Tag: girls camp in Maine

Why I work in Maine when I live in Oregon

Posted on by Pam Cobb

“Why do you work in Maine when you live in Oregon?” is a question I get fairly often. Between coworkers asking if I’m from somewhere on the East Coast, or if I have family there, or if my mom thinks I’m going to end up moving there, Maine comes up a lot.

If you had asked me a few years ago where Maine was, or the capital, or even if it snows there, I probably would not have been able to tell you. (Yes, I do know these things now.)

I found Runoia when I was looking for a “traditional” camp. The year before I had spent my summer at a day camp with British military kiddos in Germany, and the year before that I had worked at another day camp with kids from the American military in South Korea. After spending a few years in unorthodox camps, I was looking to stay in the US in 2017 (granted Maine is the farthest away from Oregon I could have been).

I had a few ideas of what I was looking for. I wanted a sleepaway camp, I wanted something that worked with my summer break dates since I was still in college, and I wanted a camp that had been open more than 50 years.

Not a very extensive list. I wanted traditions, things that people maybe couldn’t even remember why they started (Pigtail Friday or Hawaiian shirt Monday anybody?)

but were still very present at camp. This was the most important factor to me, since other camps I’ve worked at were relatively new or were still figuring out their own identities. I essentially became a first-time camper myself as I combed through the internet, squirreling out all the information about a camp that I could find.

After the longest weekend ever, I was down from 280 camps across the eastern United States to three that all seemed like good fits. I applied to all three, Runoia being the first one to respond back. I was on the phone with Alex in under 12 hours of applying, and that is not an exaggeration. The second camp and I had a Skype interview, but when I told them I didn’t have a driver’s license they told me I didn’t have a job with them. The third camp and I played phone tag for three days until I gave up on them. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, Runoia sounded great from the phone interview and everything I found online, so the fates had made the decision for me.

And Runoia was great! Driving up to the camp for the first time was just wonderful, and the amount of information and history that I got on day one was more than enough to make sure that I chose the right camp. There were similar elements from other camps that I’ve loved in the past, too, like family style dining, field trips offsite, singing songs, and Runoia seemed like a place I could really invest in. I can’t tell you what specifically got me “hooked” on Runoia. If it was the towering trees or the time by Great Pond, or the expectation that if this is what I could do in my first year, what could I do next year? I was sad, to say the least, when we started to pack camp up. How could it be over already?

After camp I got to spend time back in Oregon with my mom, experiencing what many campers probably feel after camp: being camp-sick. I was trying to decide

Ruby enjoying our Sunday Morning Pajama Breakfast

if I was going back to Runoia in 2018 and my mom basically laughed at me and said, in my sad state, that I had already made my decision.

 

In addition to building my own life long skills in basket weaving at Runoia, I continue to work with girls who, I think, really just need their own space and time to find themselves! I know I needed that when I was younger, and I’m glad that I can be someone that kiddos can look up to.

Oh no, now I’m campsick again.

Ruby

The inside scoop on Camp Runoia

Posted on by Alex

As we continue delving into how you find the perfect sleep away camp for your child it is definitely advantageous to get the ‘inside scoop.’  Once you have narrowed down your camp list to your top two choices talking with parents and campers is a great way to figure out which one is the perfect fit for your child.  Word of mouth referrals give a real perspective of a camps culture and value.  Candid conversations with current parents can help you to get a real feel for the place and the people.

Here’s what some of our 2018 parents had to say about Camp Runoia and why they and their daughter’s love it:

  • S’s highlight was water sports, particularly the “dot,” sailing, and tubing. She also loved tennis, archery and riding. She also loved meeting new people, being mixed up at mealtime at different tables. She loved making connections with older campers who had written to her as pen pals a great tradition.
  • Being white team captain (and all the other amazing camp experiences!!). As always, she is still talking nonstop about all the fun she had.
  • Both our girls seemed to have fully inhabited the physical space of camp. The freedom to do so much good healthy stuff all day long was fantastic. Ropes course and waterfront were much talked about.

She loved all her counselors.

  • Her cabin mates, she had a blast and has made incredible lifelong friends. It’s really special we are so grateful.
  • She was so excited about sailing. She drew us diagrams and explained all the terminology. She enjoyed all the activities and the girls with whom she shared the experiences.
  • For me, it was great fun to see her participating in a sailing major this session. She loved getting to know the girls in her shack.

She came home with more independence with personal care.

  • She loved trying all the new activities she wished she would of stayed longer to try all the activities. Definitely was very happy with all the activities she managed to do this summer
  • Greatly appreciated the quality of the counselors and their simultaneous focus on girls and readiness to reassure if I was worried.
  • Definitely improved her swimming in the 12 days of camp, which we appreciated. She benefited from tennis and riding instruction as well.

