One of the unique aspects of the Camp Takajo culture is our bugle calls. Each morning, our associate director, Warren Davis, plays reveille and wakes up the entire camp. We take great pride in the fact that we do not have a P.A. system playing recordings of these bugle calls.
There is something very authentic to sleeping in a cabin surrounded by towering pine trees and being awakened by the sound of a trumpet cutting through the fresh Maine air. When first call sounds, everyone knows that they have five minutes before second call and morning line-up. This camp ritual dates back to our very first summer in 1947.
Camp Takajo Associate Director and Bugler, Warren Davis
All of our boys love hearing mess call. This call is a reminder that the kitchen is ready and that something delicious awaits them in our magnificent dining hall. But, far and away, the most meaningful bugle call of the day is Tattoo. Each night at nine o’clock, Warren steps outside the office with his trumpet in hand and plays this beautiful melody. Subsequently, the entire camp population literally comes to a halt. No matter where a camper or a counselor may be on campus and no matter what they might be doing, everyone knows to stand in silence and reflect upon their day.
In the military, Tattoo is played each evening before Taps and is meant to be a time for reflection to think about loved ones at home. At camp, Tattoo takes on a similar meaning. It is a time for reflection, and the boys think about their families at home. They reflect on their accomplishments of the day and whether they have treated those around them with kindness and humility. They anticipate all that awaits them in the morning. It is a time to give thanks for the opportunities that have been bestowed upon them and to contemplate what lies ahead. We cherish our heritage and the traditions that were created before us, and are saddened by the fact that there only a few Tattoos left in our summer.
