July 2016

Home /
2016 /

July 6, 2016May 6, 2020 • News • Mimi Dunn

Glad Your Path Crossed Mine

“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”
— L.M. Montgomery

As the mini session girls spent their last day at camp, and the full session girls are now into the deep beauty of their camp experiences, the greatest gift of camp was felt strongly throughout the day: friendship. Girls spent the day making each other friendship bracelets, reflecting on the best moments of camp so far, and for some, made a few more wonderful memories before camp was over.

I was struck how entire cabins of girls who had met each other just a week and a half ago have become best friends. Cabins have formed beautiful identities, some counting themselves off to the Seven Dwarves from Snow White, others sporting French braids all throughout camp. Some cabins respond to role calls with inside jokes, then laugh about how they are all in on it. However the cabin expresses it, special bonds have formed and each girl has an important role in her cabin. A lot of girls arrive to this point in camp and say things like, “I can’t believe I only just met you,” or “I am just so glad our paths crossed.” Behold the magic of camp.

This closeness was celebrated today because today was Cabin Day! For Cabin Day, we do not go to our third and fourth activities, but instead, plan something fun to do as a cabin. For mini session girls, this was a great time to reflect on a wonderful and meaningful session. One junior cabin used the time to paint fairy houses and put compliments from friends inside of them. Another group tried to build rafts that could float on the lake! Some cabins spent the time scrapbooking and making compliment jars to be read on the drive home—memories that could last the year. Another cabin had a special day at Hogwarts with Butterbeer (cream soda and ice cream), a sorting ceremony, and brooms for Quidditch. I saw a group of middlers going around the world—they decorated shirts in Paris for Fashion Week, had a safari in Africa (near the Alpine Tower), and finally went on a hike to the Costa Rican Rainforest (Rockbrook Falls) for an end to a perfect journey. Everyone had a great time as they bonded with their cabins.

After Cabin Day, the fun just kept going. To celebrate Rockbrook’s birthday, we had a birthday party! The dining hall was decorated with old camp pictures from every decade camp has existed. The high-ups painted posters and decorated tables with tattoos that read, “HBD, RBC,” (Happy Birthday, Rockbrook Camp). Music from every decade played over the speakers, and we had a lot of fun dancing to songs we don’t usually dance to, like ‘The Twist’ and ‘In the Mood.’ Sarah Carter informed us that July 6 was actually the date that camp opened, so it could not have been more perfect to be celebrating tonight! It made us all reflect on how many stories Rockbrook really holds. All of the girls who have called this camp home have found friends, have their own favorite spots, have their own stories and special memories that have gotten us to where we are now. It is special to be a part of something bigger than we are.

Following dinner, full session campers signed up for activities and attended evening program as usual, excited to stay in the mountains and continue growing their friendships. Mini session campers gathered together at the Spirit Fire and reflected on the session as a group. Spirit fire is a tradition as old as the camp itself. It is a time to sing old camp songs, and a time for every line to speak about their love of camp. The speeches last night were particularly moving. Some girls talked about the peace they felt when they were at camp, some talked about a true sense of home. All mentioned the friendships they had cultivated in such a short amount of time, and how special camp friends are. As we walked around the lake holding candles lit from the spirit fire, most girls needed to get their candles relit. There is a proverb that suggests “a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle,” and as I saw girls leaning over to their friends and asking for some more light, I realized that this was the true purpose of coming to camp. At camp, we light each others’ candles every day through kind words and small deeds. Our entire life becomes simplified, and somehow, we understand that this is all we really need.

So the mini session girls will leave tomorrow. They will carry with them the beautiful memories and some of the sweetest friendships imaginable. Hopefully, they will keep in touch throughout the year and find ways to carry the light from their candles into their lives at home. The full session girls will continue to grow in their friendships and continue to live their camp lives to the fullest without taking a day for granted. Though some of our friends will leave tomorrow, there is a collective sense of gratitude for the friendship in the first place. As one girl at Spirit Fire remarked, “Camp friends are the best friends.”

Leave a Comment

July 5, 2016March 17, 2023 • Videos • Jeff Carter

Second Session Video Short

You may remember the amazing short videos we published last summer. They were produced by Robbie Francis of Go Swan Filmworks, and we’re happy to say he’s back again to work his magic capturing camp life and presenting it beautifully.

The video here (shot a few days ago) is amazing as it relates the details of how our camp days are active and fun, but it’s also an extraordinary peak into the ease and happiness the girls feel here at Rockbrook.

