MaryAnn and I love to watch our daughter, Katelyn, play with her best friend, Charlee Ostroski, the daughter Gab and Chef Jason. The time they spend playing together is pure joy. At least until it is time for one of them to go home! Whenever I watch them together, I can’t help but think about the poor Matolly counselor that is going to look at the cabin assignments on that Sunday morning at the start of a new session in 2017 and see that in her cabin, she’ll have the daughter of the Ocky and Stockwell Directors in one bunk and the daughter of the Matolly and Food Service Directors in the bunk next to her. Having had the sons of many of my former counselors and grandsons of Camp legends like Dave and Sue Mitchell and Bob and Peggy Francis in my Camp, I know that can be intimidating. This summer, that counselor will most likely be an Oneida, Apache, or Mohawk camper. Maybe a Ranger or an LIT. Maybe she hasn’t even been to Matolly yet. But in 5 years, she is going to be one of the most important people in my life. The time my daughter spends with her will be the longest time she will have ever spent away from me and MaryAnn (of course I will probably have to lock MaryAnn up to keep her from visiting Matolly every 5 minutes!). As difficult as it will be to stay away from Katelyn for a week (or two. Sorry, MaryAnn!), I know what kind of benefits she will gain from being away from us. She’ll learn independence. She’ll learn to trust new people. She’ll learn the camaraderie of living together with other girls in our Camp community. Above all, she’ll learn right and wrong from terrific Matolly counselors who will be true friends, mentors, and role models. I can only hope that she gets the same kind of first Camp experience that I had twenty-some years ago. One generation takes care of the next. Some of this decade’s campers will be the next decade’s counselors. After their time on staff, they will hopefully send their kids to Camp and the cycle will begin again. This is how the whole Summer Camp experience keeps on perpetuating itself. As it should.
Brent Birchler
Boys Camp Director