Camp is like a snapshot. The memories and the times that we had here will stick in our mind not as the continuous flow of activity that it was, but as the individual actions that make up the movements. Images are the one thing that stick with us throughout time. They are powerful tools that create emotion and linger longer than any words we could ever hope to say. When we see the camp Runoia logo there are many emotions that come through. There is joy at seeing camp, there is pride at being associated with it and there is annoyance at the memory of wearing uniforms. Images of girls running races, riding horses, climbing towers, all trigger memories of fine Maine days and warm summer nights. When we think back on the summer and our times at camp what we will remember most will be the images created here, frozen pieces of time caught and preserved forever as if on film.
Throughout the summer we create projects to take home. In wood burning, images are preserved evermore on pine or aspen, never fading. In arts and crafts pieces are made with paint, string, or papier-mâché, taken home and enshrined eternally. These images and these designs will continue to remind us of fun times and laughter years after camp is over. Taking one look at the old, yet well preserved, artwork will overwhelm us with memories and flood us with the happiness and serenity that we associate with camp.
Not only do we cherish images associated with camp but we also cherish what camp does to our self-image and our confidence level. At camp we grow as individuals and gain lifelong skills that we will use in the many years to come. Once you go to camp your image of yourself is changed forever. You discover things about yourself that you would never have known about. You become sailors, riders, archers, climbers, artists and even wilderness guides.
Images hold so much for us than just their lines and strokes. They hold emotion and memory that can only be brought out by looking at them. Years from now when a person picks up this log and looks at the images enclosed within this book they will see themselves not only as the person they were at camp, but as the person they have become.
That is why I hereby dedicate the log of 2014 to images.
One of my first springs in the US I was hanging out with Marsha Cobb at Treetops at Camp Runoia exploring her garden and reveling in how the recently frozen ground was now putting forth many new blooms. Tucked away under some trees she showed me some wild trillium. Not only was it beautiful but also mysterious. It is an elusive and endangered plant that never really grows in the same spot twice. They are technically perennial herbs growing from rhizomes so tend to travel secretly under the soil. I looked for it again the following year only to be disappointed as I was unable to find it.
A couple of years ago by my house I came across some in the woods and dared to transplant a piece (don’t do this at home it is illegal in some states!). The mystery reappeared in my flower bed much to my delight!
Now if only Lady Slippers were not so illusive! I will be waiting for Pam to let me know they have arrived at Camp Runoia in Maine so that I can make my annual visit to see their spring beauty! http://www.maine.gov/dacf/mnap/about/cypripedium.ht
The mysteries of a Maine spring lead into the majesty of summer! We are counting the days.
We just got back from a big trip to the UK visiting both England and Scotland. It was fun to see a place that I know well through the eyes of my kids. They were amazed by simple things like brick houses and fields full of sheep! To them we had entered a magical new world where people do things differently, talk a bit funny and one that seemed like it was a million miles from home. For me there was a renewed comfort in the familiar culture and ways of life.
At camp you don’t need to go thousands of miles to find a place that has its own unique culture. The Runoia bubble is a magical place where we all feel removed from the world outside. It is filled with traditions and places that are only known to those that attend, they are a mystery to outsiders but as comfortable as an old sweater to those inside. We create traditions that have value and meaning to us some that have persisted through generations of campers others that are more recent yet just as treasured. The things that make our camp special and unique may be small and simple or complex and steeped in tradition. They might include: watching the sunset over the lake at campfire, getting to write your name in the boathouse when you graduate, wearing blue and white and often just simply being a Runoia girl and having a place to belong to.
We value our Runoia culture and quickly welcome in newcomers so that they too may feel the magic. We pass down the traditions that we hold dear and help future generations revere our own special place in the world.
I had an epic parenting fail last weekend – well it seemed so at first but surprisingly it turned into a great learning experience. My eight year old was performing in the last dance competition of the season; I am a pro dance Mom so was kind of casual about the event. I showed up with a half hour to spare only to find out that they were running early and going on in five minutes. My daughter was pretty ready so we slapped on a bit of makeup fixed her hair and that’s when I realized no tap shoes! Ahhhh!! Luckily I am a resourceful camp director type so quickly found a helpful Mom at another studio whose daughters black jazz shoes were almost the right size. Slipped them on and off she went straight on stage. I didn’t freak out or cause a scene (the Mom who showed up late and missed the piece completely did both!) and the show went on. My daughter wasn’t fazed by it at all – her feet did hurt a bit from trying to make the jazz shoes tap but she had fun with her friend’s and we chalked it up to a life experience – you know we will double check the bag every time from now on!
