Geneva Glen Camp
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| Established: | 1922 |
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| Physical Address: | Geneva Glen Camp 5793 Santa Clara Road Indian Hills, Colorado 80454 |
| Mailing Address: | Geneva Glen Camp P.O. Box 248 Indian Hills, Colorado 80454 |
Geneva Glen Camp is a co-educational, non-profit, residential summer camp located in Indian Hills, Colorado. It has currently been in existence for 85 years, and has not changed locations since its founding. The mission statement of the camp reads, "The mission of Geneva Glen is to develop character, values and leadership, nurtured by a camp family that thrives on its diversity, friendships and meaningful traditions."[1] Geneva Glen is reputed for the high rate of return for its campers and staff. Its website states that, on average each year, 70% of campers and 65% of staff return from the previous summer. Each summer Geneva Glen holds five overnight sessions independent of each other, as well as a sixth shortened session in December for its older campers. These are discussed in the "Sessions" section below.
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[edit] Sessions
Each summer, Geneva Glen holds four two-week sessions, each beginning on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday. These sessions are preceded by a shortened five-day session, which is only available to younger children. The sixth session is held for four days in December right before Christmas, and is set aside for just teenage campers.
[edit] Myths and Magic
Myths is a five-day, four-night session held just for younger campers. It usually takes place on or around the second week in June. It is aimed at being the introductory summer camp experience for children ages six to eight, with special attention given to preventing homesickness and other common issues seen in young children that are separated from their parents for the first time. "Highlights...include an overnight sleeping under the stars, a circus night under the big-top and a mud-pie contest." [2]
[edit] American Heritage
American Heritage is the first full two-week session of each summer. Check-in is the weekend after Myths and Magic has ended. It always starts on a Sunday afternoon and ends on a Saturday morning, as do all of the two week sessions. American Heritage is themed around the Cultural and Ethnic heritage of the American people, with a special focus given to many aspects of Native American and Mountain Man heritage. There are two thematic highpoints of the session. The first, called "Rendezvous," takes place on the Saturday in the middle of the session. "Events that day begin with a flapjack eating contest, and continue with log sawing, fire building, prospecting, survival methods, simulated trapping, and tall tales, to name a few." [3] The second, called "Pow Wow," takes place the Friday night before check-out. At the beginning of the session, each Cabin and Dorm is assigned a Native American tribe, and the high point of Pow Wow is the presentation of a Native American dance, sometimes fully authentic, by each cabin and dorm. "All 'tribes' come together to display the culture, legends, ceremonies, and dances particular to the campers' own tribe." [4]
[edit] Knighthood I
Knighthood I occurs after American Heritage, usually during the first two weeks of July. This session traditionally falls over the 4th of July, though in 2006 it did not, and in 2007 it will not. "Our second and third two-week sessions are both called Knighthood. At this exciting time, our program focuses on the immense scope of the Arthurian romances of kingdoms, courts, castles and orders. We study the Knighthood ranks, codes of chivalry and courtly courtesy through the legends and pageantry of that period."[5] Knighthood I mainly focuses on the legends of Merlin, and the time before Arthur, and how Arthur wouldn't have been had it not been for a group of people.These stories are brought to life in the play "Merlin's Masque", which takes place on the last Friday of Knighthood I. In both of the Knighthood sessions a sort of leadership program takes place, in which the boys, (knights), are partially separated from the girls, (ladies). Both of the programs are centered around a set of ideals which begin to shine from within the participants of the program, all of whom are campers and staff at these sessions. This is a powerful program in shaping the personalities of campers and staff alike. The philosophy of the program is that the boys will be challenged to be better people, and the girls will be encouraged to do so. Knighthood is the oldest of the sessions, and was the original session from which the camp was founded.
[edit] Knights Program
There are six ranks in the Knight's Program: Page, Squire, Knight, Sir Knight's Page, Sir Knight's Squire, and Sir Knight. These are based loosely around the historic ranks of Knighthood in the Middle Ages. Each rank is a step for the boy who attains it, and a boy is not guaranteed a rank each session he attends to camp. Often a camper is held on probation for one reason or another, and will return the next year going for the same rank. These ranks are awarded based on character growth and have nothing to do with physical attributes/strength. Only one rank can be attained per year, and if a boy goes to both Knighthood sessions he will only go through the "Induction" ceremony, where ranks are given, at the end of Knighthood 2.
[edit] Ladies Program
The Ladies program has many different aspects, but is also very much like the boys' program. There are 13 charms in the Ladies program, and each represents a quality that a girl displays. In this program the theory is that every girl possesses all the 13 charms but may have one in particular that shines exceedingly brighter than the others, and she will be made aware of that charm. At the end of each session, each girl is given a bracelet, with the charm that she showed strongest hand painted on it by her counselor. A girl receives a charm every Knighthood session she attends camp, although the same charm can be given to the same girl multiple times. The charms are: Adjustability, Courage, Creativity, Joy & Enthusiasm, Growth, Humility, Love, Loyalty, Responsibility, Patience, Poise, Sharing, and Sincerity.
