It was a beautiful Independence Day at Camp Takajo in Maine. Temperatures reached the mid-eighties, the sun was shining bright, and the humidity has left the air. We were all smiles this morning as our boys took their annual bunk and individual camp photos. After the photos were taken, each bunk created a short bunk video, highlighting their creativity and unique personalities. These videos will be edited and added to our video yearbook, which will reach you in the fall.
The highlight of the day by far was the implementation of our “Takajo Families.” This has become a wonderful tradition and a great way for campers to meet boys in other age groups. Many of you might be familiar with the concept of a “Big Brother” program. We’ve expanded on the concept of having one older boy mentor a younger camper.
This morning, our fifteen-year-old campers, the Okees, were given a list of campers in each age level that would become members of their Takajo Family. The Okee took his list and went to a SubSenior bunk, where he knocked on the door and called out the name of a fourteen-year-old and invited him into his family. The two boys then went to a bunk of Intermediate campers (finished 7th grade) and yelled out the name of another camper who was included in that Takajo Family. This continued through all age levels until seven campers made their way to our youngest boys, the Crows (finished first or second grades). You could imagine the delight of our youngest boys when they were greeted by seven big guys, welcoming our little guys into their Takajo Family.
Each group made their way up to the baseball field where they sat together in a breakout session. Our Okee, the leader of the family, imparted his wisdom about his experience at Takajo. He talked about all the camp’s traditions and the special events that would be taking place throughout the summer. Each group talked about their favorite moments in the summer and their goals in the coming weeks. Afterwards, each Takajo Family made its way down to the dining room for a hamburger cookout. It was a thrill to see the Adirondack chairs on the Commons Deck and the picnic tables on the beach filled with this cross-section of boys, linked to each other for the remainder of the season.
We resumed our regular program in the afternoon which gave our boys the opportunity to compete on our playing fields, finish projects in their hobbies, and take advantage of our waterfront on a magnificent summer day. We will continue our Independence Day celebration tomorrow when our campers and staff will enjoy a fireworks display once the sun goes down.
