Remembering “Cool Hand”

Story Compiled By: Timothy Boe

Long before organic food products found their way onto the shelves of conventional food stores the famous grin of movie icon Paul Newman was gracing the isles of supermarkets from coast to coast. Why…you might ask, would someone who had already established his legacy as Fast Eddie, Butch Cassidy, Hud and Cool Hand Luke agree to have his classic movie star mug featured on a bottle of salad dressing? Why else…to engage in “Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good.”

Occasionally referred to by Newman as the “joke that got out of control”, Newman’s Own, the company he founded with pal A.E.Hotchner in 1982 has become a leading premium food company offering more than 150 varieties of delicious all-natural food and beverage products. Demonstrating that he was indeed one of the world’s great recyclers…Paul Newman and Newman’s Own Foundation donates all profits and royalties after taxes for educational and charitable purposes. To date, this philanthropic effort has generated more than $250 million in proceeds which has been distributed to thousands of charities worldwide. 

Two decades ago, actor Paul Newman’s dream of opening a camp for children with serious medical conditions became a reality. His endless passion and commitment to help those less fortunate, especially children, was enormous. Children whose lives are interrupted by illness are able to put their worries aside and enjoy a carefree camp experience thanks to Paul’s tireless efforts and boundless enthusiasm.

Indeed, Paul lived a life informed by his recognition of luck – but greater than that was his motivation to act on that acknowledgement, and truly make a difference. His vision helped found the first Hole in the Wall Camp in 1988, and has since grown into the world’s largest family of camps for children with serious medical illnesses, operating in Connecticut, New York, Florida, California, North Carolina, Ireland, Italy, Hungary, France, the United Kingdom and regions in Africa and Asia. Paul’s kindness and generosity has touched more than 135,000 children and it was Paul’s dream that the camps continue to thrive, providing a place filled of warmth, compassion, laughter and most of all acceptance. 

Paul Newman founded The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in 1988. This wondrous place became the starting point for what is now a global family of camps. Today, Hole in the Wall Camps restore childhood to children living with cancer, hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, HIV and other serious medical conditions. Supporters grew passionate about Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Camps mission, and by 1997 there were four additional camps including Double H Ranch in New York, Camp Boggy Creek in Florida, Barretstown in Ireland and L’Envol in France. 

As was the case for many of Newman’s endeavors, the beginning of theAssociation of Hole in the Wall Camps Global Partnership Initiative was fairly accidental, and began with a visit to Africa. It was that very visit that compelled Newman to expand the organization. Today, a Global Partnership Initiative in Africa and Asia extend the camp experience to children living with HIV/AIDS. In collaboration with local organizations and medical clinics, the program incorporates the traditional camp model with therapeutic recreation, HIV education, wilderness awareness and conservation. Since opening in 2001, these initiatives have educated and empowered more than 2,700 children and trained over 350 local staff members in Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, Lesotho and Vietnam. 

In the wake of the millennium, camps began sprouting everywhere. By 2007, the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps welcomed The Painted Turtle in California, Victory Junction Gang Camp; a NASCAR racing themed camp in North Carolina, Over The Wall in the United Kingdom, Dynamo Camp in Italy and Bátor Tábor in Hungary. Today, it is with tremendous pride that the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps anticipates the opening of its first camp in the Middle East. Jordan River Village in Israel will provide a traditional camp experience to children on both sides of the river, with aspirations of enhancing efforts toward peace in the region.

The organization that Paul Newman founded more than 20 years ago has created a concrete bond that will withstand time, and a sense of belonging that has become absolutely contagious. With the hopes of improving the lives of children and their families all over the world, new camps are in development in Ohio, Colorado, Washington, Japan, and elsewhere around the U.S. and the world. What began as one man’s dream has turned into a reality that has restored the joy of childhood to children worldwide. Due to Paul’s never ending commitment to the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, his vision has impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands campers, parents, siblings, volunteers, staff members and supporters, and will continue to touch lives in the years to come.

The motto for Newman’s charitable organization that obviously revealed his inner heart is “for children with serious illness, laughter is the best medicine.” Taking him at his word, Newman’s life has suggested that laughter is also the way that he would like to be remembered. So in memory and recalling his “king of cool” demeanor, we end with the following story.

A Michigan woman and her family were vacationing in a small new England town where Paul Newman and his family often visited. One Sunday morning, the woman got up early to take a long walk. After a brisk five-mile hike, she decided to treat herself to a double-dip chocolate ice cream cone.

She hopped in the car, drove to the center of the village and went straight to the combination bakery/ice cream parlor. There was only one other patron in the store. Paul Newman, sitting at the counter having a doughnut and coffee. The woman’s heart skipped a beat as her eyes made contact with those famous baby-blue eyes.

The actor nodded graciously and the star struck woman smiled demurely. Pull yourself together! She chides herself. You’re a happily married woman with three children, you’re forty-five years old, not a teenager!

The clerk filled her order and she took the double-dip chocolate ice cream cone in one hand and her change in the other. Then she went out the door, avoiding even a glance in Paul Newman’s direction. When she reached her car, she realized that she had a handful of change but her other hand was empty. Where’s my ice cream cone? Did I leave it in the store?

Back into the shop she went, expecting to see the cone still in the clerk’s hand or in a holder on the counter or something. No ice cream cone was in sight.

With that, she happened to look over at Paul Newman. His face broke into his familiar warm friendly grin and he said to the woman,

‘You put it in your purse.’