It’s delightfully heartwarming, and I suggest you watch it several times. Enjoy!

Leave a Comment

July 4, 2016May 6, 2020 • News • Mimi Dunn

Stars, Stripes, and Smiles

“The British are coming! The British are coming!”—we awoke to riders on horseback, yelling Paul Revere’s warning to get us up for the much-anticipated holiday: Independence Day! Some campers groggily rolled out of bed, others excitedly sprang up, but before anything else, we all met on the hill in our pajamas for the flag raising. The high-ups raised the flag as we sang a round of America the Beautiful.

For days of lead-up, returning campers and staff alike have been anticipating July 4. Most say it is their favorite day at camp, or their favorite holiday in general. By the time we got to breakfast, it wasn’t hard to see why: giant balloon shapes of U, S, and A were above the salad bar; red, white, and blue stars and stickers were scattered across the tables, and stars and stripes banners were strung across the room. The meal was filled with patriotic songs like Yankee Doodle and Party in the USA. Our conversations revolved around the 4^th of July, too. Some cabins engaged in a round of American History trivia after they were finished eating. They asked each other fun questions and learned so many new things!

After breakfast, it was time for activities. Some activities decided to join in the patriotic spirit and theme them! Swimming was particularly spirited—the girls loved dipping their hair in the water and coming up with what they called George Washington hair-dos! They also had a great time retrieving red, white, and blue balloons, and having greasy watermelon relays. The spirit from the lake was felt all through camp!

The biggest events of the day, however, occurred after second free swim. We all gathered on the hill to enjoy a cookout dinner! We got to choose from burgers, spicy chicken, barbeque chicken, and a variety of veggie burgers for dinner, and we enjoyed eating with our friends on the hill surrounded by music and the warm air. The creek was filed with soda, and girls got to choose their favorites—a rare but welcomed camp treat! We had wonderful conversations, and it was topped off by a slice of strawberry shortcake and fresh whipped cream! Nothing could have been more perfect as we lingered on the hill, enjoying every last bite!

We left the meal and the senior cabins gathered to prepare for the Fourth of July Parade! Earlier this week, the girls from the senior cabins painted giant banners for the parade. These banners had themes like ‘Great American Movies,’ ‘Regional Foods,’ and ‘American Music.’ One cabin knew all of the presidents by name and wrote all of them on the banner! Another cabin, whose theme was ‘Great American Women’ painted a remarkable depiction of Rosie the Riveter with the words “We Can Do It” in huge letters underneath! The senior girls lined up and received bags of candy while the middler and junior campers lined up on the driveway. The cabins went one by one, yelling chants (“American movies really rock—now throw that tea off the dock!”) and tossing candy. All had fun!
The parade route ended in the gym, but once the campers got there, they realized that their counselors had mysteriously disappeared! Soon, Chase told the campers that they would have to find their counselors—tonight was Counselor Hunt! After giving the counselors some time to hide, the campers stayed in their cabin groups and sprinted to see who could find the most counselors. Counselors were found hidden in the forest, behind the bathrooms, and behind trees. Every counselor represented a state, and the points that each counselor was worth depended on when their state became a part of the USA. Once the bell rang, counselors who were still hidden ran to the flagpole and campers could tag them to earn their cabins some last minute points! In the end, Senior 8 won the competition and won an upcoming trip to Dolly’s, which is probably the most highly regarded prize imaginable at camp!

After the Counselor Hunt was over, we did a group dance, the “Wop,” and then gathered on the hill to settle in for the fireworks. Music was playing in the background, and everyone was decked out with glow sticks and patriotic clothes. Girls danced on the hill and had energetic conversations as we waited for the fireworks to begin. The day had been so perfect—a combination of breezy warm weather, delicious food, tons of spirit, and good friends, so we were all in a wonderful mood as we soaked up the perfect night and anticipated the fireworks show to come. Soon, the fireworks began! It was a spectacular show, with Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ playing in the background among a variety of other songs. They lit up the sky, and, sitting beside best friends, it was the best cap to the night we could imagine. We were filled with wonder and joy as the beautiful colors lit up the sky. Jeff sets them off at the dock of the lake, so we have a great view of them from the hill!

Full of gratitude and wonder, we made our way to bed and fell into deep sleep. The day had been full of warmth and bliss, and it is sure to live in all of our memories as one of our best days ever at camp.

