Toward the end of our recent Rockbrook Alumnae reunion celebrating the 90th year of the camp, the women attending held an impromptu chapel meeting. Like those held on Sunday mornings in the summer, this gathering was a chance to sing favorite traditional songs and reflect upon some of the more important experiences, lessons and values we all associate with Rockbrook. These are wonderful moments, often full of personal stories, and on this occasion, childhood memories of camp.
Marie Brown, who came to camp starting in 1989 when she was 8, shared something that we’re so proud to reprint here. It’s a brief reflection on how the Spirit of Rockbrook can sustain and revive us long after we grow up and become adults in the “real world.”Alumnae Reunion Chapel
“The wonders of air travel, incredible timing, (and a supportive husband) have made it possible for me to step out of the stifling mayhem I have been living to come for a brief moment to be here. All the stone and concrete has fallen away into mountain laurel, rushing water, beloved rocks and roots and trees…and faces that, despite the decades, haven’t seemed to age.
I have to admit, I was afraid to come. My memories of this place are so deeply embedded in my heart, so close to my core, so invaluable to my spirit, I was afraid that coming back here with the sharpened, hardened and perhaps jaded eyes of an adult would somehow mar the perfection of those memories. And between having a genetically poor memory, and the inability to return to any of the places I actually called home as a child, at times it feels as though the past were no more than a figment of my imagination. There is no other place on the planet that I can go to that holds anywhere as much of my memory in its hillsides as this place. So it was with trepidation that I came to tread back into those memories.Marie and SarahI was grateful as a child and well aware it was only because of the generosity of my grandmother (also a Rockbrook girl) that I was able to come year after year. But I don’t think there was any way for me to understand how big a gift she was giving me until I left Rockbrook to fare the rockier world of “civilization” without my annual reprieve in this Rivendale.
I have spent countless days and nights over the last years feeling I was going crazy, feeling so trapped or confused or heartbroken about the state of the world; a world continually more driven by fear, over “teched” yet disconnected, and terrifyingly detached from, and destructive of, nature. It is so easy to get overwhelmed by all the noise… and for someone as sensitive as myself, to feel despair. But despair won’t do any of us any good. So coming back here at this particular moment for me, and walking literally as if I were Mary Poppins jumping into the chalk painting of my childhood and finding it hasn’t changed (and where it has it has only gotten better) has given me such rejuvenating hope. I am not crazy. I am not intolerant, or impatient, or bitter. I am just in severe withdrawal of my annual dose of Rockbrook.
And what this weekend has shown me is that the gifts and perspective, and lessons this place has to offer are just as present and valuable to me now as there were for me when I was a little girl. If not more so. These enduring stones soften my hardened defenses. The cold waters warm my chilled spirit. These steep hills dull my impatience and intolerance. And rather than damaging the perfection of my memories, returning has added to them. Returning to Rockbrook for even this brief sip has filled my belly once again with a little bit of ginger, a little bit of grit, a little bit of spirit and a little bit of wit to carry with me as I go back out once again to face the big bad world.”
We just finished this year’s Carrier Pigeon, Rockbrook Camp’s summer “yearbook,” and have mailed it to all of our campers! The Rockbrook Carrier Pigeon is another long tradition dating back to the very beginning when Nancy Carrier first founded the camp. Every year, Rockbrook has published a book of snap shots, camper drawings, poems, writings and all the cabin photos from the previous summer.
Also included in the mailing this year is a copy of our highlights DVD, a full-length movie with chapters from each session. Relive a little of camp, the banquet and the play from this summer!
It’s so much fun to have time over the holidays to look through the Carrier Pigeon and watch the DVD— a perfect way to “…Bring memories of Rockbrook to us all winter long…”
It’s ice cream, of course! Biltmore Dairy ice cream. This photo of a Biltmore Dairy delivery truck has that great slogan proudly written on the side: “Biltmore Ice Cream: The Year Round HEALTH FOOD.”
