Summer Camp Staff

[brivan95]

I have worked at summer camp for a very long time and I think it is the highlight of my scouting career.  Who else has worked at camp and would agree?   

 

Here's a link to share with any of your scouts who may be on the fence about working at summer camp.

http://theodysseyonline.com/mansfield-university/top-10-reasons-camp-counselor/425872

[Sentinel947]

Welcome to the forums. I just last summer was the Rifle Range Director at Camp Friedlander in Loveland Ohio. I don't know if I'd call it the highlight, but it is definitely a highlight of my time in Scouting.

 

I'm not a huge fan of the article. It's kinda hard to quantify so simplistically what makes working at camp so awesome.

 

Also, welcome to the forums. 

 

John.  

Edited April 18, 2016 by Sentinel947

[CalicoPenn]

I had a great time as the first out-of-council CIT for the camp I went to summer camp as a Scout.

 

I was hired as the Trading Post director the next year for my Council's summer camp.  I was fired with two weeks left to go when someone on the camp accreditation inspection team learned I was the son of someone he didn't like and blackmailed the Camp Director (who was also the Council's Field Director) to fire me in order to get the A-rating.  Didn't matter that my inventory loss to that point was less than $10 when the average for the previous 10 years was $500, and that all of the Trading Post's records were up to date.  The Camp Director even stopped by our house after camp was over to apologize and tell us what happened.  He also mentioned that the Trading Post lost $300 in inventory the final two weeks.  This was the first time I experienced politics in the workplace - and it made a hell of an impression on me - I don't put up with it now.

 

So yeah, not so much fun for me.

[desertrat77]

Welcome, Brivan!

 

Three of my best summers were spent on staff at Camp Gorsuch AK, late '70s.   I served at the rifle range my first summer; waterfront the next; and my last summer was in the commissioners compound.

 

Few amenities and facilities.   Lots of mosquitoes and rain.   However, the superb scout spirit, programming, unspoiled wilderness, and emphasis on the troops made each week a great one.

[meyerc13]

When I was old enough to get a paying job, instead of working at summer camp I decided to work in the office for the factory where my dad worked (he was a die caster out on the shop floor).  Fast forward to late July, and the company had to save money so laid off the summer help.  I found myself with 1/3 of my summer and no job.  Boy Scout camp was almost wrapped up, but after the Boy Scouts left they ran three weeks of Cub Scout Day Camp.  I did that for two summers and loved it.  Absolutely one of the best jobs I've ever had.  Spending three weeks at a place I loved, with an interesting group of guys (no women on staff at that camp back then), having fun with a new batch of excited kids every day... it is a great experience.  My only regret was that I hadn't spent the whole summer there.

[CalicoPenn]

Oh - and Bri - welcome to the forum - I don't mean to be a downer - I did have an awesome time for 4 years as a Cub Scout Day Camp counselor.

[gumbymaster]

My years on summer camp staff, even the year I worked dishes in the kitchen, are some of my favorite and most fond memories.

[WAKWIB]

During the summers of 1976-1981 I worked at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation in Missouri. I learned a lot about hard work and long hours, particularly because 4 of those 6 years I worked on the Dining Hall Staff.  My last year was pretty awesome in that I was the Assistant Lakefront Director. That required me to attend National Camping School, and the Aquatics course there was pretty intense. Being able to take canoes, motorboats, and sailboats out on the beautiful Truman Lake all that summer was well worth the time.

It was a great time in my life and I made many, many friends who I still hang out with to this day. Most of us have stayed connected to Scouting in one way or another.

[TAHAWK]

Three years (every other year over a six-year span).  Camp Rokili.  Barton Flats, CA.  The first Summer was my first time away from home for more than a week. and first job working for someone else.   Great times.

[desertrat77]

During the summers of 1976-1981 I worked at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation in Missouri. I learned a lot about hard work and long hours, particularly because 4 of those 6 years I worked on the Dining Hall Staff.  My last year was pretty awesome in that I was the Assistant Lakefront Director. That required me to attend National Camping School, and the Aquatics course there was pretty intense. Being able to take canoes, motorboats, and sailboats out on the beautiful Truman Lake all that summer was well worth the time.

It was a great time in my life and I made many, many friends who I still hang out with to this day. Most of us have stayed connected to Scouting in one way or another.

I had the privilege of going to camp at Bartle in the late '80s, as a guest ASM with a troop that had gone there for decades.  A superb camp in every respect. 

 

Before taps, a few of us adults would hike to a high point above Truman Lake, and enjoy the cool breeze and wonderful clean scent that wafted from the water and surrounding nature.  

 

Peach Nehi floats at the old general store in the nearby town.

 

Lots of tradition and pride. 

[Krampus]

My kid just found out that he cannot attend summer camp this summer. He will be a senior next year and college visits can only be done during summer camp time, as he's heading to Philmont in August.

 

I am going to show him this thread so that he can see that working at summer camp (or Philmont) during the summer is a GREAT way to spend his youth...and build memories that will last him in his old age!!!

 

Thanks for sharing these thoughts. It is important for young folks to see that simple, non-lucrative decisions can have MORE of an impact on who you become than any paid internship at that Fortune 500 company can.

 

As I always tell him, "I've never heard anyone say that they wished they could work MORE at the office."

[desertrat77]

My kid just found out that he cannot attend summer camp this summer. He will be a senior next year and college visits can only be done during summer camp time, as he's heading to Philmont in August.

 

I am going to show him this thread so that he can see that working at summer camp (or Philmont) during the summer is a GREAT way to spend his youth...and build memories that will last him in his old age!!!

 

Thanks for sharing these thoughts. It is important for young folks to see that simple, non-lucrative decisions can have MORE of an impact on who you become than any paid internship at that Fortune 500 company can.

 

As I always tell him, "I've never heard anyone say that they wished they could work MORE at the office."

Very true, Krampus.   Philmont would be an ideal place to work for the summer.  

 

In '78, my weekly pay as a first-year camp staffer:  25 dollars, plus room (WWII tent) and board.   Everyone did everything:   troop check in, your activity location, cooking and KP (we cooked the first and last meal of camp, plus breakfast each morning...patrols cooked the other meals in the campsite).   The experiences and memories are worth far more than money.    Even at the time, I thought so.  

[jr56]

My pay for 7 weeks in 1972 was 75.00

[Krampus]

My pay for 7 weeks in 1972 was 75.00

 

Just out of curiosity, anyone know how much camps are paying these days for counselors? I have heard a few camps paying ~$43/day.

[TAHAWK]

My pay for 7 weeks in 1972 was 75.00

Wow!  I got $10/week in 1957, 1959, and 1961.

 

And meals!