Leave a Comment

July 3, 2016May 7, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Absolute Exuberant Hilarity

It’s not quite the 4th of July yet, but that has not stopped us from getting ready for the holiday and celebrating it with a good dose of red, white and blue.

If you’ve been following along by reading these blog posts and scanning the daily online photo galleries, it’s clear that we have jam-packed days here at Rockbrook. We’re happily playing, having more muffin-fueled conversations than you can count, and being physically active— swim, climb, ride, run, shoot, flip and zip —all day. After a whole week of intense fun like that, it felt really good this morning to sleep in an extra hour. Everyone seemed to have no trouble relaxing longer and then coming to breakfast in their PJs for a treat of fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts along with Rick’s egg sandwich fixins’ (English muffins, cheddar cheese, scrambled eggs, and ham) and our yogurt/fruit/granola/cereal bars.

After breakfast everyone dressed in their camp uniforms (white shirt and shorts, with red tie) and assembled on the hill around the flagpole so the Hi-Ups could lead a flag raising ceremony. In two rows, they marched toward the flagpole, raised the flag, led us all in the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of “America the Beautiful.”

The Juniors next led the Chapel assembly on the theme of “Goodwill.” They chose songs like “Lean on Me” and “What a Wonderful World” and took turns speaking about what “goodwill” means to them. They shared stories about when people were especially kind and helpful. Sarah explained why there is a cabin at camp named “Goodwill” (It’s named after the birthplace of Rockbrook’s founder Nancy Carrier, a plantation in SC by the same name).

After rest hour, we held the day’s main event, a fun all-camp relay race: the “White, Blue and Red-bird Olympics.” We randomly assigned all the girls to three multi-aged teams (red, white and blue) and gave each a gallon of washable body paint to “express their team spirit.” You can imagine how that turned out! Each team also came up with a cheer, and a strategy about who would participate in the different group challenges and relays to come.

The relays themselves were classic. At the lake, the teams raced to move a greased watermelon up and back through the water, as other girls tried to ride the waterslide “Big Samantha” as fast as possible. Another group madly soaked sponges and ran to squeeze out the water, filling a nearby bucket. In the gym, after a break for a few slices of watermelon, the girls took turns pairing up for a three-legged-race, the Dizzy Lizzy spinning bat run, and a costume challenge that involved dressing in various costume items, running and then removing the costume for the next member of your team. Another athletic challenge was the sack race held on one of the tennis courts. Using burlap sacks that once contained coffee beans, the girls climbed into the sacks and hopped the width (and back) of a tennis court as fast as possible. Meanwhile, things got a little messy on another court as the teams tossed eggs back and forth, stepping farther apart with each toss. I’d say the winners successfully tossed their eggs about 40 feet. Amazing!

All the groups ended up at the landsports field after their relays, the perfect place for the final event of the afternoon: a giant all-camp shaving cream fight. Cases of shaving cream bottles, dozens of squirt guns, and almost 100 water balloons were distributed across the grassy field. The sound system was queued up with an up-tempo pop song, and suddenly white foam was spraying everywhere. Laughing and shrieking with delight as they sprayed each other, the girls soon had emptied their cans of shaving cream and then went on to style each others’ hair or simply cover themselves completely. You’ve never seen a group of girls, from the 6-year-olds to the biggest teenagers, have this much crazy fun. Absolute exuberant hilarity! And so fun to see, even if it meant getting a handful of shaving cream planted on your back unexpectedly.

Nearby, Richie, Rockbrook’s builder and facilities manager, who is also an officer in the local volunteer fire department, stood by with a 600-gallon pumper firetruck ready to provide a welcome shower. When he turned on the hose, spraying warm water high in the air, it took no time for a wet dance party to erupt as the girls cleaned off. It was an exciting way to rinse off before heading back up to their lines for a “proper” shower before dinner.

The whole afternoon was the kind of full-on fun we love around here. It was loud and silly, sweaty and messy. It was full of laughter and cheers, girls letting loose, and friends having the best time together. Such good stuff.

Leave a Comment

July 2, 2016May 25, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Dancing with Rockmont

Just on the edge of Black Mountain, NC, about and hour away from Rockbrook, is Camp Rockmont for Boys. Founded in 1956 on the 500-acre campus of the former Black Mountain College, it’s now a well-known camp that hosts about 400 boys per session. The beautiful Lake Eden is the center of the camp, along with it’s dining hall, historic dormitory, several athletic fields, and gymnasium. The whole campus is beautifully designed and feels like a mountain retreat.

