Summer Camp Thoughts

It's no small feat for a parent to send their child to summer camp for four weeks. In fact it is reminiscent of tribal times when mothers pushed their young sons into the world at puberty while feigning disgust with them. Shielding their tears, the mothers would turn their backs and walk away. Back then it was a very important right of passage...and signalled the ascension to adulthood. Now they leave them with a big hug, an email address and the expectation that they will stay in touch. But it's definitely still a right of passage, whether it's a son or a daughter. Only at Hayo-Went-Ha Camps do children become young people -- not through stringent discipline and rigorous academics, but by catching frogs knee-deep in mud, or by lugging a heavy back pack on the paths of Isle Royale. Mostly it's the friendships that bond them together and keep them in touch even as adults. I've had the privilege of watching them get together after years of being completely apart, even on opposite sides of the country. Hayo-Went-Ha is sticky and stays with them through life...the stories never leave, the songs are still sung...and the places they grew to love as campers are still cherished and cared for as we move through the Second Century of Camping.