Memories Archives - Page 3 of 4

Letter Writing at camp Runoia

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Alex

The lost art of letter writing is found at Camp Runoia

For many people a letter or card written by hand and sent through the post is a rare treat to receive. There is incredible value in the sending and receiving of letters to and from Camp. Although modern alternatives may have crept into our regular everyday lives and mail has now often been replaced by type or text, at camp the options are much more limited and therefore pen and paper is the go to form of communication.

Some letters from camp are short and oh so sweet!

A hand written letter, postcard or note-card shows a commitment and acknowledges that a person has taken the time and resources to show how much you are valued. A paper note can be stored under a pillow, treasured and reread over and over. They don’t require an instant or speedy response or even any response at all, they can be savored and relished. Camp Runoia parents often tell us years later that they still have those letters from camp as treasured memories of their daughters developing independence.

Content is often deeper and more profound in a letter than it is in a hurriedly typed email or an even shorter text message. There is not room for emoticons in a pen and paper note, real feelings are expressed carefully using vocabulary that often never appears in type,

A note can communicate messages that may be difficult to address in person or may be impossible if the distance covered is great. The recipient sits with the content without an immediate verbal response needed.

At Camp Runoia we value the time old tradition of hand writing notes. People in our community receive ‘real’ mail long before our campers even arrive to the shores of Great Pond. We send welcome notes, Birthday postcards and of course penpal letters for new campers all before June. Parents, family members and friends continue to send postal mail during the summer season and while a one way email service is now available some girls still get stacks of ‘real mail’ every day. Our campers reciprocate those letters filled with love and news from home. Rest hour is often spent filling up stationary and notecards with tales of camp adventures, new friends, how the food is and what EP’s have been a blast.

The Belgrade Lakes Post Office manages the Camp Runoia mail

The Belgrade Lakes Post Office is near and dear to our hearts and trips to visit can sometimes even be won as EP prizes. The 04918 zip code is imprinted on our hearts. We are encouraging Runoia Girls to build real life communication skills.

Sleep away Camp in Maine – ‘the way life should be’.

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Alex

This past summer a photo journalist from Maine Magazine spent some time with our alumnae at Runoia’s 110th reunion. It was a bit of a wild and windy day for August but the Camp Runoia warmth shone through. The reporter was amazed that women of all ages had traveled from near and in some cases very far to join together to celebrate their Maine sleep away camp experiences. For many the time they had spent as a child at camp had been a very long time ago yet the memories and friendships made had truly lasted a lifetime.

It is very exciting for us to be featured in the camp issue of the magazine and to get the front cover cameo! How perfect to see alums flicking through the log books that record a hundred years of our sleep away camp history. Runoia in 2017 still maintains the spirit and some of the activities that girls participated in back in 1907. We are proud of our heritage, history and traditions.

The passion that these women have for Runoia was apparent, they dove into the chilly waters of Great Pond to swim to Oak Island in order to raise money for the scholarship program, sang songs with gusto and shared memories and stories from their childhoods. Many brought along their family members to share the experience and enjoyed playing and laughing together and sharing meals in the dining hall.

Maine is the perfect place to spend time in the summer, the clear cool lake, usually bright sunny days and nights filled with the cries of the loons make it a relaxing getaway. Camp still provides girls from many different places the chance to grow and learn together. They build long lasting relationships, have a chance to embrace the natural world and be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Making memories with traditions at home and camp

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Alex

Hopefully during this Holiday season you have found the time to be present in the moment and enjoy special family times and traditions with those that you love the most.

Whether you have favorite recipes that you cook together, a gingerbread project that everyone works on or a special place that you visit it is often the routine of tradition that is of most value to our kids. The fancy wrapped packages have been unwrapped and the anticipation of the moment has now passed but the activities that you do together will cement the great feeling of the season.

Hopefully you can take time to just hang out, play games, go for a walk and just relax together. We would love to see your photos of the family fun you have had over break.

