Breathe in. Do you smell that?

Breathe out. Think about it.

B’s and D’s on the grill. Sunscreen down by the lake. Freshly cut grass on the Upper Field. The scents of Owego.

In about 50 days, you will step foot onto 1687 Route 6 and your senses will be awakened by the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of your summer home. As you enter the gates and the invigorating scent of pine wafts over you from above, you’ll feel like you never left.

Our 7 weeks at camp are filled with memorable moments, and each of those moments is defined by the sensory experience that takes root in our brain and helps to form a core memory. It goes without saying that even in the middle of January, you remember the smell of a Friday night campfire.

As the start of camp draws nearer, we look forward to seeing our friends step off the bus onto the Lower Field, hearing the cheers spilling out of the Dining Hall, and tasting that first bite of Friday night Challah. But there’s nothing that triggers our memories of camp quite like our sense of smell.

Think about Morning Lineup. The smell of 200 boys gathered around the flagpole, many of whom are still rubbing the sleep from their eyes. Smells a bit like teen spirit, doesn’t it?

Others areas of camp have their own distinct fragrance as well. You’ll find yourself walking through the HBC this summer and recognize the rubbery odor of the basketballs. As campers whiz by on mountain bikes, you’ll smell the tires spinning against the asphalt. Burning embers will float through the air from behind Scotty’s Stage as another Campcraft period comes to a close. The pungent kerosene from Frontier Week torches will fill your nostrils as you march arm in arm to the Upper Field. Even the savory aroma of the Matzo Ball soup at Friday night dinner will remind you that you are at Owego. You are home.

As you spend the next month packing your trunks and labeling your bathing suits, stop and think about the aromas that will engage your senses and trigger your memories on June 28th. Whether pleasantly fragrant (or not so much), these scents define camp in a way that is almost indescribable. If you’ve experienced them before, you know.

You can smell the Owego air already, can’t you?