Is Camp a Threatened Tradition?

For quite a while, we’ve been writing on this blog about the benefits of summer camp for children. For more than 100 years now in the United States, sleepaway camps have been organized and generations of children have grown stronger, more confident, become leaders, forged close friendships, and acquired all kinds of physical, personal and social skills as a result. There really is little doubt that the sleep away camp experience of “getting away” for a few weeks is valuable for children in long-lasting and profound ways.

Even while recognizing all of this, however, there is a growing awareness that certain modern forces are threatening this great American tradition. Today, much more than a generation ago, there is competition making claims on our kid’s summer time. A recent article by Mary Beth McCauley in the Christian Science Monitor entitled “Sunset for Summer Camp?” claims as much. Quite correctly, the author observes that demand for shorter camp sessions is increasing, as opposed to longer “all summer” camps. A number of factors are contributing to this trend. School systems are shortening summer vacations. Competitive school sports teams and their coaches driven to win are requiring summer workouts (e.g., soccer “camp”) and scheduled practice days before school opens. Parents are reserving parts of the summer for family travel and vacations. Students are taking summer classes “to get ahead” (SAT prep, for example), and local, short-term day camps abound. With so many options, each claiming to be most important, it’s easy to understand why some parents find it difficult to place longer camp sessions at the top of the heap.

Fortunately, understanding the camp experience, seeing the dramatic positive effects it provides all year round, there are those, and so many Rockbrook parents are among them, who know camp is one of the most important things you can do for your child.  For these parents, camp isn’t just a summertime diversion, some kind of extended amusement park; it’s a core part of their child’s personal development.  It’s a place for kids to grow and discover who they are.  Sure it’s fun, but it’s the kind of fun that means something long afterwords.

We hear it all the time from our parents; camp means the world to their daughters, and they are committed to providing a camp experience for them.  This helps explain why, despite economic pressures and competing summer demands, Rockbrook enjoys strong enrollment, with sessions filling and waiting lists forming each summer.  Camp is important to our families, and to the girls who attend and make Rockbrook their own.  Around here, camp is stronger than all of the forces that may be threatening the traditions we’ve all come to appreciate.

Rockbrook Wedding Anniversary

This is a very special day for Jeff and Sarah Carter because it’s their wedding anniversary. It’s also a special day for Rockbrook because the Carters are the only owners and directors of camp who were also married at Rockbrook as well. So in a way, it’s Rockbrook’s wedding anniversary too!

Here are just a couple of photos from the wedding— August 17, 1996.  Friends and family members came for the whole weekend with some staying in cabins. The ceremony was held in the upper lodge and the reception in the dining hall.

Happy 14 years!

Learn more about Sarah and Jeff (and see a more recent photo!).

Camp Newspaper Published

Each session the girls who sign up for the Journalism activity while at Rockbrook contribute to a camp newspaper called the Toilet Paper. It is hung inside the bathroom stalls all over camp so everyone can have a chance to read it. The girls publish fun surveys, report on camp news, do interviews, highlight camp special events, and add original creative writing pieces as well. It’s a fun way to share some of the writing they’ve been doing in Journalism, and everyone enjoys seeing what they’ve been up to.

This is the most recent edition from 3rd session. Click the image to see a larger version.

Summer 2010 — The Last Day

It’s hard to believe it, but we’ve come to the last day of our third session, and the final day of Rockbrook’s 2010 summer season. Thinking back, it’s been a wonderful session. There are so many cool things we’ve done (kayaking, horseback riding, learning archery!!), amazing friends we’ve made, and unexpected ways we’ve grown, becoming more confident, more capable and just plain happy. Over these last few weeks, camp has proven itself, once again, to be a place where we can relax and be our true selves. It’s been a joyful place, surely overrun with complete silliness at times, but also something strong and significant for all of us.

Saying goodbye is hard also, and yes a little sad. But we’re grateful for the time we’ve spent together and for the awesome experience we’ve shared. And while we’ll miss each other, we know the Rockbrook Spirit will stay with us and we’ll most likely see each other next summer back at camp.

It has been a real privilege for all of us at Rockbrook to spend these weeks with your camper. Thank you for sharing such marvelous girls!

Celebrating Third Session 2010

It’s easy to celebrate the session when you look back on all that we’ve done over the last few weeks. It’s celebrating, though, that we do today, our last full day together. Foremost, perhaps, the girls mark their place as a cabin group by designing and painting a plaque for the inside of their cabin, something with all the their names and the date that can be hung in the cabin for girls who come after them to see. The girls spend so much time together as a cabin group, and share so much (at every meal, for example), it makes sense to want to preserve that group feeling. Of course, there’s always the cabin photo, but this is something extra.

