How many of you remember your very first experience at Summer Camp? I was 11 years old my first summer in Apache 31-B. I remember Chip Candy picking up trash as he led my parents and I to my cabin and introducing me to my counselor, Mick Weeks. I remember trying not to laugh at my first Opening Ceremony (yes the Great Chiefs still dropped their blankets in those days!). I remember not sleeping all night on our first evening (or at least it felt that way) because someone would yell, “Raid!” every 10 minutes and we would come running out of our cabin with our pillows ready to do battle with the Algonquins, but no one was ever there. I remember our Village Chief, Todd Graham, waking us up with “Good morning, Campers!” every day. I remember John Mills coming to our village and talking to us about respecting nature (after an unnamed Apache had been poking a stick at a black snake). I remember trying to figure out the words to “Titanic” (that one took me a couple of years). And most importantly, I remember the name of every kid in my cabin and almost every kid in my Village. I can remember the people a lot more vividly than I can the activities that I participated in. It truly is the friendships that makes Camp so special and so memorable. Even after 22 years, I still think a lot about my session with Mick, Jimmy, Dave, Billy, Troy, Robbie, and John. That’s what Camp is all about.
Brent Birchler
Boys Camp Director