Old Memories

So as I said before I joined the facebook phenomenon, and something very cool has happened. I connected with a group of past camp staff from the Girl Scout camp that I worked at for eight summers between 1985-1992.

Did you ever do something that you knew in your heart you were the best at.....well for me that was working at Camp St. Albans. The summers that I spent there was some of the best times that I had in my life. It was one of those jobs that I was not just good at, but a job that I was GREAT at.

I spent 2 summers as a unit counselor and unit leader, one in the kitchen(I'm not sure what I was thinking), one as the waterfront director, 2 as the program director and my last 2 as the Assistant Camp Director. I still think that if the council knew half of the stuff that I did I would have never been in charge of ANYTHING!

Not that I broke ALL the rules, but lots of them were left in the dust as I spent my summers singing the Banana Slug song, skinny dippin at night, water fights outside the dining hall, playing find the counselor or just other crazy stuff.

Sometimes we snuck the horses out for non approved trail rides, took the Viking boats out for scaring the counselors in other units, had to sleep outside the camp gates because we came back too late from a long night and couldn't get back into camp.

I never really had any idea of the impact that I had on the campers other than they really took to me and I had fun playing and teaching them all I knew.

Years later, after I left camp for the last time, I found out 2 things.......
1. they named a trail after me....Skeeter Lane
2. a camper that I had in my unit came back to camp as a counselor when she was
old enough because she had so much fun with me and how special I treated her
but I can honestly say that I really don't remember her but I made a mark on her

You never know the impact you have on a child at the time, but its there nonetheless. I knew everything about camp, it was scary. I knew the hidden trail from Pixie to the waterfront, the best place to hide and read a book during the Find the Counselor game, and how late you could be and still get Chinese food from the grocery store.

Camp was an amazing experience and the only job I've ever had where I knew that's where I should be because I was really good at it.

I'll leave you with a saying from an old Camp Director

May the surf be at your back,
the moon light your way,
your swimsuit never creep up your behind &
your peanut butter always be moist.

Nanner aka Skeeter