Archive for August, 2008

Traditionally I have walked lazily down to the office after all of the campers have left for home, to write my final email of the summer and say my temporary good-bye until the next summer. But this year is different and to be honest I’m just not ready to let go. It has been an incredible summer and one that I will carry with me forever. Over the past few days we have all had a chance to look back on our time together and all have spoken of the power and the transformation that has taken place. We created something special and each and every one of your boys played a role. Like any other year, the sudden emptiness after campers leave is jarring and even with a day off in front of them, many staff have a hard time pulling themselves off the Trading Post with the realization that summer has really ended. Without a doubt we are exhausted and I personally will spend the next two hours napping before we all gather for dinner, but that exhaustion comes from knowing that we gave ourselves fully and are exceptionally proud of what we’ve accomplished. Over the next few days we will shrink as several counselors head home to begin school or start new careers and come Monday morning, there will be only a few of us left to close the few doors and hang the locks. Most of the counselors will spend the day writing Camper Letters and cleaning cabins, while many other meet with new Timberlake Director Tulio to chat about 2009. I will be pulling the final pieces together of this summer and then preparing to hand things off to Tulio on Tuesday, when I officially head on down Route 4.

Last night was Banquet and with the chosen them of “Armageddon”, it was entertaining to say the least…but I will allow your boys to tell their own stories. But I will tell you that after all of the “mutant attacks” had ended and we stuffed ourselves with an amazing 4-Course meal it was time to gather for songs, Give-A-Ways, Rating presentations and giving of the TL Bead. It was a late night as we moved closer and closer to 10 pm, but the out-pouring of emotion, giving and love was so strong that it kept us going as the night wore on. After the final bead had been given, we silently stood and filed through the front door, where each member of the community received a candle and proceed to the Catamount Bell Clearing. In single file we walked quietly from the lodge, with our candles guiding us down the dark trails. When we all reached the bell, we formed a large circle and in one of the most powerful moments of the summer, shared our appreciation and thanks to Timberlake. Even though we were clearly a community in need of sleep, no one wanted to be the first to give a final hug and head back to their cabins.
THANK YOU for sharing your incredible children with Timberlake. Please hold them tight when you see them and let them know that we are thinking of them in their absence…and maybe just for fun, ask them what they get when “they cross a brown chicken with a brown cow.”

Week 7 has come and gone and after an amazing Fair Weekend with more sunshine than I feel we’ve seen all week, we are now moving into the final days of this incredible summer. It’s early Sunday afternoon and all of the families and friends have only just departed for home. We were able to share a beautiful morning of songs and Silent Meeting before we said our momentary good-byes. I mentioned to the families gathered in the Meeting Area, that while I knew many were anxious to welcome their boys home, we weren’t yet ready to give them up and have a short but exciting few days ahead.

After a well earned Rest Hour, we will be meeting up at the Farm for Harvest Afternoon in preparation for tomorrow’s Food Day, where much of what will reach our tables (and stomachs) will have started first in our gardens and been harvested by campers and staff. Coming together to work as a community is the perfect way to close out the weekend and put us in the right head space for upcoming days. By Thursday afternoon our BIG family will have given many hugs, cried more than a few tears and said many good-byes. The Catamount Bell will ring with less frequency as the TL Staff move through camp preparing to put Timberlake to bed for the long off-season, looking towards the summer of 2009 and writing letters home to you all. It is a bittersweet realization to know that this unbelievable adventure of ours has to end and that we will soon be heading our different directions. But camp isn’t over yet and with some big events still on the calendar, we are doing what we always do and will take advantage of every little TL moment. But as always, my weekly letter is about looking back at the week that has past and all that it held.

Much of this week was in preparation for Fair, but we always want to make sure that it doesn’t become so consuming that we don’t take advantage of all of the other opportunities that Timberlake has to offer. We continued to offer a variety of activities to the campers so that they had a chance to complete different projects and learn any skill sets required to finish up a rating. And of course we played games…in the rain…in the sun…and, well in the rain some more!

