At Owego, you can be anything you want to be. You can be a rocket designer, a stage performer, or a competitive swimmer. You can even be a Polar Bear.
The Polar Bears club is an elite tradition going back many years. This club is so elite, in fact, that the opportunity to join arises just once per session. Aspiring Polar Bears signed up with our tripping staff on the 4th of July and were instructed to tie a sock to the end of the bed before falling asleep. The first Polar Bear plunge of Summer 2025 took place the following morning. If there was a sock tied to your bed, you were awakened at dawn. You threw on a bathing suit, grabbed a towel, and shuffled down to the lake along with the other brave souls. Regardless of the air or water temperature, you jumped into the lake. Squeals and exclamations likely ensued. But you did it! You endured the early wake-up and the frigid water, and now you only have to repeat the challenge FOUR more times to be able to call yourself a “Polar Bear” and receive the official t-shirt. Good luck to everyone involved!
Continuing with our water theme, the 10th graders embarked on The Grand Owegan very early this morning. On day 1, the group canoed down the Delaware River and set up camp in Worthington State Forest. Tomorrow, the group will spend most of the day rock climbing at Ricks Rocks. After dinner, they will hike to the next campground and rest for the final day of hiking. Once the day 3 hike is complete, our boys will get picked up in Worthington for the drive back to Owego. We will keep you updated on their progress.
The rest of camp had late sleep and double SFA, and the Juniors/Inters spent the morning at Costas Family Fun Park! Costas is a kid’s wonderland, complete with Go-Karts, bumper boats, waterslides, and mini golf. And every visit includes a delicious ice cream snack! Our boys had a blast zooming around the track, splashing in the water, and playing a little putt-putt. The best part is, the Juniors are not the only age group that gets to enjoy Costas! Each of our camper divisions will visit once per session. Tomorrow, it will be the Seniors’ turn.
After lunch, our campers who have siblings and/or family members over at Pine Forest headed over for their weekly visitation. Brothers and sisters hung out in the picnic grove and chatted about their favorite camp activities and their respective 4th of July celebrations. One thing is certain — there is never a shortage of things to talk about during these recurrent meet-ups!
Evening activity for Juniors was a pool party with different activity stations. Aside from swimming, the campers could choose to play beach volleyball or stack rocks. The boys made some pretty impressive structures! Seniors played “Frolf,” or frisbee golf, and Hi-Seniors worked on a rope burn. It’s never too early to start practicing for Frontier Week!
