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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.

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June 18, 2016May 6, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Smiling Set the Tone

Today we were lucky to have George Peterson present a woodworking workshop to our campers. George is a professional artist who lives here in Brevard with his two daughters (who come to Rockbrook) and his wife Margaret (who also attended Rockbrook as a girl). He is a woodworker, carving, etching and painting both sculptural and functional pieces of wood. He’s been producing art for more that 25 years and has shown his work in galleries around the world (in Japan recently, for example) and across the US. Take a look at his Website and you can see the bowl he turned for the White House, plus several other photos of his amazing work. He makes gorgeous stuff.

George and Margaret have held wood turning workshops for us in previous summers. This year, to try something new, he invited our groups to his studio and demonstrated how to take chips from old skateboards and make cool pendant jewelry. The skateboards are made from layers of different colored wood, so when cut at an angle, the chips become multicolored. Then, using a vibrating carving tool, the girls cut patterns and groves giving their pieces even more texture and interest. George helped them use a drill press to drill a couple of holes and a metal brand to burn the letters “RBC” into one side of each piece. Another option was to hammer in a couple of steel or copper tacks, adding some shine to the jewelry. A little sanding polishing and buffing, plus a dip into clear mineral oil shined everything up and really accented the different colors and textures of the carvings and metal. The girls learned about using the different tools, and ended up with a really nice handmade piece of art they can wear proudly.

Time enjoying all the regular activities filled the day, with girls chatting on the back porch of Curosty doing needle point, while others flew by on the zipline course. A leisurely hike to Rockbrook Falls (one of the big waterfalls on the RBC property) and another more difficult hike to the top of Castle Rock, the massive rock cliff high above the dining hall, were also options this morning. Rehearsals for this session’s camp musical, which the girls will present next week on Wednesday, are happening during both Free Swim periods (before lunch and dinner). And, of course we’ve been loving the fresh baked muffins every morning between activity periods. The “Confetti” flavor today was a huge hit.

The big event of the day, however, was the dance we had with the boys at Camp High Rocks, located just a short drive away from Rockbrook. All of the Middlers and Seniors made the trip (in 12 vans and buses!), while the Juniors stayed in camp for a campfire with storyteller Susan Huter. Instead of a disco-ball, pop music dance, the High Rocks boys hosted a square dance outdoors on their tennis courts. Now you might think that this sounds too old fashioned to be fun for a group of 11- to 16-year-old girls. In fact, several of our campers expressed that same sort of doubt in the van ride over, but once they gave it a try, heard the music, and realized that everyone was inexperienced and prone to “mess up” the moves, the girls found they were having a great time. There’s much less girl/boy pressure in this setting. It’s more lighthearted, friendly and conversational. Laughing and smiling set the tone. A short break for cookies and peach lemonade helped recharge everyone partway through, and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye and ride back down the mountain to Rockbrook. I think most of the girls would agree, even after their initial hesitation about square dancing, the whole evening was friendly and relaxed, and terrific. It is nice to see that even these modern, technology and pop culture fueled, girls can enjoy something as traditional, humanly simple, as square dancing. That’s another great thing about camp; it’s a wonderful reminder of how something basic can also be delightful.

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August 8, 2015March 25, 2023 • News • Jeff Carter

Happy and Tired

At breakfast this morning we announced a special activity the girls could select today: attending a wood turning workshop presented by local artist George Peterson. George is married to an Alumna of Rockbrook and has two daughters who attend camp. He is known nationally for working with wood, shaping, etching, carving, burning and finishing it into amazing functional and decorative pieces. He just returned from showing his work in Japan, and has worked with galleries in New York, San Francisco and Atlanta as well. One of his bowls was recently chosen for the oval office! His Web site, The Circle Factory, shows some of his latest work. Check out what he’s done with old skateboards.

George started by demonstrating how a wood lathe can spin a block of wood, and allow his sharp chisel to cut away curly shavings, slowly revealing a uniform shape. It was a little loud, but so fascinating to watch a bowl materialize from the block with each chip of wood removed. After forming the interior of the bowl, George demonstrated using an electric carving tool how to shape the exterior and bottom. This wasn’t just a demonstration though. George was ready for each girl to have her own bowl to work on. He had the interiors started, and with George guiding the tools, the girls carved and sanded their bowls, readying them for the final two touches: burning the letters “RBC” using a metal brand, and adding a coat of mineral oil to protect the wood and give it a pleasing shine. Throughout the day, in a total of 4 workshops, campers were carving and sanding very cool wooden bowls, now keepsakes of their session at Rockbrook.

