We have now reached the official halfway point of Summer 2026, with the transition from First to Second Session. On “Changeover Day,” as we call it, we bid farewell to those campers who are with us for First session only. Whether they leave by car or bus, we send these boys back to their parents and prepare to usher in a new group of Second session campers tomorrow. It is a bittersweet ending and simultaneously an exciting beginning.

This morning, everyone was moving in different directions. Our departing campers were up extra early, partly from the anticipation of being reunited with their families and partly for the logistical need to feed everyone breakfast and get the buses on the road in a timely fashion! The counselors whose tenure was ending stayed behind to ensure that all departing campers were in the right place at the right time, and that all of the bunks were sufficiently cleaned out to make space for incoming Second session campers.

All Full session campers and staff boarded school buses and headed to Kalahari Water Park for a day of fun in the sun! Before the buses left, however, friends and bunkmates took the time to say goodbye to those who were departing. It’s always difficult to say goodbye to our camp friends, whether it’s on Changeover Day or the last day of camp. At this point in mid-July, next summer seems a long way off. While we hope to connect over the 10 months of the school year, we acknowledge that life often gets in the way and prevents us from seeing our Owego kin as often as we would like.

I will leave our First session campers and staff with these words: We are so glad that you spent the past 3.5 weeks with us at Owego, as one of the Brothers in Blue. Hopefully, you tried something new like Ropes or Archery or even Waterskiing. Maybe you discovered a food that you will now ask your Mom or Dad to make at home. My younger son came home from camp once, after eating only beige foods for several summers, asking me to make Baked Ziti because he “like(d) it now.” You undoubtedly made friends with Owegans from all over the country, and engaged with counselors from all over the world! You learned the chants, sang the songs, and adopted the rituals. You are forever an Owegan. We hope to see you next summer, either again for one session or maybe even the full summer. We’ll be waiting for you!

For now, we will hold on to what remains of Summer 2026. And we will take to heart the words of the 90’s band Semisonic, who taught us that “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

Bring on Second session. Here’s to new beginnings!