There are certain days at Camp Takajo that feel different from the moment Reveille blows, and the Fourth of July is always one of them.
While much of the country celebrated today with parades and fireworks, we will be coming together on the fifth for our Independence Day celebrations. However, we marked the holiday with two traditions of our own, Photo Day and Family Field Day.
The morning began with our annual camp photos. Dressed in their cleanest Takajo uniforms, the boys gathered by bunk to capture one of those snapshots that may not seem particularly significant today, but will become more meaningful with each passing year.
Parents can now view and download today’s bunk photos, organized by camp (Warrior, Junior, and Senior Camps) and bunk name, through the parent portal at myTakajo.com or in the Campanion app.
Photo Day reminded me of when, back in the day, Morty Goldman owned Camp Takajo. We used to take an all-staff photo on the Senior Basketball Court bleachers, and it was quite an ordeal getting the entire staff together. We could barely fit on the bleachers; and, upon reflection, there was also no one left watching the campers.
It was usually a hot July Fourth morning, with the blazing sun beating down on us as we crammed together on the bleachers. We could barely muster up a smile. Just before the photographer took the picture, Morty, perched proudly in the middle of the group, would yell out, “Smile, everyone. Think of your salaries!”
Back then, we were all making a few hundred dollars for an eight-week camp season. We would burst out laughing, the photographer would capture the moment, and Morty always ended up with what looked like the happiest, most upbeat staff in the camp industry.
After lunch today, the clean shirts were quickly forgotten, and our camp families came together for Family Field Day, an afternoon of friendly competition that brought boys of every age together. There was something for everyone. Across camp, “families” of campers competed in a knockout basketball contest, a spelling bee, a home run derby, and games of gaga, kickball, Newcombe, soccer, and a variety of other events. Some boys relied on speed and athleticism. Others found their moment in contests that required a different set of skills. As the afternoon drew to a close, the entire camp came together on the Senior Baseball Field for the final event: tug-of-war. Hundreds of boys cheered for their big brothers as our Sub Seniors and Okees dug their heels into the dirt and pulled with everything they had.
What I enjoy most about Family Field Day is not the competition itself, but the way it expands a boy’s world at camp.
Only a week ago, many of our youngest campers knew little beyond their bunkmates, counselors, and age group. Today, they were being cheered on by older boys whose names they are beginning to learn. An Okee might find himself giving advice to a Warrior before an event, celebrating a victory with a Junior, or putting his arm around a younger camper after a loss. This is how a camp community begins to feel like a family.
Tomorrow, on the fifth of July, we will come together for our traditional Independence Day celebration. We will hear reflections on the meaning of the holiday before making our way down to the waterfront for fireworks over Long Lake.
For today, though, we celebrated the Fourth of July in true Camp Takajo fashion, honoring the spirit of Independence Day by surrounding ourselves with friends, competing alongside family, and adding another day of memories to eighty summers of Camp Takajo history.
