It sounded like your typical summer camp cacophony at Lake Villa’s Cedar Lake. Boisterous children buzzing around canoes, donning life jackets and grabbing paddles were preparing to row in the Allendale Association’s 7th annual Great Canoe Race.
The contestants, however, were anything but typical.
Consider “Pete,” a 14-year-old from East Moline, Ill. Abandoned by his mother, he is prone to angry outbursts and violent mood swings. Though barely a teenager, he has struggled most of his life with clinical depression. (Allendale officials asked that his real name not be used).
On this day, though, he was like any other kid, enjoying the warm air and bright sunshine. Perched in the stern of his canoe, he awaited the whistle, offering some last-minute racing advice to his partner.
“Just paddle fast,” he said.
With about 100 entrants, Tuesday’s canoe race was the largest ever for Allendale, a private, non-profit residential treatment center in Lake Villa that serves emotionally troubled youths and their families.
Counselors and administrators cited familiar buzzwords like “experience” and “self-esteem” when explaining what the race meant to the kids. But for one Allendale staffer, the day’s activity had a more direct, pragmatic impact.
“A lot of these kids here have a lot of anger,” said Kenn Ketter, Allendale’s recreation services coordinator. “We’re trying to use it (the race) as a therapeutic intervention, so that they take it out on the paddle instead of each other.”
Then, there was Pete’s take on the affair.
“It’s nice out,” he said. “You get out of schoolwork.”
For many of these youths, who range in age from 6 to 18, the histories of abuse and emotional turmoil are harrowing. Some even reside at Allendale in secret, sheltered from violent parents.
“Most of the kids are victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect,” said Grace Sopiarz, who manages a residence house on the Allendale campus. “Some of the older kids have tried less-restrictive settings that haven’t worked, so they come here.”
The Allendale Association was founded in 1897 by Edward “Cap” Bradley, a young graduate of Princeton University distressed by the plight of urban youths and their poor living conditions. Licensed as a private school and a state child-welfare agency, Allendale offers intensive therapy and counseling, day education and foster care.
“There’s a lot of limitations in the play they do, how physical they can get,” Sopiarz said. “There’s a lot of emphasis on expressing emotions in an appropriate manner.”
This much was evident at the start of the canoe race, as Allendale staffers struggled to keep some of the more eager rowers in line.
One 12-year-old boy could not resist splashing Pete, who asked him to stop. Still, the boy persisted. Pete started to issue a threat, but Don Barlow, an Allendale teacher in charge of the day-school program, was there to keep the peace.
He came to Allendale more than four years ago as a chronic troublemaker. Pete acknowledged that he “used to beat up a lot of kids.”
His reading skills lag at about the 1st-grade level. When upset, he can sulk for days, storming from activities and shutting out his peers.
But Pete also has a sharing, sensitive side, and a proud streak of independence. Those traits emerged unexpectedly during the canoe race.
No more than 100 yards from shore, Pete’s canoe collided with another boat in the crowded field. His canoe pitched to its starboard side and capsized.
Pete and his partner struggled to hoist the boat above the surface and turn it right-side up, but the sleek steel craft was swamped with lake water. On the shore, kids stood pointing and laughing.
About 50 yards ahead of Pete, another canoe tipped over, this one with two young girls in it. Pete shouted to them: “Are you OK? Do you need some help?”
While his teammate stayed with the boat, Pete removed the life jacket from his stocky frame and swam over to make sure the girls were fine.
By the time he swam back to his canoe, some supervisors had arrived in a motorboat. They pulled his race partner on board and offered to haul Pete in. But Pete persisted in trying to right his craft.
“I want to do it,” he insisted. “I can do it.”
With the help of some Allendale workers in another canoe, Pete got the boat upright. He climbed aboard, but the boat turned over again. Once again he struggled.
When the canoe finally was righted, Pete seated himself in the rear, refusing any help. Picking up his paddle, he began paddling, the canoe’s front end rising like the front wheel of a bicycle popping a wheelie.
Alone in his boat, Pete paddled toward a spot on shore called Shelter Cove, his back turned to the distant race field. He may not have won the race, but he was able to hold his head high-at least above water.
