June 26, 2026
The Camp Game is played with rules. One of those rules is 7:30 AM Reveille for every day except Sunday. This is how the game has been played for 107 years, and we delight in the cadence of this routine. The day proceeds predictably: Soupie, Morning Assembly, classes, all the way until Taps at 9:40 PM, when we drift to sleep… rinse and repeat. It is comfortable like an old cardigan sweater, but sometimes it is fun to mix it up a bit. Simply sleeping one more hour has a profound impact. Camp slows down until Morning Assembly, then resumes a normal pace with the rest of the day. The girls are invigorated by the change. We will do this every Friday; TGIF.
There is a lot to celebrate about the “Landmarks and Legends” EP last night… It was a blowout program from the announcement at lunch till the final game of the night! Perfect weather, great swag (the girls love the t-shirts, posters, stickers, table decorations, and costumes), and great food. The program is designed as a cabin-bonding event in which the girls work as a team to earn points. The many games require a bit of strategy and a bit of luck. We had a lot of fun and will cherish those T-Shirts for a long time!
Time to move on to something less “flashy”!
Later this morning, Margaret and I will meet with the Honor Council, and this evening I will lead our 107th Opening Vespers. It makes sense to do a quick review of these much-loved camp traditions. Both carry weight that is hard to convey without a little context. If this is old news, feel free to skip to the end!
A few years ago, we updated the Honor Council. After 100 years, it was time to do a refresh. We dropped the “mysterious” system of tapping girls to serve and allowed any interested Senior-Senior camper the opportunity to participate in a Greystone leadership program. Those who complete the program are admitted into the permanent Honor Council and given their gold G. This is a significant commitment for the girls over the summer, and we are proud of them for choosing to grow in this way. Catherine, Margaret, and I teach, and we also bring in three “Alums” as mentor teachers. Their first class was on Wednesday, led by Sandi, who spoke on servant leadership as seen in Jesus. We follow up with the girls when they go home as they transition into leadership outside “the bubble”. It is a wonderful program, and the girls take it seriously.
Margaret and I will lead a meeting featuring personal examples of leadership from our lives. I will discuss my first work experience at camp and how it laid the foundation for all subsequent jobs. How those jobs (both in camp and in the “real world” always were the foundation upon which I would build when assuming a new role. Margaret will speak of her High School and College years (which had far more impressive leadership honors than I ever had), her years as a Pediatrician, and her transition to Greystone. The girls love hearing these stories, which show that leadership is not a one-size-fits-all character trait.
Tonight, we will enjoy our Opening Vespers program. Not flashy but good. This tradition has remained essentially unchanged for generations. We will gather on the Pagent Court for the program. The girls will hear the story of love and light (the Linsey Woolsey story), recite their verses in their cabin groups, and light our candles to show the impact of light on the world. It is a beautiful program and surprisingly impacts even the youngest campers. Opening Vespers is counter-intuitive (would you have thought such a program for a teenager?), but it is very special to the campers (who consistently rank it as a favorite summer moment). It will be a perfect “chill” ending to our Sleep Late Day.
- Breakfast Grab and go breakfast sandwiches, fruit, yogurt, granola
- Weather 82 degrees, partly cloudy, UV 11
- Lunch Cheeseburgers and Tots
- Dinner Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
- EP Closing Vespers