To the 2016 summer staff

*Members of the 2016 Summer Staff on Pine Mountain*

On Saturday at noon, the 2016 summer staff left Wanakee to return to their homes, their jobs, their schools, their apartments, their “real” lives. They started their journeys back to Rochester, Merrimack, Vermont, and Maine. To England. To Northern Ireland. If you’ve ever been on staff at Wanakee, or another summer camp, or on any short-term team of diverse individuals working 24/7 towards a shared goal, you can appreciate the intensity of the experience, the depth of relationship, the feeling of accomplishment, and for many, the sense of loss when it ends. On August 20th at 12 PM, fifteen staffers drove down Upper New Hampton Road for the last time, sometimes chased by Spencer or Ian, running in hopes of holding onto this family a few moments longer.

This is my first time staying on Upper New Hampton Road when the staff leaves. It’s jarring. I spent the first few hours wandering around camp attempting to tie up loose ends – closing windows, locking doors, taking out trash – and starting the inexorable momentum towards a facility that sleeps through the winter. Mostly, I found myself listlessly staring across the field, emotionally drained, expecting Leslie to come around the corner giggling about a wolf-themed greeting card “for any occasion,” or for Cam to wander past, hair (still) perfectly styled after a “cheeky little [4 mile] run,” or for Mary, Devon, and Emily to wander up from the waterfront after a Saturday afternoon spent on the docks or “paddleboarding” on one of our windsurfers. Instead, I was greeted with wave after wave of silence, punctuated only by a light breeze and the occasional woodpecker. When I was on summer staff, a friend remarked that the field was one of her favorite places at camp because “even when it’s perfectly still, you can hear the echoes of campers yelling and laughing and running. It has a sort of permanent noise.” This weekend, I felt the silence a whole lot more than I remembered the perpetual motion of the past ten weeks.

The 2016 summer staff did incredible things, and their departure marks the end of the official work we did together and the physical community they created. I’m sad to see them go. Much greater than any melancholy I may be feeling, however, is deep gratitude for all their tireless work. Specifically:

Andrew: for your level-headedness and hard work in an often thankless job, thank you.
Belle: for your commitment to camper safety and ability to power through challenging weeks, thank you.
Cameron: for your tireless energy and consistent positivity, thank you.
Courtney: for your trailblazing work on social media and the discerning eye you brought to all things 5K, thank you.
Devon: for your unique humor, analytical eye, and love of Agamemnon, thank you.
Elinor: for your warm welcome to the kitchen and ability to laugh in any situation, thank you.
Emily: for your exceptional skill as a lifeguard and willingness to step into any task with great proficiency, thank you.
Hannah: for your creativity with programs of all sizes and “Hannahlytical” approach to problems, thank you.
Ian: for your boundless energy and must-see renditions of “Long John” and “Humpty Dump,” thank you.
Jenna: for your love of fun with campers and the unique spirit and silliness you bring to camp each day, thank you.
Katie: for your warmth of spirit and desire to frost the perfect Welcome to Wanakee cake, thank you.
Leslie: for your phenomenal patience, the unconditional love you showed to campers who needed it, and understated sense of humor, thank you.
Mara: for truly being a “swiss army knife” and bringing a deep care for campers to your work each day, thank you.
Mary: for tackling a new position with energy, skill, and humility while elevating our program delivery, thank you.
Michael: for bringing new ideas and depth of experience to the dining hall (those squeeze bottles!), for bringing Denise, Lia, Toni, and Sal to camp with you, and for believing in Wanakee after only a couple months in this community, thank you.
Olivia: for your organization, accountability to details, and willingness to live the mantra “Wanakee is a place where we work after dinner” (even if it means creating vouchers at 11 PM), thank you.
Phil: for being there for Wanakee for 49 years, and for me this year, thank you. You are an inspiration.
Robby: for the laughs you shared with campers and your general (and remarkably consistent) good nature, thank you.
Ross: for pushing staff to be “game changers,” the milkshake song, and your patience in trying moments, thank you.
Spencer: for your deep love of Wanakee and willingness to play games in the field after a long day of behind-the-scenes work, thank you.
Vicky: for your adaptability, quirky sense of humor, and commitment to being a team player, thank you.

This list only scratches the surface of the things this team did well – those who were here this summer can surely add your own notes of gratitude (and I encourage you to do so in the comments!).

One of the things Wanakee does really well is support the development of exceptional young adults. A friend recently remarked “Wanakee is where I learned all of my best skills,” and it rings so true. As a summer staffer, I learned hard skills; how to drive a tractor, back-up a canoe trailer (notable exception: May work day 2016), and clean a toilet, as well as soft skills; how to support a homesick child in the middle of the night, work hard, and be a good team member. When 2015 staffer Kris Dechene came back to camp to volunteer for a couple days at the end of the summer, she remarked to the 2016 staff “you guys grew up.” She’s right.

So, the departure of the 2016 staff is mostly reason for hope and joy. They did immeasurable good for hundreds of campers and volunteers. Their efforts will live on in memory and thought and story and feeling. My own Wanakee counselors (Paul, Lena, Matt, John, Victoria, Rachel, James, Tracy, Kim, Matt, Jen) and countless support staff (Tim, Mike, Shareena, Ken, Dave and others) surely do.

Last week, the Wanakee staff was able to visit Horton Center (Official FB Site) and sleep out on their glorious ledge overlooking Mt. Adams, Mt. Madison, and Mt. Washington. It was the perfect end to a summer full of great achievements, big challenges, and difficult defeats. In 2009, a group from Wanakee spent a night on Pine Mountain and learned a song which includes the line “go back to the mountains, turn the world around.” Or so I thought. While walking through the dining hall at HC, I noticed a shirt that said “Go out from the mountain, turn the world around,” which gave me pause – had we been singing the song wrong for 7 years?

I asked the HC Program Director and she assured me that we had been singing the song correctly. They had altered the lyric for the shirt to remind members of their community that the lessons learned at camp are meant to be shared. Holy Ground travels with you. In the loving community created each summer at Wanakee is an example of what we should all be striving for. It is meant to be brought out from these 227 acres and shared with our schools, churches, teams, and families. I have no doubt that the 21 individuals who joined me at camp this summer will do just that, and that the world will be a better place because of their love, energy, warmth, and faith. To each of you again: thank you.

Grace and Peace,

James Tresner, Executive Director