Cartoon Class Draws on Student Excitement

Anthony Raimondo with one of his cartoon creations (courtesy photo)

DOVER –

Anthony Raimondo is the kind of kid that will only launch into new projects unless it’s something he is truly excited about. So when the 15-year-old Dover resident started buying comic books and plastering his room with cartoon posters, his parents knew they should take it seriously.
And that is when Tony Raimondo, Anthony’s dad, heard about a local cartoon camp taught by a nationally-published cartoonist. The week at Seacoast Specialty Camp was exactly what Anthony’s parents hoped for, and more.
“When he started, Anthony was still drawing stick figures,” said Debbie Caritos, Anthony’s mom. “Then he started drawing characters he was really interested in. Now, he sits for hours in his room and draws. His work is much improved and he’s drawing people who look like people.”
This summer, Anthony will attend Seacoast Specialty Camps’ cartoon class for the third season. And the difference between his artwork in 2010 and now is notable, said cartoonist and teacher John Klossner of South Berwick.
“Anthony is very passionate and hard-working, and we've seen results,” said Klossner, a freelance cartoonist whose work is in several national publications, including the New Yorker.
Camp director Jayne Morell said Anthony was just the kind of teenager she wanted to reach when she started Seacoast Specialty Camps in 2010.
“I wanted to create an opportunity for kids who want to evolve as individuals and to offer opportunities that enrich the creative and artistic spirit,” said Morell, who has started several different camping programs over the years.
In the past two years, Morell has run CSI crime investigation camp, fashion design camp and screen writing camp, as well as the cartoon class. All of them were based in Portsmouth and have filled. Morell recently moved from South Berwick to Portland so for 2012 the camp will only include Klossner’s “Cartooning and Comic Book Design” camp. Hopes are to expand programs to the Portland area as well.
This year the program has moved to Washington Center in Dover, where it will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The facility changed to a more central location for the campers who come from towns ranging from Newburyport, Massachusetts to York and North Berwick Maine.
“One of the things I love about these programs is that students usually attend on their own, because they are motivated to participate. They develop brand new friendships, as well as to bond with kids of similar interests.”
Caritos credits Klossner’s impressive ability to match his teaching style to the needs of a variety of young artists. For instance, Raimondo was improving his craft but still having difficulty drawing from his own imagination. Klossner tailored a second set of classes in part to help Raimondo do that. He had students draw a few lines then fold the paper over and pass it on for the next student to continue.
“This got Anthony to learn how to use his imagination,” Caritos said.”He’s still struggling with it, but doing much better and he’s really happy he is in this camp. He can’t wait till the next session.”
For more information on Seacoast Specialty Camps, go to http://www.seacoastspecialtycamps.com/ or write seacoastspecialtycamps@gmail.com.  Seacoast Specialty Camps offers scholarships and partners with local nonprofits to offer tuition assistance.

Angel Flights Bring Comfort, Spare Costs

Blue Cullen, one of the patients Ed Patenaude has flown for Angel Flights Northeast. Cullen has traveled to Cape Cod Hospital many times for her radiation treatments, courtesy of Patenaude and Angel Flights NE. (courtesy photo)

By Sydney Jarrard

Staff Columnist

RYE –

Ed Patenaude started volunteering as a pilot for Angel Flight Northeast more than ten years ago. Angel Flight NE is a program providing transportation to and from medical appointments for patients in need, at absolutely no charge. It is supported by donations and corporate sponsors, but an enormous investment comes from the 1,000 plus pilots who donate their time and resources to the cause. In his time, Patenaude has flown more than 650 missions for Angel Flight.

Larry Camerlin, who is an avid pilot in Massachusetts and has a background in health care and ministry, started the Northeast branch of Angel Flight in 1996 with just ten volunteer pilots. It now has more than 1,800 volunteers and has served 60,000 patients in its time The program is supported by the pilots who fly patients to appointments, the Earth Angels who provide on-the-ground assistance, and the people who coordinate all of the missions from behind the scenes. These flights help medically-stable and ambulatory people reach the treatment they need as often as they need it, or reach a loved one in their time of need (called “compassion” visits).  The organization does about 100 missions per week, and is proud to say that they have never turned down a request.

When Patenaude signed up for flying lessons in 1976, he did not expect to be where he is today, flying as many as ten missions in a single week for Angel Flight NE. His interest in flying actually started with an interest in a snowmobile for sale at a local store. The shopkeeper there continually asked a price higher than Patenaude could pay. After being told to return at the end of the season to receive a discounted price, Patenaude waited out the winter and when it came time, the owner went back on his word and still insisted on the higher price. Patenaude walked out of the shop, discouraged, and came face-to-face with a sign advertising flying lessons – for the exact amount of money he had saved for the snowmobile. It was meant to be. “I found my passion,” says Patenaude.

Knowing his love for the air, a friend mentioned to Patenaude an organization that helped patients get to medical appointments via plane. He decided to sign up, he made it through the approval process, and he tried it out. “It was pretty phenomenal,” Patenaude says. He began flying patients regularly, and found that his Cherokee Six plane, with a rear door, was easily accessible for his patients. He recently switched to a smaller plane, a Mooney. 

But he is looking to go back to using the Cherokee, because for Patenaude, it’s all about the patients.

 “Most of the time the people we fly are very sick and at a tough time in their lives, and the last thing they want to be doing is getting into a small airplane to go to Boston for treatment,” says Patenaude, who took this realization and found practices to make these trips better. He talks to the patient during the flight through headsets, and he often invites the patient to sit up front with him, if they are able. Some have been lucky enough to take a try at handling the controls (with Patenaude’s help, of course). Seeing how difficult it can be to battle a serious illness, Patenaude began requesting the same patients so he could get to spend more time with them and make the trip easier, and so they could get accustomed to having just one pilot. Beyond all that, he tries to make it an enjoyable experience. “I’d like for you to see this as an adventure in your life,” Patenaude tells them.

Patenaude says his work with Angel Flight has greatly affected him. “You realize what’s important when you meet someone who’s going through this,” he says. He receives holiday cards each year from former and current patients, and he does get notices if one of his patients has passed. Those days are not easy for Patenaude, he says, so he makes it a point to treat people in his daily life with as much care and kindness as the patients he flies. He knows that his patients have given him a positive experience, and he wants to see the world embrace that, and pass it on. “We’re all kind of holding hands. We’re on a journey here. It’s our job to help people out when they need it. It helped my attitude. It helped me realize that you don’t have to take life so seriously. It can be as short as another minute or another second from now,” he says.

After the lessons, the FAA tests, meeting currency regulations, and his career in the construction business, Patenaude has maintained his passion for flying and for the enjoyment that his volunteering has brought. On average, he flies three to four missions per week, and spends time remembering the patients he has built amazing relationships with, even if he’s lost them along the way. “You realize how lucky you are, to have what you have,” Patenaude says. “We can all help out in some way. You don’t need an airplane. It can be just holding a door.”