The awards and being able to experience different and new activities was very positive. She was very proud of all her awards 🙂

  • I am SO impressed with the academic caliber of the counselors. They are obviously intelligent in academics and also have a generous spirit to share with their girls.
  • She had a wonderful experience gained independence and increased confidence. As she enters 3rd grade she is really showing a sign of maturity that she hadn’t last year. I do believe it is part from her experience at camp.
  • Communication is EXCELLENT in all areas. I am always confident that T is safe, happy and in good hands. Any and all communications have been clear and prompt, whenever we have needed extra help with our girls in particular it has been handled incredibly well.

If you want a copy of our current family reference list so that you can get the inside scoop give us a call 207 495 2228 our parents are happy to chat about why they continue choosing Camp Runoia for their daughter.

The path to the lake at Camp Runoia in Belgrade Lakes, Maine.

Thinking about Camp in 2019?

Posted on by Pam Cobb

Natalie Dresdow, Camp Runoia CIT and returning for her 10th summer, shares insights and her thinking about the conscious decision of returning to camp:

Natalie as Willie Wonka with Izzy and Sofia in the camp play

As we’re into the holiday season, soon to be the new year, all of us are spending quality time with our family and friends to celebrate. Personally, I’ve been spending time with my new friends, my family, and my horse.

Some of us haven’t stopped thinking about camp since August or maybe just started to think about next summer. CIT’s have applied, and staff and campers are starting to ask themselves “do I want to go back to camp?” And you might think you don’t want to go back. You’ll be thinking to yourself, you have your family and friends at home that you’re gonna miss, and you’ll miss opportunities at home. Perhaps you think about camp and remember those first few days that were tough, a small disagreement with a shackmate, or something that was hard to do the first time, like getting up on the windsurfing board or making a bowl on the pottery wheel.

    On Top of the World

But as the time gets closer to camp, you’ll probably change your mind. You’ll remember how the lake feels every day when you get in for swim lessons, your first bullseye in archery, the exhilarating feeling you get when you’re riding for your blue or white team in the horse show. You’ll remember your shack trip, whether you canoed to Oak Island or climbed Mount Katahdin. Most of all, you’ll remember all of your friends at camp. You’ll remember the first day you met them and the last night when you’re sitting together, listening to the staff sing.

2019 will be my 10th summer at camp and I can’t imagine spending it anywhere else. There have certainly been ups and downs each summer. I’ve had bumps and bee stings on trips, missed the target more times than I can count, and experienced hurt feelings when my friends and I disagree. But those are all temporary and far eclipsed by the memories and friendships I’ll have for a lifetime. Camp has taught me perseverance, self-reliance, and that the journey is just as important as the goal.

Runoia Suffragettes

Posted on by Pam Cobb

Whether it’s the fact that it is Halloween, or the fact that the midterms loom before us (fraught with fear and with some, determination and stamina), it seems appropriate to talk about voting and scary times in our nation’s history, including women suffragettes and their organization and strong voices that changed the US constitution and gave women the right to vote in the United States.

US citizens, who were men, regardless of their race, were allowed to vote in 1870 after the 15thamendment to the US constitution. We are thankful for the people who helped make that happen nearly 150 years ago.

Women’s suffrage in the United States came about through a lot of effort of a lot of people with women leading the charge for their right to vote. The 19thamendment to the US constitution was passed by Congress in 1920 and women were finally able to vote. That’s less than 100 years ago in our history. (So, wow!)

What is unbelievable to me is that the two women who founded Camp Runoia in 1907 did not have the right to vote. And that for the first 13 years of summer camp at Runoia on Great Pond, the directors and counselors at camp, who were of voting age, were not able to have a voice in who represented them… and yet they charged on.

They built a camp, they moved a camp (from Loon Cove to our present location in 1914), they designed and built buildings, marketed the experience, rode horses the 12 miles to Augusta to get supplies, hired local drivers and builders, grew food in gardens, built wells and pumped water, took campers on trips around the state from the rock bound coast to the lakes and mountains, ran drill teams, read the classics, wrote and sang songs, ran track and played basketball and canoed all over the state of Maine. They swam in the lake in long wool bathing suits and slept under canoes on wool blankets when on trips. They bought a car and made a summer camp bringing girls from all over the Northeast to live with other girls and women at a camp on a lake in Maine to have a profound outdoor camp experience. How daring!

To their credit, they built a camp before they could even vote to influence the laws that ruled them while they were building a camp. If I were to dress up this Halloween, I would dress as a Runoia Suffragette.

This picture is from the 1920 and Constance Dowd (the very first camper enrolled at Runoia) blowing the bugle outside the Dining Hall. Radical! Thanks to Matti Bradley who contributed the photo from her mother (Joan “Baynie” Williams)  camp memorabilia.