Down at the barn, the girls who have been riding celebrate their experience by presenting the “Horse Show” for the rest of the camp. This is a chance for the riders to show off their new skills, ride their favorite horse again, and perform horseback riding drill team routines. Instead of a competition with prizes and ribbons, this is a real show with everyone welcome to demonstrate their horseback riding abilities and to have fun doing it. It really is a cheerful atmosphere, complete with popsicles to help everyone to stay cool as the late morning sun came up over the mountain.

We also celebrated the amazing dramatic, vocal and dancing talents of our campers with the presentation of this session’s musical, Annie. After weeks of working on their parts, rehearsing, building scenery and designing costumes, everything came together for an amazing show. We had more than 80 parents attending, and with the entire camp also there, the gym was packed! If you didn’t get to see it, you’ll be able to catch it on this year’s DVD yearbook. No worries.

We’d held off long enough for another “Rockbrook Surprise” everyone loves: Biltmore Train! That’s our special all-you-can-eat ice cream bonanza recalling the Biltmore Dairy’s ice cream truck and its camp visits. Think tubs of ice cream, stacks of cones, and the campers going back for more and more. Certainly a little decadent, but it was also a great way to celebrate everyone’s success with the play and to enjoy some time socializing with the families who came to see the performance.

Perhaps the biggest celebration of the day came at the end when we held our Spirit Fire closing campfire. Since it’s very first summer in 1921 Rockbrook has closed its sessions by gathering everyone around the fire ring on Vesper Rock to reflect upon and appreciate everything we’ve shared over the last few weeks. Through songs, memories, tributes and recognitions, we all celebrate each other and what camp means to us. It was remarkable to see these girls choke back tears as they hug each other and about their love for each other and for Rockbrook. Camp, how it makes them feel and how it helps them grow, is so important to them. It’s humbling to see it in action.

The final day of camp is full of celebrations. Throughout the weeks of camp, these Rockbrook girls accomplish wonderful and amazing things. They learn more than they can say, and grow more than they realize, but most importantly, feel at home at Rockbrook. It’s their camp.

With all of that, it’s easy to celebrate.

Under the Sea

Today was the last full day of regular activities. This sent the girls scurrying around to finish up craft projects, climb the alpine tower one last time, try again to hit the bullseye in archery or riflery. It also meant that chances to “hang out” with friends were also becoming more precious. At the lake, a group of seniors were sunbathing, and another crowd of juniors, for example, were enjoying the view on the hill before lunch. The approaching end of camp puts everyone in a nostalgic mood of sorts, and we all want to make the most of these last couple of days.

Jeff has had the Hi-Ups (10th graders) on their 3-day trip since Sunday. They all went to Lake Keowee and Lake Jocassee down in South Carolina for camping, water skiing, hiking and of course swimming. The weather was hot and sunny, and with plenty water all around, we felt like it was a beach vacation. There were lots of thrills as we explored amazing waterfalls and jumped from high rocks into the water.

The big event tonight was something the entire camp has been anticipating all session— the big surprise banquet presented by the CAs (9th graders). They pick a secret theme, plan all of the decorations, food, costumes, music, skits, dances, and do all of the work getting ready for tonight. It’s a huge undertaking! So what was the theme this session? “Under the Sea.” The entire dining hall was transformed into an underwater paradise with fish, blue cellophane overhead, a whale, a submarine, seaweed, and shark mouth at the main door. The CAs were dressed as the movie characters Sebastian, Dory, Nemo, Flounder, Whale, and the counselors were scuba divers. For dinner (not counting all the candy on the table ) they served “Fish Sticks with Tartar Sauce,” “Crabby Patties & Ocean Algae” and “Sea Foam” (mozzarella sticks, hamburgers, jello). For the campers, this is a magical experience and something they’ll always remember.

Kayakers, Potters & Sharp Shooters

The riflery instructor Paige has been announcing a lot of names lately of girls joining the “Bullseye Club.” Being able to shoot a bullseye in riflery is not easy. It really does take a great deal of practice to learn how to sight the rifles and remain steady while shooting. Each rifle can have its own quirks to consider as well. That’s why the girls will tell you about their favorite gun, all of which, by the way, have names like Othello, Captain Jack, and the Fresh Prince.

