If you spent any time watching YouTube in the early Spring of 2013, you probably saw several examples of groups doing the “Harlem Shake.” But, you may not know that the second session girls at Rockbrook made their own version of the video.
You can see the video embedded in this blog post, but here is a photo of the event that is great fun.
Click the photo to expand it, and check out all those amazing costumes! These camp girls know how to have a blast.
See anyone you recognize?
Continuing our series of archival photos and history documents, today we have this; it’s an original application to attend Rockbrook from 1921, its very first year. That summer, girls attended for one long session that lasted 8 weeks between July 6th and August 31st. This application shows that Elizabeth Fisher from Hackensack, NJ was one of 35 girls who traveled to Brevard to be the very first Rockbrook campers. So neat!
One of our most prized artifacts from the Rockbrook Camp archives is a copy of the camp catalog produced in 1938. Described as “A Book of Announcements” for Rockbrook Camp “Mr. And Mrs. Henry N. Carrier, Directors,” the catalog is 32 pages of photos and written descriptions of Rockbrook’s history, philosophy, activities, staff and facilities. For example, the “Statement Concerning Rockbrook” includes:
The camp’s program possesses true educational value, enlivening health and happiness. Everything is conducive to the growth and enriched conceptions of sportsmanship, camaraderie and friendship. Of these things it is impossible to write; they must be experienced. Inspired by Rockbrook’s standards, girls develop those inner resources upon which character is built.
This wonderful photo of the mountain view seen from the Hillside Lodge Porch comes from the catalog. Even though the trees have grown higher today, there is still “a magic in the distance where the sky line meets the sky.”
Continuing our series of photos pulled from our camp history and archives, here is another from the 1930s showing the inside of the Curosty activity cabin. This cabin briefly served as Rockbrook’s office, but soon became, as you can see, where the girls at camp learned to weave. Working with wide floor looms and smaller tabletop looms, campers made —as they continue to make today— wonderful, colorful fabrics. The photo shows many great examples of these early weavings. Take a look at this post to see a few modern photos as well.
Here we have another great find, on this Thursday, from our archives of early camp scenes. Again we think this photo dates from the 1930s. It shows several girls enjoying their free time on the porch of the Lakeview Lodge, one of the three stone meeting lodges dating from the earliest days of Rockbrook Camp. This lodge, like the others at camp, was built in the early 1920s using rock quarried from the mountain just above Rockbrook. It’s extraordinarily well preserved today and is still a hub of activity throughout every camp day. It would be so easy to find this exact scene any summer at camp!
Have you seen the latest issue of Inside New Orleans? It’s a bi-monthly magazine published about the arts, events, interests, and people of New Orleans and its surrounding areas. Each issue is full of regular columns about fashion, music, exhibitions, and food, as well as featured articles on unique aspects of the city and culture of New Orleans, LA.
The current issue (February-March 2015), for example, has a painting by Gretchen Armbruster on its cover— a fantastic New Orleans Artist — articles about the Metairie Cemetery and the costumes of the Louisiana State Museum, but also a piece about summer camps for kids. Overall the article describes the difference between day camps, specialty camps, and sleepaway camps, mentioning several examples and promoting many of the benefits kids gain from camp.
It was fantastic to see that the author highlights Rockbrook as an example of an overnight camp, describing it as the “ideal place to explore what it means to live a ‘wholehearted’ life rich with true connections.” Wow! That’s such a nice complement! It’s something that sounds very familiar, and right in line with the philosophy and feel of Rockbrook. Thanks Inside New Orleans!
Since it’s Thursday, here’s a photo to throw us back to an earlier time at camp. We think the photo was taken in the 1930s. It shows an authentic North Carolina log cabin, but from a viewpoint impossible to reproduce today given how much the surrounding trees have grown. And we’re sure the sunset view from that porch was fantastic. Take a look and see if you can tell which Rockbrook building this shows. Do you know?