Ninety-three Agawak summers have passed-by leaving thousands of happy campers with hundreds of cherished memories to carry them into their adult life.  After the buses pulled out of camp, an older generation of Agawak campers joined us for an alumnae reunion.  Campers from as far back as the 40’s, shared in a magical weekend reminiscing and reliving their camp days. 

We sang camp songs, swam Blue Lake, competed in B & W, were overcome with emotions during campfire key-log, experienced the charm of banquet and bonded with other alums.  Hearing old stories well before my time captivated me.  One alum shared that she remembered the bell ringing and was told WWII was finally over.  Can you imagine that?  Another old time camper shared that she and her cabin mates had written a song about one of the directors (Flora Pinkhurst).  She was singing one of the verses, outside her cabin, on the hill when she noticed “Pinky” behind her.   Pinky asked her to head down to the office.  When she got to the office she was instructed to pack her trunk…she would be taking the next train home early in the morning.  She was expelled from camp after 6 summers for singing that song.  What would happen today if someone made up a song about me and I dismissed her from camp?  I think you know the answer.

Things have certainly changed over the past 93 years but not all for the better.  What struck me most about the reunion was the strong love for Agawak every single person who attend had in her heart.  I was moved by the powerful memories never lost. It was so evident that every person was molded into the person they became as a result of their time spent at Agawak.  I was surrounded by a group of very successful and powerful women.  At one point when I enter the lodge I was overcome with intense emotions as I look across the lodge and saw the faces of past campers.  Thousands of memories all good came flooding back. The memories of our reunion weekend will never be forgotten in my heart.  Our next reunion will be in 8 summers when we will celebrate Agawak’s 100th birthday.

Priority registrations have been mailed out and we already have many campers registered.  Our first camper to register was Talia Marcus.  This is a reminder to all campers who will complete 10th grade by next summer; CIT spots are very limited so please get your priority registrations in right away. 

I have already been traveling, talking with new campers interested in attending Agawak.  Our Chicago reunion is set for Sunday, February 9th. Mark your calendars. Other reunion city locations will be announced when I finish coordinating my fall/winter travel schedule. I will let those involved know as soon possible. 

Shorty, I will mail out staff contracts for next summer.  American staff please be on the lookout for your contract. I am thrilled to tell you Emily Gurner, Claire Lister, Bronwyn James, Alyssa Meiners, and Rebecca Pink signed their contracts before they left. How fantastic is that? Unbelievably fantastic!!  Without our amazing counselors this summer would not have been as memorable.  Thank you for a job incredibly well done.

Although summer is gone and it’s time to hit the academic books, remember we have less than 285 days until we return to the place we long for all year round.  So….keep those camp memories burning in your heart and before you know it we’ll be back together again because we’re never gonna’ lose you as a friend.
Big camp hugs,
Mary