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October 4, 2012May 29, 2020 • Campers • Jeff Carter

Favorite Place in Nature

When 8-year-old camper Sarah was asked recently to write about her “Favorite Place in Nature” for her Science and Social studies class, she chose Rockbrook. She wrote about and illustrated what she loved about camp this past summer. Sarah’s mom passed it along to us, so we’re glad to share it with you.

“Have you ever wanted to go to the mountains? Have you ever wanted to smell a fresh summer breeze? Have you ever just wanted to let go and have fun? If so, I have the place for you! There are a lot of different activities like archery, horse-back riding, and mountain climbing. There are two mountains called Castle Rock, and Mt. Rockbrook. If you like to just relax, than the creek is the place to go. There you can have shoe races or just hang out. I went to the top of Castle Rock. There were these exotic plants that I never saw before, and I am a total plant lover. I stayed for sunset and it was the most beautiful thing I ever saw. I saw the cutest bunny in the world! The sun was beautiful. When my Dad picked me up, I didn’t want to go home! Rockbrook is a memory that I will never forget.”

What’s your favorite place in Nature?

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October 3, 2012May 28, 2020 • History • Charlotte Page

Rockbrook Farm and HP Clarke

Did you know that before Rockbrook was a summer camp it was well known in the area as a working farm? Henry P. Clarke, the father of Nancy Carrier, camp founder, was a well respected farmer in Brevard. After doing some research we have found that Mr. Clarke bred chickens, shorthorn cattle and even raised dogs. There was a large garden plot, muscadine grape vines and a dairy that was run by a family member of Mr. Clarke. When Rockbrook was founded in 1921 the farm provided all of the food and meat for the whole camp!

The chicken yard at Rockbrook Farm

While researching the history of the farm, we came across Mr. Clarke’s name in several publications. We learned that Mr. Clarke operated a kennel called Brevard Kennel. Here is a snippet from The Field Dog Book:

From The Field Dog Book

We also discovered an interesting advertisement in the back of The Country Gentlemen Magazine for Rockbrook Farms Shorthorn Cattle. Check out the ad as well as a birthing record of two of the cows Lady Mell and Minerva.

Cow announcement — Birthing Record, 1900

It is clear that Mr. Clarke was a man of many talents! In our next blog we will share a great article about Mr. Clarke “saving the farming season” with his new modern tractor.

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September 18, 2012May 28, 2020 • News • Charlotte Page

Rockbrook Remembers Jennie Lewis

It is always a sad day when we learn of the passing of a member of our Rockbrook Family. It was particularly hard when our dear friend Jennie Lewis passed away this summer after a courageous fight with breast cancer. Jennie was a long time Rockbrook girl, attending camp for years from a little junior to a head counselor. She was known for her fabulous sense of humor, her crazy dancing style, her wonderful energy, some wacky costumes and being the best friend you could hope to have. Along with her sister Chrissy and her mom Marguerite, the Lewis ladies are Rockbrook legends and have been an important part of camp life to so many people. At Jennie’s memorial service the spirit of Rockbrook and friendship was clearly evident. Camp friends from all over the country were there to celebrate the life and amazing spirit of a wonderful friend.

We all know Jennie as our camp friend, but she was also a very successful woman in her “real” life outside of camp. Jennie worked for The Carter Center in Atlanta, GA as a Senior Associate Director. She focused particularly on democracy and peace building efforts in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. She traveled with President Jimmy Carter in Sudan to monitor elections in 2010 and also South Sudan’s vote for independence in 2011. Her career of service took her from Afghanistan to Sudan and many places in between. What an amazing woman!

Jennie Lewis and her mother — Jennie and Marguerite

Here at Rockbrook plans are now underway to create a memorial in Jennie’s honor. We want to make the most fitting tribute to our dear friend so we are creatively brainstorming and developing our ideas. We will stay in touch with you all as those plans continue. This summer during camp our good friend and camp mom, Dolly led the campers in creating a wonderful mosaic tribute to Jennie. It will hang in the dining hall where we can all see it daily and smile when we think of Jennie!

Tribute Mosaic to Jennie Lewis — Tribute to Jennie Lewis, created by Rockbrook Campers 2012

Here’s to you Jennie Lewis! The spirit of Rockbrook is with you always and the spirit of Jennie is with us always.