At camp our girls love the times when they get to connect with each other, when they do something that they can only do at camp or that only happens once a session.

Maybe over the school break your daughter can take the time to write a real mail letter to a camp friend. Make a connection, start a tradition.

As the year ends the official countdown to summer 2017 is on. We still have spaces for our 2017 season sign up here!

Camps As Socializing Agents

Posted on October 5, 2016October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

The Camp Experience and Coming Together as a Team

What does camp as socializing agents mean and why does it matter? Coming together at camp, where everyone is treated equally levels the playing field no matter what neighborhood you live in or school you attend. When you spend a few weeks of your year with peers and older and younger children where you live together, play together and work things out together, try new things together or support someone else trying something new – you get to know people very well.

When you spend your days overcoming a challenge together – be it scaling a difficult mountain, crossing the “Peanut Butter Pit” or righting a capsized sailboat, the experience draws you closer. When you spend the summer living in a cabin group where everything from sharing the duties of “shack” clean up to planning for a competition for Evening Program and then having an evening dance party together afterwards makes you a team.

Sports and Team Building Build Lifelong Friends

Getting out of socialization cycles means walking in someone else’s shoes or at least glimpsing what that walk for someone else may be like in their world outside of camp. Creating allies at camp with thoughts and feelings like “I’ve got your back” or “I’m a stand-up girl helping another girl” lets children understand through experience that they can affect change and not create enemies because of differences. It teaches them they

can be part of the solution. Sure, our girls have conversations about prejudice; unequal pay for equal work for women, Black Lives Matter and other important social topics and just being at camp makes a difference; being with a group of different people in a culture where everyone is respected and everyone gets a turn makes a difference. Camp is a place where everyone eats the same food, sleeps in the same cabins, uses the same bathrooms. There is no social-economic advantage at camp. You do your morning job and look forward to the fun activities and learning you’ll experience with your friends on any given day.

We’ve talked a lot about camp being a place where people can be their true selves, where the value of camp has increased due to aspects like “unplugging” and building 21^st century skills. Now add to that as the United States experiences a new era of civil rights, campers are talking about what’s it like to grow up in a my neighborhood, why strong female characters are an important part of growing up and why role models make a difference in our lives – that’s value added that grows better citizens as well as profound experiences together.

If you’d like to explore ideas about teaching your children about social justice and why it matters, check out this article from Edutopia and American Camp Association’s idea of camps as social justice platforms or perhaps you are a teacher or youth educator? Check out 10 activities to work with youth on social justice:

Making the world a better place, one camper at a time!

Until next week,

Aionur

Tomorrow

Posted on June 23, 2016October 18, 2016 by Alex

Tomorrow….

The girls are coming

We will shift to being a child focused community

It will be a fine Maine day

There will be squeals of pure joy

Tomorrow…

We will move around 500 pieces of luggage

The gaga pit will be full

We get milk and crackers

There will be a few tears

Tomorrow…

Is sure to start early and end late

Will be here soon

Is the best day of the year

Is just the beginning

We can’t wait for tomorrow the Magic Makers of 2016 are ready for the magic to arrive!

Our Spanish campers are on the way!

Marking time

Posted on May 25, 2016October 18, 2016 by Alex

There are less than three weeks to go until we move up to camp. I figure I have about 500 items that need labeling with names! Even with my poor math I am pretty sure I am going to have to pull an all-nighter to get it done in time and there is still bound to be a pair of socks that escapes. Thank goodness for the ‘sharpie’ it is a life saver at this time of year. Fortunately with a fairly unusual hyphenated last name just the initials written on a label will suffice.

Marking clothing, shoes, toiletries and pretty much every item that we are taking to camp is always a sign of the passage of time for me. While it is sometimes a little frantic because I have left it until the last minute I know that our summer is just around the corner and the past years’ worth of work will be coming to fruition.

