This week, I had the pleasure of attending an alumni night at camp. Now, I'm only 3 years out since my last summer at camp, so while it was fun it wasn't as meaningful to me as it might have been to others. Thanks to an alumni group on Facebook (for those who worked in the '70s and '80s... they let me in 'cause they're nice and 'cause I LOVE learning about camp before I was there), I have met some really cool people and have learned a lot about some of the things I remember about my "early years" at camp (the '90s).
It's also helped me remember a lot of things about camp that were on the brink of being totally forgotten forever. I mean, when I was at camp, I was the one person who had been there the longest (15 years -- go me!) and a lot of the stuff I remembered from when I was a kid, I was alone in remembering. I would tell "remember when..." stories at 18 and the campers would look at me like I was crazy!
Some of the things I've enjoyed reminiscing about this week:
1. The old shower house. This was basically a room. With pipes across the top. No ceiling. No stalls. Psh... Modesty? What's that? The temperature of your shower depended on the time you showered. You pulled a string and that is what turned the shower on. Good luck showering with both hands because you had to hold the string the WHOLE time. By the time I was about 12, I was tall enough and had figured out how to tie the string to the pipe to keep the shower on so you could use both hands to wash my hair. OH! And there were stalls that were designated to be used for those with athlete's foot. We would hold towels up for each other while we changed (wearing flip flips, of course). If a counselor had to walk through the shower room, they had to yell "Showers off!"
2. The way camp was organized. I mean this in reference to the programs and the session lengths. When I was a camper, you had a few options: one week (Potpourri) or two? If you went two, did you want bikes (Free Wheelers), horses (Bits 'n Bridles/Saddle Sense), neither (Kaleidescope), or would you rather get to know the dirty side of camp (Roughin' It)? Or CIT/WIT. Very simple. Now you can choose 3 days, one week, or two. But you can also choose sports or theater or Harry Potter (dead serious). Perhaps you like water or arts and crafts? This change has gotten a lot of heat from former staff members. I can see both sides of the argument. On one hand, you want camp to always remain the place you went to and fell in love with. On the other, sometimes camp has to change simply because if it didn't, girls would come.
Also, in 2003, they revamped how long a two week session was. Instead of Sunday=the following Saturday, it became Sunday-the following Friday. Not a huge thing, but a big change, especially because the year they changed that was my first year as staff. Which meant that year was TOUGH for me. I almost didn't come back.
3. How much I freaking NEEDED that place. I learned a lot there -- about myself, about nature, about others, about friendships. I did a lot of growing up in those hills, and I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. <3