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September 13, 2012May 28, 2020 • Counselors • Sofie Ehlinger

Fall in Love With Fall

Rockbrook is the reason why we all love summer so much, but it doesn’t have to stop there! We can take the lessons we learned at camp and use them to help us fall in love with every season. Try to complete ten of the following challenges and brighten up the fall season!

Take an extra snack to work or school and share it with a friend.
Remix a popular song (extra points if the new lyrics speak to good manners, girl power, or sharing).
Find a green space in your city and enjoy it.
Eat dessert first.
Paint each of your ten fingernails a different color.
Go to bed at 9:15.
Turn off your cell phone for a day.
Send a “snail text” (also know as a letter).
Make up a game.
Water a plant.
Have “flashlight time.”
Wear socks with sandals.
Don’t look in the mirror.
Host a sleepover.
Get a little dirty.
Pick up trash.
Give a thumbs up.

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September 5, 2012May 28, 2020 • Summer Camp • Sofie Ehlinger

Girls Can, Too

Girls Can, Too

Tony said: “Boys are better!

They can…
whack a ball,
ride a bike with one hand,
leap off a wall.”

I just listened
and when he was through,
I laughed and said:

“Oh, yeah! Well, girls can, too!”

Then I leaped off the wall
and rode away
With his 200 baseball cards
I won that day.

-Lee Bennett Hopkins
Poet, anthologist, and teacher

At camp, girls can, too. Unlike our poetic heroine, Rockbrook girls don’t have prove anything to anyone… they just can, too. They can…

Roll a kayak
Make a bracelet
Ride a horse
Climb a rock (with one hand)
Score a goal
Weave a basket
Plant a garden
Shoot a Rifle
Balance on a balance beam
Hike a trail
Build a Fire

Show the world, “Girls can, too.”

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August 31, 2012May 28, 2020 • News • Charlotte Page

Reuniting at Rockbrook

Camp Alum women and daughters — Sophie, Kelley, Dibble and Kathryn

Opening and Closing Days of our camp sessions are always filled with happy reunions. You can feel the excitement as parents tour the camp, led by their camper, old and new friends meet or reunite and camp pen pals find one another, thrilled to meet after exchanging letters. There is so much enthusiasm and Rockbrook love flowing around camp on those days. It is also a special time when camp alumnae get to share the magic of camp with their daughters and granddaughters. Many of our current campers are second, third or fourth generation Rockbrook Girls. You can always tell the camp alumna because of their enthusiasm

This photo above captured a particularly sweet reunion of camp alumnae, as a former counselor and her camper were reconnected. Kelley was Dibble’s counselor at Rockbrook in the 80’s and they had not seen each other since their time together. It was a special moment for both moms and their daughters. In just a few years their daughters Sophie and Kathryn may be counselors at Rockbrook, continuing the Rockbrook legacy in their families.

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August 23, 2012May 28, 2020 • Counselors • Jeff Carter

Leah’s Spirit Fire Speech

The third session Spirit Fire, that closed that session and the entire 2012 season, included a speech by Leah Mayo (here she is on the right just before giving this speech). Leah has been coming to Rockbrook for 10 years, first as a Junior camper and now as a counselor, and in the speech she tries to describe “the magic of Rockbrook.” It’s a wonderful testament to why she loves this place so much. Enjoy!