First Camper, Constance Dowd, as a Counselor

 

Summer Dreaming

Posted on by Pam Cobb

It’s when the freeze warning happens that real summer dreaming begins. In honor of the first real cold spell at camp, this blog honors our big, beautiful Great Pond.

We spend the summer in and on the water at Camp Runoia. Great “Pond” is a misnomer as it is the largest lake of the Belgrade Lakes in Maine. It is 8000 acres or, for perspective, half the size of Manhattan.

Just as Great Pond has helped many of us overcome our fears – be it swimming or sailing or canoeing to Oak Island through the camp experience, The words of Lucille Clifton’s poem, Blessing the Boats, will inspire us to continue to be our best in times of challenge and to overcome obstacles with grace and diplomacy.

Blessing the Boats

(at St. Mary’s) 

May the tide

that is entering even now

the lip of our understanding

carry you out

beyond the face of fear

may you kiss the wind

then turn from it

certain that it will

love your back    may you

open your eyes to water

water waving forever

and may you in your innocence

sail through this to that

 

Education for Camp Directors

Posted on by Pam Cobb

Once again Maine Summer Camps was hosted by the Migis Lodge resort for our annual membership meeting and education and networking event. Migis provides the quintessential Maine resort experience. At this meeting for directors and owners, educational round tables and a lovely luncheon were offered. The prestigious Halsey Gulick award was given to Alan Kissick of Kingsley Pines. Congratulations Alan!

Educational topics were in a round table format where camp directors and administrators shared their challenging moments and the group helped process together and shared best practices systems. It is always a fantastic opportunity for peers to get together for a common good. It is infrequent in this world where direct competitors actually want to make camps safer and better  for all campers and staff by sharing and helping each other.

Another highlight of the event is seeing friends over an amazing cook out lunch hosted by Migis Lodge. Sitting by the waterside, enjoying the September sun as it pokes its way out of the misty clouds is a great way to wrap up the summer.

We are lucky to have such close ties to the Maine camp community. Thank you Maine Summer Camps and Maine Camp Experience for the networking opportunities and educational opportunities you provide to Maine camps.

Next up for networking and education for Maine camp owners is the fall Maine Camp Experience meeting. Camp owners and board members meet in October in Portland, Maine.

What is the best age to start camp?

Posted on by Alex

Is your daughter ready for an extended sleep away experience? Is her age a determining factor?

Trying to figure out when the right age to start camp is can be a real challenge for families.  Actual yearly age carries a lot of weight in our society.  We celebrate milestone Birthdays with celebrations and sometimes commiserations!  My daughter is about to become a teenager and I have been blown away by how much emphasis there is surrounding this event.  Mom friends commiserate that I will have a ‘teenager on my hands’ it is apparently just the beginning of the tumultuous years and I am supposed to shower her in adult type recognition and responsibility to help her develop her true self as a young adult.   Truth is she will be the same person today at 12 as she will be tomorrow when she turns 13. She has displayed some of the teenager characteristics for a couple of years, others are sure to develop over time or may never appear on our radar.  Age does not define us yet it has societal normative behaviors placed up on it.

As a parent I feel like I am often battling the social norms imposed upon my children.  It is hard to go up against them when ‘everyone else’ does it, has it or has been there.  I love that my sons school uses the ‘wait ’til eight’ theory for cell phone use as it has taken the pressure off getting my 6th grader a phone as it is not the norm in their school culture.

Figuring out when your daughter is the right age for camp can also appear to have social norms and external pressure about when is the right time to send kids off to sleep away camp.  We all know that kids develop at their own pace, have varying life experiences and certainly come with an array of different personalities that are more or less conducive to the camp experience.  We often get calls from concerned parents wondering if their rising 7th grader is ‘too old’ now for camp? Or if aged 7 is ‘too young’ to start.   Will she fit in if she didn’t start in 5th grade when all of her classmates went off to camp?  Can we advise them about what truly is the best age to send your child to an overnight camp experience?

Kayaking is a great activity for all ages.

The truth is there is only a perfect age for each individual child, some kids are ready at 7 others at 12 or 13 and some girls  just may never have the desire to be away for an extended time period.  As we talk to parents starting the camp research process we are always excited to chat about their daughters and to help them figure out if she may be ready to join the Runoia fun.

Great questions to ponder for prospective families are: how does your daughter feel about camp? is she driving the process? does she enjoy being away from home overnight with family or friends? is she age appropriately confident managing her own things and time?

If you are pondering camp for 2019 and are wondering if your daughter is ready give us a call we are happy to help support you in the process – Camp Runoia  207 495 2228.

 

Starting over – Runoia 2019 are you ready?

