Ferry Beach Extravaganza for the Freshmen today — what an amazing trip!
It began at Take Flight Aerial Adventure Park, which is best described as a giant jungle gym. It’s an impressive complex, owned by our friend Charlie who also owns the company who inspects and trains on the Skylemar Challenge Course.
What’s fun about Take Flight is that it’s enormous, and lots of people can participate at the same time. You wear a harness and helmet, and the interlocking system lets you move directly to the connecting element. Everyone tried going up, and some who didn’t like it came right back down. But what made us especially proud was that many of those who did come down at first decided to go back up and give it another shot.
Following a picnic lunch, they headed to Ferry Beach State Park to play in the ocean. The free-ee-zing temps of the water didn’t stop most from jumping in. Others played football or just buried Grant M in the sand.
A quick change of clothes, and on to the movie theater. This cinema had a self-serve popcorn machine. Yikes. Clearly the management never ran a boys camp…
The Tennis Trip had our boys put on their “Wimbledon whites” as they headed south to Prouts Neck Country Club for the day. Congrats to William DM, Billy G, Alex B, Amp, Aiden Q, Lionel, Miles B, Henry G, Miles M, Jack H, Oscar LR and Coop who played hard and did a fine job representing Skylemar.
Back here at camp, we were happy to welcome home a number of Skylemar alumni: LJ, Evan W, Adam and Casey F, Alex K, Austin K and Zach N. Sam R even brought his beautiful fiancé. Welcome to the Skyfamily, Rachel!
We continue to be blown away by the “Meal Minutes” presented by members of the Stars Division. Each 15-year-old speaks with such poise and wisdom. Although every speech is totally unique and there is no repetition, there is a common thread woven through each in some way or another. It’s a simple message: Take advantage of all that Skylemar has to offer. Don’t wait until you’re a Star. Do it now.
Heard this today…
Said a visiting grandmother: “Do you miss your video games?”
Camper: “Nope. When I’m home and I’m not in school I don’t have anything else to do. When I’m here, I have lots of stuff to do.”
Some years ago we were interviewed by a Princeton doctoral candidate whose thesis was about the positive impact that a theatre program has on children at a sports-oriented summer camp. Don’t remember exactly how she found us, but we do believe she was spot on when it came to that thesis.
At Skylemar, it’s not your typical drama program. Ours belongs to Suzie, the greatest Drama Director of All Time!
It all began decades ago, with a much-loved director named Craig Gerhard. Craig was the first to make being in plays “cool” and fun at Skylemar, and did so for 40 summers. When Craig passed on, those who replaced him just couldn’t get it right. That is, until 2012 when Suzie joined Skylemar.
Although Suzie and Craig never met, it’s as if Craig’s been whispering in her ear. There are secrets to running dramatics at a sports-oriented camp for boys, and Suzie knows all the tricks. For example:
Certain things come first, like intercamp games, trips or World Cup soccer.
Rehearse in bits and pieces that fit into the puzzle of skiing to basketball to tennis.
From auditions to staging to scenery to props, its gotta happen in two weeks max.
Those backstage just have to peak out and make silly faces. That’s how we roll.
Suzie has it all down and does it with a giant smile. She can make the most off-key voice sound just right, and choreograph dance moves for those with no rhythm. She inspires confidence, cooperation and radiates positive energy to everyone lucky enough to be in her presence.
A talented actress, singer and dancer herself, her role as a teacher is what makes her most impactful. With Suzie as mentor, boys learn about teamwork, they build confidence, understand about responsibility, become comfortable with public speaking and improve focus.
Most importantly, they have fun.
One of our many traditions at Skylemar is to be supportive of whoever’s on stage. When they laugh, we laugh. When they struggle, we’re patient. No one ever comes across nervous. After all, they’re performing for their brothers.
It’s not just the actors who get all the fame. Thanks to Ethan K, Nate and George H who run the lighting and sound. There’re Suzie’s assistants Roxy and Jayden … and her her set designers, like Mary Beth and Layla. And of course…there’s the stage crew.
It’s a coveted job to be part of the crew, and there’s often a line to sign up for the role. Maybe the cast party pizza has something to do with it, but they do take their role seriously. Each crew member has things to move at certain times, and they do so quite smoothly thanks to those backstage whispering “go! go! go!”.
