Yearly Archives: 2014

I cannot say enough about the amazing staff that I had the honor of working with this summer. These guys were just so dedicated to making a tremendous experience for every single camper that came through our gates from Session 1 through Session 6. They truly embodied the phrase from the old days, "the other fellow first." They put the needs of others before their own for 9 weeks straight and did so with a smile on their face and never-ending enthusiasm. Many people talk about the "young generation" as kids who want things for themselves right now: the job, [...]

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” I have had the fortunate honor of being the Challenge Course Program Coordinator for the past three years. Over those three years I have had sixteen staff members work on my team and countless others come and lend a hand when needed. This year I have watched campers who traditionally did not do well with high elements push past their fears and boundaries and achieve something that three years ago they did not think was possible. I would love to say that [...]

Camp is all about allowing campers the ability to push themselves outside of their comfort zone and experience new things. I am fortunate enough to facilitate our Rangers program here at camp, which involves different adventure trips for our oldest campers. Our 14-16 year olds have the chance to rock climb, canoe in white water, hike the Appalachian Trail, geocache, rappel, and much more. More importantly however, while they are out on their adventure they are learning life lessons and self accountability. Each one of our trip programs takes a waterproof group journal with them to use however they fit. [...]

This week campers and staff are divided into the four houses of Harry Potter; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.  Each camper and staff member have the opportunity to earn points, for their assigned house, throughout the week in each activity period. Points are even earned when a camper or staff member wear the color of their house! During special events this week the campers and staff members have been playing the Harry Potter game Quidditch, without the brooms, of course. Friday will be the championship game! Our current scores for the houses are: Griffindor: 924 Ravenclaw: 976 Hufflepuff: 1,005 Slytherin: [...]

Session 2 has always been my favorite here at camp. As a camper it was the session I normally attended. To me, session 2 always means one thing: Olympics! The Ocky Olympics forged a special day in my heart my first summer on camp in 2004 as an Algonquin camper. That summer I was one member of the two member German Bocci team. We went on to take the gold that day. My partner was none other than Donny Palmer, one of the current Ranger Directors. It's a memory that Donny and I talk about to this day. That day [...]

One of my favorite camp traditions is on the first night of summer camp when Matolly girls sing a song that starts, “Are you ready for the summer? Are you ready for the good times?”  We've been getting ready for summer with two weeks of staff training (and months of prepping before that!) and now we’re FINALLY ready to have some fun with our campers. We’re already halfway through our first session here at overnight camp and we've squeezed a lot into three days. Our Matolly photographer, Diana, has been zipping around camp capturing all of the fun program campers [...]

Each summer some of our oldest camper's embark on the adventure programs here at Camp known as Rangers. Our traditional Boots and Boats campers navigate the Delaware River and hikes the Appalachian Trail while our newest addition, Rocks & Rafts, will spend a week in Stover State Park whitewater rafting, climbing, and rappelling. Over the last few weeks the instructors for these programs have participated in a variety of training events. Some spent time with our challenge course staff working on their rope skills while others worked with longtime canoe instructor Art Kleinspehn to perfect their strokes on the water. [...]