[edit] Knighthood II
Knighthood II occurs after Knighthood I, usually on or about the second two weeks of July. The official theme listed on the GG website is the same for both sessions. Knighthood II mainly focuses on the stories and legends of King Arthur and his court. During this session, a king, queen and court of 22 young men and women are elected by the camp. The king, queen, and court are always campers. On the last Friday of Knighthood II an Arthurian style pageant is put on by the camp, to honor the court of that year.
[edit] World Friendship
World Friendship is the fourth and final full session of the summer, occurring on or about the first two weeks of August. This session's thematic element focuses on the respect, understanding, and tolerance of all the people of the world. The thematic high points of the session are the Luau, which takes place on the middle Saturday and involves a large feast and many activities, and the Chautauqua, which takes place on the final Friday night. [6] Unique to the World Friendship session is the Olympics, in which the campers compete against each other for points in sports events typical to the Summer Olympics. On the last day of the session the points are added up and the country (a pairing of a Dorm and Cabin based on age) with the most points is declared the winner.
[edit] Religious Freedom
About every four years, the three oldest groups of campers and most of the camp staff participate in an exercise known as Religious Freedom. This usually takes up an entire evening, and is very serious in nature. Although it is never exactly the same, Religious Freedom usually involves the participating staff simulating some sort of oppression of the campers. For example, in 2007 the exercise centered around what could be described as a military takeover by religious extremists, and campers were sorted into "families" and had to be reeducated to learn to follow the ideas of the "State", as well as having to prove productivity as workers. The 2007 Religious Freedom's climax was when an oppressing staff member was found to be sneaking food to the otherwise starved campers. The "traitor" was then made an example of and ridiculed/tortured in front of all participants. It is worth noting that all staff roles are somewhat scripted, that all violence is purely acted, and that campers are fed dinner after the simulation is over. At the end of the event there is discussion and reflection on the evenings proceedings.
[edit] Winter Workshop
Winter Workshop is a special four-day, three-night session held in mid-December. It is set aside only for veteran teenage campers; about 80 are accepted each year. Unlike the summer sessions, activities are mainly run by the campers, instead of by the staff (who spend most of the time supervising). The session has no official theme, and the entire camp experience is much different than in the summer, mostly because there is snow on the ground and it is cold outside, but also because the daylight hours are much shorter than in the summer.
[edit] Facilities and activities
- The Lodge: Located in the center of the main camp. Contains dining facilities and administrative offices. The top floor holds the dining hall and kitchen, and is the sleeping quarters of the male campers during Winter Workshop. The lower floor houses the BB gun range during the summer and serves as the sleeping quarters of the female campers during Winter Workshop.
- Boys' Hill: Located North of the Lodge. There are five buildings, four of which house male sleeping quarters known as "Dorms" lettered A-H (and one known as Hilltop which is the sleeping quarters for the youngest male campers). The fourth is restroom facilities, known as "cinderblocks."
- Girls' Hill: Located South of the Lodge. It is the location of the female sleeping quarters, known as "Cabins", and bathrooms.
- Pool: Home of the swimming pool and showers. Above pool offices, shower facilities, and workshop, is an apartment used by camp directors.
- Barn: Stables, corral, and other horse-related facilities.
- The Meadow: Large grassy area between the Lodge and Pool. Holds a basketball court, dodgeball court, volleyball court, and softball field, the location for many sports and program related events.
- The Council Ring: A circle of bleachers surrounding a large fire pit. The main meeting area for all-camp activities such as the weekly Council Fire ("a gathering of songs, skits, storytelling and more in which every camper takes part"[7]).
- Marathon: Home of the camp store, which sells snacks and toiletries and features ping-pong and pool tables. Home of the campwide radio station, featuring camper-created and requested programming, and Archery office.
- Archery: Three archery ranges, 15-40 yards in length. Each range supports two shooters at once. Campers are encouraged to shoot for awards based on shooting ability.
- Rifles: .22 rifle ranges. Campers are encouraged to shoot for awards based on shooting ability. Senior area.
- BB's: Air-rifle range located in the bottom of the lodge. Junior/Middler area.
- WE: Wilderness Exploration. Main attractions are a 40 ft. climb wall, ropes course with upper and lower elements, giant-swing, and zip line.
- Open Space Trips: Outdoor expeditions available to 14 older campers at a time. It is a lottery to get in.
- Teen Leadership: Teenage campers are given a chance to help run an area or activity.
- The Chapel: Sunday non-religious Vespers services are held here. The basement is home to the Crafts and Media departments.
- The Rendezvous: Located in Black Canyon, the Rendezvous is a fairly new building where campers and counselors are sheltered from weather, animal, and other various natural threats on overnights.
- Cabin One: Storage area for sleeping bags, water bottles, and other material for campers whom may have forgotten something.
