Wow! It feels like yesterday we were all together walking up to Final Council Fire. I miss you all and find myself longing for the noise of the dining hall, the joy of “Rattlin’ Bog” in the barn and watching one of the greatest hockey tournaments of all time. After you all left, we welcomed 400 alumni to camp for our 100th year reunion. It was an incredible weekend reconnecting with old friends, while also packing in a summer of fun into two days. We had an assembly, Council Fire, a Sunday Gathering, a talent night,
campfire games, and so much laughter. The alums felt proud of the place that Lanakila continues to be and that is a testament to who you all are and how you preserve the values and beliefs that make Lanakila special.
I can’t stop thinking about the power of our community, wondering how the fabric and significance of this place is created each and every summer. What is it that makes this place so special? Why is it that we feel such a bond with those around us, genuinely caring about each other? I think part of it begins with the reality that Lanakila asks us the question: Who do you want to be?
We ask it in all sorts of places and it is woven into the ways we communicate and set up our programming. We ask you to clean up your tents every morning after breakfast. You get to ask yourself the question of who you want to be when you are tired, feeling lazy, or are frustrated with the way your tentmate didn’t take out the trash when you asked them to. When we play a game of baseball, we ask you who you want to be if you win, as well as who you want to be if you lose?
Asking this question can be hard. It can be inconvenient because what we want doesn’t always match up with our feelings in the moment. At its core, I believe that we all want to represent ourselves as a good person. We want to be a great friend. We want to listen fully. We want to be happy. We want to feel good about the person we see in the mirror staring back at us.
And if we are being honest, that is not an easy place to be until you start to get who you want to be lined up with who you are and what you do. When you do that though, you start to love three things: yourself, other people, and Lanakila. You start to see the ways in which these things can be taken home with you, can be incorporated into your lives, and can be acted upon.
Lanakila changes us. It gives us a framework for going home, for taking on challenges, for re-entering the hallways of our schools, for how we interact with technology. I truly hope each of you will take what you learned at camp this summer and work towards incorporating it into your home lives. And I hope that when you find yourself forgetting some of the things you learned here, you will ask yourself the question, “Who do I want to be in this situation?”
I hope to see you all during my travels this fall!
Skol,
BRYAN PARTRIDGE Director of Lanakila
LanakilaCloud!
Well, what about YOU? If you were to write a letter about your experience at Lanakila, what might you say? We asked you for FOUR words to describe camp and you gave us your best adjectives. Some we expected (we’re glad you had so much FUN) and some were a little bit surprising ( juicy???). You sure had lots to say!
In this word cloud, the biggest words are the ones we heard from you most!
how did you choose curiosity?
At camp this year you were challenged in all sorts of ways — to be your best self, to try your hardest always, and to choose curiosity throughout. We asked you to tell us some of the ways you chose curiosity this summer. Here’s what you had to say...
“I’ve gotten into new activities that I really find joy in I didn’t know if I would like them but I tried them because why not?”
HENRY HOLLERAN, LAKESIDE
“I learned how to be a better person and friend ”
OWEN CATHCART, BROOKSIDE
“I did archery even though I’m really bad at it ”
ROWAN UNGER, WOODSIDE
“This year I was curious about choir and the Morey Marathon, so I tried both and they were really fun ”
TOBY STANKO, HILLSIDE
“I tried new things like the ropes course ”
ANDREW OLDER, HILLSIDE
“I finally went to Archery for the first time in 3 years ”
BROOKS MARSHALL, LAKESIDE
“I thought I would not do Drama/Music this summer but I did and had fun!”
NOAH SMOLIN, WOODSIDE
“When my tent mate said Boating was going to be fun and it was ” WILL STEINHAUS, BROOKSIDE
“I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to a lot of departments and trips I learned a lot from those trips ”
NICHOLAS “MEEP” GOODWIN, LAKESIDE
“This summer I went on my first ever white-water canoeing trip At first I was nervous but curious so I tried it and it ended up being the best trip I have ever been on ”
LEO GREENBERG, HILLSIDE
“Asking questions and doing things that scared me And learning how to front flip ”
ANASTASIA MARNOCH, WOODSIDE
“I looked inside the counselor tent on the hill (it was not pretty) ”
GAGE DEMATTEO, BROOKSIDE
“This summer I showed curiosity by trying the Exploring department for the first time ”
HANS HILTON, WOODSIDE
new Superpowers?