Life lessons show up when you least expect them and provide opportunities to model for our children how to resolve challenges, be gracious and not waste time worrying about things you cannot change. One of the truly great things about camp is that girls get to have real life experiences every minute of the day. Life is generally not always perfect and sometimes you have to just make do with what you have and still make it a great outcome. At camp surrounded by supportive adults and their peer’s girl’s problem solve, create their own solutions and make fun out of pretty much everything! Camp is such a great place to take risks without worrying about failing, to make best friends with people you only met an hour ago and to realize that the show goes on ready or not! It isn’t always perfect but it sure is an awesome lesson in life!
Spring in Maine is much revered, how we long for the warmer days where the snow melts and you actually have grass again. It is always somewhat of a surprise as the world has been predominantly white since November so the bright spring green hurts your eyes at first and the colors of the first flowers are vibrant against the brown. It takes a while for the trees to wake up and there are not usually leaves until the middle of May so it really is a practice in patience.
You never quite know when to pack away the boots, snow pants and mittens as an early April snow storm can catch you off guard and send you scurrying back for an extra sweater or a wooly hat. Then just when you are out enjoying the warmth, sunshine and fresh air they descend. You are suddenly surrounded by swarms of tiny, annoying, biting, buzzing insects the Maine black fly! They seem to be a species all of their own only found in the Maine woods with perhaps the Scottish midge as their only living relative! You tolerate them in your desperation to be in the great outdoors, sweeping the driveway, tidying the yard and riding bikes hold too much appeal to be overly bothered by a fly.
Appropriate attire is essential!
Luckily they are gone before June when our staff and campers arrive to camp to be replaced by the less annoying mosquito’s.
I love this recipe for a simple make your own bug repellent I’m going to see if it works on those pesky Maine black flies!
Fair choice and commitment is part of everything we do at camp!
Interview with Lea Kone of Maine Camp Experience with Owner/Director, Pam Cobb
Self-esteem is such a buzzword these days. What do you think self-esteem means today?
You’re right, it’s almost an overused word. About ten years ago people began moving away from it and started using intentional youth development as a catch phrase. It was a phrase that meant helping kids develop in their youth — collaborative problem solving, initiative, creative thinking. A lot of things that schools are not necessarily teaching. So I think self-esteem morphed into intentional youth development, butnow I feel like that, too, has been almost overused. Now 21st century skills has really become the new thing. It addresses the question: What are we teaching kids to help them become not only great citizens, but business, government, social leaders, etc.? I think camps help develop all of these skills because camp involves community, a support system that isn’t coddling, and expanded comfort zones.
In what ways do you see the self-esteem of campers change from the beginning to the end of a camp summer? And how does it change over multiple summers?
Parents say their child is more organized, takes the time to think through what’s coming up, and is prepared. I don’t know if every camp is like this, but at Runoia there’s not a counselor in between activities helping kids get ready. They have the responsibility of changing from a bathing suit into horse riding clothes, and hopefully they hang up their swimsuit to dry. A camper learns these logistical and organizational skills at camp.
There’s also a whole piece about taking care of other people. It’s about being the stand-up girl, helping others learn how to advocate for themselves, for yourself, learning who to ask for help or lobby for something that you want and are not getting — all without your parents doing it for you. I think parents really see how their daughter comes home and she makes her bed, how dinner is now run like a camp meal — everyone has to help set the table, clear the dishes, sweep the floor.
I think these moral imprints grow from summer to summer. The little campers learn how to brush their teeth, put their clothes away, get dressed. But when they get older they start to think outside of themselves. They think, “This girl needs help. She needs to know where to mail a letter,” or, “This camper doesn’t know how to get to the ropes course. I’m going to help her out.” Camp helps kids think about and do things for others.
And delayed gratification is a very real thing at camp. It’s the experience of living in a large community with a lot of other children. It’s the reality that you don’t get everything instantly and you don’t get everything that you want. I guess, in essence, you have to grow up at camp.
Activity-wise, which activities do you think grow self-esteem in campers?