I can’t believe it’s finally happened, that I’m wearing my 10-year necklace. I can still remember standing up my second year for applause at Spirit Dinner and thinking how far away receiving even my 3rd-year pin was. Ten years is a long time; it’s more than half my life. And this year I’ve come to realize just how lucky I am to have spent ten years here, to have been a part of the magic that occurs here for ten summers.
And that magic is what has kept me coming back year after year, and has made such a radical difference in my life. The magic of Rockbrook is hard to describe, but one of my campers last session came very close. She said that she loved Rockbrook because here “it’s okay to wear your shirt inside out.” She’s eight years old, the same age I was when I first came to camp. My first year at camp was one to remember, I let a High-Up dye my hair blue and Jerry bought me a brush because he thought I lost mine due to its “wild” appearance. I went to the riflery tournament that year—I guess some things haven’t changed. But a lot of things about me have changed. I’ve found myself.
Rockbrook’s magic is that it allows everyone to truly be themselves. And in the process, find yourself. It is here that I have found myself. It is in the heart of the wooded mountain that I have grown from that 8-year-old girl who couldn’t brush her hair into the person I am today. And the magic continues each year.
This year has been the most magical by far. I had a lot of expectations of what my tenth year at camp would be like. I imagined I’d get my necklace surrounded by my friends with whom I’d grown up at camp. But the people who spent those ten years with me aren’t all here. Some came earlier in the summer, some didn’t come at all. I was very sad when I realized I wouldn’t get to share this day with them, but little did I know I would be surrounded by some of the most amazing girls ever!
It has been such a treat to watch them grow as I did and put on one of the best banquets I’ve ever seen. I am so glad to know each one of them, and will always cherish the times we’ve had this session. We’ve all grown so much these past weeks. Someone special to me once said this in a Spirit Fire speech, and I want to pass this along to all of you: You are all strong, independent women. If you were a holiday, you’d be the Fourth of July. I am so proud to be your counselor. And to my co’s, I couldn’t have asked for better people to spend hours upon hours in Treasure Island with. We really are a family now.
Rockbrook’s magic is also about relationship building. It is here that I have formed friendships that have turned into sisterhoods, and I am close with people who live all over the states. My wish for my girls, and all the campers here, is that you will build friendships that will turn into lifelong relationships here as I have. And that here at camp you feel free to be yourself and so find yourself. There’s a line in the camp song that goes “May you see us one day the girls that you wish us to be.” That line has been on my mind all summer. The Spirit of Rockbrook isn’t finished working its magic on me yet, but I am so happy that I have spent ten years here and look forward to more.

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August 18, 2012May 28, 2020 • Summer Camp • Jeff Carter

The Ineffability of Camp

With summer drawing to an end and so many kids returning home from summer camp, Talya Minsberg writes in the New York Times about What Parents Don’t Get About Camp. The piece is partly a fond memory of life at camp for both campers, who “find the joy of growing and exploring on their own,” and as a staff members, who are the “warmest, silliest, most fun (and responsible)” people they can be. It’s one author’s recollection of how summer camp is a magical place bubbling with experiences for positive transformation. The article hints at the features of camp life that make it difficult to describe, that make kids’ stories from camp seem so inadequate— the close friendships, the freedom and independence, how hilarious things were —but in the end suggests it’s OK for parents and noncamp friends to not fully understand “camp.” You have to experience summer camp, to really “get” it.

And since camp is “a place of their own” (as Rockbrook’s mission recognizes), it’s perfectly natural, even preferable, for others to mistake what camp really is, to grasp only a faint sense of what it means to the campers and staff members who live it. We have to agree; it’s hard to describe the magic felt from living like we do at Rockbrook (despite our attempts to describe it all summer long), but that’s just part of it, and in the end, a very good thing.

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August 9, 2012March 25, 2023 • News • Jeff Carter

Summer 2012 — Terrific!

Sometimes people ask if the summer seems to pass slowly or quickly for us at Rockbrook. Oddly, it’s both. Today, our last day of the 2012 summer season, we look back and recall all the amazing things we’ve done- the horseback riding, whitewater rafting, zip line rides, pottery, archery, swimming, etc. —and it seems like our opening day was months ago. With so much accomplished, it just had to have taken a really long time! But also, staying busy everyday, packing each day with activities, events and memorable moments, makes the weeks zip by. “It’s 12:30 already?!”

This strange speedy/slow pace is the mark of a truly rich experience. Add to that the fact that we’re all so close at Rockbrook, such good friends, so enthusiastic and genuinely happy, and you can begin to understand why we love camp this much.

Also, you can see why saying goodbye is so hard. We’ll miss all our amazing friends, the silly, terrific fun of camp, and how the whole experience makes us feel. For every session this summer, camp has proven once again to be a magical place filled with spirit and wonder.

It has been a pleasure to spend these few weeks with your delightful girls. Thank you for sharing them with us! And while we must say goodbye for now, we’ll look forward to seeing them again next summer here at Rockbrook.

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