New summer clothes yet to be worn being labelled and packed for camp are a precursor to the fine weather, long summer days and fun we will all be having at Runoia. There is no point packing anything too fancy so those clothes stay home, the old winter stuff that won’t fit in the fall can be handed down and it is a time for reorganizing closets and dressers. The anticipation of knowing the next time you wear those packed clothes will be at camp fills us with anticipation.

So thank you Sanford Ink company “Sharpie” was originally a name designating a permanent marker launched in 1964 by the Sanford Ink Company. The Sharpie also became the first pen-style permanent marker.” I am eternally grateful to not have to be sewing or ironing on labels because really who has time for that?

Happy packing it is almost time to be on Great Pond!

My Home Away from Home – Erin Lasher

Posted on February 10, 2016October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

I have spent ten summers of my life at Runoia. I grew up there, and made some of the most amazing memories. Camp is not just a place anymore for me, it is a feeling of home. This past summer as I drove myself to camp for the first time I realized how much I had grown up. For the first time I was driving myself to a place that I called home, instead of having my family drive me, but as I was sitting in the car I realized that I was not going to be away from my family at all. I was returning to the family that I got to choose.

Pam and Alex have been in my life since I was 8 years old. They are my moms and they definitely had a hand in raising me. Camp was not just a place for me to learn activities, and later teach them, but a place for me to figure out who I was and who I wanted to be. I loved every activity at camp, and it is amazing to say that I made the basket that now sits on my desk, but the things I hold most dear are those that were outside of activities.

The things that you don’t even realize that you are learning are at times more valuable than the known skills, things like sharing a room, becoming a leader, asking for help, being able to laugh at yourself, and being independent. I still remember my Mom driving my sister and I to camp for the first time all those years ago. I was only nine years old and absolutely terrified. That summer I became known to Alex as the one who cried, and she, along with the rest of camp, made Runoia feel like home by the end. I ended up signing up for camp for the next six years, and then became a CIT and a counselor. I bet neither Pam nor Alex could have expected that the scared little girl they held that day would end up being there for the next decade.

At 20 years old I have spent half of my life at camp. I have laughed, cried, and made the best friendships imaginable. I can proudly say that I have Runoia sisters all over the world. I was even lucky enough to be able to visit them while I was living in Europe last semester. They were a little bit of home for me, and I was so fortunate to be able to visit them in their own countries. At camp I found family, and learned lessons that I am still discovering. Over ten years being a part of the Runoia family is incredible, and I have made friends that I will hopefully keep for the rest of my life. Being able to have the opportunity to be a camper and a counselor was amazing and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for my home away from home.

Count Down to Runoia 2016!

Posted on January 26, 2016October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

The countdown to summer sleepaway camp is well underway as we just passed the 150 “days till camp” marker. While some campers are enjoying the count down, others are feeling a big nervous and maybe even somewhat anxious about overnight camp. This is perfectly normal!

What can you do to encourage your campers to be ready for camp? Here’s some tips from the experts:

Brooke Cheley-Klebe from Cheley Camps suggests “Get your camper involved in picking out gear for camp. If you buy hiking boots, go on a hike with them!”

Camp Owner and TED talk extraordinaire, Steve Baskin suggests reframe what three weeks away is about “wise parents provide their children with a different frame to look at camp. It is not “3 weeks away from mom and dad”, but is instead “a grand adventure full of fun and friends”.

Jen Bush writes for American Camp Association: “Learn details of the facilities. Will your child have to walk to the bathroom at night? Some kids, especially those from urban areas, are unaccustomed to total darkness, so it’s a good idea to practice using a flashlight. Will she be exposed to a lot of bugs and wildlife? Consider taking a family camping trip in advance to familiarize your child with the outdoor environment, nighttime sounds, and roughing it a bit.”

A great idea we heard from a parent is have your teenager take a mini-vacation from their phone or screen. Make it a positive experience where you go do something together or something she enjoys and explain that it’s about being present together. Not tying it “going away to camp” will be in their favor.

