Camp News & Blog

Community Driven Creatures

September 6th, 2026

When the writer Kurt Vonnegut told his wife he’s was going out to buy an envelope, the following ensued:

“Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet?

And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope.

I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking people. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know.

The moral of the story is, is we’re here on Earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that.”

Community at Camp

That’s one of the beauties of camp. For three or six weeks, we get to ‘fart around.’ We have time and space for connection, for the inside jokes and the moments that will mean little to others but we’ll never forget.

Mr. Vonnegut is right – ‘computers will do us out of that’ if we aren’t careful. Amazon will deliver our stuff, Door Dash our food and some screen our entertainment. They have their algorithms that serve things up like a (very) informed personal assistant.

But I wonder if the real danger is not that computers will think like us but that we’ll begin to think like computers. No imagination, no creativity, no magic. Community only due to information exchange.

As our kids head back to the demands and structure of school and the draw of technology, I hope they’ll remember what camp brought to the forefront: we are community driven creatures. That meaning of all this comes from the moments at the margins of our day – time spent in the car on the way to school, around the dinner table, walking and talking with a friend, taking a moment to smile and interact with the barista or cashier or delivery person.

If camp teaches nothing else, it reminds us of the importance and beauty and restorative properties of community, of time spent together. It’s easy here… during the summer at least. We have to work for it a bit back home.

A School Year Challenge

Can it be uncomfortable? Sure! But that’s where growth is – in the uncomfortable.

Camp proved to you that the ‘uncomfortable’ is actually worth it. So… go reach out to that new friend. Put down your phone, look the people around you in the eyes and smile or, better yet, nod and say ‘hello.’ Get to know the custodian of your hallway, the bus driver, the person serving your food… whomever your actually interact with or pass by often. Do it all year – not just this week.

At the end of the school-year experiment, I bet you’ll return more confident, still and more excited to be back where community is the easiest thing in the world.

Remember: you, me and we are community driven creatures. Go practice and prove that through the year.

Can’t wait to hear of your adventures through the year. Summer 2027 will be here before we know it. With GAC,

Cole

The Day Before Camp

June 26th, 2026

And all is certainly not quiet around Weequahic. A small group of us have already been on site for more than six weeks, preparing the place for our fabulous campers to enjoy. While there are still a few things I want to nail down, the physical plant is more than ready.

For the past 18 days, we’ve been leading, training and preparing our team… the most important part of our jobs. (Yes, I want the place to look good and work… but the people are way more important.)

We had our culminating moment for Orientation last night. After a great slide show of our staff in the Cove, we headed down to the (newly refurbished) Rec Hall. A few final words from Kate, myself and Dana for the team. And, a nice treat – four short talks from both returning and new staff members.

Becoming Yourself

When DH Jessie spoke, she mentioned being a ‘camp hater’ before she even arrived here several summers ago. Her boyfriend had been to camp a year prior and wouldn’t stop talking about the experience. “It felt a bit cult-like.” (I’ll take that.)

She charted her first summer’s path from ‘hater’ and someone who struggled to jump in to where she is now – doing everything in her power to get back here as a DH.

When Jessie spoke about the importance of camp to her, one line really stuck with me:  

“Camp didn’t change my life because it turned me into something new. It changed my life because it made me comfortable enough to be who I already was.”

This is what we want for all of our kiddos… and our staff.

We are excited to get everyone here tomorrow. Enough planning. Let’s go to camp.

PS: I’m pretty terrible on email when the kids are here. If you need me, call the office at 570.798.2716. I’ll get back to you as soon as I possibly can!

Past Present Future

June 19th, 2026

Past. Present. Future. These are words we know and concepts we think we know. No time like the present to talk about them.

A LONG time ago, Confucious said “study the past so you may divine the future.” Not too long ago, one of the great English writers (George Bernard Shaw) said ‘What we’ve learned from history is that we don’t learn from history.”

We at Weequahic do our best to learn. So… let’s talk about some history.

A History Lesson

Pre-1952: This was an old farm – cattle & apples. They (both the people and the cows) loved the lake.

After taking part of WW2, Mr. Art Lustig was the Athletics Director at Weequahic HS who also ran a summer day camp. When the polio epidemic really got going in the 50s, the families came to Mr. Lustig and asked him to get their to a safer, more fun place.

So, in 1953 Camp Weequahic opened with Art and Mollie as the directors… and still the AD at Weequahic High. They and their family ran camp until 2008.

In 2009, Kate and I showed up. Sue was not too far behind. In fact, we’ve worked together for 22 of our 24 years in camping.

When we started here, there were 90 kids, 45 staff, a third of whom were 17-year-old newly ‘graduated’ from Weequahic kids. It was a camp with great bones that needed a lot of work. Due the work of people like you and others who are warmly remembered though no longer with us, camp grew to what it is today.

More Important History

So… that’s the history in a nut shell. But that is certainly not the whole story.

To get that, you’ve got to talk about thousands of counselors who’ve walked this hill, built community in those bunks, taught and learned. Hailing from dozens of countries, they left their homes to live and laugh and learn and teach in the middle of nowhere.

It’s the story of massive wins – Prince William talking about how camp literally made him a kinder person, more than a dozen staff marriages, of life-long friends, of new, more exciting more self-actualized growth. It’s also the story of massive learning on all of our parts.

It’s the story of kids from dozens of countries and US states that see this place as their home, where they are their true selves. The pressures of the world fall away, the comparison trap of social media, the demands of school and activities. Instead, our campers in the past have been able to interact with new mentors in a new place with people just. Like. Y’all.

Be Here Now with Love

One of my favorite writers in one of my favorite books said: Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the Present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead.

So, let’s talk about the present and let’s do it with love.

Look around you. Look at the person next to you. We humans have been doing this, exactly this, for millennia. Under the stars, around a fire for warmth, community, protection, love, dance, celebration, food and more.

The past echoes loudly here in the present. That’s one of the reasons why this feels so good, so comfortable.

Counselors, you are now a part of the story at Weequahic. We are weaving this beautiful chaotic patchwork quilt of our moments together. We are experiencing the infinite presents of ‘now.’

Does that mean we are always the same? Heck no.  

There’s an old saying about a person and river. You can never see the same river twice. The water has changed… and so have you.

It’s the same here. You are different… even if this is your 28th summer. The kids are certainly different. Each summer is literally a new adventure.

Future

We make plans for the future. We teach you our traditions, listen and learn from you and others about new ways, we build our culture together. We do this to prepare y’all to help create amazing for the kids arriving in 8 sleeps, the UPS driver, the guys painting the courts, the kitchen and cleaning team and everyone else.

We can look to the future and be greedy or fearful or lustful or any way we wish. Or… or. Or we can quietly recognize the future with hope while remaining rooted in the present moment around each over and over and over again.

So, in the week ahead, let’s continue to build this quilt this is our 2026 summer culture. Let’s give each other grace and patience. Let’s push each other – good naturedly – to be our best selves. Let’s get ready for the best summer of our lives… together.