The following are all quotes from the 2010 Camper Survey:

“That it’s really great to have a break in life and to learn what people used to do to survive back then. I’d say it’s really amazing.”

“The activities were great, and the food was the best”

“Its an awesome experience, unlike anything else. It is a place to have adventures, take risks, and challenge yourself.”

“You learn to live independently.”

“You will have much fun and be surprised about what you find within your self”

“i dont have to, they would already love it but i would say that this is a great way to just be free and live life to the fullest with nature and some of the best people in the world.”

“That it is fun and you get to jump from this awesome rope swing”

“I just would tell them that the camp is awesome!!! I would just tell them about spynight, Androscoggin, the food, hanging around camp, and all the other awesome stuff that goes on at TL.”

“That it is a fun camp where no one makes fun of you and you can try whatever you want.”

“I would tell them about the idyllic community, the freedom, the wonderful people and friends that they would meet, the skills they would learn and describe to them what days at camp are like.”

“It’s a place somewhere in Vermont where you can take control of your life and what you want.”

“its a very good way to get away from city life and to make new friends”

“BECAUSE TL AND F+W IS THE BEST CAMP EVER TO BE ON THE FACE OF THIS PLANET AND ALL THE OTHER PLANETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AND ALWAYS WILL BE!!!!!!!!!!”

The following are all quotes from the 2010 Camper Survey:

“That it’s really great to have a break in life and to learn what people used to do to survive back then. I’d say it’s really amazing.”

“The activities were great, and the food was the best”

“Its an awesome experience, unlike anything else. It is a place to have adventures, take risks, and challenge yourself.”

“You learn to live independently.”

“You will have much fun and be surprised about what you find within your self”

“i dont have to, they would already love it but i would say that this is a great way to just be free and live life to the fullest with nature and some of the best people in the world.”

“That it is fun and you get to jump from this awesome rope swing”

“I just would tell them that the camp is awesome!!! I would just tell them about spynight, Androscoggin, the food, hanging around camp, and all the other awesome stuff that goes on at TL.”

“That it is a fun camp where no one makes fun of you and you can try whatever you want.”

“I would tell them about the idyllic community, the freedom, the wonderful people and friends that they would meet, the skills they would learn and describe to them what days at camp are like.”

“It’s a place somewhere in Vermont where you can take control of your life and what you want.”

“its a very good way to get away from city life and to make new friends”

“BECAUSE TL AND F+W IS THE BEST CAMP EVER TO BE ON THE FACE OF THIS PLANET AND ALL THE OTHER PLANETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AND ALWAYS WILL BE!!!!!!!!!!”

CAMPER SURVEY RESULTS:

What skills did you learn this summer?

“I learned all of the names of the tools in work projects, how to tie multiple knots in outdoor living skills, learn to tend to animals in farms and gardens, and learned to swim and kayak better. I also learned to make new friends and have fun!”

“Kayaking, building a fire, and especially learning how to survive in a wilderness place without electricity.”

“How to use a knife, ignite a fire once it’s extinguished, tracking, OwlEyes and foxwalk, and try new foods .”

“I learned farming skills, how to tell when plants are ready for harvest, i learned many different dives, I learned how to make a wooden building, I learned many card games”

What did you learn about yourself? How have you grown?

“I have grown in strength (mental and physical). I have learned many skills.”

“I found that when I try, I can succeed, and I guess that is one thing i used in Timberlake a lot of times.”

“I learned about the whole wilderness part of myself that I didn’t know existed.”

“I learned to respect others and I felt respected. I learned how much I loved Vermont and my family.”

“To protect myself, respect others, be silent in the in the evening, build a fire.”

“I learned that i can adjust to new surroundings fast”

“in ways i can’t explain”

“I am stronger and since I canoed about twenty miles against wind I have much more assurance about what I can do”.

“Can achieve all the goals that you set for yourself with hard work and support.”

“How to have fun”

So well done TL Staff and Campers of 2010. Let’s get an AVALANCHE of these comments in 2011.

… I’ll post another batch in two weeks.

A Quote To Keep Us Aware:

“Everybody is sitting around saying, ‘Well, jeez, we need somebody to solve this problem of bias.’ That somebody is us. We all have to try to figure out a better way to get along.”

Wilma Mankiller

What I love about the New Year is a sense of optimism, combined with a healthy and humbling dose of realism. This is a pretty nice mix for any day of the year, including those at camp.

One of the reasons why Timberlake is still here after over 70 years is that we consistently dream big in a simple environment. We don’t do Lazer Tag, huge commercial floating rafts or All-camp competitive tournaments. That’s not our dream. We DO create Gala events, sit still in the woods, climb chimneys and generally test ourselves and have a lot of fun with just the basics.

I encourage all of you to take the TL spirit with you every day: create some more limitations in your life to push yourself to be more creative. Cut back on the stuff and live simply so that those big dreams have plenty of room.

Little moments of silence and quiet will get you there. And with a bit of imagination…. we can all be there together.

We have many new campers, and many returning faces. Keep an eye on this space for some names.

The first official hire for 2011 has happened, and plenty more returning staff interviews coming up.

Thought for the day: Want to be spiritual? Start with being happy.

Here’s an article which looks at simple living and the spirit of Hanukkah.