Tonight, for the first time in the history of Rockbrook, our girls had a “social” with the boys at Rockmont… finally the -brook and the -mont coming together. This was quite a logistical feat since it involved us transporting all of our Middlers, Seniors, Hi-Ups and their counselors to Black Mountain, but with some help from two chartered 44-passenger buses and all of our camp buses and vans, we were able to make the journey with 3 seats to spare.

As our convoy of vehicles pulled into the Rockmont gate, a dozen or so of the boys stood out front waving and holding a hand-painted sign reading “Welcome Rockbrook!” Several other campers, and Shawn the Rockmont assistant Director, then led us from our buses up to a grassy area between their gym and dining hall, and adjacent to their lake where all the evening’s action was planned. The weather was ideal— cool shade, light occasional breezes, and clear cloudless skies —so we were all excited to get started and see what this “social” would entail. And it was amazing! Up the hill in the gym, the dance music was rockin’ with fun disco lights and kids dancing in a dance floor area marked by a set of moveable bleachers. Down in the dining hall, a couple of counselors were leading a craft activity and closer to the lake, another staff member was tending a big campfire where the boys and girls could just sit and talk. There were frisbee games and spikeball (AKA “slammo” or “battle bounce”) games to play. There was a snow cone machine making cones for everyone, and plenty of water stations set up stocked with cookies to enjoy. They also had short hay rides slowly carrying groups of kids by tractor around a loop through the camp.

With all these options available, it was fun for the girls to flit from one thing to the other. They would hear a favorite song coming from the gym (like Y.M.C.A., for example) and run up to dance. Then feeling hot from jumping around to the music, would head back down to the grassy field to cool off with a cup of water. The girls mostly moved in groups, more comfortable having conversations and interacting with the boys with friends nearby. I think the most common question I heard being asked was, “How old are you?” Apparently, for these children, that’s both important and a little difficult to guess. As the evening unfolded, it seemed to me that the girls became a less nervous and more of these conversations were taking place.

The highlight of the night was the fantastic fireworks show Rockmont presented to close the evening. It was their 4th of July celebration and included very professional mortars and rockets fired from the dock in the middle of their lake. With music blaring, and colorful explosions blasting in the sky, it was a thrilling show.

The bus ride back to Brevard got us home quite late, and the girls will no doubt be a little tired tomorrow, but it was a very fun outing for everyone. Thanks Rockmont! We had a great time visiting, and we hope to do it again soon.

Leave a Comment

July 1, 2016March 25, 2023 • Summer Camp • Jeff Carter

A Place for Hands

There’s a certain manual character of life at camp. Given all of the activities we have going on simultaneously, the community living structuring our days, and the constant outdoor experience, camp is a setting where we use our hands constantly. We’re doing things, making things, and exploring things with our hands everyday. Sweeping the dining hall, tying a climbing rope, gripping a tennis racket, steadying a ball of clay on the potter’s wheel— all that and more can happen before breakfast! …not to mention, pulling back the string of a bow, tying embroidery floss into an intricate pattern, smacking a tetherball or gagaball, steering the reins of a horse. Camp life is defined by action, by direct inter-action with the physical— all five senses! —nature of the real world, and thereby provides almost limitless opportunities to engage things with our hands.

I think this is a significant benefit of camp because modern life, with its “conveniences” and “processing,” has made working with our hands less common and made hand skills less important. Perhaps, like spending time in nature, it’s good for us, and for our children, to do things with our hands. Maybe, this kind of “manual engagement” with the physical world is a core aspect of what makes us human, and it’s at great expense that we give it up.

If so, then that means our kids need chances to work with their hands. And I don’t mean pushing buttons or swiping the screen of a smart phone! Just the opposite; they need what camp provides— daily connections with the physical (and natural) world.

We might go so far as to say this manual character of camp helps explain why kids find life here so novel and fun. When their ordinary lives are limited by polished products, buffered by climate controlled spaces, and abstracted by technology, it feels really good, it —feels — refreshing to dig in with their hands. It probably means getting a little dirty, and maybe ending up with a couple of bruises and scrapes, but that’s simply part of living this fully. This is another way that camp differs from ordinarily living, and I would claim, another reason why it’s so gratifying.

Camp is a place for our hands. And, that’s really good stuff.

Leave a Comment

Explore Topics

Sign Up for the Newsletter