Letters From Camp Magazine – Spring 2025

Letter from the Editor

My camp career got its start at YMCA Camp Guy Robinson. I spent six years there, followed by two years as a day camp director at the Shoreview YMCA. I left the Y to go to Catholic Youth Camp, rapidly ascending from program director to executive director within just six months. I dove into that position with the unbridled confidence of a 24-year-old, claiming “nearly 10 years’ experience in managing a camp...”

Needless to say, the board of directors wasn’t quite sure what to do with me. They appreciated my energy, but I cringe a little when I remember those first meetings. I don’t think they were prepared to be led by someone a fraction of their age, and I was surely not prepared to lead people who were the same age as my parents and grandparents.  

Luckily, I had Ted.  

When I became executive director, Ted had served on the board in a variety of roles for more than 24 years (my entire lifetime, at that point). He had also been on the original 1947 staff team. He was a walking history book on the camp.  

Ted told hilarious, sometimes harrowing stories that almost always included something that would have violated modern American Camp Association accreditation policy. He offered advice when I asked and words of encouragement every time we spoke. He was a cheerleader, a problem solver, and a wonderful mentor to me. I was so grateful to have him in my life, particularly during those early stages of my career.  

This past fall, I got the call that Ted had passed away. At his funeral, I looked around the packed church filled with people there to celebrate his life. Over 92 years, he accomplished a tremendous amount, both personally and professionally. Saying my final farewell to someone who impacted my life was sad, of course, but it also kept me thinking about the incredible, widespread legacy this man left behind.

Shortly after attending his funeral, I began work on this issue of Letters from Camp. Like the previous issues, I didn’t go into this one with a specific theme in mind, but as we brainstormed story ideas and interviewed subjects, the word “legacy” came up over and over.

We have stories about counselors who had a defining impact on their campers’ lives, campers who left lasting impressions on their counselors, and donors who made transformational gifts to the camps that had a transformational impact on them.  

In the case of each, I found a “legacy” — sometimes individual, sometimes institutional, sometimes both. I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as I enjoyed hearing and writing them.

If these stories inspire you, or prompt a memory from your camp experience, please give me a call or send an e-mail. I’d love to hear your story, too!

Natalie King
Director of Alumni Philanthropy and Editor of ‘Letters From Camp’