sleepaway Archives - Page 8 of 8

Camp Runoia’s History – Abridged Version

Posted on November 20, 2014October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

A Short History of Camp Runoia

1906 – Lucy Weiser and Jessie Pond scout locations for Camp Runoia and land in Belgrade, Maine.

1907 – Camp Runoia opens on the Northeastern side of Hatch Cove on Great Pond with 7 campers, a cook and Miss Weiser and Miss Pond

1910 – the first Camp Runoia Log Book was written recording the history of the summer events

1914 – Miss Weiser secured the land known as the Wentworth Farm on the Southwestern shore of Great Pond.

1915 – in the winter, the first camp building was hauled across the ice of Great Pond to establish the camp kitchen on the new property

1915 – in the summer, campers arrived to camp on the present site of Camp Runoia for the first summer

1916 – new buildings were erected on the property including an addition to the kitchen and cabins 1, 2 and 3

1917 – The Runoia Lodge was built

1918 – Camp Runoia operates throughout World War 1

1939-1945 – Camp carries on during World War 2 albeit a difficult time to get supplies and food. Campers helped to farm and build at camp to support their summer camp experience1952 – Betty and Phil Cobb met each other at Phil’s grandfather’s camp, Camp Wyonegonic, Denmark, Maine

1953 – Betty and Phil Cobb married and that summer visited over 50 camps in New England searching for a camp for sale.

1954 – Betty and Phil worked with Lucy Weiser for the summer and bought Runoia at the end of the season.

1991 – Pam Cobb bought Runoia from her parents, Phil and Betty Cobb

2012 – The Tabell Family Foundation donated a gift to scan and preserve the Runoia Logs!

2013 – the 60^th summer Runoia has been owned and operated by the Cobb Family

2016 – will be the 110^th anniversary summer of Camp Runoia!

Fireworks on the Lakes – Seeking a Balance with Belgrade Select Board

Posted on September 16, 2014October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Camp Runoia prides itself in being active in our local business community helping to bring people to the area, being involved in our local conservation groups, The Belgrade Lakes Association and the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance and believing in sustainable practices at camp and in our communities. All of our year round employees serve on boards, volunteer at events and/or coach sports or participate in races, fund raisers and friend-raisers around the state, in New England and beyond.

Here’s a recent letter to our Select Board representing the importance of balancing fun and life on the lakes:

Belgrade and the lakes in and around Belgrade is such a beautiful place to enjoy with your family and friends. I can see how everyone wants to show off the fun of fire works when they come up for the weekend or have friends or family visiting. With fireworks readily accessible, we are hearing fireworks nearly every night and certainly every weekend night of the summer on Great Pond.

Fireworks used on a continual basis are disruptive to people, animals and the environment.

Our Camp Runoia campers are frightened by the loud booming and cracks and whistles that carry on nightly. Their sleep is disrupted causing adults to have to console them and stay up with them until they can fall back asleep with hopes that another round across the lake doesn’t wake them again.

Our horses, a herd of over a dozen, who are stabled during the day for lessons and out in pasture at night, run in fear during the fireworks causing injury and overuse of adrenaline, wearing on them and making them not fit for work the next day. Often we have to get the horses from the pasture and bring them into the stables during fireworks that are close by. Additionally, the loons, the wildlife around the lake and the lake itself are experiencing loud noise, chemical exposure and plastic and paper fragment waste on a regular basis.

We hope Belgrade will be smart about fireworks and restrict usage to a few key dates of the summer for people to enjoy them and for those of us with people and animals who are disrupted by them can be prepared and keep everyone safe while enjoying the beauty of the lakes in each and every way.

The Natural Beauty of the Night Sky Wows Us

Reinventing Yourself at Overnight Camp

Posted on March 30, 2014October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

One of the grand moments of going off to camp is feeling independent and having the opportunity to reinvent yourself. At Camp Runoia you have the chance to be a different person than you are in school or in your neighborhood or with your parents.

I do not imagine any young girls are scheming about this prior to camp. “When I show up at camp, I am going to be a courageous girl who helps others and is always kind and respectful to adults.” Or “I cannot wait to get to camp where I can be the first one up in the morning to help others with their morning chores.” In fact, it’s not something we even bring up with campers. It just happens and most campers reflect on it at some point during the summer.

A transformation occurs when girls come to camp that is purely organic. The tendency is that within a short period of time, girls drop their “baggage” from the school year and leave it somewhere between the parking lot and beginning of the two mile road to camp. Layers of pressure unload or the steam slowly seeps out from the pressure cooker of life.

Within the first few days campers unpack more of their emotional “stuff and become a little more carefree. They try something new without fear of humiliation. They stand up for others without being excluded from groups. As the summer session carries on, more and more of this happens around them and they find that being their true selves is easy and burden-less. Hallelujah!

Camp Runoia, where diversity is celebrated, people are included and valued for who they are and how they grow and what they contribute to the camp community. This leaves a lot of possibility for girls to try being someone else when they get to camp.

Unlike famous 19^th century female writers with pseudonyms “nom de plumes”, many who wrote with male names in a male-dominated profession, some campers truly try out a slightly different persona. They try behaving differently and receive speedy feedback in the form of gratitude, attention, cheers, acknowledgment and adding value. This phenomenon may come in the form of a personal victory of getting up in front of a crowd when they

have previously had stage fright or they find themself climbing to a high height when they have been scared of heights in the past. It starts with talking in front of a small group when it’s their turn and builds to performing in the talent show. Or climbing a little bit higher on the climbing tower and then trying the Runoia “Dragonfly” zipline at the end of the session.

Small steps to success lead to large distances covered in life.

Camp Runoia – building lifelong skills

The Gift of Camp Keeps on Giving

Posted on December 24, 2013October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

The Gift of Camp

A package arrived in the mail this week from a camper. The box was addressed:

Camp Runoia – the most wonderful gift of all

Inside was a beautiful tree ornament of a glass kayak. The family wrote a note describing how every year they pick out an ornament that represents something important in their lives. This year, the kayak symbolized camp and how important camp was to their daughter. They thought it appropriate to mail one to camp to show their gratitude and appreciation.

At Runoia, we are thankful for the thoughtfulness of this family and also feel the gift of camp is an amazing, life changing, skill building, educational and fun experience you can provide for your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. To all our families and all who believe in camp – thank you!

Peace on earth and goodwill to all,

Camp Runoia