And what’s on the other side?”

Well, Kermit, we’re glad you asked.

March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb. It brings us the first day of Spring, the NCAA basketball tournament, and mischievous red-bearded leprechauns…and it also brings us one month closer to Summer 2026!

The color green dominates the March landscape. Everywhere we look, we see emblems of St. Patrick’s Day — shamrocks, rainbows, and big ol’ pots of gold. Legend has it that you can follow the rainbow to its end and discover the leprechaun’s hidden treasure. But we Owegans have no need for myths and legends. We have the real treasure right in front of us: CAMP.

Once or twice a summer, we are treated to the majestic sight of a rainbow arcing across the Greeley sky. The colors remind us that camp is an amalgam of ages, cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. When combined, they create something awe-inspiring and unique. Let’s go on a journey with Roy G. Biv (neither leprechaun nor Owegan) to explore all of the many colors that make Owego so special.

RED: From the life vests on the lake shore to the lifeguard shirts at the pool, the color red represents safety and security at camp. It’s the color of last summer’s Frontier Week runner-up, Unami, and 2024’s Olympic champion, Bangladesh.

ORANGE: The color orange can be found on the basketballs in the HBC and in the ever-present cantaloupe in the dining hall. It’s also the color of Barbara Black’s homemade Nova lox that we are lucky enough to enjoy every Sunday morning. Speaking of Nova lox, if you were lucky enough to snag one of the super-soft, salmon-colored Olympic shirts in 2022, you are now in possession of a rare Owego treasure.

YELLOW: We eat yellow bananas with breakfast and “yellow” Challah with Friday night dinner. Some of us prefer a certain yellow condiment on our B’s and D’s. The Wibit at the lake, while also featuring green and blue, stands out against the natural terrain because of its bright yellow hue. Yellow is sunshine and happiness, both of which we get in abundance at camp!

GREEN: Now that we’ve made it out of winter’s icy grip, we can focus on the return of sweet green. The grass begins to dominate the landscape once again, and the trees start to bloom. Cue allergy season! Green is the color of the Owego cabin doors, the tennis courts, and THE Gambia. More green is headed our way this summer!

BLUE: This “official” color of Owego can be found in our logo and even in our nickname, “Brothers in Blue.” Take a look at our Instagram feed and you’ll see a splash of blue in pretty much every photo. We wear our camp officials with pride! As if the Owego clothing wasn’t enough, our canoes are blue, as is the bell hanging by the Junior Gathering Deck that marks the end of periods.

INDIGO/VIOLET: Purple is the color of last summer’s Olympic champion, Tanzania. It’s also the color of the wildflowers scattered throughout the woods as we walk to Friday night campfires. The ubiquitous purple Grimace costume makes its way around camp all summer long, and most campers don’t even know who Grimace is!

As Kermit the Frog sits by the swamp, strumming his banjo and singing about the majesty of rainbows, we eagerly anticipate the colorful maelstrom that awaits us in just 105 days. From the Lucky Charms coveted by Junior campers at breakfast, to the sea of Olympic shirts at the closing ceremony, rainbows are never far away at Owego.

“All of us under its spell

We know that it’s probably magic.”

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Also known as February.

The good news is, there are actions we can take to stave off the bitterness of winter’s icy chill: We burrow under blankets, crank up the heat, and cuddle with our pets in the hopes of absorbing some of their radiant warmth. The better news is, we can summon warm thoughts and bask in their glow simply by closing our eyes and transporting ourselves back to camp. It may be difficult to remember “Beat the Heat” when you’re bundled up in a puffer jacket and your fingers are numb, but our memories can be roused from their hibernation in just a few simple steps. Let’s try it!

Step One: Throw on your favorite Owego hoodie and flannel pajama pants. After all, you have to look the part if you want to feel like you’re actually there. Once you’re in your camp gear, settle in for a feast for the senses.

Step Two: Close your eyes and listen. Really listen. You can hear Kyle’s voice at morning lineup, Freedo’s bicycle whooshing by as you walk to first period, screen doors slamming as the Unit Leaders conduct inspection in the Village, basketballs bouncing off the cement in the HBC, cheers and claps during a raucous lunch, and gleeful splashing during rec swim.

Step Three: Inhale and take a whiff of your surroundings. Can you smell the B’s and D’s cooking on the outdoor grill? The fresh cut grass on the Upper Field? Your bunkmate’s dirty socks? Sunscreen and chlorine at the pool? Camp is made up of many specific odors. Olfactory memory is the ability of scents to trigger vivid, emotional, and long-forgotten memories. There’s nothing more emotional than our memories of camp.