Tuesday was the last Adventure day of the summer and again the boys had excellent options to choose from and went all over the map to cook, build fires, hike mountains, visit bakeries, learn survival skills, check out Flying Cloud, explore caves, view beautiful birds of prey, leap into cook ponds and stand under thundering waterfalls. I always love meeting the groups as they return with smiles on their faces and maybe just a “little” mud. It is a great day in so many ways and so important that each camper is able to choose the adventure and challenge that they feel suits them best. And we all get to share in the joy of celebrating the accomplishments of each. We ended the day with our weekly Cabin Cookout. Wednesday was a day of regular activity rotations, but in an evening that was anything BUT normal, the band Midas Ascension (friends of one of our counselors) came to camp and played an open air concert for TL and IB in Ken’s Lodge. This was certainly a first in all of my years at TL and if all of the dancing was any indication, everyone had a great time.

The remainder of the week involved setting up for Fair and required a huge effort on everyone’s part. Signs had to be painted, posts holes dug and rides to be pieced together and tested. With Timberlake responsible for not only the rides but feeding the masses, cabins spent time in the kitchen baking chicken and cookies, while others chopped and hauled enormous logs for the Friendship Fire that is lit to commemorate the evening. There is always plenty to do and everyone was able to make his contribution and was able to see others enjoy these efforts come Fair Day, which by all accounts was a HUGE success. After spending a week under grey clouds and falling rain, we were blessed with beautiful blue skies. The temperature was perfect and the sun was a welcome guest. Walking across the fairgrounds all afternoon selling tickets I was inspired by all of the energy and excitement that surrounded me and the incredible movement as people scurried back and forth to ride the Ferris wheel or eat obscenely large bowls of ice cream. There was homemade music being played on the stage and the voices and strumming guitars drifted to every corner. Confetti covered almost everyone person I passed (including my own head which must have experienced at least two dozen conegbert strikes) and there wasn’t a single place that you could hide from the laughter. After a square dance in the soccer field the torch bearers (two from each camp) emerged from the woods and walked ceremoniously towards the fire. With the crowd moving back beyond the safety lines, the torches were placed to the logs and fire crept up the structure until a huge tower of flame pointed into the night sky, sending those magical “sparks upward”.

It was great to see old friends (and even my old director Dave Martin) and family and I always love when the larger TL family joins us for songs and Silent meeting on Sunday morning. It was difficult knowing that it was the last large gathering as director and I was more overwhelmed by emotion that I expected. I was also very honored and humbled by the many kind words that were spoken on my behalf. But to be honest I am somewhat anxious to get back to the business of Timberlake and cherishing the time we have left together. This week is an exciting one as we prepare for Food Day, leap from the newly replace Bear Pit Tree, play THE legendary Spy Night and gather for the final (and not to soon be forgotten) banquet. There is a growing sadness that I’m carrying as my last day gets closer as I’m sure many others are and I’m doing my best not to let it distract me from the time we have left. But the bell keeps ringing and even now I am reminded to head towards the Farm to begin the harvest. I hope everyone is well and will see some of you on Thursday.

Timberlake Friends and Families:

Another amazing week was brought to a close on a rainy Sunday evening near warm fires and restful games indoors. For some of us, this was the end of our 9th week and the 12 remaining days feel far too few. For the Full Season campers they are also reaching the closure of their summer, but for 2nd Half boys they are only half way through their adventure. Week 6 of camp was a mix of “in and out” as many of the campers are out on backcountry trips throughout the wilds of New England and the rest remained back at camp to work on projects and enjoy the benefits of a smaller camp with just as many options to choose from. With a solid core of Program Staff in camp, we were able to offer the full range of TL programming and even reworked the morning schedule to allow all of the campers to choose an area that they wanted to focus on for the full week. It was appropriate then to fit in BIZZARO DAY right smack in the middle! As a spontaneous jolt to routine, we spent Wednesday upside down and backwards, starting the day with General Swim at 6:30 am! From there we jumped all over the place, switching up activities, having Silent Meeting after dinner (which was actually breakfast) and generally doing everything we could to laugh at the little things and include general silliness where we could. There were costumes, face paints, goofy songs and of course those numerous little surprises only TL would love! To end the day with style and flash, we held an eco-fashion show in the Upper Lodge complete with designers, models, music, a light show and photographers. If some of your boys begin a career in the fashion industry, I wouldn’t be surprised.