The Rockbrook lake already has floats, beach balls, kickboards, noodles, tubes, and other assorted floating balls and toys, but today the lifeguards added a few other items “just for fun,” as they put it. For the morning periods, it was an arsenal of water pistols, and water shooting devices. The junior campers in particular had fun spraying each other, easily refilling their weapons with water from the lake. In the afternoon, suddenly there was a watermelon to play with. Some of the older girls took turns swimming with it, tossing it from the diving board, and watching it— after a very excellent splash —slowly resurface. After each toss and loud kerplunk, the girls would laugh and laugh, ready to pass the watermelon back up for another throw. Simple stuff, I know, but you would love it too!

Tonight was an event that many of the girls, especially the older campers, look forward to all session, and that has become a camp tradition over the years: a dance with Camp Carolina. We probably fired continuously all of our tankless water heaters this afternoon, and the very few mirrors in camp attracted a constant crowd, as the girls prepared for the night, pulling out a special outfit or maybe dressing in a silly costume. Once again we split the two camps and held two dances, our Juniors and Middlers staying at the Rockbrook gym with the younger boys and our Seniors and Hi-Ups dancing in the CCB dining hall with their older boys. At Rockbrook, our friend Marcus (aka, DJ Dawg) played all the music, doing a great job selecting songs the girls know, as well as songs with popular dance moves like “Watch Me.” At both dances we outnumbered the boys about 2:1 making the night, for the girls at least, more about dancing with their friends than with the boys. Sweaty and tired from jumping and dancing around for an hour and a half, the older girls were very excited and chatty on the ride back to Rockbrook. Happy and tired: that’s another good camp day.

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July 18, 2015March 25, 2023 • News • Jeff Carter

That Takes Muscle!

George Peterson giving a wood turning demonstration

We were lucky today to host local artist George Peterson and his wife Margaret (who is an Alumna of RBC) for a workshop on wood turning. George works with wood and is known nationally for his carving, etching and finishings of both functional pieces and sculptures. He’s shown his work across the United States, in New York, San Francisco and Atlanta for example, and recently returned from a gallery opening in Japan. You can see a few examples, including his latest work with old skateboards, on his Web site: The Circle Factory.

Beginning with a block of wood, George demonstrated how a wood lathe spins the block, and when he carefully presses a sharp chisel into the whirling wood, twisty shavings fly away. It’s mesmerizing to see how a uniform bowl is revealed, like it was hiding inside the block of wood. After removing it from the lathe, George then showed the girls how he uses an electric carving tool to shape the bottom of the bowl. The best part was next; giving it a try themselves! With George guiding the tools, the girls took turns working on their own shallow bowls, shaping and sanding them to a smooth finish. After branding each piece with the letters “RBC,” the girls added a coat of mineral oil to bring out the wood’s grain and give the bowls a protective and pleasing shine. George presented 4 workshops throughout the day, giving the 12 girls in each a really cool, unique wooden bowl to keep as memento from their camp session this year.

Meanwhile, the full range of in-camp activities kept hands and feet busy all day. Badminton in the gym, loom weaving in Curosty, horseback riding down at the stables, yoga in the Hillside Lodge, climbing at the Alpine Tower, swimming at the lake, shooting at the archery and riflery ranges: all examples that come to mind. Action springs up in every corner on a day like this, but also a yummy, mid-morning muffin break, free time before lunch to chill out, and a delicious rest hour before jumping right back in for the afternoon. The pace of our day here at Rockbrook is wonderful.

Hidden in the shade among the ferns and broad-leafed hostas (which by the way are sometimes called “Plantain Lillies”) just behind the office, a few junior campers have discovered a fairy garden. It’s a delicately cultivated part of the forest really, an area that catches the eye as somehow more alive, more intentional and definitely more beautiful… painted rocks, colorful leaves and flowers, neatly arranged pieces of bark, sticks and lots of moss. After discovering it, it made complete sense to help the fairies be more comfortable, so using popsicle sticks, candle wax, string and beads, the campers built houses for the fairies, one with a back porch and another suspended from a low-hanging branch. On the roof of one house, they made their intentions clear by writing, “Welcome Home.” Now, thankfully, the fairy garden is a fairy village, proving again, thanks to these generous, creative campers, that Rockbrook is a “Fairyland of Beauty.”

