camp friends

historic camp tie photo
• History • Charlotte Page

The Rockbrook Tie

The most distinguishing feature of the Rockbrook Uniform is the Red Rockbrook Tie.  The tie has been part of the camp uniform since Rockbrook was founded in 1921.  This made us wonder…what is the origin of the Rockbrook tie?

After doing some digging, it looks like that many of the early girls’ camps like Rockbrook had a tie as part of their uniform.  While they come in many different colors, they all share a similar element- the Friendship Knot.  It appears that the history of the friendship knot in camping came from the Girl Scouts.  According to the Girl Scouts, the Friendship Tie (and knot) stand for the “tie that binds all girls and women who are part of the world association of Scouts”. The knot is a sign of the continuous friendships they share.  Nothing could be more true for all of our Rockbrook girls and women all over the world.  The red Rockbrook tie is surely a symbol of the Spirit of Rockbrook that binds us all together!

Vintage camp photos of women in ties
Rockbrook Uniform, 1920’s
modern camp girls in ties
Rockbrook Uniform, 2012

We also found a wonderful poem that speaks to the beauty of the Friendship Knot.  While we are not sure of the author, we know that they definitely went to camp!

The Friendship Knot

This knot is women in friendship true,
And interlaced with memories, too.
Of friendship found and share by you,
That times and miles cannot undo

Leave a Comment
candle ceremony camp scene
• Counselors • Sofie Ehlinger

Turkey Day…Rockbrook Style!

Rockbrook girls know how to have a good time. Thanksgiving is the perfect day to show off your camp skills. Read on for a few ideas about how to put your Rockbrook knowledge to use this Turkey Day, Gobble Gobble:

-Rockbrook girls love to help out! Offer a helping hand to anyone who is working to prepare the holiday meal.

-Rockbrook girls love to get creative! Prepare a skit or talent show for your family. While the turkey’s in the oven you can wow the crew with your talents!

-Rockbrook girls love to get dirty! If there is any dish that requires you to mash, peel, or mix with your hands-go for it. Who needs a mixing spoon when you have the opportunity to make a little mess?

-Rockbrook girls love to share! If you and your sister both love pumpkin pie and there’s only one piece left, why don’t you split the piece in two? Vwah-la!

-Rocbrook girls love to get a little silly! Tell a story or two from camp at the table. The sillier the better. (You’ll get extra points if you can make your family laugh so hard they snort!)

-Rockbrook girls love to sing! Teach your family a campfire song to sing after the meal. They’ll be thankful you did.

-Rockbrook girls love to try new things! Go for it! Today’s the day- you’ve never tried Brussels sprouts? gravy? cranberry sauce? Be a little adventurous and give them a whirl!

However you use your Rockbrook style this Thanksgiving, just do your thing!

Thanksgiving Style Found at Summer Camp
What’s Your Thanksgiving Style?
Leave a Comment
Camper painting in the field
• Counselors • Sofie Ehlinger

Notes From the Field

Margaret Mead, a leader in the field of anthropology, dedicated her life to studying the interactions of cultures foreign to the western world. Your work as a new camp counselor closely mirrors that of Meade and her colleges.

A Cultural Study at camp

You begin your “field work” by leaving your own comfortable world and entering into a culture you know very little about. Of course, you’ve completed as much research as you can- you’ve explored the camp’s website, spoken with the directors, and perhaps have even made contact with others who have worked in the camp community. Even with all this preparation, you’re still unsure of what you are about to encounter.

Upon arrival, you take vigorous mental notes. Everything is new to you. Even the “jargon” doesn’t fit into your own catalog of words- “Be-Bop”, “Dog-Trot”, “Hi-Ups”. You have no meaning to attach to these words just yet.

The interactions among members of this community is conduct that you have experienced in your own culture, but not to the extent as it is observable here- the girls are so friendly and encouraging to one another. No one seems to be concerned with make-up or physical appearance. Girls spend the majority of their time laughing and playing. They conduct their lives in a noticeably carefree manner.

Within three months, you have become fully indoctrinated by this new community. Your work is brave and tireless. You have transformed something enigmatic into something comprehensible.  Although your work may never be published or studied in its own right, you will, like Margaret Meade, change the world.

Leave a Comment
Jenny Lewis Mosaic
• News • Charlotte Page

Rockbrook Remembers Jennie Lewis

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.

Leave a Comment
camp alums reunite
• 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.

