PAO) down the Wing’s hallway to allow for more wall space in the main entrance and to allow for a coffee, tea and snack area, a new drinking fountain with bottle filling station, new office furniture in each of the 3 office spaces (notable features include a collaboration table in the Staff Office, new desks and file cabinets in the main office, movable (on wheels) tables for the PAO, new storage spaces and shelving in each office, and beautiful handmade tables in the main entrance together with a two-seat sitting area for relaxing), and new windows in the main office and the Wing’s hallway. On the outside of the Polanichka Wing, plantings were trimmed, some were removed entirely, new stone to match the Camp’s colors was put down, landscape lighting was installed to highlight this part of Camp, and in the Spring new plantings will be put in place and new benches will be installed. It was quite a project.
The Camp and the Polanichka family are grateful to Mrs. Courteney Riddle, the Visual Designer and point person for the Polanichka Wing Project. Courteney is a parishioner of our St. John’s Parish in Hermitage, PA, and was a former Staff member of the Camp. She was beginning her own Visual Designing business at the time of the project and saw the project from the conceptual phase, through the design phase and all the way through the remodel itself. Courteney was both the projects designer as well as its onsite construction worker, doing everything from designing and ordering, to laying down the floor and working with subcontractors when they were needed. She was the projects chief landscaper as well and the person who put together all the new furniture. Her work, and work ethic, were admirable, to say the least, and the fruits of her labors can be seen at the Camp and in the pictures included with this article. The Polanichka Wing is beautiful and functional, totally new but totally in keeping with the Wing’s (and Camp’s) original design. It was very well done thanks to her labor and efforts. You can look at Courteney’s new Visual Design business called Court & Graphic on its website at courtandgraphic.co.
A couple of funny moments along the way…No one could believe just how much stuff was actually in the Polanichka Wing before the project began. We only realized how much stuff there actually was when we had to move it out in order for the project to begin. Half the lodge was taken up for several weeks with the furniture, office supplies, pictures, cabinets, cleaning supplies, etc., etc., etc. from the Wing. We had to put curtain dividers across the lodge as we had events so that it didn’t look like Camp was a running an ongoing rummage sale in its Lodge. Then came the new furniture, cabinets, storage units, desks, water fountain, etc., etc., etc. All those boxes ended up in the lodge as well until they could be unpacked and the different items put together. The Camp’s lodge was like an Amazon warehouse the way things were coming in and going out! It was fun to see the project happening, and although it was challenging to have the project occurring while events were taking place, at the writing of this article, the perspective was not so much of the challenge, but of the memory of Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor and the challenges Fr. Michael (and they) must have faced as the Camp went from concept, to design, to build, to completion.
The Camp is grateful to both of them for their love of our Diocese and our Diocesan Camp and its ministry! It is grateful to their children – Valerie, Justine and Michael - for their generosity in paying for the entire cost of the project! The Camp is grateful to Courteney for donating her entire time, expertise and work without charging the Camp at all! The Camp is grateful to the Camp Staff who not only helped move all the furniture out of the Wing, but also then moved it out of the Lodge finding new “homes” for it around the Camp. The Polanichka Wing is a fitting tribute to Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor. When you come to Camp, you’ll see a newly remodeled Wing, and in that Wing, among the many new additions, you’ll see a beautiful picture of them as well as a memorial plaque in their honor. It is a beautiful reminder, a powerful memory, of them and what a blessing we have inherited in our Diocesan Camp.
Fr. Michael served as the Chairman of the Diocesan Building Committee and head of construction of Camp Nazareth, having been appointed to the position in 1975 by Bishop John Martin of blessed memory. The children of Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor told us about their many trips up to Camp from Sharon, PA where Fr. Michael was priest of our Diocesan parish of St. John’s (now in Hermitage, PA). The many visits (and picnics!) at the Camp that was being developed are some of the beautiful memories their children have as the Camp was being constructed. Those many visits were a testament to the care and love shown by Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor towards a Camp ministry that was just beginning to be developed.