Candle ceremonies are an important part of Timberlake Traditions, and it’s nice to take a moment to think about re-dedication.    We can all benefit from re-dedicating ourselves to a spirit of simple living and inclusiveness to avoid the pull of consumerism and exclusion.

Hanukkah, a Time of Rededication

REHOBOTH BEACH — Although it’s one of the lesser holidays on the Hebrew calendar, Hanukkah has increased in prominence from both within and outside the Jewish faith.
The holiday, which begins at sundown Wednesday and lasts through Dec. 9, commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, which was taken back from the Syrians and purified by lamplight during the course of eight days.
Beth Cohen of the Seaside Jewish Community in Rehoboth Beach said the holiday has been elevated primarily because of its proximity to Christmas.
“Perhaps it gives us an opportunity to think about what it means to rededicate yourself to something; to think about things not otherwise (thought) about,” she said.
She said the religious school holds a Hanukkah service each year with a play, songs and some form of a retelling of the story.
“The practice in homes is usually for the family to light the candles, one for each of the eight nights,” she said. “That’s tradition, but it’s also become a gift-giving holiday, which is obviously not part of the history.”
Rabbi Arnold Bienstock of the Beth Israel Congregation in Salisbury said it was almost inevitable that Hanukkah would embrace some of the trappings of consumer culture.
The menorahs that hold the nine Hanukkah candles — one is used to light the others — can be found in various colors, shapes and styles, he said. They come shaped like cats, dogs and even footballs.
“There have always been issues as to what extent Jews should have to culturally absorb or not absorb from the background of the world,” he said.
That issue speaks directly to the very origins of the holiday, which celebrates the Jews’ cultural and religious liberation from the Greeks during the second century B.C. Maccabean Revolt, Beinstock said.
Now, just as then, he said Jews represent a religious minority.
“Jews are a drop of a drop of a drop in the Delmarva region,” he said, noting that much of the population is concentrated in urban centers, such as Washington.
Consumerism and materialism has affected the Jewish holidays, as they have everything else, said Bienstock, who himself exchanges gifts, such as a giraffe-shaped menorah, with his four daughters.
“In fact, my daughter was wrapping gifts last night with wrapping paper,” he said. “Americans take everything and turn it into a business.”
But there’s something universal about the Hanukkah traditions, such as the ceremonial lighting of candles, Beinstock said.
Gary Kleiman, who organized the first lighting of the menorah in downtown Salisbury more than two decades ago, said minority status doesn’t matter much these days.
When he was collecting money for the project, he said Christian shop owners were just as eager to pitch in as the Jewish ones. And when the Salvation Army’s largest day for donations — Christmas Eve — fell on the Sabbath, the Jewish community mobilized to help out.
Cohen, who has watched her congregation swell from about 100 to 325 members in the last five years, said Jews still experience anti-Semitism, although it’s gotten better.
The elevation of Hanukkah is one example of people trying to be more inclusive of other religions, she said. Decades ago, she wouldn’t have expected a phone call from a reporter asking about the holiday.
“People are looking to bridge those gaps and become a more inclusive community, locally and in the world,” she said.
By Wallace McKelvey.
wmckelvey@dmg.gannett.com

I hope your Thanksgiving was truly a time of thanks and appreciation.

Here at F&W we end every staff meeting with a moment of silence and appreciations.

Just as a meeting at work can make you feel overwhelmed, a simple appreciation from a co-worker can remind you of your own significance and contributions.

I look forward to weekly cabin appreciations next summer, and I hope our timing will allow for parents to be present at the final one of each session.

In the spirit “Simple Living”, which is one of our core values, I wanted to share a comic blog about Black Friday that gave me a LOL moment and worth checking out for a chuckle:

http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/11/29/so-any-good-black-friday-stories-to-share/

At our Council Fires we give a bead as a symbol of appreciation for each other.

2011 will be the summer of Air. There will be no spoilers on what the bead will look like, but there are two things the element of Air can help us keep in focus:

* - To fly,  to soar  - you have to have a dream to reach for, an ambitious and even audacious goal that inspires you

* - lighten up.    Think cool and breezy.   You don’t often reach your goals weighed down by self-appointed burdensome thoughts.   Summer camp happens during summertime.    We can all lighten up!

Previous Beads include:

In 2010 a red bead with dark and light streaks symbolized Fire.

In 2009 the bead was a ceramic circle that symbolized Water. (We had 14″ of rain that summer. ..Jinxed!)

In 2008 the TL bead was brown wood and symbolized the element of Earth.

Normally I research my purchases carefully, but yesterday I bought “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” off the sole virtue that it was the top selling book on Leadership on Amazon.

As with many of these books it uses rather conventional examples of success  such as the founder of McDonalds,  Ray Croc.      I haven’t finished the book,  but I suspect that the emphasis will stay on “big is better” and that Dr. Suess’s  Lorax is unlikely to feature as a leader.

At Farm and Wilderness accomplishing your goals and increasing your influence is only part of the story.

Leadership involves your ability to make positive influence on those around you and on society. We don’t leave people behind and we care about where they are at.    By doing so, we get a rare chance to see what can happen when a group of people isn’t competing but rather collaborating.

At Timberlake, our growth doesn’t end with the learning or even mastery of skill, but with the opportunity to pass on that knowledge.

2011:

It’s on.