What a summer it has been! My time at Camp Hale on Squam Lake this year is ending, and I can only describe the feeling as bittersweet. After three and a half weeks of boys’ camp and three and a half weeks of girls’ camp, followed by family camp and rentals, camp is quiet yet again. I love the quiet of the woods, but I miss the noise of crowded tables in the dining hall during meals, seeing the amazement on a child’s face when I tell them the plant I just pulled from the ground is edible, and the excited giggles of a child trying to hold onto a frog or toad in the woods. I miss the dramatic breathlessness we all shared after climbing that hill from lower camp to upper camp, the kids doing work for me because playing in the mud is fun. I even miss those darn teenagers, who gave me more trouble than necessary, then rewarded me with admitting they enjoyed the work they did alongside me in the woods.
I miss those staff members I met early this summer and who have become my camp family. We have so many stories we share that will probably make us crack up every time we remember them.
Camp Hale was established in 1900 as a sleepaway summer camp for boys, and within the last 10 years has opened to girls as well, accepting “Boston-area youth ages 6 to 17 years old to experience a range of outdoor activities in the scenic environment of Squam Lake located in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.” Many of these kids attend camp on scholarship and would otherwise not ever be able to gain this experience outside of the city. “The camp operates on the belief that all youth benefit from opportunities for physical, mental, and social growth and development,” and “the goal is for campers to leave with an enhanced sense of well-being, improved social skills, and awareness of personal potential.”
Besides participating in day-to-day activities with kids at camp, some of the main tasks of the AmeriCorps members (Sarah and I) included the camp’s first garden, building a new nature trail with the help of the oldest campers, Coyotes, and leading nature activities. I was also in charge of the camp’s blog and Instagram account, which included taking LOTS of photos of camp happenings.
Although I have no past experience at this camp to compare this summer to, I know summer 2021 was more difficult than usual, with kids coming from being cooped up during the pandemic. I’ll admit it was tough many days, but overall it was way more rewarding than I was expecting, to be able to share my knowledge of the outdoors and see kids excited about what they were experiencing. Luckily for me, since completing my AmeriCorps service I have been hired as operations director at Camp Hale, so I will be returning to this place that has made such an impression on me.
A quote from a book I read a few years back states it perfectly: “I have fallen in love with places before … by falling in love I mean that the places changed me” (Susan Fox Rogers). I knew within the first week of being here that I would either have a hard time saying goodbye to this camp or I would not say goodbye at all. Helping kids from the cities discover and enjoy the beauties of this natural area is not something I can do just once and be done with. I missed the kids before they even left, then told them they better come back next year because I’ll be here.