The rest of the week was “normal” and included good ol’ TL program as well as some new activities. Monday afternoon we got together with our friends from Indian Brook for a couple hours of shared projects, games and work and rolled right into a dinner time gathering. We also sent a group up to Flying Cloud to join in a Naming Ceremony overnight. Thursday night the staff led campers in a discussion on race and racism and I only wish that you could have been there to hear the articulate, compassionate and insightful comments made by your boys. It was a positive and hopeful evening and one that sparked a great deal of continued discussion and interest.

On Friday our Big Lodge Head Kwame Nyongo, shared with us the culture, music and language from his native Kenya and topped it all off with an incredible East African meal and a slideshow exploring his life in Nairobi. My brother Luke also shared slides from his semester studying the four legged wild things from Namibia. According to most of the campers they will now be planning to visit Kwame this year in Kenya, so expect a few requests for travel this year. Saturday was all about fun and games and the traditional end of the week Council Fire.

(Editors Note: the following paragraphs originally described photos attached in the email)
We had a Saturday game of Bulldog down on the Soccer Field. A wonderfully simple game that is wonderfully fun and if nothing else is an extended bit of exercise disguised as tag. The game starts with one “bulldog” in the center of the field attempting to catch the others as they dash from one side to the other without getting their AP (bandana) pulled in the process. There are a few campers who have the moves to juke their pursuer or spin out of the way, but most of us run as fast as we can with a big smile and gasping lungs! It is a constant blur of running bodies, yelps and laugher. When the first camper is called forward, there is a palpable anticipation in the few seconds before the mass of bodies is released to run and the chase begins. It is so great to watch children just play…
As always, each morning starts with Silent Meeting and in the last week or so I have noticed a general calming and stillness growing in the community. Where before there was a constant fidgeting and a clear unsettled energy, our family of 150 is learning to sit and beginning to cherish the silence and time together. More and more campers are also speaking from that silence and we have been so impressed with the depth and compassion in their words.
Each Tuesday night we close down the kitchen and have Cabin Cookouts, where each cabin has the chance to cook their dinner over an open fire and share time together in a more informal and more intimate setting. The cabin Aunts and Uncles (non-cabin staff connected to a particular cabin) also join in and in many ways it is like a small family reunion! I am always reminded that no matter how old a camper (or counselor for that matter) gets, a marshmallow on a stick will help anyone find their inner six year old. This is one of my favorite times of the week and I will spend part of the evening walking through camp and visiting each cabin.

As part of our East African celebration, the kitchen ordered two goats to grill for the main meal. It was a moment of learning for the campers as they were given the opportunity to see and discuss the cycle of animal to table and to take part in a traditional African goat roast. To be honest I turned out not to be a fan of goat meat, but there were plenty of campers and staff heading back for seconds. In addition to the meat, there were a series of other East African dishes of both the carnivorous and vegetarian variety. We also learned a little bit of Swahili.

As the father of a little girl, I am always fascinated by the many moods, attitudes and characters that are adolescent boys!
In one of those wonderful Timberlake moments, Brad Edwards (Program Director) received his 5 Year Knife. A long standing TL tradition, staff who work for five years are honored with a beautiful knife and the celebration and appreciation of their community. Before the knife is presented, there was the opportunity for both campers and staff to speak for Brad and it was clear that in his time at TL, he has touched many lives. Because his year round commitments were calling, he had to return home this week, but we hope to see him return for number SIX next summer.

One of the highlights of this summer has been the number of musicians that contribute both for morning songs as well as performing during Council Fire. This week we were introduced to a new “band” that should be soon taking the world by storm. With a combination of original numbers (written about a KYBO) and some popular favorites, to say the least the crowd was entertained.
But as always a new week begins and we move forward. With Fair coming up this weekend we have some work to do to prepare, including work on the giant bonfire. But we do our best to not let Saturday’s festivities overshadow all of the other adventures planned for the week, especially tomorrow’s final Adventure Day and a live band that will be performing for TL and IB at Ken’s Lodge on Wednesday. We are hoping to see some of you this weekend at Fair, but also know that for many of you it will not be possible. I will be sending along Closing Day information later this week, but wanted to include the following link: http://www.farmandwilderness.org/events-and-retreats/alumni-bbq. I also wanted to throw out a couple of other lodging options:

The Snowed Inn (listed on the F&W site)
The Maple Crest Inn: http://www.smithmaplecrestfarm.com/Bed_and_Breakfast.html (tell them Margaret Thompson and Martin Brown sent you!)

