Generations of Summer Camp in Maine – Reflections From A Maine Camper, Parent, and Enthusiast

Julia Beck with her fellow Maine campers in 1981. Photo courtesy Julia BeckJulia Beck, Founder Forty Weeks and the It’s Working Project, is the second of three generations who have gone to summer camp in Maine - it’s in her blood. As she prepares to send her youngest child off to summer camp in Maine, we asked her for her thoughts on what Maine camps mean to her. What she came back with is a beautiful reflection of the Maine camp experience. Her family has attended at least four different Maine camps, but her words capture the essence of Maine camps as a whole. Enjoy! It is time. Time to pack my son for camp. He is the youngest of my children. And the last one I will ready for camp in Maine. I don’t want these years to end…though I know the gift of being a Maine camper will stay with him, with all of my children forever. Like my Aunt and cousins before me, like my sisters and me, and like all of my older children – we go to camp in Maine. We are Maine Campers. The whole of it feels a permanent, a non -negotiable truth; summer in Maine is in my genes and most certainly in my senses. There are amazing memories for sure, and there is something about the good fortune of coming to age under the pines – that feels beyond expectation (and more valuable as the years pass). And how lucky I have been to give and receive the gift. Still today, big plans smell of pine needles in my mind… Off to Maine On the edge of innocence Filling with confidence Time standing still The moment before What would come next Getting ready for the complex world to follow, but first this: Early mornings at the flagpole Still, glass-like lakes Icy swims Loud Dining Halls Inspection Canteen visits Trip Day Ice Cream Hikes Camping out Packages Mail Socials Friday Night Services Skits Sing Songs Infirmary visits Sports fields Stage Productions Pottery Wheels Archery arrows Hair Nails Making bracelets Jacks Cards Water balloons Shaving cream Hidden snacks 4^th of July fireworks Cookouts Color war And most of all friendships Precious, lifetime connections “Friends, friends, friends we will always be” (and we were) And like just then (and likely them), I am as excited for visiting day as I could possibly be… Julia is one of our Maine Camp Enthusiasts, a group as excited and passionate as we are about going to summer camp in Maine.Photo courtesy of Julia Beck - with her daughter at her Maine camp Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools _Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child?  Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks).  It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates.  Then you can research these camps in more depth.  __Next, be sure to  to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child._You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our website.