Shuffelton-Sobe Family

It All Started at Camp…

This is a family love story that has its roots grounded in the Harris Center. Amy Shuffelton and Noah Sobe met at the Harris Center’s Wol’s Nest summer camp in 1981, when Amy was 11 and Noah was 10. Although they didn’t become friends right away, Amy became good friends with Sasha Hall (now Duverlie) through Wol’s Nest, and she went to the Well School with Noah.

Noah, Sasha, Amy, and various younger siblings ended up at Village (another summer camp) at Cia Iselin’s in Nelson. It was there that the friendship between Noah and Amy truly began to blossom.

Some years later, Amy and Noah found themselves working at Village, where they fell in love. After graduating from college and running after-school Village programs for kids in Poland for a few years, they got married  on August 19, 1995. The wedding reception was held at the Harris Center, of course!

Second-Generation Campers

Amy and Noah’s two children, Philomena and Maisie, followed in the family tradition and also attended Wol’s Nest, from approximately 2012 to 2015. They loved it, so much so that they held a fundraiser for the Harris Center. They sent in around $15, which they earned from selling art and lemonade to practically everyone they knew.

“As a family, we’re deeply committed to taking care of all the worlds we live in — our neighborhood in Chicago, the Monadnock Region, our local public schools, and of course the Earth and all its creatures,” said Amy. “Of all the values we aim to pass on to our children, this might be the number one most important. The Harris Center’s activities, from conservation to education, reflect so many of the ideals we hold, so it was of course wonderful to see our children make a commitment to you!”

Appreciating Nature as a Family

The Shuffelton-Sobe family on a White Mountain hike in 2015.

Now Amy and Noah, both professors of Cultural and Educational Policy Studies at Loyola University Chicago, often spend summers in New Hampshire with their children.

“Philomena and Maisie are, for the most part, city kids. They are growing up in the city of Chicago, riding the trains and buses to school and learning to navigate urban life. Spending time in New Hampshire, however, has given Philomena and Maisie a solid appreciation of the lakes, the forest, and the glories found in wilder places,” said Amy. “Their summer experiences at Wol’s Nest, and the ongoing access to the New Hampshire forest that the Harris Center’s conservation [work] makes possible for everyone in the Monadnock Region have played an important role in that.”