No sounds now but the birds and the breeze

The final chapel of the summer

The 2019 summer is in the books! It was another wonderful year at Timanous that every boy will remember in his own way. The peace and quiet around camp right now belies the excitement, celebration, and bittersweet closure that we all experienced just a few short days ago. This past Sunday we had our final Chapel, fittingly given by Jimmy, head counselor of Crows. He told many stories, including several from his own camper career, that brought both levity and deep meaning to what it means to find true friendship. Timanous is a place where you can make lifelong bonds in what is really a short matter of weeks in the summer, and Jimmy’s stories and the knowing glances between the older campers throughout his talk gave evidence of that truth.​

After all of the organizing and packing was done by Tuesday, we welcomed parents and other guests to Watersports on Wednesday morning. It’s a showcase for the skills campers have developed on the waterfront over the summer, in everything from waterskiing to canoeing, kayaking to stand-up-paddleboarding, and lots of different swim strokes. The Green and Gray teams compete in each race, which gives all of the boys that added spark to do well for their color, in addition to proving to themselves what they can accomplish.

Shortly thereafter all the cars were packed, and we had our final gathering as a camp for the summer. Chef Bob put on, as usual, a wonderful Banquet meal. Campers, counselors, parents and guests sat on the hill overlooking the lake, grateful that the forecasted thundershowers looked like they were going to hold off until later in the afternoon.
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Crows lined up at the head of the camp and began the march into the tent singing Old Chief Timanous. The ceremony that followed was a celebratory cap on the summer of 2019, with awards being passed out and activity medals announced. The Hall of Fame presentation at the end drew the loudest cheers, especially from the oldest campers as their cabin-mates and friends were recognized for their best qualities and contributions to camp.

​That all seems like a whole other world now that the Barn is quiet, the boats and docks are on land and there aren’t any campers filtering down the bunkline to their cabins. Yet the memory of the past few days is immediate, and especially for the older boys, the summer of 2019 will be a vivid memory for years to come.

While the natural beauty of Panther Pond is undeniable, and the late summer breeze and birds calling in the evening with nothing else to disturb them would be paradise for most anyone else, you heard it here first: we prefer the sound of 130 campers joyfully living in the moment, right here at Timanous.

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