We also hope that some of you will join us on Sunday morning at TL for more visiting and songs. The schedule for Sunday is as follows:

Sunday August 10th

7:30 Breakfast. Visitors are not invited

9:00 Visitors can start arriving and join us for coffee and songs at the Upper Lodge

10:00 (6 BELL) Silent Meeting - 45 minutes in length. All invited.

11:45 (2-Bell) Visitors say their good-byes and head for home.

Tulio Browning will be the new Timberlake Director starting at the close of this season and arrived yesterday to spend the remainder of this summer as a part of the community. Here is Tulio’s email: tulio@farmandwilderness.com. Those of you coming for Fair or for Pick-Up will have the chance to meet him. You can visit this link on the F&W website for more information about the Timberlake Director transition: http://www.farmandwilderness.org/news-and-links/news

These next two weeks will be exciting ones and we are doing our best to enjoy every single moment together.

There are few gifts more wonderful than a beautiful sunny day after a few days of grey skies and pouring rain, and after a string of storms we got two! The first week of 2nd Half was a week of constant change in the weather, with the ups and downs that erratic weather can sometimes produce. But as always we made the best of even the muddiest trails, dampest clothing and the wettest days and were rarely thrown off track. In many ways the arrival of sunshine midway through the week reminded us to take advantage of such gifts and also to learn to adapt to the challenges that living outdoors presents.

As a community we are re-forming and re-learning to live together with new friends and with the new dynamics that are created. But it has been a very positive and empowering experience and I have been so proud of everyone for their commitment to build a community that is fully inclusive and safe for everyone. Now that is not to say that we don’t have our conflicts and that there are moments when the challenges of living 150 strong can create a storm or two. But like the thunderstorms that hung over camp at the start of the week, we weather each storm and are made stronger in the process. I’d like to think of each of these moments as a chance for us to live out on our “growing edge” a little bit and for the opportunity to learn more about ourselves and of others. Often it is the challenges that we face together that bring us closer together and are certainly an integral part of the Timberlake experience. It’s what I like to call “authentic living” at its best!

Sundays at camp mean a late wake-up, slower pace and a lazier approach to living. With about a 1/3 of the camp out on trips and those of us in camp ready to take it easy after an excellent TL week, today was all about kicking back and enjoying dry skies and the splendid lack of humidity. We slept in late (7:30 am) and then munched down on a tasty Bagel Bar Buffet. We also enjoyed our first long Silent Meeting of the half and a relaxing hour down at the Waterfront. After stuffing ourselves with wicked good enchiladas for lunch, we rested some more before Cabin Afternoon, met again for dinner, played a rowdy game of Sticks, took a quick dip in the lake and then the campers headed for bed and I headed for my computer to write you this note. It was just a beautiful day in Vermont and again and again I was reminded of why I absolutely love this place!

For some of our campers this is the end of their first amazing week and for 30 others, a fabulous week six. But for every one of us, it has been pure TL. The arrival of 75 new campers and six staff infused us with a great new energy and enthusiasm and from the first day we were full steam ahead. As with the start of First Half, homesickness crept in a bit (the rains not helping much), but by the end of the week it was hard to walk through the camp without hearing silly laughter and seeing huge, uncontrollable smiles. The challenges are still there for some, but I have seen so many campers step in to welcome and care for the new boys and to help them with the transition from home to camp. I have been very proud of our full season campers, especially the Senior Lodgers who have stepped up as incredible leaders, for their open arms and desire to bring the new folks into the Timberlake community.

Second half always seems to move quicker than the first and with the Fair hiding in the distance; we don’t waste a minute jumping right back into program. While the last several days have seen a number of campers and staff head out on Trips, many more of us have remained in camp to take advantage of all that we have to offer.