Posted on by Alex

September has arrived with shorter days, cooler evenings and an opportunity for a moment to breath and reflect on the past summer season.  2018 was fantastic.  We had so ‘many fine Maine days’ that we were honestly wishing for a little more rain! Camp was full of happy campers and our staff group had an impressive skill set that they shared with enthusiasm.  Even though at camp we fit so much into a day the time flew by way too fast.  We can’t believe that it is time to start over and that our 2019 season is already open for business.

The cycle of camp is an interesting one as there is little down time as we are constantly moving towards the next season.  It is hard to believe that we are now open for early enrollment for our returning campers.  We are hopeful that most will be back and some are already clamoring for the limited full season spaces.  New families are waiting to see if there may be a space for their daughter while others are getting in touch and just beginning to think about plans for next summer.

We are ready to help people make decisions about if Runoia is the right fit for their family.  We are making room for younger sisters and cousins and figuring out how we can continue to make a Runoia summer a crucial part of a girls development.

There is excitement as new enrollments pop into our inboxes, we miss everyone and are already counting down the days until we can all be back together on the shores of Great Pond.  We are really ready to start over and move into 2019 while reminiscing and holding on to the memories and great times from 2018.

Sending positive thoughts for a great back to school and we hope to see you all back on Great Pond next summer.

Camp Runoia 2019 bring it on!

Packing for a summer at Camp Runoia

Posted on by Alex

The first time I came to the US to be a camp counselor all I had was a large backpack and a carry on filled with everything that I thought I could possibly need for the summer.  The internet was not yet a thing and Portland Maine was just a dot on the map.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into, had never heard of Super Walmart and was certain that I would be living in the middle of a forest far from civilization.

Fast forward 25 years and I should have taken a leaf out of my old book when it comes to packing light!

It is complete chaos at my house as we try to finish up school and get ready for the next adventure – Camp!  We are packing and cleaning and getting ready to be full time at Runoia.  It is such an exciting time of year and also a little overwhelming as we transition to our summer home.  There has been much anticipation and we have had weeks of talking everyday about seeing camp friends, playing in the woods and swimming in the lake.   I am so glad that it is now finally time.

There are boxes and half packed bags waiting to be closed up and packed into the car.  The pet carries are ready to be filled and we are nearly ready!  It is amazing what one family needs for the summer, even though our house is only a little over an hour from camp we really don’t come back once we have moved north and I apparently forget every year that there are stores in Augusta!

In the past week it seems that everyone has shot up (or in my case out!) and desperately needs new Runoia uniform ordering.  Thankfully Land’s End ship fast.  Wellies for the wet mornings grass have been bought, bug spray and sunscreen ordered in bulk and a myriad of small items organized and checked off the packing list.  Of course I’m sure a number of items that were not on the list have sneaked in too!

It’s now time to sharpie names into everything because who has time to order name tags? so will have to use a trusty pen to get the job done fast.

As you prepare your daughter for camp know that we are available to help with last minute questions, that if something is forgotten we will help trouble shoot making sure that she has what she needs.  Don’t forget to sneak a little note into her trunk or duffle that she may fine when she unpacks.  Don’t let the packing exasperate or overwhelm you it’s worth it.

We are so excited for the fantastic summer that is awaiting us on Great Pond and cannot wait to see our Runoia girls soon.

Maine magic – the wonder of spring

Posted on by Alex

Summer arrives quickly in Maine!

I have lived in Maine for around 20 years and still the spring transition from frozen tundra to vegetative jungle surprises me every year.  Spring is just incredible here! In just a matter of a few weeks the dramatic change in weather and landscape literally unfolds before your eyes.

The ‘Lupine Lady’ has been busy around the state of Maine

The ice melts off the lake and docks and boats are hauled out of storage and are back in use before the water gets much above 40 degrees.  Intrepid swimmers even brave the chilly water making the most of the days when it gets above 70 degrees.

The garden around the farmhouse at camp has started to spring up with lupines, irises and peonies.   It is always a time to wonder how long they have been established there and remember the days that Betty Cobb would tend to the weeds before camp opened.

The rhododendron outside my office window is blooming a glorious pink and regularly attracts bees and hummingbirds.  Anytime you step outside after 5am the air is filled with the noisy sounds of birds and the number of squirrels and chipmunks appears to have quadrupled overnight.  After so many months of dark, quiet and cold it is a time of great excitement and activity.

It will only be a couple of very short weeks until it is officially summer and Camp Runoia’s 112th season will be beginning on Great Pond.  Like the Maine spring things happen very quickly at the start of the season.  The camp docks and boats are in, the horses have already arrived, staff are trickling in and there is a flurry of activity both in person and in our inboxes.

We cannot wait for camp to be in full swing, for our campers to be here and to be enjoying the hazy, lazy days of summer.  The sounds of loons on the lake will soon be lulling us to sleep ad our days will be spent submerged in all that nature has to offer us.