Step Four: Feel yourself at camp. Remember what it feels like to be carefree and homework-free? The sunshine warms your neck and back. The cool water of the lake gives you goose bumps. The sand of the beach volleyball pit mashes between your toes. Your best bud’s arm drapes loosely across your shoulders. The air just feels different. You are at your summer home.

If all else fails, you can curl up by the fireplace with a mug of hot cocoa and take solace in the fact that we will ACTUALLY be at camp in just 135 days. Put on your Frontier Week Spotify playlist and be patient. Seasons come and seasons go. Warmer days are ahead. The best is yet to come.

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Congratulations, fellow campers! We have successfully entered our “THIS summer” phase. We know how daunting it can be to reach the end of an amazing summer and realize just how many days stand between you and your next Owego experience. That 300-plus number is super annoying, right? School starts, life goes on, the weather changes, and you think to yourself, “Next summer is going to be EPIC…when it finally arrives.”

Though the weather outside is currently frightful, you are now in the optimal position to think of camp in terms of words like “THIS,” “UPCOMING,” and “SOON.” You will arrive at 1687 Route 6 and enter through the gates THIS summer. You will attend line-up and eat B’s and D’s THIS summer. You will find out which Olympics team you’re on and which Tent is your Captain THIS summer. And your Frontier Week tribe will burn a rope with the most massive bonfire you’ve ever seen… You guessed it, THIS summer!

The anticipation of what’s to come is a huge part of the excitement surrounding camp. What bunk will you be in? Who will be your Unit Leaders? Will Scotty’s production of “Sponge Bob Square Pants” be even greater than the Broadway version? It can be difficult to wrap your mind around these questions at the start of the school year when you’re preoccupied with homework and extracurricular activities. Camp seems so far off. But with our feet firmly planted in 2026, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

THIS summer, we will paddle canoes and kayaks around the lake, play Magic in the picnic grove, sing Little Red Wagon at Friday night campfire, and swing through the trees on the Ropes course. THIS summer, some of us (this author included) will become Old Timers, while others will attend the ice cream bash for the first time. THIS summer, we will laugh and cheer together, and celebrate everything that makes Owego our home away from home.

So, with apologies to (and appreciation of) Mel Brooks, when will “Then” be “Now?”

SOON.

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Camp is both a literal and metaphorical gift. As we grow and mature summer after summer, we come to understand what a privilege it is to attend Owego, whether for 3 weeks or the full seven. We are the lucky ones whose families send us to Greeley each June for a life-changing experience that many of our peers will never have. Aside from the obvious economic value of camp, there exists an abstract value on which we could never place a price tag. This is the metaphorical gift of camp. The one that lives deep within us and helps mold the kind of person we grow up to become.

Here are just some examples of the “gifts” we receive at camp:

1. The opportunity to disconnect from our electronic devices and connect face-to-face with both our friends as well as the natural world around us. At camp, we communicate with each other in ways that are personally fulfilling and fun!
2. The experience of living with our peers, which teaches us patience, responsibility, tolerance, and empathy. Anyone who has ever shared a bathroom with 13 other boys knows exactly how challenging it can be!
3. A feeling of belonging to an exclusive Brotherhood through songs and rituals, at a time in history when many of us have never felt more isolated and alone. At camp, we throw our arms around one another and become a collective force.
4. A safe space to try new things that we may be hesitant to try at home, for fear of judgement or mockery. At camp, we leave our images at the gate so that we can be whomever we want to be.
5. Connections with peers who are different from us, either culturally, religiously, ethnically, or geographically. The intense connections made at camp serve us well down the road as we encounter differences in the real world.

What’s unique about this list is that all of these “gifts” are experiential rather than material. You won’t find them under the Christmas tree or inside your Hanukkah stocking, but their value lasts long after the holiday wrapping paper is cleaned up off the floor. And they don’t require batteries!

Our holiday “wish lists” don’t typically include life lessons. Camp is the greatest gift because it benefits us in ways that are both obvious and also somewhat invisible. It is the gift that stays with us throughout our lives, and one that we never truly outgrow. This holiday season, when you are opening your presents, take a moment to reflect on how lucky you are to be a recipient of the greatest gift of all.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

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Happy “225 days left ’til camp” to those who celebrate.

