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Remembering Camp in the 1930s
Here’s something cool. Back in the early 1900s, the Albertype Company of Brooklyn, NY produced a number of postcards documenting scenes all around the country. Rockbrook Camp was apparently a favorite subject because we’ve found several cards from the 1930s highlighting scenes of camp. They are just excellent archival documents showing what camp was like in the early years.
Here we see a scene of the old horseback riding barn and paddling canoes on the French Broad River as it passes by camp. Don’t you just love them?!
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Ya Gotta Go Hiking at Camp
Let’s not forget hiking! and camping! It’s such a central part of going to an overnight summer camp in the mountains of North Carolina. There are so many amazing forests and woods around you, and there are so many trails to explore, long-range mountain views to discover, and streams to tramp— you just gotta do it. When you go hiking out of camp, you can also look forward to sitting around a campfire, eating a yummy dinner (yes, everything does taste better when it’s cooked outdoors!), and everyone’s favorite, making s’mores. Don’t be surprised if after your first hiking trip, you want to turn right around and go out again.
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Songs for Camp
Lisa Loeb, singer and songwriter best known for her hit song “Stay,” has released a new CD of songs inspired by her time as a kid at summer camp. It’s a fun collection of original compositions and traditional songs all about going away to camp, the friends, the food, the fun, of just being at summer camp. She explains,
“The inspiration was the actual songs based in camp songs. In camp, we have gross-out songs, and ones like the peanut butter and jelly song. One of the things I loved most about camp is that you’re singing all the time. You did sports, and arts and crafts, ate a lot of fun food — you were singing everywhere.”
The CD has some cool guest artists helping out too, people like Steve Martin (who plays banjo) and Jill Sobule. We also like a lot of the great camp lyrics on songs like, “Are You Ready for the Summer?” “It’s not Goodbye,” and “Best Friend.” If you’ve been to camp, you’ll really enjoy this CD.
You can hear the song “Best Friend” over at Lisa’s website. Check it out here.
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How to Play Tetherball
Lately we’ve been getting a few questions about how to play the game tetherball. The main goal is for each player (there are only two kids, one against the other) to hit the ball in a direction that will wrap the cord up around the center pole. Each opponent is hitting the ball in an opposite direction, so that’s the contest— you hit it one way and she hits it the other way. The trick is to hit the ball so that it’s hard for your opponent to reach the ball and hit it back. One strategy is to hit the ball downward so that it goes high (and hopefully out of reach) when it wraps around to your opponent’s side. You win when you wrap the cord completely around in your direction and the ball hits the pole.
After you play a while kids can add rules that make the game more challenging and fun. Maybe you can allow only certain kinds of hits, or require that the ball wrap around high on the pole, or create funny penalties for “carrying” the ball or grabbing the string. Like all great games, there are loads of options!
Tetherball is one of those amazing outdoor games kids love to play at camp. Got a free minute? Let’s play!
P.S. Want to learn more about tetherball? Check out this article.
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The Fun and Friends of Camp
“What makes Rockbrook so much fun?”
Wow, that’s a hard one! Of course, the most obvious answer is being able to do all of the great activities at camp— the crafts, the sports, the adventure, the horseback riding, etc. While that’s important, there’s something else that makes Rockbrook especially fun (the most fun, some girls say!). And that’s how amazingly friendly it is, how easy it is to make friends at camp, and how you truly feel you are a part of the group. Feeling at ease around everybody, having all these people who like you, and being supported by teenage girls (as opposed being excluded, or criticized, or put down) is just perfect for having fun. In other words, not worring about “what people might think” makes it easy to dive right in, be creative, try something new, tell a story, and maybe laugh your head off. It’s just easier to have fun with your friends, right? And so, the friendlier you are and the more you are a friend (i.e. have friends), the more fun you’ll be having too. It’s a great way to think about the fun of camp.