As our Skylemar boys grow into adulthood and return as alum, they often tell similar tales. It’s the plays and skits and the songs that they sang, plus the greatest collection of counselors and campers in the whole wide world that make them who they are today.
GACU! It stands for Great American Clean Up, and it happens once a week at Skylemar. It’s a scheduled time when you take a shower, clean your water bottle, see the nurses for health check, and then you go to The Spa. The “technicians” at our Spa are the strong and steadfast staff members who are not afraid to scrub feet and trim nails. Now that’s dedication.
Clinic Sign-ups for the week ahead offered lots of fun all over camp. Topping the list of creative new activities will be the “Sky Ropes Olympics” which combines Challenge Course activities along with Yellowhorn gravity experiments. They’ll be dropping eggs and watermelons from way up high!
Out on the fields and courts, options include Football (QB play/passing), Tennis (match prep), Baseball (hitting) and Lacrosse (cradle/dodge/finish). Track and Field (running/sprinting), Strength and Conditioning, Basketball (dribble and shoot, intercamp prep) and Soccer (shooting/finishing) will all be focused on technique. Golf will concentrate on the tee ball and putting for the week.
Shep offered his “Reading Road Trip” that will travel all over camp. Next weekend’s Steal the Bacon tournament will see plenty of boys 10 and under sign up to prepare. The Waterfront will be jammed with action on the Ski Dock, Sail Dock (Pirate Battles) and of course, all the inflatables around the Swim Dock. SkyDeck will prepare cuisine from the Southeast Asia region, and finally, those interested in helping put on the “Sponge Bob Musical” can join the Props & Scenery crew.
Yellowhorn update: The raft floats! At least for a few minutes! Congrats to the creative group who put a whole lot of effort into this fun Yellowhorn project.
More future engineers were in the Pavilion this evening during the Band of Brothers Challenge. Band of Brothers is one of the ways that everyone at camp gets to know each other, no matter the age. There are 12 Bands named for animals native to Maine (Deer, Dock Spiders, Bald Eagles, Loons, Otters, Foxes, Moose, Bats, Lobster, Wolves, Owls, Bears). In each Band there are two campers from every Division, and those in the Stars Division are the leaders.
Every once in a while, we have a Band of Brothers dinner where each group sits together. The older guys are given prompts ahead of time, with suggested topics of conversation to get everyone talking (the basics – what’s your favorite activity, etc.). After dinner, there’s a BOB Challenge, and that’s where the engineering comes into play. Each group was given pasta and marshmallows, then tasked with building the tallest structure. Older guys are the coaches, and the younger ones do the actual building. Some were astonishing – 18 inches tall! Other teams were better at eating the marshmallows…
Spirit Night for Evening Activity. That’s our chance to slow it down as we gather outside in front of the Rec Hall stage and celebrate the values that we care about most. We talk about the big stuff at Sprit Night– appreciation, compassion, kindness and so forth.
Tonight we were reminded that there are three steps in making friends and having fun. First, you need to smile. It’s the universal language, it doesn’t cost anything, and smiling is contagious. Second, you need to play and be involved. Third, you should say to others only what you want to have said to you. Take these three steps and you’re guaranteed positive results.
Nick explained the Cool2Care Chain and reminded everyone about the C2C Cooler. When you see someone who demonstrates Cool2Care, you can write a card that nominates them for the weekly C2C Chain. This card gets put into the Cooler and helps to guide us when selecting the awardee. Zaye, Zeke, Campbell, Aiden, Cooper and Levi all received shout outs. This week’s C2C Chain goes to two guys who are super kind and being around them makes everyone feel better: Benny (B7) and Max H (B10).
It was a beautiful thing to see each Division casually huddled together as the sun went down. We sang songs, listened to Shep and Counselor DMan talk about resilience, did some responsive reading, and sent positive thoughts to those we love at home. For the most part, the guys are quiet and well-behaved at Spirit Night. They know that giving thanks is the right thing to do. After all, it’s cool to care.
Heard this today…
During the Band of Brothers Dinner, 8 year-old Zeke leans inches away from 15 year-old Cooper’s face.
Yes! The perfect Maine day to kick off Camp Skylemar 2026! Warm temps, low humidity, clean air…and a couple hundred amazing boys. What could be better?
Some woke up at the crack of dawn and headed straight to the fields and courts, while others slept soundly until reveille. Early morning activities (aka the Sunrise Club) include tennis, basketball, golf, board games in the Garden Cabin and a pre-breakfast snack on Shep’s porch.
