History Archives - Page 4 of 5

Camp Runoia leadership team

Posted on May 11, 2016October 18, 2016 by Alex

Meet the leaders of the 2016 ‘Magic Makers’ staff team .

Jennifer Dresdow

Hello Camp Runoia 2016! I live in Fort Wayne, IN with my husband, Wes, and my daughter, Natalie, along with our dog, Ein, our cat, The Dude, a cast of hermit crabs, and one of our camp horses, Ditto. August to May, I work at an elementary school organizing all things related to Title I. I also coach an Interscholastic Equestrian Team and teach riding lessons. Natalie has grown into a competent rider and we stay busy all winter competing all over the Midwest.

Natalie and I will be returning to Runoia for our seventh summer this year. The community created each summer by the staff and campers, as well as the beautiful setting, keep us coming back each year. At Runoia, my primary role is Equestrian Director, maintaining our quality of our riding program. I am grateful to be able to share my passion for horses with our campers each summer. I also work with Alex in the program office with scheduling, tag up, transportation, and all the other fun bits and pieces that happen behind the scenes. Looking forward to seeing everyone at camp next month! On opening days, I hope you’ll come visit the horses at the barn and meet the riding team at the Runoia stables!

Jeannie Fleming-Gifford,

Hello Runoia! I am traveling from Cleveland, OH to be part of the Runoia Magic Makers team this summer. I wrote a blog for Runoia about how this all came about! You can see read it here:

I am the Director of Education and Lead Director of a non-profit, arts education organization that engages 1400 students weekly in music, dance, theatre and visual arts. I have a BA in Music (French Horn) and MA in Child Development. I have a love of animals and have been involved in raising guide dog pups for over 10 years. Other passions of mine include running, yoga, creative writing and any other adventures that can be found outside. This summer I look forward to supporting the counselors in the Senior End of camp (cabins 5, 6,7) to be the best they can be at Runoia and to have a good time with your daughter. Additionally, I am the Director of Arts at Runoia supporting the team in all ten art activities including: pottery, crafts, basket weaving, wood burning, stained glass, batik, wood working, photography and theatre! Fortunately there are a lot of returning, seasoned staff who can help me learn the ropes and get up to speed on all things Runoia! I look forward to meeting you on opening days in Senior End!

Alex Jackson

It’s my 21^st summer season at Camp Runoia. There is no place else I would rather be working and raising my family. I work year round hiring staff, developing program and managing many aspects of Camp Runoia. With a dedicated eye to safety I love American Camp Association standards (keeping camp physically and emotionally safe for campers, staff and animals) and developing protocols and operating procedures. Pam and I work year round together running camp and although I work at my home office I get to camp as often as I can. 04918 is my happy place! In my spare time I can be found out and about in Maine, skiing, hiking and enjoying time with my kids. I sing with a local women’s chorus and I am often found volunteering my time for local organizations. At camp I am in charge of the schedules and day to day program operations. When the opportunity arises you will find me teaching at the lake or on the ropes course or wrangling some chickens!

Jai Kells

I am one of the assistant directors at camp. This will be my 5th year working at camp, and my 16th summer at Runoia! During the off-season I am at home with my kids, Molly (7), Sawyer (4.5) and Frannie (4months). I can’t wait to get the whole gang up there in just about 5 weeks! During the summer I help support the oldest camper area called Senior Village. I also oversee the kitchen at Runoia. I’m looking forward to working with our new chef, Leighann Davis, who plans to keep the same menu (don’t worry Runoia foodies!) and only make it better! please email me Jai@runoia.com with any food allergies or concerns. My husband, Jesse, comes up on weekends and integrates himself into camp usually on the basket ball courts, at the waterfront and playing guitar around camp. Last summer Jesse and I received our Lifeguard Training certification so we can be more helpful on the waterfront. In my “free time” I enjoy trying new recipes, exploring vegetarian cooking and cooking for family and friends and doing cross-fit work outs and running, and reading about 4 pages before I fall asleep into my book at night. 😉 I can’t wait to see you soon!

