It hasn't been a normal winter at camp this year, indeed not a normal winter in much of the country. Finally, though, there's snow on the ground and the lake is (mostly) frozen over. Got to spend a really nice morning walking around camp with the family of a camper who'll join us for the first time this coming summer. My first tour ever where I had to describe the insides of buildings, since everything is closed up against the cold and snow! It didn't dissuade him, though! Camp looks so different in the winter. It feels smaller – you can see almost clear through from the steps of the dining hall over to the assembly ground, and from...  Read More

Many months have passed since I put my attention on this space, and I'm ashamed! I'm making an early new year's resolution to get more consistent with using this blog to talk about what's going on, particularly in the off-season. I had the pleasure of a morning at camp today, chatting with Peter Schiess from Landforms about how we can deal with an impending overhaul of the Junior Ballfield, so it grows better grass and spends a little less time awash in puddles. As luck would have it, camp was battered last night and early this morning with a wind storm, the result of which was two trees down – insignificant compared to the wreckage f...  Read More

Spent a fabulous day at camp, starting the long journey to open things up and get ready for the summer. Sun was shining, temperatures were something approaching warm, and everything's drying out. Opened a few cabins, put up signs, and split a bunch of firewood. Spring's here!

Big thanks to Bob Linscott for putting together this video documenting the March 5th winter reunion up at camp! Click the "Read More" link to go to watch.  Read More

A beautiful day up at camp today. Cold, yes, but no wind and mostly blue skies. I spent most of the afternoon puttering around, tromping through what's left of the last snowfall as we gear up for another nor'easter that will likely hit tomorrow. Got a few fun pictures of the lake in its frozen beauty, one looking toward Rattlesnake Island and Little Mark, and another looking across small cove past Woodchuck's Dock. Cabin dip, anyone?  

(What follows is the text of a letter sent in November, 2010 to all members of the Kabeyun community.) Greetings from Kabeyun! As we approach our 88th summer, I am at once proud, moved, and humbled with the responsibility and distinct privilege of serving as Kabeyun's director. My priority is to ensure that the qualities you and I cherish in Kabeyun will endure. I am committed to continuing the legacy that John Porter began in 1924, and which Nick Latham and Chuck Mills carried through decades of strong and dedicated leadership. That legacy is delegated not only to me, but to many others with whom I look forward to collaborating as we ...  Read More

A prospective parent wrote the other day, asking me to "briefly describe the profile of one of [our] campers." My response: "Which one?!" Because the Kabeyun program (philosophy, mission) focuses on the individual boy and the opportunity for him to expand his horizons - socially, personally, skill-wise - the benefits can be accessed in as many ways as there are people types. At Kabeyun, we celebrate the generalist, the boy who is willing to step out of familiar territory and accept new challenges, face risks in an environment of caring support. The boy who loves competitive team sports and experiences success in that context can dis...  Read More

It is Sunday morning, the first Sunday of the 86th summer at Kabeyun and the end of the first full week of camp. And what a full week it has been. Families of the boys have been calling and e-mailing with concerns about the weather. But what is to be done, and how does that help anything? Opening Day was a near-perfect summery day with sun and warmth. The gray descended until late in the week, but the spirit of the place remained high throughout. What's weather? A detail in the lives of boys who are more focused on friendships, food, and fun in new activities. There wasn't an activity that was interrupted in a major way by gray and wet - e...  Read More

A thoughtful parent writes, "...It makes me wonder if Kabeyun kids are challenged enough. Yes, going away, being away from parents and discovering oneself is challenging, especially for young kids. Doing new activities in a safe, nurturing environment is challenging. And maybe I'm trying to rush things; there is plenty of time for Tom to be challenged as he grows, to take on the wilderness (or what remains of it). But am I wrong to want my kid to be challenged physically, rigorously, outside of the organized sports venues, ...at camp?" It would be easy to dismiss such an inquiry as the worry of an over zealous parent, caught up in our cult...  Read More