The biggest thrill of the day came after dinner when we held a dance, as Rockbrook has for generations, with the boys of Camp Carolina. The girls eagerly look forward to this night as a chance to clean up a little (which of course means firing all of the camp’s tankless water heaters at once), dress up a little, but really to giggle, be silly (again!), and jump around with each other. Tonight we held two dances simultaneously, the Juniors and Middlers staying here in our gym to dance with the younger boys, and our seniors and Hi-Ups heading over to the CCB dining hall for their dance. At Rockbrook, we invited our friend Marcus (aka, DJ Dawg) to pump out the music. He always does a fantastic job playing songs the girls know, as well as songs with popular dance moves like “Y.M.C.A.” The older girls spent a solid hour and a half dancing, at one point forming a conga line, singing along to the songs, and sweating as the night wore on. That much dancing takes muscle! A little tired and definitely hot on the bus ride back to Rockbrook, the girls seemed to have all good things to say about our excellent night out.

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June 20, 2015May 10, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

All Fantastic

Saturday is a day when we sometimes arrange a special workshop offered by a guest artist or performer, making it an optional activity the girls can select to mix up their schedules. Today we had the treat of George Peterson and his wife Margaret (who is an Alumna of Rockbrook) presenting a wood turning class. George is an artist who lives here in Brevard, and is well known for his work using wood. He makes both functional and sculptural pieces by carving, etching, sawing and marking the wood using different tools and methods (e.g., burning or branding). He has sculptures displayed in galleries all over the United States and abroad. Later this month, for example, he is traveling to Japan to present two shows of his work. Check out his studio or some of his exhibited pieces, and you’ll be very impressed.

George began his session with a demonstration of a wood lathe, taking an eight-inch cube of wood, turning and carving it into a shallow bowl. The 12 campers watching were wide-eyed as the twisty chips of wood flew out from the chisel he used to shape the bowl. After the lathe, he showed the girls how to form the outside and bottom of the bowl using an electric carving tool. The girls then took turns carving their own bowls with the tool (George had cut the interior of these pieces in advance), and using sandpaper to make a smooth finish. George also has a cool metal brand of the letters “RBC” that he heated and burned the letters into each piece. The final step involved painting their bowl with mineral oil, which, as you can see, really warmed up the grain of the wood. The finished bowls all look fantastic.

There are 3 different creeks that run through Rockbrook, each providing easy access for the girls to explore the insects and other creatures that live among the rocks, mosses, and cool waters flowing down the hill. Armed with nets and loaded with curiosity, the campers who select the activity we simply call “Nature” are sure to spend an hour getting their feet wet in one of these Rockbrook creeks. There are worms to find, but also tadpoles, salamanders and crawdads (aka, crayfish or mudbugs). The nets you see in this photo make it much easier to catch these larger critters, and putting them temporarily in cups is a nice way to get a good, up-close look at what they catch. With this kind of outdoor exploration going on at camp, there’s certainly no deficit of nature around here!

During lunch rumors began to spread that we would be having a dance with the boys of Camp Carolina tonight, so as you can imagine, our never-ending-hot-water heaters began to get a workout long before dinner. Fortunately, the rumors were true, and all that cleaning up and hair brushing paid off because around 6:30, we loaded up all our buses and vans to transport our Seniors over to CCB for their dance. At the same time, the younger Camp Carolina boys came over to Rockbrook so we could make each group a more reasonable size and tailor the mood of the dance appropriately at two dances simultaneously. Some girls felt more comfortable to attend our “Dance Alternative” friendship bracelet party instead of the dances. These dances can get a little hot and sweaty as the crowd jumps around, sings and laughs to each familiar pop song. The group dances like “Cotton-eyed Joe” kept a lot of people moving, but all the Taylor Swift songs clearly had the most pull. Everyone was enjoying the silliness of the event, and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. Thanks for a fun evening CCB!