For quite a while, we’ve been writing on this blog about the benefits of summer camp for children. For more than 100 years now in the United States, sleepaway camps have been organized and generations of children have grown stronger, more confident, become leaders, forged close friendships, and acquired all kinds of physical, personal and social skills as a result. There really is little doubt that the sleep away camp experience of “getting away” for a few weeks is valuable for children in long-lasting and profound ways.
Even while recognizing all of this, however, there is a growing awareness that certain modern forces are threatening this great American tradition. Today, much more than a generation ago, there is competition making claims on our kid’s summer time. A recent article by Mary Beth McCauley in the Christian Science Monitor entitled “Sunset for Summer Camp?” claims as much. Quite correctly, the author observes that demand for shorter camp sessions is increasing, as opposed to longer “all summer” camps. A number of factors are contributing to this trend. School systems are shortening summer vacations. Competitive school sports teams and their coaches driven to win are requiring summer workouts (e.g., soccer “camp”) and scheduled practice days before school opens. Parents are reserving parts of the summer for family travel and vacations. Students are taking summer classes “to get ahead” (SAT prep, for example), and local, short-term day camps abound. With so many options, each claiming to be most important, it’s easy to understand why some parents find it difficult to place longer camp sessions at the top of the heap.
Fortunately, understanding the camp experience, seeing the dramatic positive effects it provides all year round, there are those, and so many Rockbrook parents are among them, who know camp is one of the most important things you can do for your child. For these parents, camp isn’t just a summertime diversion, some kind of extended amusement park; it’s a core part of their child’s personal development. It’s a place for kids to grow and discover who they are. Sure it’s fun, but it’s the kind of fun that means something long afterwords.
We hear it all the time from our parents; camp means the world to their daughters, and they are committed to providing a camp experience for them. This helps explain why, despite economic pressures and competing summer demands, Rockbrook enjoys strong enrollment, with sessions filling and waiting lists forming each summer. Camp is important to our families, and to the girls who attend and make Rockbrook their own. Around here, camp is stronger than all of the forces that may be threatening the traditions we’ve all come to appreciate.
For a bunch of Middlers and Seniors, today was a big day of whitewater rafting on the Nantahala. Right after breakfast we loaded up three buses of them, and with a picnic lunch packed and ready to go, we set out to meet our regular team of rafting guides at the head of the river. Rockbrook is fortunate to be the only girls camp to have a US Forest service permit to run trips on the Nantahala River. This allows us to hire excellent guides (people we know are great with kids), have our own equipment (top of line Avon rafts for example), and schedule trips when we want. It also allows us to take every camper rafting who is old enough (5th grade and older) for no additional fees. The weather today was absolutely perfect for rafting. Warm and sunny is ideal when it comes to the chilly water of the Nantahala, and also for inspiring splash fights between rafts. The girls had a great time paddling the river, singing camp songs during the calm sections, and screaming their heads off when heading down the rapids.
Down at the equestrian center, the riding lessons are going well. The beginners already have their favorite ponies to ride— “I love Annie, and I love Cool Beans!” And the intermediate riders are working on posting, while the advanced lessons the girls are practicing their canter and jumping. It seems the barn is always a popular place to hang out.
Lunch today in camp was a delightful picnic on the hill. Rick served up hot dogs and hamburgers with all the fixins. He made a giant batch of macaroni salad, had coleslaw, potato chips and pickles to round off the plate. Same weather here: sunny and warm, but cooler than the past few days. The girls brought out their Crazy Creek chairs and spread out across the hill to soak up the mountain view and chat over lunch. It was one of those great, classic summertime feelings we always enjoy at camp.