Leave a Comment
Camper snack break
• Counselors • Sofie Ehlinger

At Camp…

So many reasons why it’s this good, but do you realize that…

At Camp You Will Not…

1. Wear high heels
2. Feed a Monkey
3. Complain that the AC is making you cold
4. Eat caviar
5. Get stuck in traffic
6. Lay bricks
7. Shovel snow
8. Fall asleep in front of the television
9. Take an elevator
10. Window shop

Have the Time of Your Life
Have the time of your life!

At Camp You Will…

1. Sing at the top of your lungs
2. Wear silly costumes
3. Be someone’s hero
4. Smile brightly
5. Meet some of your very best friends
6. Soak up the sun
7. Learn from a child
8. Practice thankfulness
9. Laugh until you cry
10. Have the time of your life!

Leave a Comment
Old cabin Photo
• North Carolina • Charlotte Page

The Heart of Rockbrook

The 2011 Carrier Pigeon, our annual summer yearbook, is at the printer right now in preparation for sending out over the holiday.  It is filled with so many wonderful stories and memories of the past summer. There are so many highlights, we thought we would share a few with you!  The fun, friends and feeling of Rockbrook never changes, whether it is 1921 or 2011!

Splashing and laughing
in the rocky creek,
with our tangled hair
and our soaking wet feet;
In the dining hall
we all loudly sing,
then at rest hour flop down
and don’t say a thing.

Cabinmates are like sisters,
and friends ever better,
everyone’s hoping
to receive a letter.
Walking along
a quiet forest trail
or running a brush
through a horse’s soft tail.
In hilarious evening skits
every girl has a part,
In this beautiful wooded mountain,
you can tell why we’re called the heart.
       —Miriam E.

Old Camp Photo
Leave a Comment
Camp Friends are Forever
• News • Charlotte Page

Camp Friends are Forever Friends

Morgan and Linda
Morgan and Linda

The years drifted away during the recent Rockbrook Reunion weekend as old friends reconnected in the heart of a wooded mountain.  For some women it was their first trip back to Rockbrook in more than 40 years but it did not take a moment to find a friend and jump right back to where they left off. The joy on everyone’s faces as they saw their old friends was magical!

Phyllis and Sparky
Phyllis and Sparky
Kelly and Jennie
Kelly and Jennie

We will post more stories and memories from the reunion soon.  It was a spectacular weekend filled with fun!

Leave a Comment
Summer Camp Secrets- Fearless by Katy Grant
• News • Charlotte Page

Summer Camp Book Series

Katy Grant book cover

Have you had a chance to read the summer camp book series Summer Camp Secrets by Rockbrook alumna, Katy Arbuckle Grant?  They are loosely based on her time spent at Rockbrook and are a wonderful read!  Those of us who have spent time in the heart of a wooded mountain will feel right at home in Katy’s books.

The latest in the series is called Summer Camp Secrets- Fearless. The story centers around the horseback riding program at Camp Pine Haven.  The main character Jordan is eager to learn to jump on a horse and try lots of other new things.  That is one of the things we feel that make camp so special!

Katy’s books can be found online on her website at www.katygrant.com

Thanks for sharing such wonderful camp stories Katy!

Leave a Comment
Girls camp campfire
• Summer Camp • Jessi Nixon

The Scent of Wood Smoke

Here is a poem we sometimes read at Spirit Fire. It was written by Canadian, Mary Susanne Edgar. Like Nancy Carrier, she founded a girls camp and was its long-time director.  That camp was Camp Bernard, located in Ontario. This poem does such a beautiful job conveying many of the sentiments of camp life and why it means so much for the girls who experience it.  We love it!

girls camp campfire

To An Old Camper
by Mary S. Edgar

You may think, my dear, when you grow quite old
You have left camp days behind,
But I know the scent of wood smoke
Will always call to mind
Little fires at twilight
And trails you used to find.

You may think someday you have quite grown up,
And feel so worldly wise
But suddenly from out of the past
A vision will arise
Of merry folk with brown bare knees
And laughter in their eyes.

You may live in a house built to your taste
In the nicest part of town
But someday for your old camp togs
You’d change your latest gown
And trade it for a balsam bed
Where stars all night look down.

You may find yourself grown wealthy
Have all that gold can buy.
But you’d toss aside a fortune
For days ‘neath an open sky
With sunlight and blue water
And white clouds sailing by.

For once you have been a camper
Then something has come to stay
Deep in your heart forever
Which nothing can take away,
And heaven can only be heaven
With a camp in which to play.

Leave a Comment

Explore Topics