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August 9, 2014March 13, 2023 • News • Jeff Carter

Playful Balance

The Rockbrook zip line and swinging bridge is a special camp activity we offer like other adventure trips (e.g., backpacking, kayaking, and canoeing). The girls sign up for it whenever it’s announced in the dining hall, like today after breakfast. This means skipping one of their regularly scheduled activities, but riding the zip is such a thrill, almost everyone does it at least once while they’re here. The girls meet the instructors at “Hiker’s Rock” to gear up with their harnesses, helmets, and special dual-wheeled pulleys. They then hike up into the woods behind the dining hall to the start of the swinging bridge. This is a 100-foot long suspension of steel cable, rope and wooden planks, hung between two huge boulders about 60-feet in the air. The bridge is challenging— some might say “scary” —because it wobbles as you walk on it, but also because we intentionally removed several of the planks leaving gaps to balance across. Once on the far side of the bridge, now perched high on a rock ledge, the girls take turns clipping their pulley into the 450-foot long cable that stretches across the camp, passing in front our new office building and ending on a wooden platform. It takes some courage to step off the ledge, but as the girls feel the ride’s acceleration, they’re immediately smiling, often screaming, and having a great time.

On the flat area near the gym, the archery instructors have been helping girls improve their shooting techniques. There are a few safety rules on the archery range to learn first (e.g., the shooting commands), but then there are tips about how to stand, to draw and hold the bow, to aim, and to release. Archery requires proper balance, breathing and concentration too, so the girls have plenty to work on! It’s exciting when someone gets a bullseye and thereby has her name announced at lunch as joining the “bullseye club.” These girls are really getting good!

Meanwhile, nearby inside the gym, Elaine Trozzo our longtime gymnastics coach has been working with the girls on the balance beams, both the high beam and low beam depending on the skill she’s teaching. She’s going over basic walking techniques with the beginners, but also helping a few girls improve their jumps, turns and dismounts. Elaine does a great job keeping her classes fun and informative by combining drills and games. She always begins with a few minutes of stretching to warm up, and lately has been finishing with runs on the mini tramp with girls taking turns doing tricks like flips and tucks onto the landing pads. It’s nice to think how the skills developed in gymnastics— strength, balance, and flexibility, for example — easily translate to other physical activities and sports.

Like dancing… for, despite a passing band of rainy weather after dinner, tonight we were all excited to dance with the boys of Camp Carolina. We actually held two dances, the Juniors and Middlers staying here in the Rockbrook gym, and our Seniors loading up eight buses and vans to make the trip over to Camp Carolina’s dining hall for their dance. We also offered an alternative activity for those girls who thought dancing wasn’t their thing tonight. These dances are fun for the girls because they are mostly about jumping around with each other, being silly and singing to the music. The boys are almost simply a backdrop (though perhaps less so for the oldest girls). Several of the more popular songs have well-known choreographed group dance moves like the “Cha Cha Slide,” or even that classic, “YMCA.” Overall, this evening was a chance to dress up a little, maybe get your hair “just right,” and enjoy a night of playful dancing.

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July 19, 2014March 25, 2023 • News • Jeff Carter

Beautiful Results

The cold front that brought yesterday’s drizzle stuck around today keeping the temperatures in the 60s and everyone covered up in fleeces, sweatshirts and rain jackets. The low temperature this morning was 60 degrees and the high this afternoon was 65! Keeping it cool in the mountains! Weather like this may move us inside for the most part, but it also inspired us this morning to build fires in the Lodges’ fireplaces. Now a warm crackling fire was the backdrop to the drama class in the Junior Lodge, and was something even more soothing for the Yoga girls in the Hillside Lodge. It also seemed completely normal to roast marshmallows for s’mores in the Lakeview Lodge. It’s such a cozy feeling— the dry warmth of a wood fire on a chilly day like this.

We were very excited today to welcome a guest artist to camp, George Peterson. George works with wood crafting both sculptural and functional pieces. He carves, etches and scars the wood using different tools and techniques to make each piece completely unique. He’s displayed his work in galleries across the United States (CA, MI, IL, PA, GA and NC to name a few states), has been featured in magazine articles, and has pieces held in prestigious museum collections (Boston Fine Arts Museum, for example). Here’s a link to one of his most recent gallery exhibitions. George is also the father of two girls who attend Rockbrook, and his wife Margaret is an Alumna of camp.

George and Margaret spent the whole day with us presenting two wood turning workshops for the senior campers. George began the sessions by demonstrating how he uses a lathe to turn a log into the shape of a bowl. The whir of the electric lathe, the shower of twisty wood shavings, and the emerging bowl was very impressive to witness. Each girl then was given a walnut bowl to finish. George had prepared these in advance, turning them and letting them to dry to the point when they were ready to be sanded. In addition to sanding, each bowl needed some carving on the bottom, and for this the girls used an electric oscillating tool, with George guiding the tool as they carved.

