Camp News

It’s incredibly natural to go into apocalyptic mode this month.

You know what we’re talking about:

What do you want your last meal to be?
Do you want to see a final movie tonight or just relax and hug?
When would you like to take Rover for a final walk?
How about Grandma and Grandpa? Let’s give them one final call!
Give your sister one huge final good kiss goodnight! You won’t again till August!

We know you’re well-meaning, but we have some advice for what it’s worth: Stop. STOP! You’re freaking them out! Let’s all try to remain normal and happy and calm. Be cool! Let’s enjoy final pre-camp moments but not belabor them. Let’s focus not on what your kids are missing at home but what they’re about to embark upon at camp. In our experience, end-of-world conversations and conversations focusing on home breed anxiety for a number of reasons. Here are a few of those reasons, and here’s what your kids may be thinking: I don’t know what I want my last meal to be! Oh my gosh, but what if I pick the wrong one and I want mom’s mac & cheese tomorrow and I can’t have it! How can I live with that regret! I hadn’t thought about seeing a movie or walking Rover, and I’d sort of forgotten that I wasn’t hugging my little sister goodnight all summer. AH! That’s scary! Am I SURE I want to give all of this up?

Of course the answer is a resounding “YES!” The gifts of camp are immeasurable and what they’ll be experiencing in a few days is life-changing. So let’s not focus on a final tuck-in or that one last hug. Keep your kids happy and focused on moving forward towards camp. Will you treasure those final moments? YES! Should you talk about them with your kids? Probably not. We’ll say it again: play it cool.

Smile, keep calm, talk about the great adventure they’re about to have. “Goodnight, Honey. I love you, and I’m so excited for you” always works. It’ll make it easier for your kids to get on the bus, and it’ll give them the courage to get off that bus once they’ve arrived in Greeley, PA. We’ll take it from there!

Hi Moms + Dads!

It’s that time of year again! Time to think PACKING! We know the packing list may seem overwhelming at first, especially for our newest LOC families. Here are a few outside-of-the-box tips we thought we’d share.

Packing Tip 1:
Our camp colors are BLUE AND WHITE, and our boys LOVE to wear them proudly. Unlike our sister camp, Timber Tops, you do not need to pack shirts of different colors.   During the 1^st half of the summer, we provide them with a shirt for the three days of Olympics that depicts their team color. During the 2^nd half of the summer, we don’t have a traditional “Color War”, but our own exciting Frontier Week. The teams are not depicted by color, but by tribe name that is chosen once the teams are formed. We do celebrate the 4^th of July in a big way, so make sure to pack something to wear and fun hats or glasses or whatever wacky items your camper likes. During the 2^nd session we have OWEGOWEEN for grades 2^nd through 6^th. Many like to make their costumes at camp but, some like to bring one.

Packing Tip 2:
Speaking of clothing, remember to pack a few WHITE articles of clothing. Can you say Tie–Dye?!

Packing Tip 3:
Your campers are never too old for pre-addressed envelopes or postcards. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and best family friends are definitely not getting that letter you promised unless it’s over-the-top easy for your camper to send. (Pre-address envelopes home too. It’s one less step for your camper to take while he’s running to the mailbox on his way to the basketball court, or the lake, or to adventure!)

Packing Tip 4:
We keep the boys very busy but there is some down time during each day. We have gathering decks with fun activities like knock-hockey, hoop shots and ping pong but Magic Cards and games like that are great to pack. Supervised Free Activity (pronounced S’Fa) is everyone’s favorite time to hang out on the gathering decks, write letters and relax. Most seniors, 7^th-11^th grade, pack a folding Camp Chair, like what you would bring to a sporting event. They use these at campfires. Some of the juniors do as well but, it is not necessary.

 Packing Tip 5:
Don’t buy expensive clothes, jeans or bathing suits. Don’t pack too many things to throw on the bed. Don’t pack anything you don’t want going in the laundry. Your son will be wearing the same t-shirts on rotation and getting dressed and ready faster than you thought humanly possible. They hate missing a single moment. Just LABEL EVERYTHING clearly. Every boy has a blue raincoat, a blue duffle, a blue sweatshirt, a blue…you get the picture. They are so busy running from one activity to another that it is inevitable that they will leave something somewhere.

