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January 26, 2009July 30, 2020 • History • rbc

The Rockbrook Camp Bell

Here’s something that all the girls who attend Rockbrook will easily recognize— the camp bell! This is the bell we ring to signal the whole camp when it’s time to change activity periods, come to meals, and of course, wake up in the morning. It has such a clear tone and is easily heard throughout the entire camp, even up on Castle Rock.

It’s actually a very old bell (1895), well over 100 years old, and older than the camp itself by more than 20 years. For as long as anyone around here can remember it’s been perched up in the big oak tree at the front of the dining hall, ready to be rung by pulling on the rope that leads to the dining hall porch. It’s one of those very familiar parts of camp that everybody loves.

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December 17, 2008March 24, 2023 • History • rbc

Vintage Postcards of Camp

Here are two more vintage postcards showing the historic character of our North Carolina camp. Like the others we’ve posted, the Albertype Company produced these postcards in the 1930s. The first is a view of Vesper Rock looking out across the camp lake, and in the background you can see the Lakeview Lodge. The second card is even cooler because it shows what the Carrier’s (Rockbrook’s original owners) waterwheel looked like. It was dismantled many years ago leaving only the stone foundation which you can just barely spot down in the woods below the lake. Wouldn’t it be cool to rebuild it? Maybe someday we will!

P.S. Want to see more historic photos of camp, including another view of the waterwheel? Check out these.

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September 5, 2008June 1, 2020 • Dance • Jeff Carter

Weisstronauts: Live at Rockbrook !!

We’ve been meaning to post something about this all summer, but only just now sat down to do it. Back in June we had the awesome instrumental rock band The Weisstronauts play a show at camp. Pete Weiss, who fronts the band, and who knew Jeff from his Chicago days (the early 1990s!), had an open tour date, and everything worked out for the Rockbrook girls to have a rockin’ dance party. Dance contests, limbo competitions, conga lines — it was non-stop action!

The band’s music is a little hard to describe, but you take 3 electric guitars, bass, drums and the occasional “accent” instrument and roll out surf, country, spy, psychedelia and rock styles. Very danceable, very up-tempo, tight playing, and fun through and through.

Head on over to the Weisstronauts’ Site and you can hear the leading track, “Fisticuffs,” from their new CD Instro-tainment. You’ll enjoy it. Promise.

And here’s one more treat. During the show at Rockbrook, the band recorded some video, and now Pete has put together a music video that uses some of that footage. Take a look and you’ll see RBC! The song is “Seven-X’s,” also from the new CD, and the old-looking footage in the video is from the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. Very Cool.

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March 24, 2008May 28, 2020 • Arts • rbc

Tie Dyes are Always in Fashion!

One craft at summer camps like Rockbrook that’s always popular is making a tie dye t-shirt. It’s certainly a classic thing to do, and while you might think of swirls and colors on shirts from the 1970s, tying and dyeing cloth is common all over the world. For example, there is adire tie dyeing in Nigeria (Africa), shibori dyeing in Japan, and mudmee dyeing in Thailand, just to name a few.

In the Rockbrook craft activity called “Hodge Podge,” the girls use rubber bands to tie up the cloth. Folding, twisting, bunching, pinching, and wrinkling the material you make all sorts of different patterns. Then with the rubber bands, you keep everything tight. The tighter the fold, the more resistant to the dye that part will be. That’s part of the creativity involved— deciding what to make tight (resisting the dye) and what to leave loose (taking on the color of the dye). Plus, there’s the fun of picking what colors to use, and in what areas. With so much variation, it’s neat to see how each shirt turns out different.

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March 17, 2008October 5, 2023 • Children • Jeff Carter

Are your Kids Ready for Camp?

How do you know if your kids are ready for summer camp?

It’s an important question to ask, especially if you have a younger child who’d be new to the experience. Most discussions of this question focus on whether or not your child is outgoing and ready for the social component of camp. The idea here is that once a child makes friends at camp, they’ll enjoy the activities and be fine away from home. In fact, it’s often hoped that the camp program will help a shy child become more outgoing, more self-confident and independent. It’s true; camp is great for this reason.