Kelly Sandman

I moved to Maine from Ohio last spring. This will be my third summer at Runoia. This year I have the privilege of teaching stained glass and filling in wherever else I’m needed, as adaptability and facilitation are two of my super powers. I identify as a builder in many forms: woodworking, building construction, sewing, stained glass, etc. I enjoy adventures, sports, and activities of all kinds, including acting in local theater, yoga, cycling, volunteering at a woodworking school where I’m enrolled for a class this fall, and playing badminton (especially with Ted, he’s a ringer). I am ever in search of new adventures and experiences, and I look forward to being a part of everyone’s summer adventure and to you being a part of mine!

Barb St Peter

My name is Barb and this will be my seventh summer at Runioa. The past few summers I have directed the Counselor in Training program and this summer I will be the Head of Junior End where the youngest campers live. My role is to help support counselors to do their job with confidence and enthusiasm! When I am not at camp I work full time in a grade 3-5 special education classroom at an elementary school in Old Town, Maine. I am also taking classes at Husson University to get my teaching certification. In the winter I work at Sugarloaf ski resort both in the fitness center and at The Bag and Kettle restaurant. When I have free time I like to downhill ski and spend time with my two nieces, one is almost four and one just 15 months.

Pam Cobb Heuberger

I am delighted to be working with this amazing Runoia team of administrative staff at Runoia. Their dedication to camp is contagious throughout the staff. Alex and I direct camp year round and many of the administrative team volunteer their time in the off-season to meet, attend conferences and collaborate with us. Runoia couldn’t be the camp it is with all these people PLUS others who aren’t even listed in this intro. Over my 30 years at Runoia, I’ve found people to be at the center of success. Sure, we have great program, quality equipment, safe facilities and more, but the individuals that make up the team are who pushes us from good to great!

My role in the off-season is to connect with new and returning families, support our alumnae group, facilitate long range planning, work with Alex on managing camp business and I oversee all the off season departments of camp. In the summer, I am involved in the daily running of camp and see your daughters every day – many times a day. I love being there when they are smiling and achieving as well as when they need a hug or a chance to problem solve with someone.

I am thrilled to have my daughter, Jai, return for her fifth summer and especially thrilled that she brings my three granddaughters to camp! My husband, Mark, is instrumental in consulting about Camp Runoia’s site and facilities, waterfront programming, tending the fruit trees and gardens. He works as a consultant in the Enviromental and Safety industry and attempts to free up his summer for camp whenever possible. During camp Mark loves to see the girls grow over the time they are at camp. The past two summers he has supervised the waterfront at Runoia and prior to that the sailing and waterski programs. Mark has trained his replacements and will be checking with them periodically this summer to uphold his standards of quality and excellence! Together, we are thrilled to greet you on opening days and welcome you and your daughters to our 110^th continuous summer of Camp Runoia!

Risk taking

Posted on March 30, 2016October 18, 2016 by Alex

This week I took a giant risk for my family. It was a spur of the moment decision forced by a series of events that led me to take the leap. I briefly weighed the pros and cons and decided that there was nothing to lose so I forged ahead. If it works out there will be a few major obstacles to overcome but the rewards will be worth it, if nothing comes of it then life will continue as it currently does and truly other than about $40 nothing will have been lost.

Risk taking is part of human nature, as a species we enjoy learning from our own experiences and living in the moments when we are challenging ourselves. Taking risks is something we all do every day, some risks are measured and undertaken with great clarity and hope of a positive end result others are more reckless and can lead to potentially negative consequences. Being able to judge the difference is a critical life skill.

As an adult my previous risk taking history helped me to gauge whether or not this current risk is worth talking. Fortunately children have adults to guide them in their choices and steer them from choices that would result in disaster. It is advantageous to their development if we are able to provide our children with the opportunity to take measured risks. Children benefit from challenging themselves and their own decision making. Much is learned by trying and succeeding but we also learn from trying and failing.

