The end of camp

The end of camp is as important as the beginning of camp. The children are transitioning back to their lives of family, school and modern conveniences. It is an emotional time as they say goodbye to the woods, new friends and the adventure of camp.

The tradition at Choconut is to have a fire in Alumni End, our stone meetinghouse, and enjoy skits, songs and jokes. Each child and counselor then receives a plaque made from a branch, with a year plaque hanging below it. The year plaque lists in symbols all the camper’s accomplishments from knife tests to swimming accomplishments to campouts. It is an acknowledgement of the end of camp and a reminder of all the things we did individually and as a group.

Everyone then walks in silence and without flashlights into the Vista overlooking the lake. A burning boat crosses the lake as we watch in silence and remember our days at camp. The Director taps each camper on the shoulder and sends him off to bed. It is a deeply spiritual experience.

This year the wind came up just before we gathered in Alumni End. Our Counselor Assistant from Florida (where they don’t start fires on purpose due to the danger of wildfires) built a beauty of a fire in the five-foot fireplace and had flames roaring into the chimney. We closed the doors as the wind began to truly howl and clouds rolled in bringing rain.

It was a fast and radical change from the clear skies of the past week. We had to cancel the burning boat and instead watched in silence as the fire burned away in the fireplace. The rain had stopped by the time the first campers went to bed and within half an hour the sky was filled with stars.