45 years of ridiculous.
45 years of girls running through the mountains, singing songs at the top of their lungs.
45 years of lifelong friendships, unified by a single, magical location.
45 years of Camp Scherman, otherwise known as my Neverland.
This past Memorial Day weekend, nearly 200 former and current staff gathered together in our beloved mountainside and reconnected after years, or months apart. Each generation of staff mingled with each other, their years of service ranging from 1968 to 2013.
Back in April, I wrote “My Sisterhood of Neverland: Ode To A Lost Friend” in respect for two counselors from my own generation who passed away this previous year. It was a relief to gather this weekend with my 20-30 of my best friends without the weight of loss pressing on us.
It was a weekend of remembering, of celebrating, of supporting, and looking forward.
We remembered those we have lost.
A Memorial Bench
We sang a few songs (with a few guitars)
Including our camp anthem
Fundraised for the camp
The highest selling towel at the Live Auction went for about $170.
The highest selling bag went for about $500.
It was great to see generous spirits supporting the camp’s future.
We played on the lake.
My team, Team This Team, beat Team That Team for the win and victory pose.
We hiked.
Some went up high on a peak.
The lake below is Lake Promise at Camp Scherman.
This is from a hike that takes 6 hours (round trip).
I did not go.
(These pictures are from my friend Pinx)
The crew who made it to the top of the mountain
The Ninja who set the timer for the picture, leaping across the rocks so she can be in the picture.
Some hiked a little lower
This is a view from my first hike of the day, right after I scrambled up the rock, and realized my elastic-tongued shoes would not work for scrambling up the rest of the way.
My friends Switch and Martian hanging out at the top of Red Rock.
Jedi and myself on our way up.
I did not make it much further.
This was my second hike of the day.
- The view from my third hike of the day.
This is Lake Promise once again.
This is how I felt after going on 3 hikes within 2 and 1/2 hours.
Had lunch
Slept in interesting places
Sleepovers at the flag pole are prime events
My Hobbit Hole
Watched the Sunset
With friends
Met the future generation of staff
A baby is always a great centerpiece.
Our Lion King themed flag ceremony
Someday, Simba, all this will be yours.
Engaged in various shenanigans
Ohana as a Gorn as I use the Star Trek weapon of choice: A double-fisted overblow.
Glow in the dark bubbles are cooler in theory, especially after you accidentally blow them in your friend’s eye. (Sorry Pee Wee).
And had an all around good time with friends
Buttons, Kiwi, and myself engaging in one of the most common camp counselor activities of all: Taking the same group photo with twenty different cameras.
The chairs of London-Palmer records.
Here’s looking forward to the 50th Anniversary.
A hero shot of me looking into the distance…
Thanks to Chuck and the whole planning committee for a fantastic weekend!
It was great seeing everyone in good circumstances and good health, fun to catch-up, and exciting to look towards the future.
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What are the magical places / people of your life? What group of people have you bonded with for life? What would you do if you were attacked by a Gorn?
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Disclaimer: Some of these pictures were borrowed from my friends Facebook
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Side Note: I like this picture of me wearing my Counselor Tool Belt (like Batman’s utility belt). It didn’t fit into the categories above, but I thought it was fun.
The L. Palmer Chronicles 
Nice to put a face to the name, now that I’ve been reading your blog for a while. 🙂
Though, not the most glamorous pictures of me. Normally, I’m not covered in quite as much dirt.
We put our best face forward in our avatar pictures. (Well, some of us do.) And of course I’d seen yours. But seeing someone casually at play, hey that shows them for real.
Mind you, I think I’ve just obliged myself to post a picture of myself at play, if I’m going to live up to my philosophy, and childhood pictures don’t count.
Looking forward to it.
Summer camps are confusing to me.
That isn’t to say that I haven’t done them. Heck no, I’ve spent 9 years as a camper and 3 years as a counselor at Jew Camp in Santa Rosa, CA, but I don’t understand things like how it is their own private institution and so they can get away with things that you wouldn’t normally see elsewhere, such as pay.
As a 1st year counselor I was payed maybe 12 dollars a day for a total of 950 at the end of the summer.
But as a 3rd year counselor and with leadership training it came to 2500 for the summer.
Still though, that’s much less than had someone worked at a fast-food joint.
Obviously, camp is much more rewarding personally, but financially it considerably falls short.
Regardless, nice pics. Those look like fun hikes.
However, as great as they are I do realize there is no way that I can even relate to any of them as each camp has a special closeness to those it touches in that what looks nothing more than a memorial to me is actually a place filled with loving memories to others.
The same can be said with my own summer camp. What may be a simple road holds many memories of nostalgia.
Summer camp is typically funded by a non-profit, and usually function at a loss. Here’s a link to the California Labor Code – http://law.onecle.com/california/labor/1182.4.html – part of compensation is room and board. Without this, summer camps would not be financially possible – though $12 a day seems low. As fast-food places go, the amount of money made isn’t that different, because the restaurant is unlikely to employ people for more than 25 hours a week.
Thanks for taking a look.