Timanous

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Camp Timanous is a summer camp for boys aged 7 to 15. It is located on 180 acres of land adjoining Panther Pond in Raymond, Maine.^[1] Timanous was founded in 1887 in Connecticut by Luther Halsey Gulick, in 1920 Gulick moved the camp to Raymond. Gulick had earlier founded the Camp Fire Girls and has been recognized a a leading innovator in American physical fitness and children's education; Camp Timanous and Camp Wohelo would become the special endeavors for the Gulicks, and represent long-lasting legacies of commitment to youth, education, and the outdoors. The summer camp offers a traditional program of land and water activities, with a special focus on campers' personal growth and development athletically, spiritually, and mentally. The name "Timanous" derives from the Indian name Gulick was known by.

John (Johnny) and Martha (Marti) Suitor purchased the camp from the Gulick family and began operating it in 1942. Camp Timanous is currently owned and operated by David & Linda Suitor; David and Linda became active directors in 1983.^[2] David Suitor is the son of Johnny and Marti Suitor.

Staff, campers, and counselors have a high return rate. In 2006, 93% of the 50 counseling staff were former campers, averaging over 10 years at camp (12 were teachers). ^[1] Many alumni feel a close bond with any person involved in Timanous or its sister camp Wohelo.

Contents 1 Bunkline 2 Activities 2.1 Events 2.2 Sundays 2.2.1 Council Fire 2.2.2 Chapel 3 Culture 3.1 Awards 4 Notable alumni 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Bunkline

Campers stay in ten wooden cabins, or bunks. There is no electricity or running water in the cabins; outhouses ("castles") are spread along the bunkline. The cabins are grouped by age. The cabins, in ascending age, are: Mallards, Eagles, Hawks, Crogles (a mixture of Crows and Eagles, (Crows) the oldest cabin and (Eagles) second youngest cabins), Herons, Falcons, Loons, Ravens, Cardinals, and Crows. The Crogles and Herons cabins have two stories. The Crows cabin has three separate structures: a main cabin, a large tent, and the Crows Nest, a stilted bunk 10 feet off the ground.

[edit] Activities

Twice in a typical day, campers have an hour of instructional and recreational activity; options include baseball, tennis, soccer, running, sailing, canoeing and boating, water skiing, handicrafts, woodshop, riflery, and archery.^[3]

Each day — usually twice a day — the campers swim in Panther Pond. The morning hour-long session is dedicated to instruction while the afternoon hour is intended as recreational "free swim." The instruction follows Red Cross guidelines, grouping campers by ability and experience in 6 swimming levels. Most of the staff are trained as lifeguards.

[edit] Events

Camp Timanous offers a variety of camping trips. Every cabin goes on one cabin camping trip which ranges from one to four days, and optional sign-up trips are available to the oldest five cabins. Trips usually consist of hiking or canoeing, but they also include rafting, biking, and kayaking at diverse sites in Maine and New Hampshire.

Several times during the summer, the regularly scheduled programming is disrupted for popular camp-wide games of capture-the-flag. Campers and counselors are divided into two teams, green and grey, all summer long.

On the 4th of July, a bonfire is lit by the youngest boy in camp, after a day of wood and timber gathering. It is part of the annual, camp-wide celebration of the American holiday, and it often attracts Timanous alumni.

[edit] Sundays

[edit] Council Fire

Council Fire follows Sunday dinner. The entire camp joins together, recognizing achievements of the past week, including awards earned and good deeds done. This tradition dates back to the first summers at Timanous.

[edit] Chapel

Six times a summer, on Sundays, the entire camp comes together for Chapel, a brief service of reflection and consideration that offers time for quiet thought punctuated by traditional and contemporary songs. Each week, Chapel is led by a different head counselor, who composes a brief commentary and selects the music. Well-liked songs have included Amazing Grace, This Land Is Your Land, Puff the Magic Dragon, and Let It Be.

"The Salutation of the Dawn" is recited at each chapel.

Look to this day:

For it is life, the very life of life.

In its brief course

Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.

The bliss of growth,

The glory of action,

The splendour of beauty.

For yesterday is but a dream

And tomorrow is only a vision;

But today well-lived

Makes every yesterday

A dream of happiness

And every tomorrow

A vision of hope.

Look well therefore to this day;

Such is the salutation of the dawn!

[edit] Culture

The commitment to body, mind, and spirit remains best identified with the Timanous "T", a triangular emblem. Each corner of the triangle represents one of the three ideals that Camp Timanous is based around.

While recent years have updated and diversifyed the camper uniform, the basic elements have been maintained since the early 20th century. Typically, campers wear grey t-shirts or sweatshirts with the Timanous emblem emblazoned, and either Timanous green or grey shorts, sweatpants or blue jeans. Counselors wear green Timanous polo shirts and khaki shorts.

The Timanous colors, green and grey, are on the uniforms and also represent the two teams that the entire camp is split into for occasional camp-wide activities, including capture-the-flag.

[edit] Awards

Campers are eligible to earn awards and honors in many of the camp activities, including riflery, archery, swimming, and sailing. Campers are awarded national riflery awards created by the National Riflery Association, which include the Pro Marksman, Marksman, Marksman First Class, Sharpshooter, Bar One through Bar Nine, Expert, and Distinguished Expert. Swim levels (ranging from one to six) are also awarded based on the Red Cross' "Learn to Swim" program. Sailing and archery awards, however, are original to camp, with the sailing awards being the Crew Rating, Crew Award, Skipper, and Timanous Skipper and the archery awards being the Little John (which is only available to the youngest two cabins in camp), Bowman, Bowman First Class, Junior Archer, Archer, Timanous Archer, and Timanous Huntsman.

The "land honors" are a special set of awards. These awards require achievements in a variety of land skills and activities, including riflery, baseball, soccer, etnnis, woodshop and more. There are three land honors: Jester (attainable by nearly every boy), Wizard, and Czar (very challenging). "Water honors" require achievements in swimming, sailing, canoeing and boating, and water skiing. The "water honors" parallel the "land honors": Jester, Wizard, and Neptune.

Camp Timanous has two camper-run clubs: Woodsmen and Voyagers. The Woodsmen club recognizes all-around good citizenship, while the Voyager club recognizes leadership, responsibility, and loyalty.

Timanous campers and counselors elect campers to honors such as "Greatest Improvement," "Best-All-Around Athlete," and "Most Helpful" every summer. The highest honor at Camp Timanous is recognition as the "Best All-Around Camper." These are similar to yearbook superlatives.

[edit] Notable alumni

• Peter Gammons, sports writer and ESPN personality^{[citation needed]}
• Porter J. Goss, former Director of the CIA^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.timanous.com/about.htm
2. ^ <http://www.mainecamps.org/Camps/Boys/Timanous.htm>
3. ^ John Richardson, "A Camping Tradition; New generations of Owners and Campers Sustain a 100-Year-Old Industry," August 11, 1996. Portland Press Herald.

[edit] External links

• Timanous' website
• Maine Youth Camping Association