A Message From the Executive Director:
To the few who may have read this message in 2005, please forgive me for using “leftover messages”. I wanted to share these thoughts last year, but the printing process at the end of the month got quite hectic, and so the message was accidentally omitted from the banquet edition of the Argus 2005. It may have appeared in the online version, and so some of you may have seen it. Again, to you I apologize.
Grandparents have always told me that being a grandparent is one of the most enjoyable jobs they’ve ever had in life. They get to pick up the kids, do a lot of playing around, eat all the ice cream they want, go to the movies or to the swimming pool, and then send the kids back to their parents when they begin to get cranky for lack of an afternoon nap. The parents have to do all of the hard work. Our business is a lot like being grandparents, or at least it is from the perspective of a director. We get to pick up the kids in June after the hard work is done for the school year, play around for weeks at a time, eat a little ice cream, go to the movies or for a dip in the lake, read campfire stories before bed, and then send the kids back to their parents when they get a little cranky for lack of television or video games. How could we be so fortunate? It’s the best deal in town. To be sure, the cabin counselors do some of the hard work that parents normally do. They do a little conflict resolution, teach some table manners, work on some character issues, clean up the messes etc. But the benefits so far outweigh the tough stuff that it’s a joke. Children are such a blessing. They are so spontaneous, so creative, so full of the joy of living. They help us old folks remember our own childlikeness. They keep us young at heart. They help us remember how to have “good clean fun”. The 1st month of 2006 has been so much fun for me. And once again, I have many images in my mind of moments that I will never forget. These moments could not have happened without the countless hours of preparation by my wife Holly, Adrian, Ali, Sam, and the top quality staff of 2006. But at the same time, these moments cannot be created or scheduled, they just happen. They happen when 150 boys at a time get thrown together into a big mixing pot called summer camp and they get stirred in with fun, games, songs, laughter and tears. I wish that all the parents could see some of these moments. They are the stuff that Shohola is made of; and they keep us coming back for more. Now that the summer is already half over, I reluctantly accept that we must give the boys back to their parents soon. Thank you parents for letting us have them once again. Thank you, camp Shohola staff for doing such a wonderful job.
Thank you boys of Shohola for showing us such a good time!!! We will miss you very much! And of course, we’ll see you next year!
Duncan Barger
(The luckiest camp director on Earth)