I was sitting in Vienna House when Evelyn (a former MAD camper of mine) showed me a photo of her and Clara (another former camper) from their first session of MAD camp. This gave me the idea to have counselors recreate photos from when they were campers. It also got me thinking of how friendships are made and developed on and then off the mountain. When your child is heading to camp for the first time, there are so many questions that run through their heads. Will the counselors and other campers like me? Will I have fun? Will I make friends? Camp is definitely a place where when you get here, all of those questions quickly melt away. Making friends at camp helps you build strong interpersonal relationships you never thought you could. At camp it can be easier to truly be yourself. It is when you feel like your complete self, others maybe can feel safe to be themselves too. Your bonded by the magic of the valley, and when you go home it’s always easier to just say - you had to be there. When I was a first year camper at 16 I had no idea that eight years later those people would be some of my best and lifelong friends. I know they are people I can always stay true to who I am and will also keep me in check when I stray away from the path God is leading me on. No matter how much time has passed, camp people are family. Whether you saw them last week or last year you will always have a shoulder to lean on, and when you see them again you always get a little piece of that valley magic back. Clara and Evelyn started in first session of MAD camp together and enjoyed singing and making music. This year they are both counselors at MAD camp, Clara as a cabin counselor and Evelyn as their oocc/accompanist. Michael and Colby grew up at St. George’s camp with their famous rendition of “French Toast”. Last year Colby served as a counselor at St. George’s while Michael was a cabin counselor of MAD, he is now their program director for this summer. Olivia and Harry met at Explorers session 3 and went onto Explorers the Great as best friends. Olivia worked on Explorers staff and was their program director for three years. Harry has worked at many camps including MAD, Art, and St. Andrew’s. In 2014 they worked at Explorers Camp together.
2 Comments
Barbara McMurry
7/23/2018 12:19:35 pm
Camp is a place where I made friends for life. I still see friends from 50 years ago. Shrine Mont is my favorite place on earth.
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12/1/2018 04:30:21 am
Student camp is where I met my first love. I remember trying to memorize the periodic table when this curious boy with golden hair started fidgeting with my key chains. I had an assortment attached to every zipper of my backpack. They were from places we’ve visited before. My family spends so much time traveling for pleasure every summer and since I was 7 I’ve amassed quite a hoard. So he was holding Italy and he was like, ‘this is a funny shoe’ and I was like, ‘wait till you get to Cyprus.’ Our conversation moved on to different horizons. We literally hanged out together all high school. We got married as soon as we graduated from college. We’re revisiting Milan next year and we’re taking our 4 year old twins with us!
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The view from the mountainSpreading the good news of Shrine Mont Camps into the Valley of the World.
AuthorsThe View from the Mountain is written by a rotating cast of staff writers and contributors. Archives
September 2018
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