Camp Green Lane Blog Post

Happy Yayday – the first EVER Yayday!!

I left you yesterday with a little foreshadow regarding our CGL Pal event, and I am happy to report it was a HUGE success! Our campers met up with their assigned Pals to complete a brand new CGL scavenger hunt consisting of 30 questions that could be answered with a little sleuthing around camp. Some of the girls were even running hand-in-hand as they scattered to the dining hall, Dome, Globe, and more to uncover specific dates, color war themes, and reigning champions of the past.

I know it was successful because of how many bunks were fully asleep by 10 pm last night.

Our champions with a high score of 28 out of 30 correct answers were Pals Evan Steiner, Joshua Serota, and Asher Serge! They won a Door-Dashed meal of their choice (which is a pretty epic treat.)

It was pretty special watching campers who may not otherwise have a reason to spend time together getting to know one another as they raced all over camp with a shared purpose. They ambushed Uncle Jay and Uncle Adam to ask questions about their first years at CGL, and other alumni who have deep roots here between the arches.

At some point last night, I began thinking about legacy, and what it means at a place like Camp Green Lane.

Obviously owners Jay, Melissa and Adam, Rene and their families have long histories here, as do many of our upper staff, counselors, and some of their parents (and grandparents!) As we were hosting tours earlier today, I wondered how it must feel to walk into the White House and see so many photos from decades past that embody the CGL legacy of happiness and fun. In fact, as one touring family was paused in the hallway, I heard the mother excitedly exclaim that she had spotted a relative in one of the photo collages!

Before the end of last summer, I would have said that I have no part in the legacy here. That camp is just a new, foreign adventure that I was experiencing as a total amateur. But this year, I have my own stories to contribute to the legacy here at CGL. I share memories with campers about our time cooking in the kitchen last year, or moments spent talking on the White House porch. I see my husband’s photos hanging on the walls, and my sister-in-law’s names on cabin plaques in the canteen (and as a League MVP on the sign hanging in the dining hall!). I wonder if these things will still be hanging if (when) our kids come to CGL one day. If they’ll feel their family’s legacy here through stories and pictures and signs and painted names.

So whether this is your child’s first summer, as the first member in your family to attend Camp Green Lane, or they’re the fourth generation to be a CGL camper, trust that they are a part of this incredible nearly-a-century-long legacy that will still have campers scouring the grounds in a scavenger hunt however many years from now.