July 2010 – YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc.

Cheese Moose? No, Chocolate Mousse!

By Jason| 2010-07-31T10:43:40+00:00 July 31st, 2010|

Hey folks... When I took the reigns of our Camp's Food Service program in 2006, after the departure of my mentor Chef Manny, I began a mission to find a special dessert to serve for our most special dinner at Camp... The Green and Blue Feather Banquet night. After a few tries with some average and vaguely memorable ice cream type treats, I found the answer... Chocolate Mousse! Chocolate Mousse garnished with a strawberry, a vanilla cookie and a dollop of whipped cream!! A delightfully rich and winning combination! The Matolly Girls even came up with a chant to let [...]

CIT Program

By Jen| 2010-07-30T14:34:14+00:00 July 30th, 2010|

Today was the final day of our Counselor In Training (CIT) program for our Stockwell crew of future leaders. We are incredibly proud of them and their accomplishments during their 5 weeks with us at Stockwell. As a group, they are energetic, thoughtful and full of spirit. They have the ability to make any activity special and have certainly played an important role in the day to day operations of Camp. Check out the picture below...They prepared the juice and water for our picnic pizza today and made it into a yin yang! Their attention to detail makes everything they [...]

On my commute to work…

By Jason| 2010-07-28T17:09:52+00:00 July 28th, 2010|

Hello dear Friends... I just wanted to take a moment to share a few images of some of the faces I see on my trek to and from and all around work, here at Camp, every day. Pictured here... A deer or two, a turtle... a baby raccoon. Not pictured here... frogs, chipmunks, turkeys, snakes, red tail hawks, cardinals, blue jays & blue herons... just to name a few others. There's even bass and sunfish... but those only cross my path if I decide to canoe to work. Enjoy the pictures!! Be good... Chef Jason

Session 5 Fun

By Jen| 2010-07-28T09:34:00+00:00 July 28th, 2010|

Check out the fort we built! We built this shelter in the Black Forest and we even had a picnic snack after we finished our hard work :)

Where The Trail Leads

By Brent| 2010-07-27T18:17:48+00:00 July 27th, 2010|

Sometimes life has a funny way of tying things together. Yesterday I had a chance meeting that reminded me of the lasting impact a camp counselor can have on a child.

Hello from the Lands of Ockanickon!

By Brent| 2010-07-27T05:50:02+00:00 July 27th, 2010|

Session 3 is going great! What a wonderful group of young men. There is a real sense of camaraderie here at Camp. The staff have been so impressed with how well everyone is getting along and making friends. That is what Camp is all about.

Party at Lake Stockwell!

By Jen| 2010-07-26T07:17:45+00:00 July 26th, 2010|

Each Friday, Lake Stockwell campers put together a skit to be performed after snack, before we head over to Red Feather. Oftentimes, the villages use their creativity to incorporate the week’s theme into the performance. The Hurons our 6 & 7 year old group, came up with their own AWESOME version of Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the U-S-A.” What a perfect way to wrap up our week long celebration of Lake Stockwell’s 20th birthday! Check out the lyrics below: […]

Camper Quote of the Day

By Jen| 2010-07-23T16:20:52+00:00 July 23rd, 2010|

There were quite a few memorable camper quotes during Stockwell Spirit Week...but this one definitely stood out: "I wish I had a Stockwell Spirit Stick so that I could turn the Ga-Ga Court into a pretzel melt!" This statement seems to sum up 3 of our very favorite things at Lake Stockwell Day Camp - 1.) Ga-Ga (having fun and playing hard!) 2.) Chef Jason's pretzel melts and 3.) Camp SPIRIT!

Evenings at Ocky!

By Brent| 2010-07-23T11:50:49+00:00 July 23rd, 2010|

After dinner at Camp, there are still many things going on!!! Last night our youngest village, the Cherokees, played a new game that’s growing in popularity around camp: Gaga. Gaga is a game that involves a ball and an octagon court. The object of the game is to prevent the ball from hitting your legs while only moving the ball with your hands. The last person left wins. The Games go by fast, so no one is sitting out for more than a few minutes. […]

Now and Then

By Gab| 2010-07-23T10:48:11+00:00 July 23rd, 2010|

At camp our goal is to foster lifelong friendships and encourage campers to reside in a community of which they can be apart. While the bonds between campers and counselors are visible during the summer months, it is truly special to see those friendships last over the years. Four years ago, I shared a cabin in Oneida with Jena Rae Carabasi. We had been campers together and remained friends through our transitions from camper to CIT, and eventually staff. […]