News

Dear Parents & Friends,

Camp is way too quiet.  All the campers have gone and most of our staff have said their farewells.  Our E Session campers really ended our summer on such a good note.  We thank you for allowing us to be a part of their lives for the last eight days and three weeks for our Mountainside and Riverside groups.  It goes way too quickly.  I also want to thank all the people that work behind the scenes.  You see a few of them on opening and closing day as you pick up and drop off children.  Dale and his crew unload and load your car so you can focus on your camper.  They also keep camp working and running throughout the year.  Our meals were wonderful this summer thanks to Dan, our kitchen manager and his crew.  Ollie, who works in housekeeping kept us all sanitized and kept our clothes clean.  Cate, Barbara, Ann Marie and Steph, answered all your phone calls and corresponded with you throughout the year.  Many thanks to Andy, our assistant director, who keeps our staff happy and makes each day a joy with his “choose your attitude” philosophy.

My thanks also go out to our staff for providing such a great experience day in day out for the children.  A camp is only as good as its staff and we had a great one this summer.  They remained high energy and enthusiastic right up until the last day.  As a staff member I get a lot of my energy from the children.  This morning I shared breakfast with the boys in Chipmunk Hut and it was a joy to see them all happy yet tired from a full week of activity.  I sometimes think of camp as a human battery charger.  Probably everyone needs a dose of camp life every once in a while to bring things down to the simpler life of the “simple joys” found here at Gwynn Valley.  This is my 34^th year in camping and through the years I’ve seen many children reach great heights at camp and it doesn’t stop there because I feel camp is such a springboard for life skills.  Our staff also grow a great deal while at camp and many are changed forever because of their camp experience.

At  Gwynn Valley, when children make new friends, explore the world around them, and learn that “I can” is much more powerful than “I can’t”, magic happens. In an environment created just for them, children learn real life skills, develop self-esteem, and gain a sense of independence and community. Whether children are playing, exploring nature, conquering new heights, or becoming part of a camp family, they are creating memories that will last a lifetime.  Our thought for the day this morning was “The real secret of happiness is not what you give or what you receive; it’s what you share”.  I told the children before we dismissed from breakfast, to please take that sharing philosophy back home and share a piece of what you learned at camp with a friend or loved one.  It will make the world a better place.

Over the weeks ahead we will begin to plan for our 2011 season.  One of my goals is to keep this blog going and have others share their thoughts on the camp experience.  Don’t forget to check in and see what’s new on the website as well as come to one of our camp shows this fall and winter.

From all of us, thanks for a great summer of 2011.  Camp is 75 years old and during those years Gwynn Valley has always been a special place for children as well as for those who are young at heart.    Campers, we will miss your presence over the weeks ahead.  We hope to see you all back for another wonderful season at GV!  Stay tuned!

Grant & Anne

Dear Parents & Friends,

I missed providing an update for you all last night because I had some time off.  Anne and I took just a few hours to spend with our family last night, have a nice dinner at the house and then enjoy one another’s company after dinner.   I’m sure you got a good feel for what went on yesterday from the pictures that Casey posted.  She’s our camp photographer and if you see her tomorrow please say hi and thanks for all the work she puts in on capturing the essence of camp.  Our last day of camp just ended with campfire and everyone heading off to bed.  There’s a gentle rain falling outside that held off all day long and allowed us to get through the day without our sometimes afternoon thunderboomers.  It’s been a full day here and just cool enough to keep us going.  Today was the first day I haven’t just sweated from standing around.  You will see the remainder of our cabin photos that will be mailed to you just after the New Year.

Despite the cool temps and overcast skies, the waterfront was hopping.  We also held pillowcase day this afternoon when everyone comes to the pool and swims.  Mind you not everyone comes at once.  You’ll also see some pics of our SIT’s from the three week session they attend.  We just met with them to share some last minute thoughts and good times in the Gatehouse Living Room.  What a great group they’ve been.  All have been campers before and what an incredible job they have done.  They work very hard and have been such a tight knit group in supporting one another.  Several had to leave early because of school and athletic commitments so while they may have been a bit fractured by a decrease in their numbers they’ve made up for it in enthusiasm and energy.  I expect all these young people to be staff in a few short years.  Hat’s off to our SIT’s of D&E Session – you guys are the best!

There’s one photo that is a group of people standing in front of the Mill and around an old stone wall on the Green.  It’s our sibling shot for session E.  We had lots of siblings at camp including several sets of twins and quadruplets.  Camp is place where your brother or sister can come and join you or you can meet lots of new friends on your own.  I’ve eaten at several table this session where people have made good friends just by sharing a meal together.  Food also does a good job of bringing people together and the camp setting is such an added platform for forming relationships and meeting new people that sometimes come from different parts of our globe.  Camp is all about building relationships with one another.  I believe it’s one of the most important outcomes of the experience.  You gotta love it.