I think different activities service different tools. When you look at progressive activities like archery, where you learn to shoot at 10 yards, and once you get past all the levels, you move to 15 yards and then 20 yards. It keeps getting harder. It’s like that in a lot of activities in camp. Tennis, riding, softball, canoeing, sailing. First you get the feel of sailing by being in the boat with people who are more experienced. Then you start to work the boat. You learn how to tie knots. Then you progress into skippering.
Progressive Accomplishments Lead to the Dragonfly!
It’s the same with our wilderness trip program. Our younger campers start with shorter trips and then by the time they’re older, they’re doing longer trips and harder climbs. So I think there are a lot of ways to build skills, and then I think self-esteem growth occurs organically. “I want to climb higher.” “I want to shoot further.” “I want to solo a canoe.”
Also, having victories and defeats without your parents being there is important. If something doesn’t go well, you say, “Okay, that didn’t go so well. How can I make it better?” Your parents aren’t there to console you, to tell you you’re really great. Sharing victories and defeats with other adults outside of your family is a good thing.
Like finding your own voice…
Yes, that’s a great expression.
How do you see the approach to self-esteem changing in the future?
We could probably “Google” what’s next. But I think the 21st century skills are really good ones. People are coming out of the best colleges, but they are not able to succeed in collaborative problem solving or participate in things outside the norm. To allow someone else to be successful over your own ego-driven persona — that’s a big thing companies find people lacking, but camp is teaching these skills.
What is something you would say to parents as they prepare their kids for camp?
Camp is a microcosm of the world. It’s not utopia. There are struggles. But because of the ratio of adults to children — at MCE camps specifically — kids must overcome adversity. However, before camp, kids must get ready to go away. They must build skills by spending nights at a friend’s house, a relative’s house, making it through those new experiences so that when they get to camp they aren’t totally shocked. They must practice some independence beforehand.
How can camps promote the skills we mentioned throughout the year?
I think that parents can help their campers make their own decision about returning to camp and help them understand that it is a commitment and to stick with it. By addressing the things that they may be concerned with about returning to camp, we are helping children to work out their own problems and see the glass as half full. We don’t want to teach parents how to parent, but we want to encourage campers to stay in touch with their camp friends in meaningful ways, be it old-fashioned letter writing, texting or planning out of camp time together. Parents can remind campers to stay connected and help facilitate visits.
We have to remember, camp is a great place to try new things because there is a zero tolerance for shame or humiliation. Whether it’s singing a song in front of the whole camp, or acting in the talent show, or trying something new that you wouldn’t try at home because everyone else is already good at it. And at age 9 or 10, campers are getting an early experience of what it’s like to go off to college. It’s a very powerful thing to be disconnected from your family and then write or tell stories about your experiences once you get home.
Camp Runoia, being a girls’ camp, is so much about connections. Girls from all over NE, the US and the world come together and find so many things in common!
Yesterday was our opening day of camp in 2013. Imagine our surprise when a dad of a new camper met another dad of a camper and recognized that one dad was the other dad’s camp counselor from his camper days at their camp!!!
The day before yesterday a dear childhood friend of mine emailed me a picture of her tour of Harlem she had just taken. In the picture, she was standing with a Runoia camper and the camper’s mom in front of the Apollo. In the process of taking the tour, they began chatting and made the Runoia Connection!
We joke about 6 degrees of separation from Camp Runoia. It seems no matter where we go, there is some Runoia connection!
Enjoy the start of summer, we are busy finding out what we have in common with each other here at camp on our second day of Runoia’s 107th camp summer!
Celebrate all the poets in your life – young, old, published or those who write verse in there heads. Poetry truly is a window to the soul.
ODE to the JMGs
Trees and first aid we know you will beat
Runoia cooking testers love to eat
Your essay will explain
You’ve got the map of Maine
Campfires with other campers is your treat
Off to testing camp you go
With the power of knowledge, your tests you’ll devour
Wet day fires will blaze
Your canoeing will,
Any tester, your skills over others will tower!
April
April showers bring May flowers
What does May bring???
Us one month closer to CAMP!!!!
Runoia
Living the good-life
By Nature’s side on Great Pond
Will all of my friend
– Jane Tegeler, 2011
Maine
Maine is a wonderful place
I love living here
There are lots of wide open spaces
And plenty of animals at which to peer
In it is Camp Runoia
In the wonderful Great Pond
There are no boys to annoy ya’
Of Camp Runoia I am so fond
I want to stay all year here!
-Lily Waddell, 2011
BY Diana Bartenstein 2001