Some bowls had developed interesting cracks as they dried, and for those, Margaret and George demonstrated how to use a waxed cord to sew across the cracks, giving the bowl a really cool look. Everyone was able to add another finishing touch by branding their bowls with the letters “RBC.” George brought a metal brand which after being heated in a torch can burn those letters into the wood. The final finishing came when the girls applied a coat of mineral oil to their bowls bringing out the deep brown color of the walnut and adding a subtle shine to the wood. This was a very special experience for everyone, both informative and fun, and in the end, one with beautiful results.

Do you know how to belay? Well the girls who signed up for climbing were learning today. Belaying is the technique used to protect a climber from falls by using a special “belay device” to adjust the tension and slack in a climbing rope. It requires careful attention to the climber and a very specific pattern of hand motions manipulating the rope. The belay device (We use something called an “ATC”) adds friction to the rope when needed, making a great deal of strength unnecessary, and allowing even a small girl can keep a larger person safe while climbing.

This cool wet weather hasn’t hampered our kayakers. Just the opposite! They took a trip today to the Upper Green River, running a 4 mile section of moderately difficult class II and class III+ rapids. This is fast section with several large rapids that require accurate lines and strong paddling at times. Consequently, it’s rare to see a group of campers handle the Upper Green this well. Our Rockbrook girls crushed it!

It was time for some big excitement after dinner— a dance with the boys of Camp Carolina. Actually, we held two dances, with Rockbrook hosting the youngest boys, and CCB deejaying a dance for our Senior girls and Hi-Ups. We also organized a “Dance Alternative” activity in one of the Lodges for those girls who didn’t feel like dancing. If you take a look at the Photo Gallery, you’ll get a sense of how these dances are primarily a time to be silly, sing to your favorite pop songs, and jump around with your friends. For the younger girls dance, our friend DJ Marcus kept everyone moving with several group dances like the “Cha Cha Slide,” while over at Camp Carolina, the older girls leaped about to “Sandstorm.” Time flies at these events, but after the last song, we had to say our goodbyes and head back to camp. We enjoyed the whole evening. Thanks Camp Carolina!

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July 12, 2014May 7, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

A Terrific Evening

During the two “Free Swim” periods of each day, 45 minutes before both lunch and dinner, it’s common to see a good number of girls swimming laps at the lake. Some using kick boards and others varying their strokes, girls are clocking laps back and forth. And they are keeping count of exactly how many they finish, because if they reach 200 (150 for Middlers, and 100 for Juniors) they join the “Mermaid Club.” You can imagine completing that many laps is no one-day affair; it takes dedication and multiple trips to the lake. When a camper joins the Mermaid Club, Chrissy, our Waterfront Director, will read out your name in the dining hall during the announcements after a meal, and then the whole camp sings the “Mermaid Song” inserting the camper’s name in the final line. Chrissy wrote the song, and here are the words.

The Mermaid Song

Way down at Rockbrook in the chilly lake,
There were some girls a-swimming,
Who started to shiver and shake.
We saw some scales a-glinting,
And tails they did sprout!
Lo and behold a mermaid and the whole camp did shout
“Oh Mermaid, Mermaid, What’s your name?

! [name]! You’re a mermaid!”

More of a chant than a song, it’s an honor to be recognized by everyone in this way. In addition to the recognition, some girls are (at least partially!) motivated by another perk awarded members of the Mermaid Club each session: a trip to Dolly’s Dairy Bar. For girls who simply love the waterfront, the water slide “Big Samantha,” the diving board, or just floating around on a tube in the sun, this is a concrete way to show it. Here’s a short video to give you a better sense of it all. I wonder if your girls are striving to join the Mermaid Club… (Hint. Hint. You could write them and ask!)

For those who prefer more land-based activities to fill their free time, the gym is one place to go because there’s bound to be a basketball or dodgeball game in the works. Right outside the gym, the GaGa pit is a great option. The tennis courts are also available to practice your serve or just to hit a few ball with a friend. A group of “Rockbrook Runners,” which includes walkers, leaves for a loop around the camp during the first Free Swim of the day. Like the Mermaid Club, the Rockbrook Runners have a club based on how many loops/laps are completed by the girls. It’s the “Marathon Club,” and as you might guess, the runners aim to finish 26 miles while they are here for the full session (though less if at camp for fewer weeks). And yes, the same extra sweet, creamy reward awaits those who run the required amount. Running for ice cream… I suppose that makes sense in some way or another.

