Uncategorized Archives - Page 25 of 38

On the cusp…

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-06-09T19:33:19-04:00June 9th, 2013|

Hello dear readers... I am writing this, sitting on my porch here at Camp on Sunday evening... a cool breeze blows... mosquitoes ignore the citronella candle burning by my side and pester my legs and neck and arms and... I think a real "go getter" just got me right through my shirt... The last of the Conference groups who stay overnight have checked out... two more day groups to go... and our Ad Staff training beginning tomorrow... and I am excited. Excited for what the Summer will bring. Hot and long days in the Kitchens for myself and my crew, [...]

Safety Tip

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-06-08T11:30:25-04:00June 8th, 2013|

As we quickly approach the summer it's important to know what to look for. Here was an article that was passed around a lot on Facebook this week. While out lifeguards all receive multiple trainings, I thought this was important to share. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/family/2013/06/rescuing_drowning_children_how_to_know_when_someone_is_in_trouble_in_the.html

Ad Staff Training

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-06-07T21:56:59-04:00June 7th, 2013|

My summer officially begins on Monday! Our Village Chiefs, Program Directors, Ranger Instructors, Activity Directors, and CIT/LIT Directors all move onto Camp and spend the week preparing their activity areas, learning supervisory skills, and beginning the process of building our 2013 staff team! We're happy to welcome back many returning leadership staff members and quite a few who are going to be in new positions this summer. It is going to be a very busy week packed with a lot different training sessions and challenges. I'm really excited to work with this outstanding group of young men and women and [...]

A recpie from our new Assistant Food Service Director

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-06-02T18:21:20-04:00June 2nd, 2013|

Hello all!! The recpie today comes from my new assistant, Chef Kimmie. If you missed out on attending our Annual Board Dinner in May then you missed a stellar dessert that was concocted by both Kimmie and I. Sadly I did not get a photograph of the gorgeous plates but it was comprised of a slice of homemade banana bread, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with hot buttered toasted cinnamon walnuts. Sounds amazing, right? Well... here is Chef Kimmie's Banana Bread recipe if you'd like to give it a try! 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 [...]

Fragrant Palm Leaves

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-06-01T17:45:08-04:00June 1st, 2013|

Check out the link below to learn some neat history about Camp. Famous Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, spent the summer of 1962 living in Pomona Lodge and living as part of the Boys Camp community. Thich Nhat Hanh went on to author over 100 books and to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The first chapter of his book, "Fragrant Palm Leaves," describes his experiences at Camp Ockanickon. Enjoy! http://books.google.com/books?id=-Up0tkYBnlAC&pg=PA4&lpg=PA4&dq=thich+nhat+hanh+ockanickon&source=bl&ots=Bp2N75vD8Q&sig=r6Zs9gQvIOD6GKGF5KWyEL78vzk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0Z-qUajqDKrC4AP3qYGwDg&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=thich%20nhat%20hanh%20ockanickon&f=false Brent Birchler Boys Camp Director

Last Open House before Summer Camp!

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-06-01T06:29:41-04:00June 1st, 2013|

Please come out and join us at Camp Ockanickon, Camp Matollionequay and Lake Stockwell for our last open house of the season. Tours will be leaving from the Ockanickon Dining Hall (Ocky & Stockwell) and the Matollionequay Dining Hall (Matolly) from 1-4pm on Sunday June 2. This is the perfect opportunity to learn about all the fun and exciting program we have lined up for this summer, meet our summer camp staff and enjoy some delicious s’mores! There is no RSVP needed…just swing on over! All of our open houses are rain or shine…but we always keep our fingers crossed [...]

A Nice Surprise!

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-05-30T10:18:42-04:00May 30th, 2013|

This morning, the School's Out program at Chairville Elementary was able to experience touring a military helicopter that landed on the school’s baseball field yesterday morning. Yesterday, the helicopter had to make an emergency landing on the property as the helicopter was experiencing mechanical problems. While the military helicopter was still waiting for the parts to deliver, the School’s Out participants were able to get a tour of the helicopter!

From the archives…

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-05-26T17:22:10-04:00May 26th, 2013|

Hello dear readers… Every so often, when the time is right, I like to dive back in to our recipe archives and bring back an old favorite or Camp standard to share with any new readers or remind old ones about something delicious that’s cooking here at Camp. I thought this one was fitting, since we are in the middle of our Labor Day Family Camp Weekend… and we had these as part of our BBQ Dinner last night… Ribs!! […]

Bugs & Critters

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-05-25T16:01:23-04:00May 25th, 2013|

Every year thousands of folks come out to Camp to enjoy nature. Camp is filled with amazing trees, lakes, games and memories. But...with all that nature has to offer, we have to deal with chiggers, ticks and bugs. I learned really quickly my first summer about chiggers and ticks. Not have lived on the East Coast for ten plus years, I kind of forgot what it felt like to get a tick bit. I also learned really quickly about chiggers. I have never been a bug spray person, but now that I live in South Jersey...I'm a big fan. So [...]

Staff Orientation, Round 20

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-05-24T13:11:14-04:00May 24th, 2013|

My 20th consecutive Staff Orientation will be starting in a few weeks and it is still one of my favorite events of the the year. The 2013 Staff Team will be getting together for the first time ever. We'll be doing our first Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the summer. Many returning staff members will be moving into new positions. There will be lots of singing! New staff will have their first experience at our Behind Closed Doors role playing activity. BOB DITTER WILL BE OUR SPECIAL GUEST PRESENTER!!!! The first Camp Dance of the summer will be rocking! Old [...]

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