Soon you will receive an evaluation via email, sent to you by the camp and we hope you will take the time to fill it out and send it back.  This provides us with feed back to help make our program better.  The eval will come through a service called Constant Contact.  They will not solicit you in any way and you get only one correspondence from them.  We use their services and design the form here at camp.  We appreciate you taking the time to help us keep Gwynn Valley an outstanding program.  On a similar note the North Carolina Youth Camp Association, of which we are a charter member, is working on an economic impact study done by NC State University.  The camping industry in NC is a big part of our economy in this part of the state and we’re trying to get a handle on how the industry affects other parts of the economy.  You may get a questionnaire that asks some questions about your days surrounding camp drop off and pick up.  We will use this information to further the educational values that camping creates as well as become a more powerful voice with our state and national legislators. Thank you for participating in this survey.

Tomorrow when you arrive you will be attending a friendship circle in your child’s cabin at 10:30 and then we’ll have an overall camp Campfire.  Mountainside and Riverside will have separate campfires at 10:30.  Then after the Main Camp gathering you’re welcome to stay and have lunch with us.  We hope you will join us.  Looking forward to seeing you but not wanting to let of go of this group of children.  They’ve been great and it’s been a terrific way to end our summer here at Gwynn Valley where the “simple joys” abound.  Stay Tuned!

Dear Parents & Friends,

The simple joys of camp abound here today from the photos I’ve been looking at.  I must confess that I’ve been with the Mountainside paddlers all day until just after 8:00 tonight.  More about that later.  What could be simpler than jump rope on the Green.  How often to you see children jumping rope at home in a neighborhood.  Playing in the Hillside Creek is an evening activity that is open every single night for after supper activities.  Children make dams, they lift rocks to hunt for critters or just chat while the cold water rushes around their feet.  And how about a game of tag football.  Nothing could be better than a little razzle dazzle good ole American football.  Some hoops were also played in the sports arena.  Knockout is a popular game here at camp and whenever there is free time you’ll find children playing that game more than anything else.  Counselors play along with campers and I love it when campers eliminate counselors, which happens quite often.  Shots are made from the foul line and if you miss you have a chance to redeem yourself with a quick layup before the person behinds you sinks their foul shot.  You play with two balls and it’s fast paced.  You’ll also notice an international game called Mulky which Andy brought us from New Zealand.  It’s kind of like bowling but not really and requires some good throwing/rolling skills as well as adding numbers to 50 to keep score.  Folks in the Pot Shop are winding down and getting ready for glazing and the final touches on pottery before it’s fired in the kiln.  Can’t wait to see all those wonderful creations.

The Mill captured some interest today as the campers turned corn crib corn into corn meal and grits.  We’ve also been milling whole wheat flower that someone donated to our local bread of life.  So far this summer our campers have ground over 400 lbs of flour.  That’s a feat worth mentioning.   Fishing at the Mill brought out the determined fisher-men & women to tempt the last remaining trout out of the pond.  The ones that remain are the smart ones that have resisted the hook all summer long.  Somewhere out there in the depths of the Mill Pond lives Ringo the gigantic trout that no one can seem to snag.  He’s bigger than a small battleship as one camper put it and smart from four years of fish school or is that the School of Fish.  At any rate, Ringo dwells in hearts and minds of all those campers with a hankering to bend a little bamboo, test a little line and tempt him with an array of bait.  Whoever lands him may make the cover of Field and Stream.   Good luck gang, you’ve got two days of camp left.

Can you believe that, only two days are left.  This week has flown but not as much as those who were zipping on the Zip Line at the Lake.  Hot, humid weather makes one want to swim and just make a life of hanging at the Lake and Pool.  We swam a good bit today on the river trip to cool off and refresh ourselves from the heat and wearing a PFD and helmet.  Phenomenal group from Mountainside on the river today as we paddled the Tuckasegee River near Dillsboro, NC.  It’s a dam release river so water can be low or high depending on the release.  We hit it just right today combined with a little runoff from an overnight rain.  Everyone had a chance to warm up just before we entered the gorge after the railroad bridge.  Our first rapid was Railroad where kids were trying to surf the wave which is also a hole.  Most everyone tried their luck and we had a couple of boats go over but nothing to worry about with a large calm pool at the bottom of the rapid.  Other rapids followed including Moonshot, Double Drop, Surprise Eddy and others.  We had a great trip and hats off to the kids who really gave it their all.  I’m uploading some pics as I write so you should see those tomorrow or tonight if you’re a night owl.  Nicko and Will jumped in solo boats later in the day and paddled Double Drop in solo canoes.  They really pushed themselves without our prodding and wanted to really achieve out there.  Great group of kids and super staff that worked with them today.  All is well at camp and stay tuned!