How quickly the summer is flying by! Another Spirit Day has come and gone and it was a great one. In the end, all we remember is the fun of the competition. We have gotten right back into programming. Intercamp games and tournaments have been awesome. Camping trips are going strong all over the state of Maine. From tennis to rocketry to waterskiing, horseback riding, climbing and lacrosse, our campers are doing it all.
Everyone is excited for tomorrow’s 2nd in-camp “S” Day. From the elective morning to the Camper Variety Show to the famous Laurel South Carnival, the day couldn’t be more exciting.
Our campers have never looked happier. They’re participating, making friends, acquiring new skills, developing existing talents and trying new things. Everything’s fantastic in 04015!
Tuesday started like any other day at camp. Morning activities were going great. All over camp, the sounds of Laurel South spirit filled the air. Just before lunch, Roger called for a camp meeting. As he made his way through announcement, a roar erupted from the lake. The CIT’s, dressed in Blue and Green, announced the arrival of another amazing Spirit Day!!!
For the next day and a half, the Blue Knights and Green Vikings will battle it out in the friendliest of competitions. We’ll play hard, but never lose hold of the fact that even during Spirit Days, we are one big Laurel South family. Once Spirit Days conclude, we have so much to look forward to: the 4th of July, the action on beautiful Crescent Lake, intercamp games and tournaments, The Lion King & Hairspray. We can’t wait to keep the action going in Casco!
Summer camp is often thought of as a whole, a single place where campers convene for several weeks each summer. Few think of summer camp in the context of its smaller parts. Yet, for campers, the special memories that make up “summer camp” in their minds are not merely the product of a whole, but a collection of memories related to its various parts. The overall experience of summer camp not only comprises a special place in the heart of campers, but the memories connected to favorite spots on campus. What are these parts, and why would do campers find them so dear? They’re places that, without, summer camp just wouldn’t be summer camp.
Cabins/Bunks: Some camps call them cabins. Other camps call them bunks. What they have in common is that they are private spaces that a handful of campers at each camp have in common. They live in their bunks, sleep in their bunks, and attend activities with their bunks. Every bunk has its own playlist, inside jokes, special nicknames for each other, and unique games that it enjoys.
Dining Hall/Dining Room: At home, the dining room is just a place for campers to eat. But at camp, it’s such an important place that it’s spelled with capital letters. The camp dining facility is not only a place where the camp convenes for meals, but a place full of song and cheer.
Lake: The lake is the hub of a summer camp waterfront. It’s the place where campers go to swim, boat,waterski, tube, and socialize. It’s so special that, at most camps, every camper goes there at least once a day. Lots of friendships are formed and memories are made on the docks and beaches of the camp lake.
Flagpole/Campfire: Every camp has a special place where the entire camp convenes in the morning and/or evening to officially kick off or end the day. This is where sports and competition wins are celebrated and special occasions are marked, and each camp does something just a little bit different to inflict personality into its assembly location to make it a memorable place for campers.
Fieldhouse/Rec Hall/Playhouse: This is another facility that goes by a different name from camp tocamp, but is home to memories of camp shows, sing-alongs, athletic events, evening activities, and just about a million other activities. For all intents and purposes, it’s a campus all-purpose building, the place where the entire camp gathers to celebrate activities that are as indispensable to the camp experience as to the camp itself.
Of course, as merely buildings, these locations make up just a fraction of summer camp campuses. But they’re so full of literally decades of memories that the spirit of the camp emanates from them, and every camper has a nearly endless list of memories that involve them. Not just summer camp, but the anatomy of it is essential to the summer camp in the making of camp memories.