Camp provides endless opportunity for safe risk taking in both emotional and physical forums. You can reach out to a new friend, literally take the ‘Leap of Absolute Faith’ on the ropes course intentionally capsize your boat to practice your own self rescue skills, try new food, act in a play, try to reach the top of a mountain and so the list goes on.

Our campers at Runoia are encouraged to take on new challenges and are of course fully supported by caring adults, safety procedures and a community that is looking out for them. Through their adventures at overnight camp girls can gain life skills. The decision making processes that they develop will help them to weigh the pros and cons of future risks that will inevitably challenge them.

Overnight camp is a risk worth taking.

The perfect Camp Runoia picture

Posted on January 21, 2016October 18, 2016 by Alex

I spend a lot of time looking through Camp Runoia photographs. Not just the thousands on the hard drive from this summer but many from previous years and even ‘real’ photos from our archives that are not digitally available.

We use camp photographs for many different reasons but mostly to share the message of Runoia.

So what makes the perfect photo? Is it a happy smiling face? a shot of two girls arm in arm walking down a path? a beautiful sunset over the lake? or a campfire close up?

Depending on the purpose there are 100’s of shots that could be deemed ‘perfect.’

On any given day for any given reason the perfect photograph speaks to the heart and captures the soul of Runoia.

Some of the time while searching I get distracted and just enjoy looking at the memories that each snap catches. reminders of the people the place and the fun that we get up to at camp.

More often it turns out that the perfect shot isn’t on film but is stored in our hearts and minds. The photograph is just a perfect reminder.

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.” Ansel Adams

The World Outside of Camp (WOoC)

Posted on December 3, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Guest blogger, Carrie Murphey, writes a poignant passage about camp here:

In this moment snugged squarely into the season of gratitude and giving, I want to try to share my gratitude for what camp has given me over the years.

While camp is never far from my heart, the truth is, I haven’t worked at camp in five years now. I love my job as a college dean but I must report, the World Outside of Camp (W.O.o.C. for the fellow acronym-makers out there) is ever-so-slightly less amazing than every single moment is of camp. As such, I find myself thinking of camp often. Occasionally, it’s wistful longing for a campfire by the lake, but more often than not, it’s small everyday moments that help keep camp a daily touchstone.

Sitting in a chaotic staff meeting where many voices are trying to be heard and good ideas raised, I recall boisterous meals in the Dining Hall, working to listen with my whole ears – to tales of tag-up, swims in the lake, rest hour shack shenanigans – and add my voice when it is truly an addition, and not just because I am itching to make sure it still works.

Supporting students through their course selection process for next semester, I want them to pick topics in which they have a genuine and personal interest, rather than make a choice simply based on what their roommates or friends are doing. I think often of mornings at the tag-up board where Alex counsels Runoia campers into the same sort of thought process. “Are you really interested in being out on the water today or would you be happier playing tennis?” Making choices for yourself is a learned skill and one you get the chance to exercise every day at camp. I wish for days where all my available choices were as much fun as the ones at camp!

I think of camp at odd times and regular times (from my desk, watching as the sun goes down outside the window, I regularly find myself singing “Taps” in my head), and most often as I reflect on a new friendship I’m developing or an old one that I’m trying to keep active. For all the skills that camp builds, none is more important than those you pick up living in a cabin with fellow campers and counselors. You won’t think of how important your shack bonding time was, or how invaluable opening day name games were, until you come face-to-face with a new person and find yourself able to make comforting and comfortable conversation. Perhaps it is through those conversations that you’re able to develop a friendship out of a chance encounter. If you’re lucky, there’s always the possibility that your camp friendship skills will allow you to develop even a non-camp person (they exist!) into the type of friend you thought was only possible at camp.
This season and every day, I’m grateful for all of the memories I have of wonderful times at camp (and yes, particularly those involving campfire), but the real gift that camp gave me are the countless moments when camp is with me in the World Outside of Camp.

