Julia Beck with her fellow Maine campers in 1981. Photo courtesy Julia Beck
Julia Beck, Founder Forty Weeks and the It’s Working Project, is the second of three generations who have gone to summer camp in Maine – it’s in her blood. As she prepares to send her youngest child off to summer camp in Maine, we asked her for her thoughts on what Maine camps mean to her. What she came back with is a beautiful reflection of the Maine camp experience. Her family has attended at least four different Maine camps, but her words capture the essence of Maine camps as a whole. Enjoy!
It is time. Time to pack my son for camp. He is the youngest of my children. And the last one I will ready for camp in Maine. I don’t want these years to end…though I know the gift of being a Maine camper will stay with him, with all of my children forever. Like my Aunt and cousins before me, like my sisters and me, and like all of my older children – we go to camp in Maine. We are Maine Campers.
The whole of it feels a permanent, a non -negotiable truth; summer in Maine is in my genes and most certainly in my senses. There are amazing memories for sure, and there is something about the good fortune of coming to age under the pines – that feels beyond expectation (and more valuable as the years pass). And how lucky I have been to give and receive the gift. Still today, big plans smell of pine needles in my mind…
Off to Maine
On the edge of innocence
Filling with confidence
Time standing still
The moment before
What would come next
Getting ready for the complex world to follow, but first this:
Early mornings at the flagpole
Still, glass-like lakes
Icy swims
Loud Dining Halls
Inspection
Canteen visits
Trip Day
Ice Cream
Hikes
Camping out
Packages
Mail
Socials
Friday Night Services
Skits
Sing
Songs
Infirmary visits
Sports fields
Stage Productions
Pottery Wheels
Archery arrows
Hair
Nails
Making bracelets
Jacks
Cards
Water balloons
Shaving cream
Hidden snacks
4th of July fireworks
Cookouts
Color war
And most of all friendships
Precious, lifetime connections
“Friends, friends, friends we will always be”
(and we were)
And like just then (and likely them), I am as excited for visiting day as I could possibly be…
Julia is one of our Maine Camp Enthusiasts, a group as excited and passionate as we are about going to summer camp in Maine.
Photo courtesy of Julia Beck – with her daughter at her Maine camp
Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools
Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child? Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks). It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates. Then you can research these camps in more depth.
Next, be sure to contact our Maine Campcierge™ to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.
You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our website.
Talk to Laurie, our Maine Campcierge®, about choosing the right camp for your child and what to do in Maine.
Call 877-92-MAINE