In pottery, Katie and Will, our dynamic lead ceramics instructors, are inspiring the campers to create some really cool pieces. In addition to simple tiles pressed with nature patterns, they’ve been making mugs from clay slabs, adding complex designs, a handle, and colorful glazes. We’ve also seen amazing sculptures of animals and trees, and plenty of pots being thrown on the wheel. We’re beginning to fire all of this session’s pieces in the kilns, so it won’t be long before we can see how all the pottery turns out.

Today was also a day of tie dyeing in “Hodge Podge.” This happens about once a week around here. We bring out the gloves, rubber bands, and squirt bottles of dye, and pre-soak the shirts in a mild solution of urea (which helps dissolve more dye in water and keep the shirts wet longer). Armed with multiple colors of dye, the girls love twisting, tying, and folding the shirts. You’ll be amazed when you see how they turn out.

The kitchen treated us to “International Day” today, with each meal inspired by a different ethnic cuisine. Breakfast was probably the most unusual— a traditional Tico (Costa Rican) breakfast of scrambled eggs, black beans and rice, sliced avocado, slabs of mild white cheese, salsa and fresh berries. For lunch, we switched to Mediterranean food and had homemade hummus, falafel, pita bread, olives, feta cheese, tomato and cucumber salad. And at dinner, out came steak fajitas (with grilled onions and peppers), beans, tortillas, fresh guacamole, chips, cheese and salsa. This was a great day to eat at camp!

Clyde, Kelsey and Tara took an advanced kayaking trip to the Nantahala river today as well. They packed a lunch and headed to the river for the whole day with a small group of seniors. The Nantahala has a few technical rapids but also a several gentler sections making the trip a nice mix of action and time to talk. Clyde is great about telling girls about the river and coaching them as they approach each rapid. Back at camp, the girls were excited to report clean runs through the last big rapid, the Nantahala Falls, with only one swimmer at the very end. That’s a great accomplishment!

Lovin Camp 80s Style

Let’s flashback to the 80s. That’s exactly what the whole camp did on Tuesday night this week! The word went out at dinner that everyone should bust out their best 80s attire, that they should go back in time and transform themselves into jazzercise junkies and big-haired beauties ready to bop to the top pop of our favorite retro decade. There were so many tie-dyed, oversized t-shirts torn and slung from one shoulder, lycra tights and sweat bands, jean jackets and Ray-Ban sunglasses, it would make your head spin.  But is was also hilarious to see how well the girls could look the part and how many of the songs they could sing— 867-5309 Jenny, I Want Candy, Mickey, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and of course, Thriller. The counselors had just as much fun as the campers dancing, making a conga line, and leading different group dance moves.  Just like working out in the 80s, we all were sweating and having loads of fun.

It’s been a couple of days of wildlife sightings here at Rockbrook. The coolest was a peregrine falcon spotted down near the Castle Rock Lodge. We’ve known that a falcon was nesting up on Dunn’s Rock, but this was the first time someone had seen it near camp. Up until 1999, the peregrine falcon was listed as an endangered species by the federal government, and even though it was de-listed then, the NC Wildlife Resources Commission has kept the bird on North Carolina’s list of endangered species because peregrine falcons have not recovered fully in North Carolina. Last night Sarah caught a glimpse of a gray fox cutting across the hill. We’ve seen these shy, bushy-tailed, nocturnal animals at camp before, but they are rare, so it’s a nice treat to be reminded that they are roaming around these hills. Rockbrook really is a wildlife sanctuary of sorts. With more than 200 acres of wooded land that remains undisturbed most of the year, it’s easy to see why.

For our Wednesday afternoon cabin day, the Juniors held a swim party down at the lake with Luau music and games. A perfect way to spend a hot afternoon, but also made complete by a quick trip over to Dolly’s for an ice cream cone. The Middlers’ cabin day was a trip to Sliding Rock up in the Pisgah National Forest. We carted the entire line, eighty something people, to the rock after dinner when we could have the place to ourselves. I think most of the girls were able to slide 6 or 7 times before it was too dark to continue. Naturally, we all had to stop at Dolly’s on the way home for a cone of “Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion,” or some other yummy flavor. Everyone was eager to pick their favorite flavor even after dunking ourselves in the cold Looking Glass Creek water of Sliding Rock.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Rick and his kitchen magicians amazed us all again with a dinner of homemade pork barbecue, beans, coleslaw, fresh cut fruit, and chips. It takes all day to prepare the barbecue, but it’s worth it. We’ve been hearing the “Cook’s” appreciation song sung a lot these days!