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Monthly Archives: August 2022

Founders Day

On Friday we celebrated Founder’s Day here at camp – otherwise known as Andy’s birthday. We started the evening with a banquet dinner in the dining hall. Everyone was dressed in Robin Hood shirts and we had a lovely dinner complete with a favorite summertime treat – corn on the cob. The best part however was dessert. Yensi and his crew made each group their own chocolate chip cookie cake in order to toast and celebrate Andy’s birthday. The crowd went wild as a parade of 25 birthday cakes came out of the kitchen in a giant birthday parade.

After dinner we made our way to the theater for our Founder’s Day gift giving celebration. Each group made a circular plaque this year with the group name on it, the year and some words and art that was representative of them this summer. The kids were super creative and super excited to show off their work.
After they finished presenting the plaques to Woody it was time for Robin Hood to shower gifts on our campers and staff who have spent some significant amounts of time here in the realm. We had quite a few recipients of our 3 year pennants this year including staff members and campers who first joined us in the summer of 2020 – our first covid summer. Our 5 year campers and staff received special tee shirts and then came the really big gifts. We had 9 people receive their 10 year vests – that is quite an accomplishment! We also had one special person receive a 15 year jacket and last but not least one person celebrate 30 years of dedication to the Realm. We are so lucky to have people return year after year and be so passionate about Robin Hood. I am proud to be part of such a fabulous group of people.
Wishing you all a peaceful evening –

Color war is over. We had a very successful “Lazy Day” starting with Dunkin Donuts in the morning and loading the day with “Comedy Cookout” for the losing team and steaks for dinner for the winning team!
Then in came the rain with some real thunder.

Today is all back to normal. Green and white shirts are getting put away until next year and the schedule is going full steam ahead. We have reached a point in the summer where, for some groups, it might be the last time that they are scheduled for HR diamond, waterskiing or riflery or making a friendship bracelet. Sad when you think about it, but it is closing things down and putting summer 2022 in the record books. What a SUPER SUMMER it has been.
As stated, all activities are going strong today. The rain towards the end might happen, but if it happens later, we will play through it.

Today at lunch, Scott announced the wrap up for the pickle ball tournament, so courts are full of playoffs. At breakfast the Squires and Jesters challenged each other to an inspection contest. Today at lunch, Woody announced that they both get Candy Canteen. It was well deserved as Wendy and Chuck confirmed that the job was well done.

Tonight, we are going to have a celebration for the Founding of Our Camp yearly event. Usually scheduled on or around Andy’s Birthday.
Campers receive awards for number of years at Robin Hood. 1-5-10-15 and so on. This year Diane Morath is our winner. She is the Horseback Riding Director and served the Realm for a total of 30 years and many more to come, we hope. Her name will go on a plaque which will go up in the dining hall along other long-term campers and staff.
That will mark the end of today with 3 more days to go. We will not waste a moment and will finish strong!

The last week feels like a dream come true up here in every way possible. The GW break went off without a hitch. With incredible enthusiasm we welcomed 38 out of town judges to our shared summer home. We picked teams and jelly beans before dinner and moved right into our 95th consecutive color war.

The 6 day war was a blur to me in so many ways. Highlights were the honoring of Chuck Illig on night 3 for his 57 summers of service to the Realm.  Seven of his fellow staff members and campers from the 60’s and 70’s surprised Chuck to make the night one he will never forget.

Watching our new staff members dive into color war with no experience but an incredible amount of passion was amazing. When they arrived at camp 9 weeks ago I told them that this place will become a part of who they are. I pleaded with them to give CRH a chance and trust our vision. Watching them lead and perform every task asked was a source of pure pride for me.

Our staff captains, with over 70 summers of CRH experience, lead their teams with everything in their hearts and souls. I have watched each of these amazing young adults grow up here at the Realm. I beamed with pride and awe at their ability to stay focused and organized during the competition. What a fabulous experience this Green and White was for campers, staff and judges alike.

Sweet dreams from the Realm.