The tankless hot water heaters were humming constantly this afternoon after we announced at lunch that tonight we would travel over to Camp High Rocks for a square dance with their boys. After braiding a lot of clear hair, dressing in whatever combination of flannel, jeans and bandannas we could gather, our entire camp made the short journey up the mountain (10 bus/van loads plus a couple of cars for extra counselors!). When we arrived, the boys were waiting for us out on their tennis courts and the bluegrass music was already playing from a set of speakers on the small hill nearby. Some of the girls seemed a little nervous about not knowing how to square dance, but the High Rocks boys, and their counselors, were friendly and relaxed about the whole event and helped the girls learn different moves. Once we got going that uncertainty passed and soon everyone was smiling and laughing with every turn and do-si-do.

After about an hour of dancing, we took a short break to mingle and recharge with some homemade oatmeal raisin cookies and lemonade. A little more dancing and we were back down the mountain discussing what made tonight’s square dance (for some, surprisingly) so fun. Maybe it was the outdoor setting with beautiful evening sunlight, or the lighthearted friendly atmosphere, or the opportunities to talk with each other, or the gentlemanly behavior of the High Rocks boys, or the genre of the music (… Well, for the girls, maybe not that.). Whatever the reason, we were all sure it was a terrific evening.

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June 24, 2014May 25, 2020 • News • Grace Wallace

Good Clean Fun

One of my favorite memories as a staff member at Rockbrook occurred one day early in Third Session a few years ago. A rainstorm had just cleared out, and I was walking to the Dining Hall, enjoying the reemerging sunshine. I walked past a shady spot by the stream, where a patch of earth had been transformed into a patch of mud. Two Juniors were jumping around in the mud, getting splatters all over their legs and clothes, and laughing uproariously when their feet would slide out from beneath them.

The noise attracted one of their counselors, who had been standing nearby. As she approached, the girls got very still, adjusted their giddy smiles into expressions of contrition, and waited to be reprimanded for making such a mess. The counselor stood quietly for a moment, looking them over, before kneeling, taking a handful of mud and spreading a wide streak of mud on each cheek, like war paint. “Can I play?” she asked.

I continued past the little group to the Dining Hall, leaving behind two awed and delighted campers, and one very, very cool counselor. I saw all three that evening at dinner, scrubbed clean. They were relating their adventures to the rest of their cabin—telling them all about the moment they realized that they were actually allowed to be dirty.

Now, there’s no need to worry, we do encourage frequent showers, parcel out daily chores to keep the cabins tidy, and have all campers and counselors help to clean up the tables after meals in the dining hall. That being said, we also do all that we can to discourage that aversion to getting dirty that seems only to get stronger in girls as they get older. It’s no secret that girls tend to become more focused on their appearance as they get older, and Senior campers have expressed to me their reluctance even to do something as simple as getting their faces painted at home, for fear of looking dumb.

That fear of looking dumb, or silly, or improper, or anything other than perfectly presentable at all times, is a fear that camp manages to quash remarkably quickly considering how powerful it can be out in the “real world.” Within a few days at camp, makeup bags have been zipped up and put away, hair has been thrown up into messy buns, and hands have been stained by tie-dye and red clay.

Last night, we put that change on full display, by putting on a “girls’ dance,” a giant dance party—complete with a DJ, glow sticks, and strobe lights—down at the gym. After dinner, each age group went back to its lodge, where the girls decked themselves out in glow-in-the-dark facepaint, glow stick jewelry, and white clothes.

To get down to the gym, the girls had two options. They could either walk down the lower line of cabins to the gym, and start dancing a little early, OR they could take the messier route. Lining the lakeside road (which also leads to the gym), were counselors, CITs, and Hi Ups, toting water guns and bags of powder paint. Campers of all ages ran down this path, allowing themselves to be soaked first, then covered from head to toe in multicolored paint. Emerging from the other end of this “color run” was an army of human tie-dyes, racing to get to the gym and an evening of music and dancing.

With no slow dances with boys, streaky makeup, or pretty clothes to worry about, the girls danced harder and seemed to have more fun than I’d ever seen at a camp dance before. They streamed out of the gym again at bedtime, taking their milk and cookies with them as they went, giving no thought to their sweaty clothes, streaky painted faces, or tangled hair. The campers that I talked to could only express the fun they’d had, and maybe a bit of pride in the audacity it took for them to get a little messy.

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