“Happy Birthday Everyone!” was the theme for dinner. It was a special event called “Birthday Night” where we rearranged the dining hall tables so everyone with the same birth month can sit together. It’s really fun to find out who shares your month and maybe even the same birthday as you, and even more so, to share the special cake for each month. You can imagine it’s a busy day in the kitchen for Liz as she bakes 12 cakes! Fortunately, the Hi-Ups help decorate all of them. To make the event even more festive, we served Mexican food (tortillas, quesadillas, beans, steak fajitas, rice, salsa, sour cream and homemade guacamole), decorated the dining hall with brightly colored piñatas, posters and balloons, and had the girls dress up for a “Fiesta.” Latin music played over the sound system, and we all wished each other happy birthday (and other celebrities we could think of… “Happy Birthday Justin Bieber!”). Yummy good fun.
We spotted this article in USA Today about the art of letter writing, and how camps are a place where kids, and parents, can practice that skill, reconnecting to an important form of communication. We’re always encouraging letter writing at camp, both from parents to campers and vice versa. Go check out the article, and you’ll see why!
It’s really difficult to express the strange combination of gratitude and sadness we all feel at the close of a camp session. After these weeks of common experience filled with moments that deepen our relationships with each other, saying goodbye is really hard, and yes, definitely sad. We know there’s nothing quite like camp, and that it’ll be impossible to explain to all of our friends and family back home. We know we’ve done really cool things (rafting, riding horses, learning to weave!!), met people from all over, and found out a lot about who we are and how to enjoy life together. So we’re thankful for all of that and all that it may represent down the road.
It’s a true privilege for all of us at Rockbrook to spend a few weeks each summer with your camper. Thank you for sharing such great girls! We will miss them, but look forward to next summer and another great visit to Rockbrook.
Rockbrook’s program philosophy has long revolved around several core concepts, each of which is intended to help girls grow more independent, confident, and capable while at camp. These include providing a caring community of people offering genuine encouragement, exciting challenges, and new experiences, but also opportunities for creativity and cooperation rather than competition. As you walk around camp and see the girls in action, it’s easy to notice them create— new arts, new skills, new relationships— and not compete. Certainly the campers don’t think of their camp experience in these terms, but I think emphasizing creativity over competition, encouragement over critique, helps everyone at camp enjoy themselves more and feel good each day.
Today was the day we had to say goodbye to our friends in the first July Mini session. Sadly, their session has ended even as the main session girls have two more weeks to go. All of us will miss those girls. Even in just two short weeks, we’ve done so much together, made so many memories, it’s hard to say farewell. The good news is that most will be back next summer, and will have another chance to see each other, enjoy camp, and recharge at Rockbrook. For the entire staff, it’s always a pleasure to be with the girls at RBC. The sessions are action-packed and full of excitement, but more important to us is getting to know the campers and being with them as they grow closer to each other and begin to feel a part of Rockbrook. It’s really their camp, and they know it in such a short time!
When you see the smiles, and can almost hear the laughter in the daily photos, it’s not just because the girls are being entertained at camp. They’re not just happy they’ve been rock climbing or thrown a pot on the wheel (though they are that too), or merely interested in a novelty or trend. Their happiness is deeper than that and stems from the positive feelings arising from the people around them and the freedom camp provides to explore who they are. Camp is a true haven, a special place where girls can be themselves and be happy about that. Being surrounded by friends, it’s easy to smile!
Another quick photo post… Browsing through our archives, I found this picture labeled “August 1971.” It shows the Sunday morning flag raising ceremony, the girls gathered on the hill dressed in their uniforms, and the amazing view of the mountains we have at the center of camp. The Sunday uniforms are slightly different nowadays. Campers today wear white shorts, shirt and a red tie, but not red knee socks! 🙂
Down at the equestrian center, the riding lessons are going well. The beginners already have their favorite ponies to ride— “I love Annie, and I love Cool Beans!” And the intermediate riders are working on posting, while the advanced lessons the girls are practicing their canter and jumping. It seems the barn is always a popular place to hang out.
“Happy Birthday Everyone!” was the theme for dinner. It was a 