Ahhhh! Keep the "inner" Campfire Burning All Year! — Ahhhh! Keep the “inner” Campfire Burning All Year!

THANKS CARRIE!

Do you want to guest blog for Runoia? Submit your blog writing to blog@runoia.com

Camp cooking.

Posted on November 18, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

Campers at Runoia have been developing their outdoor cooking skills for many years. Wilderness trips have been an integral part of the program since camp opened 110 years ago. Can you believe that back in the day campers used their bloomers to stash their lunches in when they went off canoeing!

Regardless of how far you are hiking or canoeing you have to eat and the food can make or break the success of a trip. Trying everything from re-hydrating dried mixes to baking a cake in a Dutch oven many girls get their first taste of cooking at camp. Campers are involved in all aspects of trip menu planning and then meal preparation.

From an 8 year old flipping their first pancakes to a 15 year old menu planning and cooking meals for a whole week and with everything in between; Runoai girls get a taste of independence and begin to build their own life skills around the campfire.

Food on the hiking trail has to be light weight, well balanced, nutritious and high in energy. Trail mix, no bake cookies and other high protein snacks can be a great boost when you still have miles to go to your campsite. Cooking over a camp stove requires good organizational skills, often a menu that needs minimal pots and some creativity for making the meal tasty. A canoeing trip may allow for a little more equipment and often includes a reflector oven or Dutch oven so baking around the fire becomes a great option.

There is often nothing more satisfying than sitting around the campfire with a tin plate and a spork eating a meal that you have waited all day for and that you helped to cook.

Always a bonus if it is followed by reflector oven brownies or s’mores.

American Sign Language at Sleepaway Camp

Posted on October 20, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Word of the Day – American Sign Language Style!

Our Word of the Day is an event at camp that has become a tradition. This summer the WOD was brought to us by Izzy Snyder. She included ALS signs to every word and taught them to the whole camp. Izzy is studying to be an interpreter for the deaf and we learned signs in both sessions at Runoia.

At the end of this session, Keira, a 10 year old camper, wrote a story including some of the signs (the underlined words) we learned in second session at Camp Runoia:

Welcome to the Obscure Challenge.

Here your perseverance, laughter and experience will be staunch and most wanted. During this challenge you will trudge through vegetation. If you win you should feel bittersweet because much worse awaits you after winning. IF you lose you do not have to face what will come, so you should feel grateful. In the next part of the challenge, you will face a question that most people are not imaginative enough to figure out. IF you find the answer it means you have a lot of positivity and you will be flabbergasted by the winner. This is a competition (friendly) of the mind. The winner has a strong mind with tons of inner strength.

Keira, thanks for sharing your great story!

Poetry at Camp Runoia

Posted on September 17, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Many of you know Runoia celebrates reading. We also celebrate writing! Campers submit writing to the Camp “Log” each summer and poetry is often read at Assembly in the morning. The log is full of memories of the Maine summer and records the history of the summer events at Runoia. Many of our campers return to their sleepaway camp as alumnae to seek out memories of their summers in the camp Log.

Here’s a poem Runoia would like to share with you.

Late Summer – By Jennifer Grotz

Before the moths have even appeared

to orbit around them, the streetlamps come on,

a long row of them glowing uselessly

along the ring of garden that circles the city center,

where your steps count down the dulling of daylight.

At your feet, a bee crawls in small circles like a toy unwinding.

Summer specializes in time, slows it down almost to dream.

And the noisy day goes so quiet you can hear

the bedraggled man who visits each trash receptacle

mutter in disbelief: Everything in the world is being thrown away!

Summer lingers, but it’s about ending. It’s about how things

redden and ripen and burst and come down. It’s when

city workers cut down trees, demolishing

one limb at a time, spilling the crumbs

of twigs and leaves all over the tablecloth of street.

Sunglasses! the man softly exclaims

while beside him blooms a large gray rose of pigeons

huddled around a dropped piece of bread.