Packing Tip 6:
If you’re worried that your son may need more storage space for his athletic equipment, we recommend gear bags that fit under the bed. Once again, label every cleat, shin guard, glove, stick and racquet.

Packing Tip 7:
You’ve probably heard the term “shoe bag” or bunk junk bag thrown around. At camp, shoe bags are often used to hang up on the wall or at the end of the bed and store extra “stuff” in (think flashlight, hair brush, etc). Small shoe box bins are great to keep socks and underwear organized within the cubbies and on top to hold extra stuff like magic cards, etc. You can pack right in them and they place them right into the cubbies from their trunks and duffle bags. You can find them at Target and Walmart for about $2/bin.

Packing Tip 8:
Leave the electronics at home! No matter what you hear from friends about other camps, LOC parents don’t sneak them into their campers’ bags! Our parents are rule-followers, and our kids follow their parents’ lead. At camp it isn’t “cool” to have electronics or phones. In fact, it’s “cool” to leave all that behind. Believe us when we tell you that Lake Owego boys appreciate unplugging. It’s just part of our camp culture.

Camp is many things, like making new friends, having fun at activities and learning new skills. But at its core, going to camp is a return to nature. It is a simpler life, unplugged but connected to the wonders all around us. Smell the pines! Breathe in fresh mountain air! Listen to the sound of crickets at night! Feel the warmth of the sun on your shoulders. Happy Earth Day from Greeley, PA!

Here’s a short Earth Day quiz, Greeley edition!

What is the Pennsylvania state flower that can be found throughout our beautiful camp, just beginning to bud during this time of year?
Answer: The Mountain Laurel

What environmentally important site is located in Milford, Pennsylvania, one of the closest towns to camp?
Answer: Grey Towers in Milford is the original 1900 site of the Yale School of Forestry Summer Camp!

Who lived at Grey Towers, Milford and is known as the “Father of American Conservation”?
Answer: Gifford Pinchot

Every summer, campers canoe the Delaware and Lackawaxen rivers. The two rivers converge in Lackawaxen Pennsylvania, a beautiful spot very close to camp. What famous American bird do campers frequently see there, soaring high above them?
Answer: The American Bald Eagle. Lackawaxen is home to 200 bald eagles!

Camp is located in Pike County, named after Zebulon Motgomery Pike. What famous mountain did he discover and where is it located?
Answer: Pike’s Peak, Colorado

Bonus Question!
Our camp was one of the first camps in American to win the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star Award. Which of these things didn’t we do to earn it?
1) Change all light bulbs to LED
2) Cover the pools with special pool covers to preserve heat and lower use of energy
3) Recycle waste
4) Change from disposable dishes to reusable dishware
5) Hang underwear from the flagpole

A Roadblock to Snowplowing?  Summer Camp.

A note from Pine Forest Camp (our sister co-ed camp) Owner/Director, Mickey Black:

You may have been hearing a lot lately about “Snowplow” parents, those who move everything and anything out of the way to smooth the road for their children on the path of life.  In my opinion, many  of these parents may even do so unwittingly, with the best of intentions, but not in their child’s best long–term interest. What’s an effective  way to prevent that?  Send them off to a great camp like Lake Owego.

My daughter and co-director, Anna Black Morin, a parent of two girls of her own, Ruby and Hattie (Hattie is named after her great, great grandfather and PFC’s founder Hughie Black), put it this way:

“Snowplow parents prepare the road for kids. Responsible parents prepare kids for the road. One concrete way to prepare kids for the road is to give the gift of a good, scratch that, a great residential, long-term, old-fashioned summer camp!

You don’t build resilience by eliminating struggle. You build resilience by normalizing it: teaching kids to see obstacles as temporary hurdles. Homesickness! Conflict with a friend! Advocating for yourself! Advocating for a friend! Trying something new (that might take practice)! Making decisions independent of your parents! The gifts of these experiences become immeasurable.

Camp is less than 100 days away, and this generation needs it now more than ever. And not just because it’s screen free, but there’s that too!”