Posts Tagged ‘fairlee’
By alohafoundation
Sunday, January 1st, 2012
As we ring in 2012, Aloha bids farewell to two people who, as much as anyone over the past quarter-century, have embodied The Aloha Foundation’s spirit and traditions. Deb and Andy Williams, who ran Hulbert Outdoor Center for two decades and Ohana Family Camp for the past six years — are retiring. They’ve introduced hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people to the Aloha experience during their time here, and broadened that experience to include people of all ages.
On a still-warm day in December, they sat in the sunroom of their Norwich, Vermont home and reflected on their own Aloha experience. Not surprisingly, they talked a lot about their work at Ohana, the family camp they helped build over the past decade.
“One has very few opportunities in a career to start something from scratch,” said Andy. (more…)
Tags: Aloha Camps, Aloha Foundation, fairlee, family camp, leadership, Ohana, summer camp, Vermont
Posted in Camp News | 5 Comments »
By alohafoundation
Monday, September 5th, 2011
Each day at Hive is filled with adventures AND hugs
“Who sends a seven year-old to camp?”
I start with this question because I got it a lot when I made the decision to send my daughter for her Elfin summer — and I repeatedly asked it of myself when I was packing her trunk. “Who sends a seven year-old off to camp?”
But the decision to do it was actually very easy: my daughter has always had a daring spirit and when she heard that there were places for kids to go adventuring by themselves away from their families, she was thrilled. My husband and I could have said, “No, wait until you are older,” but we wanted to encourage her. We were frank with her about the challenges — yes, she would probably have moments of wanting to go home. That was normal. How was she going to handle it? we asked. She would talk to her counselor, she said, and find something to keep her busy. Good plan, we said. At worst, we told her, you’ll have ten days that were harder than you expected but you will come home proud that you tried something new.
(more…)
Tags: Aloha Camps, Aloha Foundation, Aloha Hive, Camp, Child Development, empowerment, fairlee, girls, lake fairlee, self-confidence, self-esteem, summer camp, Vermont
Posted in Camp Philosophy, Child Development, Success Counseling | 4 Comments »
By alohafoundation
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
Beginners get one-on-one coaching on the Aloha crew dock
Aloha Camp was in full summer swing last week, one perfect day following another. On Tuesday afternoon, the sun beamed down full, adding sparkle to Lake Morey’s brilliant blue. Four campers walked down to the lake past the ARC (Aloha Rowing Club), where Aloha Crew counselors Emma and Arielle waited for them on a short dock.
Among the colorful beach towels draped over dock posts and the boisterous splashing of swimmers, the girls gathered around a sleek, gray, metal rowing machine. Harper settled into its sliding seat. The rowing machine, a Concept 2 ergometer, mimics the action of rowing. Olympic and collegiate crews train on Concept 2 ergometers year-round. While other campers watched, Arielle talked Harper through the sequence. Harper grasped a handle connected to a coiled chain inside the flywheel of the “erg” and pushed her hands away from her body — “as if they’re going across a little tabletop and then coming back underneath it,” said Arielle, impressing upon Harper the importance of keeping her hands level. “We don’t want any divots in the table.” Next Harper leaned her upper body forward, maintaining the extension of her arms. Finally, Arielle asked Harper to add legs to the sequence. The camper slid all the way to the front of her slide until her body was tightly compressed at what rowers call “the catch.” On Arielle’s command, Harper uncoiled in the reverse sequence, pushing down her legs, unfolding her back, and pulling her arms and the handle in above her waist. The flywheel whirred. (more…)
Tags: Aloha, Aloha Camps, Aloha Foundation, Child Development, fairlee, girls, morey, self-confidence, self-esteem, Success Counseling, summer camp, Vermont
Posted in Camp News, Child Development, Success Counseling | 3 Comments »
By alohafoundation
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
For nearly one hundred years, girls at Aloha Hive in Fairlee, Vermont, have ended their day with a feeling of magic and community in evening circle.
Community is a favorite word at The Alohas. We love our many special camp places and spaces, great activities and traditions, of course; but above all, we love and care for each other, all for one and one for all.
There’s also Aloha’s not-so-secret success program – Success Counseling, that is, a powerful guidance technique pioneered by the camps of The Aloha Foundation. Success Counseling puts teen girls and boys on pathways to growth, and every camp counselor is trained to use it to help young campers achieve goals and resolve problems by taking responsibility for their own actions, attitudes and feelings.
The 2010 season at Lanakila, Hive and Aloha has come to an end, but the connections our campers and counselors made this summer continue to strongly link them across the country and the world.
Tags: 1935, Aloha, Aloha Camps, Aloha Foundation, Aloha Hive, Community, evening circle, fairlee, girls, lake fairlee, Success Counseling, vintage Vermont
Posted in Camp Photos | 2 Comments »
By alohafoundation
Friday, July 30th, 2010
Kids at The Aloha Foundation's Vermont summer camps love to receive handwritten letters from home.
Every day (except Sunday), the post office in Fairlee delivers at least three enormous bags of mail to the Aloha Foundation’s main office. Sometimes there are more than three, but it is a given, that there will be an enormous bag each for Aloha, Hive and Lanakila, bursting with letters to campers and counselors from family and friends. Yesterday there were two bags for Lanakila, two bags for Aloha Hive and one for Aloha. (more…)
Tags: Aloha, Aloha Camps, Aloha Hive, fairlee, helicopter parents, Lanakila, letters, over-parenting, self-confidence, summer camp, Vermont
Posted in Camp Philosophy | 9 Comments »
By alohafoundation
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
Vemont's Camp Lanakila bonfire on July 4th
Independence Day is traditionally a fun and exciting one at The Aloha Camps, and this year promises to bring all familiar traditions to the campers along the shores of Vermont’s Lakes Morey and Fairlee. The weather is expected to hot and sunny all weekend, permitting all the outdoor, multi-camp activity to be held.
