Dear Friends of TL,
As we were in Silent Meeting this morning, the day changed from a settled-in-not-going-anywhere overcast to sunshine and brightness during the 15 minutes we were sitting in the clearing. It’s amazing how quickly transformations happen. At TL we see this in the weather and in ourselves. This session almost feels as brief as the minutes of meeting, and we have seen campers transform. We hope you will notice this, too, when you see them on Friday.
Let me fill you in on some of the goings on since I last wrote. Big and First Lodge all went out on their trips that ranged from canoeing on Green River, climbing at Silverlake, hiking the long trail and even a new survival trip on 80 acres of Farm & Wilderness property in Chelsea VT. The weather held well and we had good reports from all participants. Back in camp, the Rangers cabin volunteered to help in the kitchen the entire day. Under the supervision of our head cook and their counselor, Ian Haddad, they fed the camp three great meals. Other example of the TL Work Ethic was finishing our camper-made “Gaga Pit”, a 20-foot diameter, below the knees dodge ball arena. This is a great way for everyone to burn off some energy before sitting down to meals. Several candidates for our highest canoe rating worked by learning strokes and also by portaging their canoe (carrying it on their backs by themselves) all the way to Indian Brook. They were very determined and all succeeded.
Our Creativity Ethic shown through when faced with the dilemma of the World Cup. It was suggested we make an exception to our “no screens” policy to watch the final of this international, once–every- four year event. Ultimately, we did not feel that would serve our community the best and so we kept everyone in suspense and held a “World Cup Evening” the day after. Announcements were made “We said we wouldn’t tell you the score of the World Cup but here you go: Ireland won but Victor Krum got the snitch!” On Monday evening, we had face and body paint, games that everyone could enjoy, bizarre staff haircuts, team flags and live reenactments of key moments in the match. Hats off to Jackson Price and Regan Lowring for organizing the evening for the campers.
Creativity is all about the unexpected, and so when Indian Brook awoke to Otters cabin camped at their waterfront, holding all their rolls of toilet paper for the ransom of a song, we hope they were surprised. Equally, we awoke the same morning to case of mistaken identity and our trading post was covered with love letters to Justin Timberlake. Nicely played IB!
For our 75th anniversary, we rediscover our past and also create new traditions. Since the 1970’s – at least – campers went home with a “Camper Plaque” of plywood covered with birch bark with little twigs nailed on. When we hit higher enrollment and more half season campers, it became harder to find enough birch bark to cover all these plaques and for a few years the custom passed away. I spoke with alumni about more eco-friendly alternatives and we now are bringing back the plaques with blocks of cedar, with beveled edges and branded with the official TL brand (hand forged in Vermont) heated in the Council Fire.
Camp would not be Timberlake without flexing our Empathy Ethic as well. Both “Guy Night” and “Anti-Racism” nights were impressive displays of young people willing to dedicate their afternoons or evenings to some important critical thinking. We structure these evenings on campers’ opinions of words and concepts, and their sharing stories of encouragement for thinking outside the box on these issues. The Beading ceremonies have continued, and as we move to closure for the summer, the campers will have one final cabin cookout where they write appreciations to each other, which will then be sent with printed cabin photos.
And sometimes, camp is just camp, a place where staff write song cards for Taylor Swift songs and the Pokémon theme and everyone sings along and feels young together.
We still have a banquet with a special theme, plenty of ratings to complete in different areas, an exciting night game and our closing candlelight ceremonies.
We’ll see many of you on Friday morning!
— Tulio Browning, Timberlake Director