This diary is going to the beginning of a series of diaries pertaining to summer camp. While not every diary will be on the exact topic of summer camp, they will all in some way refer back to the general topic. I spent approx. 45 minutes while lying in bed trying to come up with the topic I with which would begin this series. After mulling it over, I figured I should begin at the beginning or my first few summer camp experiences.
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All of my summer camp experiences involve sleep-away camps. I have been attending them since I was 5 years old. I think it was when I was 6, but my mother says 5. She’s probably right as I was diagnosed with a rare, terminal illness the September after I turned 5 which likely meant I was already on an IEP that specified that my school had to provide me with 12 months of PT and OT. Due to that requirement and the fact that my speech teacher was a member of the local Lions Club, I was shipped off upstate for 6 weeks every summer for 7 years. Why I didn’t just get it at home, I’ll never know.
The camp I went to is called the Empire State Speech and Hearing Clinic. The camp was likely chosen since I was also hearing impaired. I guess the school felt they could kill two birds with one stone. It is located just outside of Ithaca, NY. While the camp is still there, according to the website, it is no longer a full summer camp just a couple of weeks in July. The set up of the camp according to the rough map on the site is pretty much as I remember it. The only additions seem to be a pool, a chapel and a few extra cabins.
I still remember the first day I was there. My mother and father drove me up and spent much of the day there with me so I could become acclimated. Besides the necessities, which of course all had my name written on them in black marker, I brought along my cassette player which I always used to help me fall asleep. This was the mid-80s and it wasn’t small. It wasn’t a boom box, but it took up a little bit of space on my bed. I was obsessed with the Statler Brothers at the time because both of my parents loved their music. They had recorded a bunch of their albums onto cassettes for me to listen to go sleep and in case I became homesick. It certainly helped.
I still remember the first kid I met there. His name was Christopher Hoffmeyer. He was probably a year older than I was and it was also his first summer. I realized pretty quickly he was there for speech issues. We were going to be staying in the same cabin. However, we had completely different reactions to being left at camp. I was excited to go off on a new venture since I had already made numerous journeys in my life at that point. He was inconsolably crying at thought of his parents leaving him there. I spent the first couple of days doing everything I could to make him feel better and excited about camp. We became fast friends and stayed that pretty much every summer we both attended. Unfortunately I lost contact with him and his parents soon after I stopped going. Not staying in contact with him and one of my counselors are my two regrets about my history with that camp. Even though it’s been more than 20 years, I keep thinking about hiring someone to try and track them down. I’d love to know how they are and let them know how well I am.
Anyway, the camp was for kids who needed 12 months of schooling due to their disabilities. The weekly schedule was the same every week. Mon-Fri you spent the mornings after breakfast and part of the time after lunch in “school.” After that but before lunch, we had electives and swimming. Electives ran the gamut from fishing and arts & crafts to cooking and computers. Every Friday night there was a bonfire. Saturday nights were reserved for the weekly dance and Sunday night was movie night. This is where I got my first taste of the wonderful thing known as closed captions. What a joy for a hearing impaired like me. I never had it at home until TVs were required to include in the mid-90s, but what a joy it was. Finally I could watch movies and actually know every bit of dialogue spoken. Saturday was also cabin clean up day. Every cabin would clean as best they could in order to win cleanest cabin. One cabin from each gender would win each week. I don’t remember what the prize was probably because my cabin rarely won. Weekends were also for writing home. There was a phone on camp that you could use to call home, but that was typically for emergencies. I remember receiving a lot of mail and acre packages from family members especially my mom. That’s probably why I was well liked because I always had tons of junk food being sent to me.
We also had color wars, scavenger hunts, camp outs and other fun camp related activities. At the end of July in the middle of the 6 weeks, we’d have Parent’s Day which was also when the various Lion’s Club members would come up to see the camp and campers. There always be some big event that was put on then whether it’d be a circus, a fair, a rodeo, etc. Those were always fun and you could get to show your parents around camp. I usually saw my speech therapist from school on Parent’s Day.
Twice a week, I would see the physical therapist. It was always nice when that happened because it allowed me some time away from the hustle and bustle of camp. I am an extreme introvert and need alone time each day just to recharge from all the activities and people. Other than that, if I wanted alone time, I had to go to bathroom. And really how often can someone go to the bathroom in one day.
Unfortunately due to a blackout that occurred here at home, this diary will be written in two parts. Stay tuned for part two; it's really interesting.
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