Monday morning found many campers working on their Woodsman, our entry level wilderness skill set. With the support of a large majority of our staff, the new campers set about learning safe and proper axe, fire, stove, knot and knife skills. The others? Many continued working towards their more advanced ratings, such as the Basic canoe rating and Gardener, one of the advanced ratings from the Farm. Others spent the mornings:

• working on their swimming
• building a new stairs to the Upper Lodge
• constructing a “turnpike” to Otters cabin
• Dot Painting
• With full body camouflage
• harvesting many goodies from the garden; raspberries, blueberries, sour cherries, herbs, garlic, kale, beets, squash, cucumbers, peas
• basketball
• playing with the goats
• work on straw boxes
• sour cherry jam making
• building water bars on damaged trails in the rain
• exploring Austrailian Aboriginal art
• sauna
• solo canoe portages
• milling tomatoes

The afternoons brought continued skill practice as always, but also the wonderful mix of new and diverse offerings. The first night we brought the boys to the Fair Grounds to play a favorite All Camp Game called 3 Kingdoms. The rise and fall of our three Feudal Lords has never been so much fun and went off without a hitch. Of course that was only an appetizer for Elements, one of most theatrical and fantastic All Camp Games ever that we played Saturday afternoon. I’ve posted some photos of the main characters that are very worth checking out. And the rest of the week? It is one that we comically refer to as “normal’, but it was anything but.

Cabins went on overnights at various local shelters, watched counselors make fools of themselves while introducing the Activity Areas for the summer, carried heavy canoes to Indian Brook to prepare for trips, ran around the lake, sat in silence, sang their lungs out, spent a full morning as a camp pulling weeds in the potato patch, and playing games of Arbitrary Kickball. But that was just the beginning of the 2008 August Session…Cabin Switch with IB, Building Debris Shelter, Beading, Soccer,
Non-Stop Slack’Em, Working in the kitchen, Learning Wet Exits, Fishing, Canoeing, Games in the Rain, Trail Work, Living Art, Rope Swing, King of the Monster, Lake runs, Long Distance Swims and crafty chipmunks that will scamper up and grab a cookie right our of your hand…a summer that will go down in TL history.

We have frequently encouraged the campers to send letters home and hope that they have done just that, but being a former boy myself I know the reality all too well. But we can keep our fingers crossed right? We are also looking at the possibility of recording some audio tracks of morning songs and getting them out to all TL families, but I will keep you updated.

Please don’t hesitate to call if or email if you have any questions or concerns.

I have been talking with 1st Half Timberlake parents who have recently welcomed their boys home and was reminded of MY first summer at TL (1982) and the transition home after such an incredible adventure. Like many I was touched very deeply by the experience and left carrying so much of Timberlake in my heart. But the memories, poorly taken photos (on my Kodak 110 camera) and occasional letters from new friends weren’t enough and within a few days of arriving home, I set out to truly bring TL home. Locating some old lumber I began preparations to add rough-cut”siding” to my bedroom wall and more than once chose to visit the bushes in the backyard instead of the advanced technology of the bathroom toilet. At night I preferred to use a flashlight to navigate the basement floor where my sisters and I had our bedrooms and I don’t think that I wore shoes until the day school started and even then kicked them off under the desk during class. Luckily I already slept in a bunk bed and so my stuffed animals became my cabin mates and would occasionally keep my up at night “telling stories” about their day and we might have even pulled off a cabin switch or two. I attempted to build ropes swings with just about any length of rope I could find and would swing bravely over any body of water, pile of rocks or furniture made available to me.

This approach to TL living didn’t last long, created minor injuries or resulted in shocked looks and stiff consequences from my parents, but it was clear to them as well that I had changed and that something in me had woken up and wasn’t about to be silenced anytime soon. So if you hear any unexpected construction from somewhere in your house, spot your children swinging on an extension cord from the garage roof, are getting surprising requests for more salad or hear your boys whistling ‘Simple Gifts’ while playing their Xbox, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

This week has been all about the sunshine…beautiful, beautiful, beautiful…