While the 2018 summer brought along some changes at Geneva Glen, much of the summer stayed true to the rich traditions and ceremonies we’ve all come to love and cherish over the years. Things kicked off during Myths & Magic Check-In with princesses, fairies, and pirates roaming the hills and the magic continued throughout the session.
The annual Hogwarts Feast was a success. A wayward pirate raced the campers around camp to beat them to his “lost treasure.” Clowns, strongmen, tightrope walkers and wild animal trainers delighted the crowds at the Circus. The final day of the session once again saw our campers (and counselors!) covered in mud, Jell-O, flour, and ice cream for our Myths & Magic grand finale, the Dirty Derby! This year’s dirtiest derbiers, crowned as the 2018 Mud Pie King and Queen were River Finck and Scout DeStefano! Long live the Mud Pie King & Queen!
American Heritage saw the biggest programming overhaul this summer and it was a major success! 2018 saw the introduction of skill-based track programming for Seniors and a token-based system for Juniors and Middlers that encouraged the campers to get out and dive into all of the programs camp has to offer. Seniors had the option to pursue any of the five tracks, each incorporating tasks from various camp programs and modeled after real-life frontiersmen and women. The tracks were Trailblazer, Range Rider, Naturalist, Buckskinner, and Headliner. We
were happy to see a number of campers complete the first level of a track and we expect that number to grow significantly next year! This summer, each age group also became a “Family Group” that represented a different set of people from the American frontier days, so from youngest to oldest, we had the Tommyknockers, Buckaroos, Prospectors, Arapaho, Pioneers, Scouts, Mountaineers, Revolutionaries, and Ute. On the last full day of the session, each Family Group came together in a Rendezvous, bringing some piece of their heritage to the event. There was pemmican, apple pies, panning for gold, a Sasquatch rock monster, and a whole lot more. We had a special guest, Andy Cozad, that we were connected with from the Tesoro Foundation that worked with our Arapaho and Ute groups to present authentic dances from his native tribe. Andy is a member of the Kiowa tribe and serves on the American Indian Parental Advisory Committee for the Adams 12 School District. He taught a number of our campers dances and shared stories, songs, and drumming on the night of our Rendezvous. The Rendezvous night ended with our brand new American Heritage awards ceremony, recognizing Lucy Ballard as the first Middler to acquire all 10 tokens, and the following campers for achieving their first level in their chosen tracks: Headliners: Kendall Baldwin, Sam Hewetson, Greer Ransweiler, & Morgan Estes. Range Riders: Annabelle Torgove & America Cordero. Buckskinners: Ari Klotas and Naturalists: Hannah Hammond. The final award of the night was the Spirit of America Award, a new award for 2018 with the following definition: “During American Heritage, we strive to instill a deeper appreciation of the history and culture of the great Americans that created our country. Our country’s
foundation comes from a diverse melting pot of people all blended together to form our great nation. At Geneva Glen, we recognize one camper and one counselor each year during American Heritage that displays outstanding leadership and devotion to these ideals. This person’s acceptance of all cultures, ability to teach others these traditions, and enthusiasm for American history is evident to all those around them, and inspires others to follow in their steps.” Each Family Group nominated one camper to be considered for this award, and the nominees were: Trennon Peteranetz, Davis Johnston, Joselyn Mendez, MacGregor Lang, Ellie Drescher, Audrey Birkey, Sofie Henry, Hannah Hammond, and Maddy O’Connor. Maddy O’Connor was selected as the inaugural winner of the Spirit of America award and Kylie Kachmer was selected from staff.
Knighthood I got off to a rousing start as Ken Atkinson rocked the opening night Council Fire with his trademark rendition of ‘Dem Bones and the Rock ‘n Roll continued into the 4th of July with the Banjo Man capping off a day long celebration in the softball diamond. Campers were once again blessed to be taken into the depths of Arthurian lore as John Vogt relayed the story of “Erec and Enide” and the importance of Love and Loyalty to oneself. We were also fortunate to get a visit from the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers who pass along principles and tips for sustainability and how to best live in and alongside our beautiful natural environment.