Throughout the summer we will be posting staff and campers experiences about camp life through their own words, in the style of either a diary or letter home. The first post is that of a returning staff member giving his thoughts on camp before staff orientation begins.

June 17th, 2011

This is my second year working as a counselor at Camp Manitou (after 5 years as a camper back in the 1990s), and last summer was one of the best summers of my life. I was lucky enough to be able to come back to camp for another summer and this year I wanted to make sure I got as much camp as possible so I arrived a full week before it started.

Camp was empty. It was quiet. No kids playing in the rec hall, no basketballs being dribbled in Alumni Hall, empty fields and even empty office. I soon realized just how special this place is when its full of campers and stuff, it was a very odd sensation.

As I walk around, enjoying the weather, looking for the few staff who are already here to take pictures of, I miss the campers. I miss all the conversations I would have with the friendly people here as I moved from activity to activity. I remind myself though that in just 9 days, the camp will be filled with more campers than we have ever had in our 65 years of operation.

As more and more staff come into camp, the emptiness is starting to go away. I see friendly faces, people I haven’t seen since last year, good friends, great friends. I can feel the life coming back into camp, it waking up from it’s 10 month sleep.

The night before orientation I decided to write this as a reminder to myself of just how special the people of this camp are, and not the camp itself. Sure the bunks are nice, and the buildings great, but without anyone here they are nothing. It’s the staff and campers of Camp Manitou that made this truly a special place for me last year, and by coming so early this year I realized just how special they are.

- Cary Friedman, 2nd year staff, former 5 year camper