Although memories and warm thoughts serve us well in the darkest months of the year, we can’t forget about how camp continues to pervade our everyday lives even in the offseason. What may seem like a silly social media campaign to some is a collective call to the Owego Brotherhood, and a valuable way for us to connect with our “camp selves” no matter where we are geographically located. Camp T-shirt Day reminds us that we don’t have to look very far to be reminded of the magic of camp.

Attending college in Wisconsin? You can wear your camp shirt!

Going to grade school in New Jersey? You can wear your camp shirt!

Teaching in Missouri? You can wear your camp shirt!

Camp isn’t confined to the acreage behind the Owego gates on Route 6. It creeps out and follows us all over the world as we go about our daily lives. Camp in the wild is WILD! Have you ever bumped into your Frontier Week Chief at a bunkmate’s Bar Mitzvah? Hung out with a Unit Leader at a New Camper Event? Crossed paths with a counselor outside of camp and thought, “Wow, he’s just like me!” Believe it or not, it happens!

Walking through a parking lot, you might see an Owego magnet on the back of a car. Listening to Sirius XM on the way to school, you might hear “Cigarette Daydreams” or “The Roads.” Wearing your camp gear out in public, someone might stop you to say his cousin’s ex-girlfriend’s brother’s former roommate attended Owego in the 90’s. Believe it or not, it happens!

You are a part of an exclusive club, where members have the privilege of not just living “10 for 2,” but proudly displaying their profound connection to this special place 365 days of the year. We all exist outside the physical confines of 1687 Route 6. Although we return to camp each June and typically fall back into the familiar rhythms of summers past, we continue to carry the Owego torch throughout the school year.

Even on the darkest days when winter’s icy grip has us hunkering down and longing for a hot, sunny afternoon at the lake, we can open up Instagram and see the familiar faces in blue and white. We can schedule hang-outs with our bunkmates or arrange to ski Big Bear and swing by camp in the snow. You never know when you might have a serendipitous encounter with an Owegan in the wild.

In the meantime, wear your Owego shirts proudly and conjure up those camp vibes!

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Owegans wear costumes every day at camp. While the Fourth of July and Owegoween are popular occasions for dressing up, and Scotty’s Shows always delight with the colorful and creative attire worn onstage, there are opportunities sewn into the fabric of our ordinary daily routines that allow us to step into another skin. From the moment we open our eyes until lights-out, we wear a multitude of costumes. Here are just a few of the ones in which you can find us during the summer months:

1. Morning line-up often calls for the “sleepyhead” costume: flannel pajama bottoms and hoodie sweatshirt pulled up over the inevitable bedhead. Some bright-eyed and bushy-tailed campers arrive at morning line-up fully dressed for the day, while others eat their Fruit Loops and French toast sticks in a state of semi-hibernation. No Crocs, of course, because every Owegan knows that you wear sneakers in the dining hall!
2. We cherish the time spent in the HBC or on the Upper Field in our “intercamp” costumes: LOC pinnie or official, shorts, and whatever accessories that game calls for: shinguards and cleats for soccer, cool LOC headband optional. There’s nothing quite like spectating at the basketball court or baseball diamond and seeing that wave of blue and white!
3. On lake days, we wear our “waterfront” costume: bathing suit, Crocs or slides, beach towels slung around our necks, life jackets fastened securely around our torsos. We stand at the top of the Wibit, embodying King of the Lake mentality as we survey the scene below. Some of us accessorize with oars or paddles, while others skip the water altogether and opt for a fishing rod and Wellies.
4. The “Olympics” costume becomes a staple of every Owegan’s wardrobe. During Olympics, we wear our camp-provided t-shirt in our team’s color. The design changes every few years, the colors vary from time to time (shoutout to pastel pink and heather gray!), but the same Olympic rainbow of Brotherhood spreads across camp for 3 days every summer.
5. On Friday nights, Owegans don their “campfire” costumes. Current Tents proudly display their long-awaited Tent shirts, while Key Staff and counselors from Tent years past wear their slightly-worn shirts with a mixture of nostalgia and bravado. We line up and march to the campsite in our mandated longs and longs, Crazy Creeks tucked securely under our arms.

