Camille was the first of eight grandchildren for Frank and Helen and the only granddaughter.
1954 – Baby Boomer Camille, first daughter of John and Janice and first grand child of Frank and Helen enters the scene.
Camille as a baby in Bergenfield, NJ and at age six or seven on City Island in the Bronx, New York City.
People are always surprised to find out that Camille got her first riding lesson in the Bronx. It was a present for her 7th birthday. Along with a hat and a new pair of jeans. Camille was lucky her parents decided to feed her deep passion for horses with an annual riding lesson beginning in 1961. See our Horse Album for more about this enduring love affair at: http://troutsfarmtoo.com/Horses/horse_album.htm
Being the first born in the family, Camille was inordinately proud of her accomplishments. These are her official 8th grade and 12th grade portraits taken in 1968 and 1971.
A friend made Camille’s blue dress for her, the same dress in the photo above. She was a typical flower child. And very proud to be the first in the family to graduate from High School.
During her senior year of high school Camille lived with Julia and her three children, Bunt, Rad and Claire, just a couple of doors down from her parents and five younger brothers. Julie taught at the University with Camille’s father and was an angel for taking Camille in when things fell apart at home.
Graduation was held on Camille’s 18th birthday, Julia needed her room for the summer and Camille’s mother, Janice gave her a round trip plane ticket to Utah to visit relatives as a graduation present. The flight left the day after the graduation ceremonies. At the time, Camille felt rather fortunate at how things worked out but likely there was collusion between Julia and Janice.
This picture was taken in the back yard of the family home at the time. Camille’s family lived in town but later moved out to an acre outside of town. Back Row, from left: Brother Joe, Camille, Julia, Bunt and brother Bob. Front Row: Brother Jim, Rad and brother Mike.
1970’s – Here’s some random photos of Camille, possibly in a restaurant and at the family dinner table while visiting her parents’ new home in the country in 1974. For about a year, Camille lived one town away from her parents and brothers after spending time in Utah, California, Colorado and Minneapolis. At the table are Jim, Camille, Mike, Bob and Joe. Looks like Jim has done something to raise Camille’s hackles and Joe is the only one catching the eye of the photographer.
The farm, revisited. One day while romping around the nearby Amish fields with her brothers, they spotted a small herd of horses grazing on corn stubble. Camille couldn’t believe their luck and decided to ‘catch’ one of the ‘wild’ horses. It was a herd of draft horses with the exception of this one which looked like a saddle horse. She knew better but her passion over rode any shred of common sense and before anyone could protest she was giving pony rides to her brothers. In an area where few horses are broke to saddle, Camille’s plan was full of folly. Luckily, the horse was easy going and didn’t pitch her brothers off on their heads. Sure enough, the next day, the farmer came walking up the lane to the house, halter in hand, looking for his horse.
The photo on the right was probably of Camille chatting with her mother in front of the Farm House and was taken during the same time period. Brother Mike looks to be about 11 or 12 years old which puts the date at 1974 or 1975.
Camille in the farm house kitchen and in Denver, Colorado.
Halloween, 1977 or 1978 Denver, Colorado. Camille resembles her grandmother Helen in this picture.
1985 – Camille holds Helen’s little dog, Holly who came to live at The Farm when Helen went to a nursing home. And shares some memories with her mother outside the front porch of the house.
31 years old, in Vermont and in Colorado.
Camille met her soul mate, Bob in 1990. They became friends and fell in love and were married at their rented farm house in Colorado on July 31, 1994. The wedding party consisted of Mahlon, Shirley and Bob’s three daughters, Molly, Emily and Amy.
Two years after the wedding, Bob and Camille moved to Virginia and bought the house of their dreams, a 7-acre horse farm with two barns, riding arena, fenced pastures with ‘loafing’ sheds, a little patch of woods and a big lawn. Oh, and a house. From there they moved to Belize and then to China, Guam and Hawaii. Here’s a picture of Camille at the base of the Great Wall of China after successfully ‘highjacking’ a camel. Apparently, her penchant for commandeering other people’s animals is built into her personality. The second picture was taken on Oahu in 1999, not long after Bob put together our online photo album at Troutsfarm.com where there are many, many more pictures of Bob and Camille.