Tonight we had our annual Founders’ Night banquet, a birthday celebration in honor of Robin Hood’s founder, Andy Friedman. Our dining hall is transformed into a Hogwarts-esque scene, with tables spanning the length of the room and our campers united elbow to elbow. Campers are served by their Group Leaders and The Brass, and tonight they were delighted to feast on chicken, biscuits, veggies, and apple pie.

After our banquet dinner, the camp assembled in the Chuck Illig Playhouse for the ceremony. DC taught everyone some Robin Hood history and role the Friedman family played in the founding and maintaining of our camp. Traditionally on Founders’ Night, Andy was presented with birthday gifts from our camper groups. In more recent times, the tradition has evolved into presenting gifts for Robin Hood as a whole. Some gifts tonight included an absolutely massive (6+ feet high!) adirondack chair for the quad, towel racks for the bunks, game tables, porch chairs, a bench swing, CDs of Green and White songs, and a bench for the senior camp waterfront. All of our groups (and woodshop staff) put in a tremendous effort and it really showed.

After the group gifts were presented, we then honor our first year, third year, fifth year, and tenth year campers and staff. Our new campers are presented with a Robin Hood nalgene water bottle and our third year campers and staff receive Robin Hood pennants. Fifth year Robin Hood attendees get a 5-year t-shirt and our 10 years received fleece vests, a Robin Hood wardrobe staple.

Founders’ Night is Robin Hood’s Thanksgiving. It is a magical evening filled with tradition, history, and thanks for the place we love more than any other and the people that paved the way. There is something so special about seeing the whole camp united, recalling and celebrating our history….

especially with Green and White around the corner.

Sweet dreams from The Realm.

As summer ’16 rolled into The Realm, we realized that every minute matters. Coming into our last summer as campers, we wanted to leave an impact on the younger girls. We want them to remember the Scribes of 2016 as an energetic and positive group. Our Scribe summer left us feeling excited and anxious that our camper careers were coming to an end.  Being here since Tumblers we have always looked up to the Scribes and awaited our turn to lead girls camp, but once we arrived at our final summer we wish that we could go back to being the 9-year-old girls that entered The Realm together in 2009.  As Tumblers we never thought that we would have to think about our Scribe speeches and our final days as campers.  Now that this time has come around we are overwhelmed with the thought of no longer being campers, but excited with the idea of giving other girls the opportunity that we got for eight years.  We want them to understand how amazing this place is and make sure that they don’t waste a minute.

We have been part-time counselors by aiding with different age-groups in the afternoon to understand the responsibility it takes to be a counselor.  We have lead camp fires where we have sung countless songs and taught cheers.  We led an all-girls camp crazy dress up day.

With the summer speeding to an end we realize how much camp has changed our lives and helped us grow into the people we are today. We would not trade anything for our experience as campers and we could not imagine a summer where we are not with our best friends at our favorite place on earth.

It has been quite the busy week off camp, with 12 out of our 16 groups completing their excursions. The junior campers spent one overnight camping out and experienced two days of fun excursion adventures. The Tumblers and TPJs enjoyed rides at Story Land, Squires and Jesters had a blast tubing down the Saco River, and Bows and Archers played around at Whales Tales water park and Monkey Trunks ropes adventure course. Our campers came back both overjoyed and exhausted, going a mile a minute recounting their adventures and quality time with their groups. As of dinner, everyone except the Yeomen, Quills, Shires, and Foresters had returned and the Green and White anticipation has officially begun to build. Our campers are looking forward to a day of typical activities tomorrow. The day will be filled with plenty of waterfront time and group activities.

Sweet dreams from The Realm,

Emily

It’s been a busy couple of days with the first wave of excursions returning and the next wave heading out. Our senior campers enjoyed nights of camping, rafting, adventure parks, surfing, mini golf, shopping and fishing. We’ll have updates on our junior campers when they return this evening!

Woodchuck – Weds Jul 27

The Robin Hood tradition of sending each group on their own excursion is now in full swing. Over the many years of doing this we have chopped and changed the nature and venues that we send the groups. However, there has been one constant throughout this time: our Lancer group heads out onto the ocean to try their hand at deep sea fishing. This tradition has not changed in 50 years. There have been many changes in fishing companies that we have used – from Boothbay Harbor to Perkins Cove to Hampton Beach, but we have never failed to send them out.

It was my pleasure (as it has been for many years now) to join this year’s crew on the good ship ‘Whitestar’. I met 19 Lancers and their staff at the crack of dawn on a beautiful warm morning. We were kitted out with rods and set sail, out towards the Isles of Shoals, about 6 miles of the New Hampshire coast. At our first stop we were treated to a wonderful sighting of a pod of 5 or 6 porpoises who came within touching distance of the boat. This did create a problem, as the porpoises were after the same fish that we were, so we had to find another spot. Soon everyone was pulling up mackerel by the bucket load. Then came another age-old tradition. (WARNING: Graphic Content!) One Lancer is ‘volunteered’ to bite the head off a fish. Not one, but 5 of them performed this ‘ordeal’! Using the ‘bite, twist, pull’ method, all 5 severed head from body, and so entered the history books. We tried several spots around the Isles, some successful, some not so; but even if the fish weren’t biting we were lucky enough to spot various sea life such as seals, the afore-mentioned porpoises, and an array of various sea birds.

All told, it was a wonderful way to spend the morning. Our Lancer group are all shaping up nicely – they were a pleasure to spend time with. The Saxons of 2019 will be great leaders of Boys’ Camp, I have no doubt.

Dick Roberts