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?
A happy girl’s guide to this year’s New Year’s Resolutions.
1. I resolve to go on at least one adventure a day.
Adventures of the pack-up-your-suitcase, walk-in-the-woods, live-by-the-seat-of-your-pants persuasion are lovely and, very often, inaccessible. Climbing Mt. Everest is hard, but big adventures are everywhere- unopened doors, questions just waiting to be asked, roads less traveled. A right turn instead of a left, can begin a grand adventure!
2. I resolve, everyday, to learn one new thing about my family.
Engage with the people you love. Ask them about who they are. Ask them about their day, their passions, their history, their successes. Give your family the opportunity to share their stories.
3. I resolve to find gratitude for at least one thing that did happen and one thing that didn’t happen.
Psychologist Chris Thurber tells us that just as important as it is to rejoice in what you have, life also moves forward when you acknowledge what you don’t. For example, you weren’t expecting a fire today and be thankful there wasn’t one.
4. I resolve to burn fewer cookies.
Thurber also points out, when you throw a batch of two dozen cookies in the oven and twenty of them burn, savor your four successes. Then, consider how you can recalibrate to burn fewer of the next batch. Life requires a few tweaks now and again.
5. I resolve to let the sky be my limit.
Once a day, aim to see things not how they are, but how they could be.
6. I resolve to go where there is no guarantee.
Share yourself with the world. Never hold back, even when your efforts have no guarantees.
7. I resolve to start every day believing that I am a somebody and end each day as a better somebody.
Start each day believing that you are somebody- you are worthy of love and connection and you have amazing things to offer. Then, let each day change you for the better.
8. I resolve to be a tough cookie.
Set backs, scraped knees, a scraped ego. A life filled with challenge is a life filled with color and possibility. Be tough enough to absorb life’s lessons.
9. I resolve to be astonished.
Stay amazed. Life is an endless journey of firecrackers and confetti.
10. I resolve to give.
Your value increases in proportion to how much of it you give away. Holding tightly to your time and money can, ultimately, narrow your wealth.
11. I resolve to be a party animal.
The world is a party and you can be the life of it! Life is like a stick of gum- you can simply chew it or you can blow bubbles.
12. I resolve to never stop making mistakes.
Mistakes are open doors. Mistakes are proof that you are as alive as you’ve ever been. Mistakes mean that you are a take-risks, sing-out-loud, love-with-your-whole-heart, share-what’s-on-your-mind, change-the-world, happy girl!
Working at a summer camp is not the only way (even though it’s one of the best). Consider these 68 simple ways to make the world a better place.
1. Be curious
2. Lend a hand
3. Learn all you can
4. Be gentle with those who make mistakes- including yourself
5. Share
6. If you don’t have to step on that bug, don’t
7. Upcycle, recycle, reuse, home make- turn trash into treasure
8. Be open, stay soft, be flexible
9. Ask questions
10. Remember names
11. Put people first
12. Invest in your neighbors daily
13. Listen
14. Don’t stop at the surface
15. Say, “I love you”
16. Withhold judgement
17. Start over whenever you need to
18. Reach out
19. Try
20. Advocate for something
21. Plant a seed
22. Add laughter where can
23. Spend time outdoors
24. Let others have the right-of-way
25. Give thanks
26. Say thanks
27. Give people a chance (or two)
28. Dismiss perfectionism
29. Explore
30. Every now and then, ignore the mirror
31. Start from the heart
32. Choose words that lift people up
33. Buy two, give one away
34. Sometimes, step up- other times, stand back
35. Hear people out
36. Seek understanding
37. Never boo- always cheer
38. Have a hankering, a sweet tooth, for life
39. For someone in need, give up your place in line
40. Be humble
41. Appreciate yesterday, but move on from it
42. Celebrate even the smallest of achievements
43. If you can lighten someone’s load, do it
44. Invest in children
45. Don’t turn a blind eye
46. Trust
47. Pats on the back, high fives, hugs- reach out and touch
48. Celebrate others
49. Celebrate success
50. Celebrate failures
51. From harvest to heart- honor the work that goes into a good meal
52. Bring life wherever you go
53. Don’t give too much thought to what happens behind your back
54. Deliver bad news tenderly
55. Remember what it’s like to be every age you’ve been thus far
56. Be someone’s safe haven
57. Stay true to truth and dare to dare
58. Break as many falls as possible
59. If you can’t find splendor at first glance, take a second
60. Give compliments
61. Accept compliments
62. Think long and hard before you ever swing a fist
63. Recognize lessons everywhere
64. Show up for tomorrow
65. Trust in your ability to do hard things
66. Lean on someone
67. Let someone lean on you
68. Be of service