Growing up at summer camp was an educational experience to say the least. Every person who walked through the gate at Brush Ranch had something to share, something to give, and something to learn. And it seems that everything that happens at camp happens in warp speed. In what other setting could you spend a mere month with someone and be lifelong friends? I hope one day to be able to send our twins to summer camp, but until then, there are some things I hope I can remember that I want them to learn about life that I learned from growing up at camp.
1. Getting dirty is fun.
Twice per summer was a day called “fiesta day.” It began with breakfast “in bed,” always cinnamon toast and OJ…in retrospect, not exactly breakfast but somehow 150 little kids powered through the day after having eaten just that. After breakfast, the entire camp population would meet on the front lawn and be divided up into 10 teams. The two oldest campers on each team, one boy and one girl, were the captains and in charge of all the other kids for the entire day. Each team was named after an administrator, for example, something like Scotty’s Slithering Snakes, or Kay’s Kook Koala’s. The teams would make up cheers (please, if you remember a cheer from your fiesta day team, put it in the comments on this post!), some were awesome, some were less awesome.
From there, the teams would go on their merry way to compete in various relay races all over the property. Some of my favorites were the greasy foot balloon race, egg toss, write your name and where you’re from with your nose dipped in paint, find the gum (illegal at camp except for this day) in the pan of flour with your mouth (holy germs batman!!), and the day ended with the tube race. Back in the day the tube race was held in the front pond. The muddy, fishy, front pond. The staff would all jump in (poor staff) and were the “sharks” and the campers would have to pull each other, two at a time, in inner tubes across the pond while reaching for apples that were floating in the pond. Whoever got across first won, and then each apple was worth a certain amount of points. In the later years, we moved this activity to the swimming pool where things were a bit more clean and safe.
The day culminated with a BBQ on the Timberland front lawn and a western dance, held in the barn. The team who won the most relays would be announced at the dance. Grand prize: getting to choose what kind of candy bar you wanted, while the other teams were assigned a candy bar. I always hated being on the team that got Almond Joy.
This day was by far and away the best day at camp, and the filthiest. There were kids running around with flour all over their faces, stuck to them with tempra paint, egg in their hair, with grease all over their legs. Nasty. But so, so, so fun. This was the day that everyone really got to know everyone else and it was always so much fun to see the older kids interacting with the little ones. I think my favorite part of the day was seeing everyone all dressed up for the dinner and western dance, and then inevitably being covered in BBQ sauce from the ribs, and you know kids, they have no idea when they have food on their faces. Ha.
2. Be prepared.
So this may not be some grand life lesson, but it has absolutely served me well. I remember as a camper having go dripping wet from the swimming pool to ready to ride a horse in the barn in less than 15 minutes. I had to be prepared!
We give my mom all sorts of grief because she’s always asking (yes, still asking!) if we have our hat, sunscreen and water bottle. Well…yes mom, and a bunch of diapers, wipes, a change of clothes for each kid just in case, a plastic bag or two to put the poopy clothes in, two blankets, bottles, a jar of hot water, diaper cream, toys, changing pad, first aid kit, hand sanitizer, mints, lotion, chapstick, wallet, keys, phone. Twin mommies, I used this video to help me figure out what to put in my diaper bag.
Also, being sunburned is the worst. We went on a picnic earlier this week and this is the result of being super short and having jeans that are super long, rolling them to an awkward length, then falling asleep in the park with one leg exposed to the sun.
3. Your actions can have a ripple effect on those around you.
There were several times over the years that staff members were fired for various reasons, usually for drinking or doing drugs…something along those lines. The rules were made clear at the beginning of the summer and so were the consequences.
I don’t think the staff members who were fired ever realized how much of an impression their being asked to leave left on everyone else. Since everything moves at the speed of light at camp, sometimes the ripples would vanish in a day or two, but still…when someone was just gone their staff friends would be upset, their campers would be upset, everyone would want to know what had happened. The rumor mill would fire up and wreak absolute havoc for a bit.
4. Lead by example.
Again, this may seem like a super generic life lesson, and maybe it is, but it’s one I learned well from watching my dad. One of the questions I was asked at my most recent job interview was who has been my best boss. My dad immediately came to mind. My dad is one of the most hard working people I’ve ever met and he never, ever tried to get out of work or have others do the dirty work or the hard work. He was always the first to pick up the mop and jump right in when the floors were dirty, he was the first to start digging trenches when we had a mountain downpour, and was the first to dress in drag when we needed a little humor. Ok, that last one isn’t really “hard work,” but it goes to show that he wouldn’t ever ask anyone to do something he wouldn’t do himself. And, he is a great delegator. He’s forever making lists on his yellow legal pad, and when people show up to get a job done, he’s ready to tell them what to do and, if necessary, show them how to do it! Thanks for that life lesson, dad!
That’s my dad!