Choosing curiosity is one thing, but what if you could choose a secret superpower?
We asked you to pick: Super Speed, Super Vision, or Super Strength? Seems like each one has its advantages!
“Super strength if I didn’t have to keep it a secret and I would fold paper 10 times, but if I had to keep it a secret, I would have super vision as it is the easiest to keep secret ” – Kyle Davidson, Lakeside
“Super speed no gas bills or car loans!”
– Colin Helms, Hillside
“If I had a secret power, it would be super speed because if I could go faster than light I could go back in time ” – Pietro Ruffato, Woodside
“Super speed because I feel like I could save the most lives and it would be fun ”
– Benjamin Widing-Robbins, Brookside
“Super speed because I already have super strength and I don’t know what supervision is ” – Mac Cobb, Lakeside
“Super strength so I would be better at sports and could carry all the groceries in at once ” – Jace Groskopf, Hillside
“Super speed because you can do things so fast that they won’t notice it ” – Benjamin Stuart, Woodside
“Super strength because it also gives you super speed because you get jacked legs ” – Odin Ma, Brookside
“I would choose super strength because I would love to be able to lift/move all of the super heavy things my dad can so I can be more help ” – Kameron Shahid, Hillside
“Super vision because I always lose stuff ” – Luke Stewart, Brookside
“Super vision because I could see in the dark, see really far away and really close without glasses And it would also be easier to hide ” – Julian Bello, Hillside
“Super speed because I play soccer and want to be fast ” – Nate Kofman, Woodside
“I would have super strength so I could beat the monster in Lake Morey ” – Asher Bergman, Brookside
“Super vision because my vision is terrible, and it would be cool to see for miles ” – Devan Sheth, Hillside
“Speed because my name’s Dash and it would be cool!” – Dashiell Partridge, Woodside
time capsule
After camp this year, Lanakila held a celebration of its 100th anniversary! These shores have been hosting campers just like you for a looong time. As I shared during Carol’s Concert, many former campers and counselors wrote reflections on their experiences at Lanakila, what it meant to them during their time as a camper/counselor, and how that has translated into their lives. Here’s one from Rad Herold, whose time at Lanakila has spanned almost five decades!
In the 80s I was a camper at Lanakila In the 90s, I returned as a counselor I adored getting to know everybody, but especially the international staff They represented so much I didn’t know In 1996 at the end of the summer, I decided to travel across the USA with a Scottish counselor I had never left the Northeast before That trip led me to various jobs across the country, then to various jobs in Europe, then Australia, then back to Europe again . Many trips, many lives . I got married, divorced, met countless people, and learned languages . My world expanded, and my mind and perspective grew beyond a level I had previously known even existed
In 2021, I returned to camp as a 48-year-old counselor because my nephews would be attending camp and I wanted to see their experience . It’s likely that after seeing all that life has to offer in the world and just growing older, a return back to a place you last worked 25 years before would feel like a step back, like you had not come far in life Many places would feel that way Not so at Lanakila Despite a large difference in age, I came back to a place rooted in the same principles that sent me on a world voyage all those years ago Kindness, home, support, knowledge and curiosity of the world, and Tyr strokes
I have had a 27-year-long voyage of learning, starting at, and circling back to Lanakila Priceless
Rad Herold
A Lanakila camper (just like you) sets out to enjoy a sunny day on Lake Morey in the summer of 1937.
ENROLLMENT IS OPEN!
FULL SEASON: Friday, June 28–Wednesday, August 14
1ST SESSION: Friday, June 28–Sunday, July 21
2ND SESSION: Tuesday, July 23–Wednesday, August 14
VISITING WEEKEND: Saturday, July 20–Sunday, July 21
