He Ignited a New Chewonki Era

This August, Acting President Nancy Kennedy visited Tim at his summer home on Montsweag Road (right across from the Chewonki waterfront!). She loved connecting with him, saying,  “I appreciated his time, probing questions, and the reflections and insights he generously shared.”  As the visit ended, Tim asked, “How can I help?” Nancy already has a few ideas. First, however, we felt it was high time to look back at Tim’s incredible impact on Chewonki and let him know how grateful we are for his continued presence in our community. 

Tim’s lifelong connection to Chewonki began in 1937. He arrived in a bassinet when his father, Harwood “Hardy” Ellis, Assistant Head at the Rivers School, was recruited by Chewonki founder Clarence Allen as head counselor. Tim spent every childhood summer at Chewonki, eventually becoming a counselor. After college, he ventured abroad and met his wife, Margaret Ellis, while teaching in Switzerland in the early 1960s.

In 1965, Tim received a compelling invitation from Board President George Wallace to return to Maine and take the helm at Camp Chewonki. Tim and Margaret embraced the opportunity, and the timing was fortuitous. Just four years earlier, Chewonki had transitioned to nonprofit status through alumni efforts; it was a new era ripe with possibility. Tim had long recognized the untapped potential of Chewonki’s breathtaking peninsula, idle for nine months each year. By 1970, he’d convinced Chewonki’s trustees to appoint him as the institution’s first year-round president, enabling him to expand programs throughout all seasons.