By Bill Petzold
Editor
Photo by Bill Petzold
A young attendee of a memorial service for Jack Fowler, founder of The Fowler Center for Outdoor Learning, releases some of Jack’s ashes into Harmon Lake. Fowler, who had cerebral palsy himself, touched thousands of lives by providing outdoor activities in a traditional camp setting for children and adults with disabilities. Dozens of people attended the memorial service.
MAYVILLE — Jack Fowler was a visionary who introduced people with disabilities to a world without barriers. Fowler believed that recreational experiences can be life-changing for people with disabilities.
The thousands of kids and adults who have spent time at his camp know he was right.
A special memorial for Jack was held Sunday at The Fowler Center for Outdoor Learning, 2315 Harmon Lake Road in Mayville. The event included a picnic lunch, live music, the unveiling of the Jack Fowler monument at the camp and the spreading of Jack’s ashes on the grounds of the camp.
“We’re all here really because of one man and his wife, who had this vision and just created something where nothing existed before, and that something has touched thousands and hundreds of thousands of lives, introducing people to outdoor recreation and limitless possibilities, and that’s Jack Fowler and of course his wife, Reta Fowler,” Steve Greene said. Greene was director of The Fowler Center from 1990-99.
“Today is about celebrating Jack. This place really affected me … it changed who I am, and it really propelled my life in the direction it’s gone. … I got to experience the power of the vision of Jack.”
John Sherwood “Jack” Fowler died November 4, 2012 at age 91.
“We had a service for Jack back in December, but today we’re in Jack’s true cathedral; the place where he was most truly alive and brought all of us along with him,” Greene said.
“If Jack were here, he’d only have a few things to say; he’d say, ‘You better believe it!’,” said Fowler Center board president Ken Perry. “If you knew Jack, you heard that all the time. He’d be very happy to see the number of friends that are here. Jack Fowler taught me and everybody that ever came in contact with him that there’s no differences between us; we’re all the same. We all have maybe some limitations, but we don’t have any disabilities.”
Executive director Kyle Middleton spoke about Jack’s legacy.
“I would love to tell you hard Jack worked over the years to build a camp and a program to serve these campers moving to different locations, but that’s not Jack’s legacy,” Middleton said. “I could tell you how Jack was glad-handing and politicking to raise needed funds to create our current and final home here in Mavyille, but again, that’s not Jack’s legacy.”
Middleton told the story of a camper named Bobby who arrived in wheelchair, but who learned how to fly thanks to the center’s challenge ropes course.
“If you could have only seen his face, you would have seen Jack’s legacy,” Middleton said.
Mary Buschell who works with Trail’s Edge Camp, a camp for ventilator-dependent children, also spoke.
“When we came her for the first time 25 years ago to ‘The House that Jack Built,’ who would know that in the 70s he would build a camp that would make the most perfect place for our kids; that it would be absolutely perfect in every way,” Buschell said. “There were no stairs. Those of us who can go up a set of stairs, you probably don’t notice that there aren’t any here. There are no stairs here, and that sends such a beautiful message: We all go through the same door, we all just travel wherever we want, and our kids come here year after year and this is their special home. This is their place where they aren’t stared at, they aren’t different, they fit in, they sing, they climb a treehouse, they go to the lake and catch fish … for a boy to catch a fish, for the first time in their life, do you know how great that is? That’s the house that Jack built.”
Jack’s younger brother, Bill Fowler, was in attendance, and Jack’s sister-in-law Bette spoke on behalf of the family. The two unveiled the new monument, a plaque that features Jack’s handprint.
A special webpage has been started in memory of Jack Fowler and a new fund called Friends of Jack has been started to provide “camperships” to help pay for the costs of a camper’s stay at the center. For information about helping out, visit jackslegacy.com. or call the camp at (989) 673-2050.
Bill Petzold is the editor of the Tuscola County Advertiser. He can be reached at petzold@tcadvertiser.com.