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Cary NC Camp Girls
Here’s a photo from the fantastic Rockbrook Camp party we just had over in Cary, North Carolina (near Raleigh). We had a great time making beaded necklaces and seeing the slides from last summer and the all-new camp video. It’s always so much fun to visit our current RBC campers and to meet new girls interested in attending camp next summer. These parties are the best ways to charge up that Rockbrook spirit and to learn a bit about what makes our camps unique. It’s a chance to ask questions and to imagine yourself being a part of camp.
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Art, Arts and more Arts
It really seems like the art activities at Rockbrook never stop. At exclusively art summer camps you would expect that, but when there are outdoor adventure, sports, horseback riding, and other creative activities (like drama, for example) also going on, you might think the arts would fade. Well, at RBC, it’s a well-rounded camp experience where you can really get into the arts, learn a lot of new techniques, and be involved in the rest of camp too. This photo was taken in “Curosty,” our fiber art craft cabin set in the heart of camp. Weaving, bead work, basketry, needlepoint, knitting, lanyards, and so much more go on in just this one art area. It’s definitely a favorite part of camp for everyone.
So hey, what are you making?
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Shooting Archery
Here we have another of the more popular activities with the girls at camp— shooting archery. It’s not too surprising when you think about the satisfaction that comes from hitting the target, or the confidence you feel when you get better and better at it. Plus, it’s just nice to approach the whole thing calmly and with steady concentration. You’re outside, you’re active and learning, and your friends are there cheering you on (and ready to chat between rounds  ).
What could be better than that?!
P.S. Need some inspiration? Check out this profile of Angela Moscarelli.
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Let’s play some Tennis!
Tennis at camp? Of course! In fact, it seems like the tennis courts are always busy at Rockbrook because, as a teen sleepaway camp, there are so many chances to play throughout the day. You can sign up for the camp tennis activity and have a lesson, get together with a friend and head down to the courts during the free time before lunch and/or dinner, or even get a bunch of teens together and play after dinner during the “twilight” free time. That’s our favorite time to play… the cool evening air, the colorful setting sun, the ease and fun of it all. With a session at sleepaway camp, you sure can play a lot of tennis!
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Horseback Riding Lessons at Camp
The horseback riding activity at camp is a nice combination of learning, riding, and fun with all things horse and riding related. With the great instructors and amazing horses down at the Rockbrook Riding Center, you learn so much about taking care of the horses and the operation of the barn (which is no small thing for 26 horses!). In the horseback riding lessons, you ride of course, but you also learn how to improve your riding skills and to become more comfortable on the horse. All of this is great fun, if you’re a little “horse crazy.” But even if horseback riding isn’t your number one thing to do, you’ll still enjoy being down at the barn with your friends, and you’ll learn a bunch too.
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Traditional Camp Photo
Since Rockbrook is 87 years old (It was founded in 1921), you can imagine that its got loads of traditions… traditional activities, traditional songs, traditional ceremonies, and so much more. Well, it does! One the most meaningful ceremonies is pictured here in the photo: the final campfire of the session called the “spirit fire.” Since the very beginning of camp, it’s been a tradition held to close each camp session. The Spirit Fire represents “the spirit of Rockbrook” by bringing all the girls together and giving everyone a chance to think about their camp experience, the good friends they’ve made, and how much camp means to them. It’s really special and magical every time.
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Camp Climbing
Rock climbing has become perhaps the most popular outdoor adventure activity at Rockbrook. After learning the basics on the 50-ft Alpine Tower or the indoor climbing wall, our girls head up the hill to Castle Rock where they can get on some real rock. We’ve climbed two routes over the years, and recently developed 4 new ones… a cool zigzag hand crack, a really challenging arching finger crack, a long face route that feels really exposed, and a nice dihedral feature. There’s enough climbing there to keep anyone busy, so it’s really nice to have that kind of adventure in our own backyard.
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Summer’s Time for Dancing
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