Ocky for Boys Archives - Page 3 of 13

Mark Twain was Smart (and Funny!)

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-03-29T19:52:15-04:00March 29th, 2013|

Mark Twain once wrote, "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." This quote really hits home for me. Where Mr. Twain said "father," you can substitute whoever that person is who you look up to and who looks out for you. For our more seasoned readers, I hope you read this quote and chuckle. For you younger readers who may not quite get what he was [...]

To Laugh is to Risk

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-03-25T10:50:38-04:00March 25th, 2013|

Was this anonymous poem written about our experiences at Camp? "To laugh is to risk appearing the fool, To weep is to risk appearing sentimental, To reach out for another is to risk involvement, To expose our feelings is to risk exposing our true self, To place your ideas and dreams before the crowd is to risk loss, To love is to risk not being loved in return, To live is to risk dying, To hope is to risk despair, To try at all is to risk failure, But risk we must, because the greatest hazard in life is to [...]

Seasonal thaw…

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-03-24T17:17:24-04:00March 24th, 2013|

Hello folks… As my title to this post may lead you to think about the weather… it is not about that. I am not a weather man and I have no idea what tomorrow or next week may bring in terms of temperature or precipitation. What I am eluding to is the fact that Camp is right around the corner we are beginning to move out of the winter projects mode and on to busier times ahead leading up to Summer Camp! A mental thaw, so to speak. […]

All Play and No Work …

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-03-19T09:16:57-04:00March 19th, 2013|

Working at camp all year, I have the privilege of saying that I play for a living. Yes, I do spend time in an office, and the work here at camp has a farther reaching and deeper impact than simply being fun. However, fun is the primary vehicle for the impact that we make, and as a result I am evaluated on my ability to have fun. This past week, many of us here at camp attended the American Camping Association Tri-State Camping Conference in Atlantic City. The convention provides three full days of workshops geared to all levels of [...]

Getting Ready for Open House

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-03-17T19:59:23-04:00March 17th, 2013|

It was awesome to watch alumni, Ocky Staff, Matolly Staff, and Stockwell Staff working side by side to get Camp ready for our 1st Open House of the year. We had 26 people volunteer today to finish the work we started last Monday to get the Matolly Dining Hall and Matolly tour route ready for next Sunday's Open House. We raked lots of leaves, cut up and hauled out many down trees and limbs left over from Hurricane Sandy, and put the finishing touches on the Dining Hall. We even got a start on raking the Ocky Villages as well. [...]

Farewell to a Dear Friend of Camp

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-03-08T18:12:20-05:00March 8th, 2013|

My father, Frank Birchler, passed away last Thursday, February 28 at home surrounded by his loving family. Dad was 76 years old. He has had a big impact on our Camp, both directly and indirectly. For many years, one of Dad's hobbies has been fundraising for our Annual Golf Tournament. This wasn't something that Dad liked to brag about, because he did not like attention. He was, however, very committed to helping kids get to Camp who couldn't afford it otherwise. Dad did not like being in the spotlight. The look he gave me when he was honored with the [...]

Code of a Camp Counselor

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-22T13:52:59-05:00February 22nd, 2013|

I have an old staff shirt from 1992, I believe. It is badly faded and is, at this point, more of a see-through shirt. I can't quite remember where I got it, because I was still a camper in 1992, but the words on the back of the shirt still ring true today for all of our counselors. I've never seen this anywhere but on that old shirt. We even used it again about 10 or 12 years ago on the back of a staff sweatshirt (that no longer fits around my middle!). I'm not sure who came up with [...]

1-2-3

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-19T12:17:19-05:00February 19th, 2013|

Philadelphia often feels like the farthest place one can be from camp. With the lack of trees, the tall buildings, and the millions of people that swallow one up; it does not radiate the feeling of a welcoming tight-knit community that one feels out among the trees at camp. “The outside world,” can be a place where we are not as comfortable expressing ourselves in the way we do at camp for fear of negative judgment. However, for those of us who often lament that we are unable to be our camp-selves outside of camp, hopefully this story provides encouragement [...]

Getting Excited!

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-15T14:41:30-05:00February 15th, 2013|

I think I probably wrote a blog about this last year, but since it is an annual event, I can probably get away with sharing my excitement again. It's a great thing to be able to honestly say that I love my job. I don't think that is the case for everyone. One of my favorite parts of being Boys Camp Director is assembling the "staff puzzle," as I like to call it. Each winter, I start to receive applications from new job candidates and rehire applications from returners. It's always great to see so many of last year's staff [...]

First Time

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-08T13:44:53-05:00February 8th, 2013|

I'm in the process of hiring our new international staff for the summer. It looks like there will only be 2 new guys at Ocky this summer, since many of last year's int's are coming back. When I talk to them through skype, I try to paint a picture with words for them about what Camp life is like. I think that is only fair, since they will be leaving everything and everyone they are most familiar with for 3 months or so to be at Camp and I wouldn't want them to travel this far and not have it [...]