Each camp will spend their daytime on their own, starting with pancakes dressed with red strawberries, blueberries and white whipped cream. The dining halls may be decorated in red, white and blue finery, and assemblies may include some traditional American tunes. After Rest Hour, however, is when the fun really begins. Lanakila vikings host the campers and counselors from Aloha, who walk one mile along the lake to attend, and Hive who turn up in school buses. Siblings attending different camps scramble to find each other, squealing and hugging with delight.
After a cookout of hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, potato chips, popsicles and “bug juice,” all the campers pile into Lanakila’s cavernous barn for about an hour of boisterous singing. Once the sun has gone down, everyone moves from the barn to the Lanakila waterfront for the fireworks display. Although the town of Fairlee sponsors its own fireworks show at the south end of Lake Morey, Lanakila sets off its show from a float slightly offshore from the swimming docks. Tent familes watch together and the sound of “oooohs,” and “ahhhs” floats into the night sky.
July 4th singing in Lanakila's barn.
After the pyrotechnic finale, spectators turn their eyes from the lake, to the highlight of the camps’ July 4th: Lanakila’s bonfire!
Tags: 4th of July, Aloha, Aloha Camps, Aloha Hive, fairlee, Lanakila, summer camp, Vermont
Posted in Camp Photos | No Comments »
By alohafoundation
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Aloha counselors ready to meet incoming Aloha maidens on opening day!
The welcome crew at Aloha Hive
June 23rd is Opening Day at Aloha, Aloha Hive and Lanakila, the three residential summer camps of The Aloha Foundation. Campers from all over the US as well as many foreign countries arrive by car with their parents, on buses from major cities like Boston and New York as well as by plane into two airports, Manchester, NH for domestic flights, and Logan Airport for international campers. Camp directors, counselors and staff are all on stand by waiting to meet each arriving camper in a warm, special way. Happy summer 2010!
Barnes Boffey waits for incoming vikings on opening day.
Tags: Aloha, Aloha Foundation, Aloha Hive, boys, fairlee, girls, Lanakila, self-confidence, summer camp, Vermont
Posted in Camp News | 2 Comments »
By alohafoundation
Monday, June 14th, 2010
Top Ten List of Items to Be Sure to Pack in Your Camp Trunk
With just a few days left to pack your trunk before heading to Vermont for opening day at the Aloha Camps, here’s our list of what you might include that isn’t on an official camp packing list. In addition to the camp’s list, it is easy to find articles online that give packing guidance, and also make great suggestions on what to leave at home.
- It is easy to pack fun accessories to be used for themed costume parties; items like colorful scarves, silly hats and sunglasses can be the perfect finishing touch to an ensemble pulled from the camp costume room.
- A flashlight is the go-to item for most campers navigating after dark, but a headlamp can provide excellent hands-free illumination on foot and also for reading in bed after dark.
- Disposable cameras allow kids to enjoy picture taking without the worry of losing or damaging a valuable camera. While a digital camera sometimes pulls a child out of the moment to inspect photo results, a disposable film camera means that the focus remains on the event at hand with the results and memories to be revealed and enjoyed after camp. (more…)
Tags: Aloha, Camp, fairlee, girls, Hive, Lanakila, packing for camp, Vermont
Posted in Camp News | 5 Comments »
By alohafoundation
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Aloha Camp girls ready to explore Vermont trails from the beloved Woodchuck Hole.
For generations of Aloha Camp girls, the Woodchuck Hole is the center of camp life. Centrally located on the hillside, it is possible that nearly every Aloha camper has set off, at least once, on a wonderful outdoor adventure from this hub of activity.
Whether departing for a week-long pack trip in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, or a day trip to Camel’s Hump in Vermont’s Green Mountains, many memories began with the boisterous departure from the Woodchuck Hole.
In the era when this photo was taken, girls enjoyed the breezy ride to the trailhead on a lumpy mattress, singing at top volume to be heard. Today’s Aloha maidens buckle up in camp vans for safe passage, but the foray ahead will be just as sweet.
Tags: Aloha, Aloha Foundation, Aloha Hive, fairlee, girls, morey, photos, summer camp, Vermont, vintage Vermont
Posted in Camp Photos | No Comments »
By alohafoundation
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
Hivers pile into the beloved "Grasshopper" for an outing in 1955.
Each week we’ll post a great photo, either of a program in session, or perhaps a wonderful vintage Vermont summer camp image that shows that around Lakes Fairlee and Morey, the more things change, the more they stay the same! Let us know if you have a favorite place or activity you’d like to see turn up in a photo.
Tags: Aloha, Aloha Foundation, fairlee, Hive, morey, photos, summer camp, vintage Vermont
Posted in Camp Photos | 6 Comments »
As we ring in 2012, Aloha bids farewell to two people who, as much as anyone over the past quarter-century, have embodied The Aloha Foundation’s spirit and traditions. Deb and Andy Williams, who ran Hulbert Outdoor Center for two decades and Ohana Family Camp for the past six years — are retiring. They’ve introduced hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people to the Aloha experience during their time here, and broadened that experience to include people of all ages.