After the passing into eternal rest of both Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor, their children – Valerie, Justine and Michael – asked if there was something they could do for the Camp in memory of their parents. The result of conversations with them was the project to remodel the Business Wing and rededicate it in memory of Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor, calling it, affectionately, the Polanichka Wing. In the end, the remodel consisted of reworking both the inside and outside of this part of Camp. Here’s a quick list of what was done in the remodel: new flooring in the office spaces, new ceiling tiles and new recessed lighting in all areas, new wiring, painting of the office spaces, a beautiful new shiplap area of the ceiling with two chandeliers in the main entrance of the Wing, new A/C and heating units in the hallway and Staff Office spaces, new grout on the floor throughout the entrance and hallway, moving the door to what is called the Program Activities Office (PAO) down the Wing’s hallway to allow for more wall space in the main entrance and to allow for a coffee, tea and snack area, a new drinking fountain with bottle filling station, new office furniture in each of the 3 office spaces (notable features include a collaboration table in the Staff Office, new desks and file cabinets in the main office, movable (on wheels) tables for the PAO, new storage spaces and shelving in each office, and beautiful handmade tables in the main entrance together with a two-seat sitting area for relaxing), and new windows in the main office and the Wing’s hallway. On the outside of the Polanichka Wing, plantings were trimmed, some were removed entirely, new stone to match the Camp’s colors was put down, landscape lighting was installed to highlight this part of Camp, and in the Spring new plantings will be put in place and new benches will be installed. It was quite a project.
The Camp and the Polanichka family are grateful to Mrs. Courteney Riddle, the Visual Designer and point person for the Polanichka Wing Project. Courteney is a parishioner of our St. John’s Parish in Hermitage, PA, and was a former Staff member of the Camp. She was beginning her own Visual Designing business at the time of the project and saw the project from the conceptual phase, through the design phase and all the way through the remodel itself. Courteney was both the projects designer as well as its onsite construction worker, doing everything from designing and ordering, to laying down the floor and working with subcontractors when they were needed. She was the projects chief landscaper as well and the person who put together all the new furniture. Her work, and work ethic, were admirable, to say the least, and the fruits of her labors can be seen at the Camp and in the pictures included with this article. The Polanichka Wing is beautiful and functional, totally new but totally in keeping with the Wing’s (and Camp’s) original design. It was very well done thanks to her labor and efforts. You can look at Courteney’s new Visual Design business called Court & Graphic on its website at courtandgraphic.co.
A couple of funny moments along the way…No one could believe just how much stuff was actually in the Polanichka Wing before the project began. We only realized how much stuff there actually was when we had to move it out in order for the project to begin. Half the lodge was taken up for several weeks with the furniture, office supplies, pictures, cabinets, cleaning supplies, etc., etc., etc. from the Wing. We had to put curtain dividers across the lodge as we had events so that it didn’t look like Camp was a running an ongoing rummage sale in its Lodge. Then came the new furniture, cabinets, storage units, desks, water fountain, etc., etc., etc. All those boxes ended up in the lodge as well until they could be unpacked and the different items put together. The Camp’s lodge was like an Amazon warehouse the way things were coming in and going out! It was fun to see the project happening, and although it was challenging to have the project occurring while events were taking place, at the writing of this article, the perspective was not so much of the challenge, but of the memory of Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor and the challenges Fr. Michael (and they) must have faced as the Camp went from concept, to design, to build, to completion.
The Camp is grateful to both of them for their love of our Diocese and our Diocesan Camp and its ministry! It is grateful to their children – Valerie, Justine and Michael - for their generosity in paying for the entire cost of the project! The Camp is grateful to Courteney for donating her entire time, expertise and work without charging the Camp at all! The Camp is grateful to the Camp Staff who not only helped move all the furniture out of the Wing, but also then moved it out of the Lodge finding new “homes” for it around the Camp. The Polanichka Wing is a fitting tribute to Fr. Michael and Pani Eleanor. When you come to Camp, you’ll see a newly remodeled Wing, and in that Wing, among the many new additions, you’ll see a beautiful picture of them as well as a memorial plaque in their honor. It is a beautiful reminder, a powerful memory, of them and what a blessing we have inherited in our Diocesan Camp.