Other ideas:
• Look over the packing list together on https://runoia.com/camp-store/, start browsing your closets and stores and gathering items together for camp.
• Practice sorting their dirty laundry from clean clothes, carrying their toiletries to the shower, brushing and braiding their hair, making their bed. Make a list of things they will be expected to do at camp on their own or with the support of a counselor or a friend and start practicing!
• Discuss what they will enjoy doing at camp, look over the camp activities, help explain how they can sign up for activities at the camp and who to turn to if they would like to change their schedule.
• Let them know how Runoia directors and adults are around all the time to help them at camp. Have them write an email to us about any concerns so we can address them. Reducing uncertainty and knowing adults will be there to help them really helps.

Let your camper know it is absolutely normal to be nervous about camp and let her know that everyone is nervous – even the campers returning to Runoia. Remind her we are great at helping campers adjust and get oriented at Camp Runoia and we want her to have the best time of her life!

Finding Perfection

Posted on December 10, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

The Perfect Tree – Finding Perfection

There is a lot of anticipation in our house this week. The upcoming weekend is our annual sortie into the woods to find the perfect tree to decorate for the Holidays. We don’t have a particular place or tradition for getting the tree sometimes we swing by one of the local Maine tree farms close to our house but we have also been known to go out in the back acreage and find a wild tree. Once we have decided if we will go and cut one or grab one at the market stand the hunt is on.

The challenge is always how do we find the ‘perfect’ tree? How big should it be? Round and full? or a little thinner so the ornaments hang down? At the farm there are even choices of what variety of spruce to bring home! It is hard for it not to become overwhelming especially when everyone has a different opinion about just what constitutes ‘perfect.’

Depending on how cold it is the search may be long or due to frozen fingers and toes it may be a short trek to the nearest good looking spot. ‘Perfect’ becomes relative when the promise of hot chocolate is involved.

The funny thing is that no matter which tree we end up getting everyone always declares it ‘perfect’ even when it requires a 6” decapitation to fit in the house or takes up half the room. It is the time with family and the tradition of actually doing this together every year that truly makes it ‘perfect.’

However you celebrate the Holidays I hope that it will be your own version of perfect.

Mountain Biking at Runoia and beyond

Posted on October 14, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

As the crisp autumn air flows in, I am reassured as to why I live in New England. For the seasons. Now is a perfect time to get outdoors and enjoy all that New England has to offer. Perhaps a swift hike in the woods or a leisurely walk along the water suits you. For me, I want to go mountain biking.

I was so inspired last summer spending time mountain biking with the girls of Camp Runoia. It is truly a gift to be able to pass on my passion for a great sport onto these young ladies. To watch their eagerness to learn and explore is a tough feeling to beat. I started mountain biking back in the early nineties when the sport first started to take off. Historically, this has been a sport dominated by men, but the question remains, how do we get more girls and women involved in this great sport? When I came to Runoia, I was thrilled to see that we had a mountain bike program. What a great way to expose our girls to a sport they may not be exposed to otherwise. As the bike technology advances and trails and parks become more accessible, my hope is that more young women will try mountain biking. I wanted to share something that a local mountain bike park that I ride at in New Hampshire hosted last weekend. Click here to see a short video with some highlights from the “Women’s Freeride Festival” hosted by Highland Mountain Bike Park.

Highland Mountain Bike Park is a very progressive place which is really on the cutting edge of the sport. Constantly creating new terrain and technical elements, they draw amateur and professional riders from all over the world. I feel lucky to have this resource not far from home. They obviously recognize that in order to sustain a sport like this and a facility like this, they need more riders. I’m sure that this workshop inspired so many women to get into this sport or if already in it, it empowered them to take it to the next level. This is a sport all about personal growth. You can go as slow or as fast as you want…as big or as small as you want. What a feeling when you accomplish the next big challenge for the first time. It truly gives you a great sense of power and accomplishment.

If you have never mountain biked, I encourage you to give it a try! This is an amazing sport which is here to stay. I look forward to many more “Fine Maine Days” next summer spent mountain biking with the fabulous girls of a little sleep away camp which we call Runoia!

By Chris Mercier