Two-Week Opening Day

Opening Day at Two-Week Camp begins with trunks in cabins, new names to learn, and plenty of ground to cover.

Once families had said goodbye, boys gathered with their cabinmates for a lunch of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans and their first cabin meetings. Counselors helped everyone unpack, checked that campers had what they needed, and began introducing the routines that would soon feel familiar.

The afternoon was organized by Lines, with each group following a different route through camp. Boys stopped for cabin photos and lice checks, learned about the PFD board, visited the Lodge for activity registration, and heard about adventure trips and special sign-ups.

There was also time for Dragon Tails in the Gym, a quick tour of camp, and a return to the cabins to finish unpacking. By the end of the afternoon, campers had traveled between the Dining Hall, Warrior Ball, Thunder Dungeon, the Lodge, and several activity areas.

While walking with his cabin, Wyatt H. of Nashville, Tennessee, took a photograph of his parents out of his pocket. He was looking at it while the group had a moment of downtime.

They told me to keep it so I don’t forget them. Not likely!

A few boys around him quickly shared that they had brought family pictures, too. It was a small conversation in the middle of a busy afternoon, but a familiar part of Opening Day. Boys can be eager to begin camp and still carry a little piece of home with them.

Activity registration gave campers their first chance to begin shaping the session. They heard about regular activity periods, outdoor adventures, and special sign-ups such as fly fishing, sailing, horseback riding, woodworking, blacksmithing, and WEMA (Wilderness Medical Emergency Activity).

Some boys arrived knowing exactly what they wanted to do. Others studied the choices, asked questions, and made plans with friends. There will be time to return to an old favorite, try something completely new, or discover an activity they had never considered before arriving at camp.

Will O. of Atlanta, Georgia, and his friend Thomas H. decided to build the same schedule so they could try their activities together.

We just want to see what the activities are all about.

Will was especially curious about pottery and what he might get to make. Around them, other campers compared schedules, asked questions, and began deciding which familiar favorites to revisit and which new activities deserved a try.

At Afternoon Assembly, the whole camp gathered on the Front Porch for songs, a skit, announcements, and one more explanation of the sign-up process before their first chance at signing up for special sign-ups and outdoor adventures. By dinner, the boys had already covered a good portion of the property and learned several of the routines that would soon become second nature.

The first Evening Program sent campers right back across camp for FCC Ultimate Bingo. Cabins paired up in teams of two and worked through challenges designed to help boys learn one another, work together, and practice a few important camp procedures. At the Human Knot station, they had to untangle a string of buckled PFDs, then hang each one on its proper number at the Swim Dock with one buckle fastened. Other stops included a basketball trick shots, FCC trivia, a team pyramid, and a memory name game. Some tasks called for speed, others required cooperation, and a few were simply an excuse to be silly together.It gave cabins that had only met that morning a reason to begin relying on one another.

“What sorcery is this?” asked Graham S. of Dallas, Texas, as he worked through the tangle of connected PFDs while the rest of his cabin hung them correctly.

By the end of the game, Kaiden B. of Raleigh, North Carolina, was covered in sweat from running all over camp.

Nope! Not tired at all! I can’t wait for horseback riding tomorrow!

The Gold team came from behind to win the night with five bingos, edging Green’s four.

After milk and cookies, the pace finally slowed. Campers returned to their cabins for Call to Quarters and their first Evening Embers. Opening Day had been filled with names, places, schedules, and instructions, but by bedtime, each boy had begun finding his way into the life of camp.