Wonder Week Flier

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This year, some of our campers participated in a logo design contest through Maine Summer Camps (www.mainecamps.org). The intent was to create a logo which represented the commitment of Maine Summer Camps to Sustainability efforts. We are pleased to announce that a Wawenock camper, Catherine A., designed the “winning” logo! As a result, Wawenock will receive a solar battery charger to be put to use at Camp this summer.

June had many gifts, but one that we saw so often was her ability to look for and see the potential in her fellow human beings.  By really listening to them, believing in them, and sometimes counseling or guiding them gently along a better path, she was able to truly influence their lives.  There are many who owe their acceptance to that perfect college or first professional job offer to June’s incredible ability to write personally about each individuals’ unique talents and strengths!  In addition, it was through caring enough about each of us that she was able to look beyond our outward strengths and talents to get to know our innermost needs as well!  June’s greatest legacy was her love for people and her willingness to see the possibilities in each person whose life she touched.

In the weeks before her death, June enjoyed life every day and was truly herself.  She loved playing and listening to music, spending time teaching music to and speaking with children and her playful sense of humor came through in her interactions with the staff who were working with her on a daily basis. June was truly overwhelmed with positive emotions as she experienced the outpouring of love and fond remembrances that you were so thoughtful to send her way by phone call, card, letter and email.  Always very humble and modest about her contributions and achievements, June was sometimes hard to read, but there is no doubt that she was able to feel and even quietly acknowledge that hers had been a significant and meaningful life – as expressed so beautifully in all the communications she received from the Wawenock Family and her colleagues in the
camp profession.

She was so pleased that Camp Wawenock will continue to move forward with strong leaders at the helm (whom she knew, trusted and had worked with for years) and proud that much of Wawenock’s physical grounds will be preserved forever via the conservation easement that was signed in early 2011.

There can be no doubt that June’s was a life well lived.  As her time drew near, June was comfortable in every sense of the word and was at peace with the fact that hers was a life full of love and meaning. There is no way that we can adequately express our love for June and our gratitude for having had the chance to work with her so closely.  She continues to inspire us each day!  We will try to honor her life by continuing the traditions of knowing and caring that she embodied so well.  We encourage you to also look for the best in others and to share your Wawenock Spirit in the world outside of Camp at every opportunity!

We invite you to join us at Camp in celebration of June’s life on Sunday, August 19, 2012.

Excerpts from “Wawenock Staff Remember June”:

“To laugh often and love much…to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better… to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived – this is to have succeeded.”            – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“June gave so fully of herself to all those around her day in and day out, but that was not work; that was just who she was and who she remains.”

 “June was always so positive, happy and had a smile for everyone. I will remember her warm welcome, our conversations and laughter.”

 “June’s intuition was one of her features that amazed me on many occasions. She often knew if there was something troubling me without even seeing me.”

 “No matter how much June had to do, she had an abundance of time and patience for anyone who needed advice or just a friendly chat.”

  “June’s energy, optimism, smile – and her yellow rain coat – brightened many a day of mine and, no doubt, many others.”

 “June tries every summer to make a connection to every camper and staff member; her presence itself inspires people to listen; she makes people look inside themselves and ask difficult questions; she devoted her life to a Camp that helps girls grow into women.”

 “Not only did June see the best in others, but she helped others find it in themselves, so that they could soar on their own.”

 “I don’t know anyone who appreciated people – and expressed that appreciation so well and often – as much as June did.”

 “June was a forever friend which means that no matter the miles or amount of time separating us, when together it’s as though we had never been apart.”

 “It was hard to get June to talk about herself because she always had such an interest in you.”

 “June always took the time to check in with people and was constantly doing things to help others. She found the light in people and did her best to help make it shine.”

 “June changed my life, she was my second mother, my crazy aunt, my mentor and my friend and for that she will never leave my heart or mind.”

“No matter where you are in the world, June’s spirit will inspire you to make a stranger smile.”  “She truly was an amazing person.”

“When I die, she said, I’m coming back as a tree with deep roots and I’ll wave my leaves at the children every morning on their way to school and whisper tree songs at night in their dreams. Trees with deep roots know about the things children need.”         - Unknown

“Reading is my favorite hobby. I love to absorb the stories and disappear into an alternate reality. Whether it’s venturing into Wonka’s factory with Charlie or passing the second star to the left and flying straight on til morning with Peter, reading allows me to escape my world and explore another. I didn’t always love
to read as much as I do now, but as I’ve gotten older I appreciate books that can whisk me away much more. Finding a book that transports me out of my chair
is such a pleasure because it creates a world that’s entirely within my own mind – a skill all children have but adults tend to lose. As a child, the majority of my play existed within my head, shared only with my brothers or friends, my companions along for the adventure. It didn’t matter whether we were fighting bad guys from the tree in our front yard or having an epic battle with the neighborhood kids, the game was invisible to others but seriously real to us. They couldn’t see the pirate ship sailing across the grass, or the giant snow yeti posed to demolish our fort, though it was obvious to us.

But at some point we learn that it isn’t acceptable to go through life vocalizing those visions. We learn that to be a grown up we have to hold back and keep our imagination in check. And what a shame that is. What if JK Rowling had followed the norm and dismissed her daydream about a boy with a lightening bolt scar? Besides missing out on a great story, a whole generation of readers might not have become addicted to books. My love of reading stems from the fact that in books the possibilities go unchecked. The wardrobe is not just a place to hang clothes but is actually the entrance to Narnia. And that’s what makes imagination so
wonderful – when you allow yourself to imagine you can see the world in terms of its’ possibilities instead of its’ impossibilities. It’s that kind of optimistic attitude that keeps me coming back to Camp, where the opportunities for imagination are endless.

Unlike the real world, an active imagination is not only accepted here, but encouraged. Where else can a group of adults spend two months planning, painting, and designing a world entirely of their own creation (which the staff does every summer to turn the Dining Hall into Banquet)? But it’s not just Banquet, we spend our days here imagining the possibilities and then making them happen: a canoe trip to the Super turns into a journey to the Eiffel Tower, complete with French accents and general swim turns girls into mermaids. It’s safe to express ourselves here and so we let ourselves be free. Imagining, which came so easily to me as a child, comes back at Camp. Though I may not play make-believe in the front yard anymore, as a young adult imagination has taken a new form. Now I imagine what my future looks like: what might I accomplish? What kind of person do I hope to become? How will I make this world just a little better? And just as I learned as an 8 year old playing on the rocks by the Lodge, my reality is entirely up to me – and the options are endless.”