Each day at Skylemar is a brand-new adventure. Our incredible Program Director Barney (who’s also known as the MIAA high school baseball championship coach of St. Paul’s School in Baltimore) spends his entire summer at Skylemar creating a custom plan for everyone in our town of 350 people. Some say that AI could do this, but we’re not buying it. Barney puts his heart and soul into making sure the Skylemar schedule runs smoothly, so each person knows exactly where to be at any moment in time.
Pictured above is a copy of today’s schedule. These “newspapers” are placed on each table, but the guys never need to memorize anything because every period is announced over the PA. There are also counselors assigned Foot Patrol, to make sure everyone where’s they’re supposed to be.
The schedule looks complicated, but for us at Skylemar, it’s easy to read. Across the top are the Bunk and Division numbers. Down the left are periods 1-7. The names under the activities are the counselors who are running the period.
Take Bunk 12, for example. First period they have Archery with just their cabin, but second period they have Lacrosse with Bunk 13. Next comes Clinic Sign Ups, which happens only on Sundays. That’s when the counselors do skits (called “commercials”) advertising what they’re offering as a choice during this third period. After Rest Hour, Bunk 12 then has a double period of Waterfront, along with the entire Freshmen and Sophomore Division. Sixth period is Basketball. Seventh period is the daily choice. On this day they’d decide between Baseball, Football, Gaga, Golf, and so forth across the page.
Tonight’s Evening Activity was the “Welcome Fire” at The Ring of Champions. That’s when the whole camp comes together for a really fun and special campfire. Cory, our talented and brilliant Assistant Director (aka one of the greatest teachers in the state of Colorado), kicks off the upbeat vibe with a favorite “repeat-after-me” song called “60’s Party”. Next comes a hilarious skit, featuring the Grinch, Sponge Bob and Bruce the Shark from “Finding Nemo”. You’ll see…many of our creative “performances” are based on whatever Drama Director Suzie (aka an incredible member of the Disney team) has in her costume room.
The meaningful part of the “Welcome Fire” was presented by Nick Shep, who introduced “Cool2Care”. It’s the slogan we live by at Skylemar, which means that it’s cool to care for yourself, others and the world around you. The “Cool2Care” hand signal is middle and ring fingers down, which means “I love you” in sign language.
Nick also introduced the Stars Division, our oldest campers who are the leaders of Skylemar. Each Star proudly stepped forward and shared his goal for the summer. Cooper said, “I just want to spend my summer in the 04055 with my Skylemar bros”. Leopold said, “I don’t just want to be at camp. I want to be for camp”. Oscar said, “I want to be the reason why people smile.”
Then another repeat-after-me song called “Aristashaw” (thanks to counselor Eli), s’mores for all, and a visit from Adventure Man. He taught everyone how to give a proper handshake, even if you’re a lobster with claws.
With Ev on the guitar, Trout playing the harmonica, and Cory’s beautiful voice, the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” has never sounded better. Campers linked arms in brotherhood, singing along and swaying to the music. It’s times like these that make us realize that we are the luckiest people in the universe, way up in Maine.
They’re HERE! 200 of the greatest guys in the whole wide world have arrived — and we’re ready to go!
Counselors have been training, preparing and practicing for weeks. But nothing could truly prepare them for this explosion of genuine joy. Old friends leapt into each other’s arms, while new ones were greeted with warm high fives, handshakes and hugs.
Many traveled by car or bus, while escorted groups flew from BWI, PHL and LAX. What do you do with 30 boys at a Southwest gate for a very long time? You find an empty area and play a subdued game of a Skylemar favorite, “Steal the Bacon”. Once the plane was in the air and the pretzels were served, the boys beamed with pride when the Captain praised them for having excellent manners over the PA system.
By dinnertime just about all had arrived, and each cabin sat down to the traditional opening night meal of spaghetti and meatballs. Salad and garlic bread too. After some Bunk time, the whole camp gathered for a really fun rendition of Opening Night Staff Intros. The boys sang, chanted and cheered wildly for their counselors.
And then…one person saw it. Then another pointed. And we all saw it. The most beautiful rainbow in the Skylemar sky. It was as if those we love from far away were smiling down on us.
As our nightly song goes, “Day is done…”. All are cozy in bed, and at least so far, there’s not a tear in the house. Now you can rest easily too.
