YMCA OF THE PINES
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As I have come to grow older birthdays have held less significance for me in terms of my age. I have long since hit all of the ages where I gain new rights and am considered more an adult (I do not count the right to rent a car and drive a recreational vehicle that I earned on my most recent birthday as milestone privileges). As a result, my birthday has meant that when people ask me how old I am, I need to remember to give a number that is one larger than the age that I had been [...]
Hello all! Here is an interesting Gluten Free recipe that was shared with me by a long time alumni and constant pair of helping hands at our Roll Up Your Sleeves weekends, Kim Hannum. I said "interesting" recipe because the replacement for flour is mashed garbanzo beans (chick peas)!! Here's what you need... 1 bag of chocolate chips, melted 2 cups garbanzo beans (fresh cooked or canned (and rinsed) is fine) 4 eggs 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. vanilla extract Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. ... and here's how simple it is... Melt the [...]
Please come out and join us at Camp Ockanickon, Camp Matollionequay and Lake Stockwell for our 3rd 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 May 19th. 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 [...]
Thank you to former Matolly Staff Member, Danielle Wiest, for sharing this great Thought of the Day. Can't you picture a 7-year old camper doing this!!! A little boy went out to the backyard to play with a baseball and bat. He said to himself "I am the best hitter in all the world!" Then he threw the ball up in the air and took a swing at it, but he missed. Without a moment’s hesitation, he picked up the ball and tossed it in the air again, saying as he swung the bat, "I am the best hitter in [...]
Watching the seasons change our environment is one of the great benefits to living here at camp. I love the sudden change when the leaves grow back and everything is green again. The changing seasons always bring about new families staying here at camp. For instance the geese are raising five babies that follow them around near the lake everyday. Behind Ockenhouse there are two wood ducks named Wilma and Fred waiting on their eggs to hatch. Watching deer in the Matolly field eating with their young is a sight to see. If you haven’t gotten a chance recently to [...]
Hello all! I would just like to take a moment out of my busy day, on this very special day, to tell you how blessed I am to have such strong, smart and simply amazing women in my life. Today is Mother's Day... but to me, every day should be Mother's Day. Including my wife, Gabrielle, our very own Matollionequay Girl's Camp Director, there are 9 working mothers on our immediate staff here on the property at YMCA Camp Ockanickon... and a few others working at our School's Out sites. That number also increases as we have more working Moms [...]
Well...yesterday was the final class for the Intro to Mountain Biking program. This class is part of our Discovery Programs that we have offered this past spring. These programs are designed to introduce kids to some of the various activities we have at Camp. If you are interested in any of our Discovery Programs, please keep an eye out in August for some new and exciting classes!
It is a mother's responsibility to protect her young. Â To protect her young, she must keep them close to her. Â I would imagine that it goes against many motherly instincts for moms to send their kids off to Camp without them. Â Yet they do it anyway. Â Moms send their kids to Camp because they know it will be an enriching experience full of fun, adventure, challenge, and friendship. Â Thanks to all of the moms (and dads) who give us the gift of Camp, even though they miss us dearly while we are away. Â Have a happy Mother's Day Weekend! Brent [...]
As the last children were being picked up on Thursday, May 2nd, from the School’s Out program at Indian Mills Elementary, a hummingbird flew into the cafeteria. He was flying back and forth high up in the ceiling grid. With no outside doors, there was no way for him to find his way out. The custodians did not know how to get him out. One suggested sucking him into the vacuum. Ann and I left feeling worried about his fate. When I arrived Friday morning, the hummingbird was still flying around the cafeteria ceiling. When Meredith, one of our School’s [...]