This year more than any other I've felt the effects of the cultural phenomenon drawing young people into a career-, and resume-building mindset, and activities as they approach and move through their college years. I listen to the language of the age: "it will be good for my resume"; "I need to do this because it will be good for my career choice"; "I'd rather be at camp, but I have to do this for my resume"; "I have to do an internship". And the implication with respect to working as a counselor at camp: "camp is fun and there's no time for such anymore; this is serious and connects to my future". Obviously, I - and others who consider our w...  Read More

This fall I re-read Alvin Toffler's Future Shock, a book that is almost forty years old, but that in many ways still rings true. A lot of what Toffler talks about is the accelerated rate of change in our culture and its impact as a stressor on the human psyche. And of course, I thought about Kabeyun. If you read my appeal letter for the Annual Fund last fall you'll know that change has been on my mind. With the exception of the office building, a new cabin and a remodeled kitchen, a slightly larger dining hall and a new trips shack, all changes that took root around the celebration of Kabeyun's 75th anniversary in 1998, it is still the sam...  Read More

We've been attending a number of camp fairs again this winter and I've been struck once again by the breadth, though not the depth, of summer opportunities out there for our kids. There are sports camps, e-magination camps (whatever that is), computer camps, performing arts camps, day camps, overnight camps, sports camps, travel programs that take kids to Peru and Africa, teen camps.... Camps, camps, camps. Seeing the word in action has also got me thinking about my desire to see a language police out there, combing the streets, the internet, and the school cafeterias for mis-uses and abuses of the language. Maybe I'm just being over-sensi...  Read More

I'm interested lately in voices and values - the way that organizations and institutions seem to have the power to control individual and family value sets simply by shouting out their own agendas... schools and colleges seem to be behaving more like a lobby group for more academic (read "seat") time for kids; school counselors tell them they must go to school all summer, must take more standardized tests more often, must seek resume building experiences by seeking job-focused opportunities like internships earlier and earlier, younger and younger. Whither childhood?! I feel this strongly as I watch kids and families struggle with how they...  Read More

Here's what we see: packages of all sizes coming to camp every day with toys and games, novelty items and accessories, tee-shirts and comics. Most days there is a table full of packages in the office. Regardless of our request for families not to send food and candy, many still do, sometimes going to great lengths to hide and smuggle contraband - bags of candy taped inside tee-shirts, stuffed inside teddy bears, etc. For years, we have required that the boys come to the office during their rest hour and open packages with a counselor to review the contents and confiscate food and candy. Their time in the office opening packages in the office ...  Read More

A parent asked me this the other day: "Do you subscribe to Bunk 1; can we see pictures of our son on the website during the summer?" I had no idea what Bunk 1 was. No, we don't subscribe to any service that makes it possible for parents to view their child in action at camp. We view ourselves as partners with parents as they turn their children over to our care, but we believe that the camp experience is for the child, not the parent. As parents we do not choose a camp lightly. We make certain that the people are thoughtful, caring, and kind; we make sure the program is well-designed, with clear goals consistent with a meaningful mis...  Read More

A long-time Kabeyun parent writes: "We feel like 4 is short and 7-8 is too long at this point. Nathaniel also wants to attend a movie making camp in the city for two weeks. We also need a driving break between end of camp and family camp. I was actually puzzled by the seven week option, but guess it had to do with school sessions? 4, 6, & 8 would have made more sense to me. I totally understand the hassle of comings and goings, for your part, so we can always do 4 again this year." I'll try not to give you way more than you want/need to hear about Kabeyun session lengths, but I do want you to know that there are sound reasons to ...  Read More

A prospective family writes: "So, yes, the kids get to choose from many activities at Kabeyun, but are they really challenged? Do you work with them to set goals and achieve them? One of the things we felt was lacking at his previous camp... Another thing I wonder about is do the kids and the counselors have some kind of camp honor code. Again, something that they can be proud of to try and achieve in their camp life and beyond. This thought is somewhat a reaction to my boy saying that poor language was tolerated at his prior camp. I am a believer that boys (and all of us) need to be encouraged/reminded to set a higher level of behaviour t...  Read More