Talking with Sarah, the Director of Rockbrook, she also cautions parents to make sure their child is honestly interested in attending camp. “It’s best for it to be her idea,” she says. As parents fondly remember their own summer camp experience, or hear that camp is “good for kids,” they can sometimes push a little too hard and talk their children into the idea, perhaps before they are really ready. “Research camps together and find one that sparks her interest and makes her really want to go. Learn about camps together; listen to her concerns, and with gentle encouragement, you’ll find the right camp,” Sarah suggests. You’ll know she’s ready for camp when it’s her idea and she’s excited to go.

Read more about the important skills and characteristics kids need to be ready for sleepaway camp.

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March 3, 2008July 21, 2020 • Children • rbc

Summer Camp Makes Kids Talented

OK, what do these people have in common: Larry Page (co-founder of Google), Condolezza Rice (U.S. Secretary of State), Bob Dylan (musician), Drew Carey (television actor), J.D. Salinger (author), and Katie Couric (journalist)? You might guess, but it’s true; they all went to camp as kids. The list of other famous and influential people who attended or worked at a summer camp is a pretty amazing list. The talent and abilities these folk now famously show, is impressive.

What’s interesting about this is to think how so much of what we become springs from our experiences as kids, how the people we meet, the activities that challenge us, and the accomplishments that validate who we are, can so profoundly inspire who we might become. As summer camp was a part of these talented people’s lives, and as it continues to be for scores of children today, it played some, perhaps even crucial, part in making them so.

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February 20, 2008May 24, 2020 • Summer Camp • rbc

Kids Summer Program

Is it possible to have “too much summer camp?” According to Abby Brunks, in her recent Atlanta Journal Constitution article, the answer might be yes. Ms. Brunks fears that being at summer camp can become an extension of the busy, overly scheduled life most kids experience throughout the school year. She believes that kids need a “good long break to just hang out,” and therefore cautions parents not to send their kids away to summer camp (particularly “specialty camps” apparently) for “weeks on end.”

Here at Rockbrook, we understand this concern. That’s why we build into every day a good amount of free time when campers can just “hang out.” There’s time to sit on the porch and talk, explore one of the camp streams, goof around with your cabin mates, make up a song, write a letter, or just relax. For years we’ve recognized this as one of the great opportunities of camp— it’s a chance to experience carefree summer living, to have the freedom to decide for yourself what you feel like doing, while having so many fun options easily available. That’s why coming to camp is so great. Sure at home you may be able to hang out, but you won’t have near the opportunity to try new things, meet new people, and explore nature. And because it is so refreshingly different from home or school, weeks easily seem like days.

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January 15, 2008May 24, 2020 • Rock Climbing • rbc

Why Do Girls Go Rock Climbing?

Why do girls go rock climbing when it looks so scary?

Well, there’s something fun about the challenge of it all, the concentration and the determination it takes. You know there’s an amazing view waiting at the top and the repel down is thrilling, but it also feels good to use your muscle strength to balance up. The whole thing is like a puzzle you solve through coordination, physical and mental endurance powering your careful movements on the rock. Making it past difficult spots, maybe even all the way to the top, is a great confidence boosting experience. Sure it’s a little scary, but it’s perfectly safe too. When you’re done, it just makes you want to climb again!

Rock climbing is one of those summer camp adventures that’s just loaded with surprising benefits.

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October 31, 2007May 29, 2020 • Campers • rbc

Photos of Summer Camp Friends

Here’s a set of photos taken one Sunday afternoon at camp. We were queuing up for our cabin photos and took these at the same time. They show our traditional uniforms (white shirt and shorts, plus a red tie) that we wear on Sundays and at other special events. Children becoming such good friends at camp!

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September 28, 2007May 11, 2020 • Summer Camp • rbc

Camps in the South

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been making our fall travel plans, scheduling Rockbrook Camp parties all over the south. Several are set on the calendar. Chances are we’re coming to your city or some place close by, so check out the schedule here: Camp Party Schedule. If you haven’t come to one of these parties before, they’re great fun. We watch a movie and see some slides from last summer, see each other again 🙂 and meet loads of new people interested in camp for next summer. We’ll be going to more places in the winter also, so stay tuned!

Every year Rockbrook girls all across the the south get re-energized about attending camp. These parties spark that energy in the fall and early spring, so that when summer approaches, everyone is bursting with excitement.

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