5. Make sure you have fun, even on rainy days.
Inevitably, it would rain at camp. Often, during the second term, it would rain from about 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. almost every day of the week. Of course, in the mountains of New Mexico, rain is a good thing and we had to celebrate it as much as possible. My mom was almost always the first to lead the charge to go puddle jumping. What’s puddle jumping you ask? Well…what does it sound like?
Find a puddle. Jump in it. Scream. Repeat.
My mom is a puddle jumping maniac and I’m willing to bet has more fun on rainy days than sunny days sometimes. And, even though she’s not running camp anymore, I’m guessing that with 4 grandchildren, her puddle jumping days are not over!
(I found this super cute video on a blog I read. Not exactly the puddle jumping of my childhood, but this is super cute!)
Those are the camp life lessons for the moment, though I’m sure more will come to me. I would venture to guess this won’t be my last post of this nature.
Happy Easter!
Digging trenches in the rain was my fav. To this day, I kinda miss it.
I LOVED it too…not sure why…very satisfying!
I always respected your Dads view and quote that “he won’t ask you to do anything he hasn’t done”. I think we were trenching a septic line at the time and he said it as he climbed off the backhoe and into the trench with me.
Great stories! But I don’t the little boy in the puddles holds a candle to the cabin groups we would have in the mud puddles at the Ranch. Remember the ones in front of the Ranch House were the biggest. I also loved finding “wire worms” in those puddles. About 8 inches long and looked a piece of thin wire. They were as good for homesick kids as the little garner snakes were. Thanks, Alden, for helping all of us remember all this good stuff.
Dear Niece, You made me cry. I’m not sure exactly why, other than I am so very, very glad our children – your cousins – got to attend the best camp in the world. So many have said this, but I’ll risk saying it yet again: Your parents and Brush Ranch changed lives, made lives better, and thereby affected the world, making it a better place, in ways large and small, through the people who were blessed enough to be a part of a wonderful camp experience. Enjoy those babies! Love, Marian
The year I worked at BRC in 2001 bring it on had been in theatres so the team chants were very much Kirsten Dunst inspired.
Haha, that’s awesome! I forgot that they often followed pop culture!
How I loved BRC. So much so that I even returned as a junior counselor in 1998 after graduating high school. But being a camper was best. I think I was seven the first year I attended, and continued until I was 15. My last year I was even the oldest in the camp grade-wise, but – because of my late summer birthday – I was not the oldest female camper.
My favorite fiesta day activity was the egg toss. Every year I got progressively better, and eventually one summer I actually won (or, rather, my teammate and I won). My least favorite was the tube race, but not because the water was muddy or fishy. But because that water was really, really (effing) cold. As for chants, I was on your mother’s team several times. I’m pretty sure our chant ALWAYS ended in “party hardy with K-A-Y”.
Also, after the Fiesta Day BBQ or final vespers at the end of the summer, I always loved walking back to camp. It was dark and everyone sang songs like “Brush Ranch”, “Rose Red”, “Where does the wind come from, where does the wind go”, “Time sends a warning call”, etc. Hands down some of my favorite summertime memories.
Lessons from your dad that I still follow:
1. IF YOU CAN CATCH IT, IT IS SICK. You would not believe how many times I have uttered that little ditty over the years. My only amendment would be OR VENOMOUS, because I am a Texas cattle rancher’s daughter and OMG, SNAKES.
2. That whole “Scotty’s backyard” bit. Not only do we continue to vacation in the mountains every summer, but I garden, run, hike, etc. without headphones to this day simply so I can hear and appreciate the nature around me. There is no better “music” in the world than a babbling brook and the wind through the aspens. Funny how some lessons stick with you for always.
Finally, ditto on the whole counselors getting fired thing. It was hard when you were a camper because you never really knew what happened. But it seemed like everyone got fired when I was a counselor. Or, rather, several of my co-counselors. They were unhappy, and acted out. And then they were just…gone. But since I worked so closely with them, you’d hear the whispers and so many people assumed I was guilty by association. Plus, the campers were upset and wanted to know what happened, and you could only tell them so much. That was the only summer I was glad when camp was finally over, but it had nothing to do with BRC. I was just tired of all the drama. If I have any regrets, though, it was not returning for a second go at the whole counselor thing. But life happened, and the summer of 1998 was the only year going back to BRC made sense. At least I have ten summers of memories!
I have a whole post planned for the “if you can catch it it’s sick,” and I’d forgotten about the Scotty’s backyard bit! I’ll have to include that too.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Love this post! So well articulated the great life lessons learned at camp! Sunshine
Cinnamon toast and OJ seemed like such a big deal. You’re right, why weren’t we starving the rest of the day?
Because we were allowed to chew gum that day! Haha.
I was a camper from 1980-1985 and have such fond memories of the camp. I’ve been wanting a vintage white Brush Ranch sweatshirt with the big green logo. Do you have any idea if they are still around?
Hello Dia, I can try to find out. A lot of stuff was tossed when my parents moved at the beginning of the summer. Glad you found the blog!