Spring Reflections

The View from the Whiteboard

I’ve written before about the stages of camp’s ‘cycling down’ during the fall and winter: how things here can feel empty and quiet before the snow falls, and how that snow makes the start of the following season feel far away indeed. But here we are in early May, and across all fronts things are in motion signaling that the start of another Kabeyun summer is very close indeed. 

Over the next few weeks we’ll welcome the first relay of this year’s staff onto the property, and they’ll begin opening up buildings, checking for and repairing any winter wear and tear, moving boats and other equipment back into position for impending use by our campers, and a hardy swimmer or two may even lay claim to the honor of taking the first dip in Lake Winnipesaukee of the season! I know that here in the office I’m very much looking forward to giving my space heater a well-deserved rest and swapping my tower fan into its place by my desk. 

Another key piece of this part of the calendar comes as we round out the lists of this year’s campers and staff. It’s always fascinating to see the collection of names grow across the course of the offseason, and when the moment comes to scan the full roster and see everyone who will be joining us for a summer of fun, adventure, and growth and whose personalities will blend together to give 2025 its own special character, it’s truly a milestone that the summer will be with us very soon indeed. 

Of course, each new summer at Kabeyun brings with it changes, and that includes those names which had been a part of the previous summer but who won’t be able to return for this coming year. Sometimes we know well in advance that circumstances will not allow for another season here, and sometimes complications arise at the last minute to derail a planned return, but the complex mixture of emotions in looking forward to meeting new friends and missing old ones has too become a feature of this point in my calendar.  

But camp has a way of lodging itself deep into the heart and deep into the memory, regardless of how many years you’ve spent here and how long ago it was that you last stood on the motorboat dock to watch the fading light of the summer sun fall away behind the Belknap Mountains. 

The connections made and experiences lived during a Kabeyun summer can impact our lives in a multitude of profound ways: by introducing us to dear and cherished friends, giving us new and invaluable confidence and skills, fostering a long-lasting passion or hobby, or even perhaps illuminating a pathway to a successful and rewarding professional career. It has been a true highlight and privilege of my time working for camp year-round to get to hear so many stories from our alumni and friends, especially at the 100th anniversary gathering last fall, of the lasting impact camp has had on so many people and the boundless sea of positive memories it has generated since our founding in 1924.     

As we prepare for this coming summer, I am so incredibly excited to meet all the new members of the Kabeyun community who will get to experience this place for the first time in 2025, and to see again all those will be renewing their connection to camp this year- be it as a returning camper or counselor, at Family Camp, or by joining us at one of our regional alumni events. And if camp is a part of your history but you can’t make it back to us quite yet, please know that we’ll be here, carrying on all that makes this place special and just waiting for the moment where we can say, with arms open and smiles wide, “Welcome back to Kabeyun!”  

Eliot Golding is Kabeyun's Assistant Director.