Making Songs into Summer Messages

Posted on July 26, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

I know a place where the sun is like gold, and every evening you play games like Know Your Counselor, Lip Synch Contest, Stop the Bus and Broomball.

Out on the blue waves, where summer breezes blow, our boats, kayaks, windsurfers, swimmers and stand up paddle boarders go sailing into sunset glow.

Make new friends but keep the old; this summer at Runoia we’re meeting people from California to Florida, from Minnesota to Texas and from England, Spain, Venezuela, Ireland, Hungary and Switzerland. We are a merry merry crew the Runoia girls are we!

Be it ever so humble there’s no place like camp and when you travel to Attean Pond and to the Bigelow range, returning to camp feels just like home. Our equestrian team traveled to Camp Vega and brought home the Championship ribbon. There’s no place like home!

And so I thank the earth for giving me, the sun and the rain the apple tree – we are ever grateful for our sun drenched days, and even a summer storm or two keeping camp green and perpetuating a #FineMaineDay.

Where does the wind come from? Does anybody know?

Besides turning thoughts into camp song, we’ve been busy with activities, meeting people, creating art, learning about tennis, archery, riding, skiing, sailing, basket making and more.

Until next week. Love, Aionur

Mid Summer

Posted on July 21, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

A Mid Summer Night’s Dream

After saying ‘goodnights’ during the summer, I walk up from Senior Village at around 10pm through the dark. The sky is filled with stars I don’t carry a flashlight as I know the paths well. Some nights are so dark there are moments when I think I may lose my way on others the moon is bright in the often clear, Maine sky. I am met on the kickball field by the odd firefly. They catch me by surprise and always seem so mysterious with their ability to produce light.

At the end of a busy day camp is quiet and still. The girls and many of the counselors are in their beds. They may still be reading or writing a letter home but most are already asleep. It is one of my favorite times of day at Camp Runoia.

As we embrace the middle of our camp season it is a great time to reflect on the gift of camp. To be able to live, work and play in such a beautiful place surrounded by nature and people who love being here is beyond compare. We have a deep appreciation for the gift that we have all been given.

As I fall asleep listening to the loons I imagine the magic that exists around me and dream of fairies dancing at Fairy Ring.

Singing

Posted on May 13, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

Perfect Harmony

This week is concert week for the chorus that I am a member of. It means two nights of rehearsal and two performances which equals a lot of singing. I love being part of a group of women that spends time together making music. We are not professional musicians but spend time and effort learning notes, exploring musical nuances and perfecting our performance. For 2 ½ hours a week I become lost in the complexity of music mastery and the production of choral sound.

At camp singing is a large part of our everyday lives. We sing silly songs, rowdy songs, quiet, contemplative melodies and most importantly we sing our Runoia songs. We spend time at Assembly learning songs; some have been sung for generations and others are new to Runoia. Old songs carry our history. Hearing them reminds us of our special place on Great Pond. We find ourselves humming Runoia tunes when we are far from camp and know that many of our alumnae sing them to their own children as lullabies.

Our camp songs have actions, guitar accompaniments, nonsense words, no words, harmonies, different parts or barely a tune. We make songs up to popular tunes, we lip sync, we cry while we sing: sometimes from laughing and sometimes because it is our last time of the season singing together.

At camp it is not the quality or musicality that matters so much although we do channel our inner Diane Smith and try to hit those odd high notes in Tumbledown and It’s Blue and White! It is more that we do something together. We can be heard singing in the Lodge, Dining Hall, around the campfire, in a sail boat or canoe, down the path to the waterfront, out on the hiking trails, for the camp Talent Show and in the vans. Songs are a unique part of our camp culture that we pass along orally and through our song book.

Songs and singing make us happy! Music has the ability to unite us. We may not always sing in perfect harmony but we sing together to celebrate our community, traditions and just because we can! It is part of who we are at Runoia it is our ‘Harmony’.

Listen to a few favorite Runoia songs here!