This is just the beginning of an extensive list of costumes associated with our time at Owego. If you’re lucky, you may even catch a glimpse of a human banana or hot dog while walking through Pioneer Village. We wear these costumes with our heads held high, knowing that they are part of a much larger tradition. With a great costume comes great responsibility. You must embody the sprit of an Owegan, not simply look the part. When we pull an official over our heads for an out-of-camp trip, or trek through the woods in longs and longs while gathering sticks for Rope Burn, we manifest the essence of all the Owegans who came before us.

Happy Halloween!

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As much as we say we’d like time to slow down, however, we know that every passing month brings us closer to Summer 2026…and CAMP!

In this first offseason blog post, let’s not wish away the next 9 months (yes, as of today we are living 9 for 2). Instead, let’s take a look back at the 7 weeks we spent together as Owegans. Let’s take a long look in that rearview mirror and reflect on what we accomplished, how we grew, and why the power kept going out.

Many of us came to camp for the first time this summer, while others became Old Timers and even first-time counselors. We all experienced the Owego Brotherhood in a multitude of ways — chanting in the Dining Hall on Friday nights, walking arm-in-arm to Olympics Closing Ceremony, shouting Little Red Wagon at campfires, collecting sticks for Rope Burn, crying while singing “Kansas City” as we waited for the Frontier Week judges to tally the final scores. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Brotherhood could be found in the quieter moments, as well. When we were playing Magic on the Senior Gathering Deck, laying in our hammocks next to our bunkmates, and playing ping-pong or Kan Jam in the Village during Rest Hour, we felt connected. It is that feeling of connection that makes camp, and Owego in particular, so special. Those moments, in that place, with those people, are what we will carry forward with us as we march through the school year.

Summer 2025 saw the return of many beloved staff members, as well as visits from some Owego legends. There was very little rain, except during Olympics when everything flooded and the power went out for 8 hours. We beat the heat a few times with buckets and hoses and pool parties. We had a few bears try to enroll as campers. Scotty’s Shows wowed the audience, the Senior/Hi-Senior trips went off without a hitch, and Rope Burn was one of the fastest (and hottest) on record. Close your eyes and remember. You can feel the heat, can’t you?

Now that the laundry is finished and the camp trunks safely stored away, we can focus on making the effort to stay in touch and get together when possible. Even when we can’t see each other face-to-face, we can text or chat, listen to our camp playlists, and look at the photos of what will surely be remembered as an epic summer.

Only 285 more days until Summer 2026. But who’s counting?

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The best thing about camp is that it never leaves you.

Early tomorrow morning, we will wake up, grab our backpacks and trash bags of “miscellaneous” items, and hop a bus or car or airplane home. June 28th seems like a distant memory, and yet the summer has passed by in a flash. Weren’t we just watching the staff talent show?

Many of us will start school soon. Some will head off to college for the first time, others will be attending a new school. By mid-September, we’ll be wearing hoodies and planning for Halloween. There will be a million things to distract us, but we’ll still think about camp.

When we hear someone say “6-7” we’ll think about camp. When we wear our Olympics or Polar Bears shirt, we’ll think about camp. When we eat Fruit Loops, we’ll think about camp. When we hear a particular song, we’ll stop what we’re doing and think about camp.

Some of us will be lucky enough to see our Owego Brothers over the course of the school year. The Bar Mitzvah circuit alone will ensure that our 7th graders maintain regular get-togethers! When you’re out in the real world, removed from the magic of camp, you long for the simple joys — playing Magic in the Grove during Rec Swim, making S’mores at the Friday night campfire, digging for worms by the lake. What you must remember is that these memories are accessible to you anytime, anyplace. When winter is pounding down with its icy chill, you can conjure up memories of being sweaty while running during Owego Raid or being sprayed with the hose during Beat the Heat.

Stay connected to your Owego Brothers in any way you can. Reminisce together via text (or whatever the kids are using these days). Laugh at your bunk’s inside jokes. Sing your Frontier Week song. READ THE BLOG! Follow the Owego Instagram. Wear your Owego shirts with pride. When people in the “real world” ask you about it, smile and know that you are a part of something extraordinary and special — and that other people would never really understand.

When you get home, please watch the First and Second Session videos on our YouTube channel, and relive all of the amazing moments from Summer 2025. When you’re missing camp, remember that Owego is as much a state of mind as it is a location off of Route 6 in Greeley. It will always be there for you.

This is the final blog post of Summer 2025. What was a daily narrative all summer long will now become a monthly ode to camp. And when you return to Owego in June 2026, the blog will be ready to report on all of the amazing things you’re going to do.

That’s all for now, folks.

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