Sarah and Molly Burns' Shaw Stories

Going off with 3-5 girls and finding a secluded beach, there were so many, to skinny dip. Spinning wool and playing cards in the house. Hiking into the woods to see the bald eagles' nest. Doing that water test, the kayak roll in the freezing water, was memorable! Bicycling on those dusty roads outside of camp that seemed to go forever. Watching the sunset at the top of the cliff with John, Adi, Mrs. Taylor, etc. And everyone was generally just so much fun and happy, always happy to see everyone, ready for games, or running and jumping to a funny rhyme of some sort. And all the tears at the ferry, either waving goodbye to people leaving, or waving goodbye myself to those staying. It was definitely one of the very happiest times of my life, and kind of magical!

— Sarah Burns, 2025

Oh my gosh, that was an experience which could have happened only there and then with those people. John and Adi Angell, Bob Ellis and so many others. My husband, Keith Burns, was the attorney and I was the art teacher but only for one year. I was considered a wet blanket. I thought the children should at least be counted every night in case some were missing, but were any of the adults interested?

All in all our Shaw Island camp experience was very positive for our family. Bob Ellis invited Keith and me to his Portland house for a Christmas party. His sister Elizabeth and I had many common interests. She showed me a beautiful oil portrait of her which Bob had commissioned. It was hung in a remote room of the house.

— Molly Sammons Burns, 2025

OH WOW there’s so much. The freedom we had there as kids was fantastic! John Angell is a legend !!! Sleeping under the stars with Roach as our “counselor.” Where else would there be a camp counselor named Roach? There was some scary stuff too. What was it, one week per month a bunch of kids from MLC were brought in? The girls smoked and hypnotized each other and made each other do dangerous stuff. One hypnotized girl was being forced to jump off the cliff until little twelve year-old me yelled, “We can’t do this,” and blocked her and led her away to safety. And at the campfire one night the owner Bob Ellis’s boyfriend made a move on me! I twisted away and ran. He was gone early the next morning. And seeing Adi crying over the death of their son John in that airplane accident, and the demise of their marriage—that was sad.

Back to the good stuff: I’ll always remember our Vietnam War protest! The adults and older teens, the Floren girls, decorated the back porch and we chanted and sang the anti-war songs and slogans of that time. And yes the funny hay rides, and boating to Roche Harbor with John. John would cook oysters—I ate one and, I’m not kidding, pulled out a one inch pearl !!! It was the shape of a large medicine tablet. I asked Adi to keep it for me. Because the oyster had been cooked the pearl was dull, didn’t have a pretty luster.

Molly Sammons Burns

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