Greystone T-shirts Through the Years
Don’t miss your chance to win some new Greystone t-shirts at the bottom of this article!
If you’re a Greystone alumna, we’re guessing that right now, somewhere in your house, you have a big ‘ole pile of Greystone t-shirts. For some of you, these may still be in your camp trunk!
Whether these shirts are from your camper days, from your purchases at the Greystone Store, or from your recent visit to camp for the Alumnae Reunion, Greystone t-shirts are a high commodity at camp and quickly become treasured possessions.
In the early days of camp, Greystone offered only a handful of clothing items that you could purchase, with the most popular being a shirt with the year on it. In the camp archive photos, girls are often seen sporting these “year shirts” with their friends. During this time in camp, shirts were only available for purchase, so girls often did buy what was available; everyone wanted to take a piece of Greystone home with them!
Over the years, the apparel options continued to grow as the Greystone Store also continued to grow. Campers had even more t-shirts they could now take home with them!
The year shirts of the 70s and 80s morphed into a year “theme” shirt, showcasing the summer’s Bible verse or another theme from the summer. Girls of the early 90s remember the Olympic themed shirt when the Olympics were hosted in Atlanta in 1994 – everyone wanted one of those shirts!
Along with the shirts that campers could purchase, girls could also earn a camp shirt by completing Stumblers. JimDaddy’s friend had a running club in Kentucky called Todd’s Road Stumblers, and it inspired JimDaddy to start Greystone’s own running club. To honor “paying the price for the promise of the prize,” campers would earn their very own Stumblers shirt by completing 15 laps around the track. Some of these early Stumblers shirts are legendary, and you can spot many alumnae still wearing them today!
In the later 2000s, camp started moving into giveaway shirts that were presented for a particular event or as a prize. Some of these first shirts included a Carnival shirt for the staff to wear the night of the event (the campers went nuts when it was announced!) and a giveaway shirt as a prize for a Spam Gameshow, which the campers could win if they beat the counselors in the challenges (once again, the campers went nuts!). Many alumnae remember these initial giveaway moments as “I can’t believe this just happened” moments in camp.
Now, shirts are given to the campers throughout the session and are considered “currency.” They are valued more than any other giveaway, and girls proudly wear these shirts at home throughout the year.
Not only do these giveaway shirts heighten the excitement surrounding an event, they also provide great marketing for camp in cities across the country (and even the world!) during the year.
Win a grab bag of Greystone t-shirts!
If you’ve been longing for some new Greystone apparel, now is your chance! Fill out our Alumnae update form, and you will be automatically entered to win a “grab bag” of camp shirts, which includes 5 different camp t-shirts in your size…for free! If you have already filled out the form, you are already entered to win. We will contact the winners by the end of the year.
Which Greystone t-shirts are your favorites from over the years? We know you have a favorite (or two!) from your years at camp!