Session 1B is officially underway. The day dawned bright, beautiful and bursting with excitement as we anticipated the arrival of a great group of guys for our 1B Session. All morning long we got to welcome back old families and welcome in new families. Campers got settled into their bunks, unpacking duffel bags and arranging books and shoes and uno cards as friendships in the cabin already started to grow. 

In the afternoon we took a dip in the lake for the swim check and then headed to a very special ceremony, tribal initiation. We have two tribes here at Timberlake: the Golden Eagles and the Black Bears and every boy is initiated into one of those two tribes on the first day of camp. Once he is in that tribe he is in it for life. Our tribes are a places where we build camaraderie and competition, working together as a group and learning how to win with humility and to lose with grace. The foundation of the whole system is a sense of respect for the other tribe. As we like to say here: we never utter a negative word about the other tribe, because there is no honor in defeating an unworthy adversary. This afternoon we welcomed a great group of new warriors, faithful to their tribe. 

Our new Black Bears are: Andrew H, Lawson H, Charles H, Charlie T, Colin G, Hammond F, Henry D, Landon F, Logan D, Matthew D, Michael C,  and Will R.

Our new Golden Eagles are: Charlie A, Charlie O, Ellis W, Hill W, Henry C, Jamie V, John Issac H, Miller K, Patrick T, Pierson G, Quay B, Shep R, Sully R, and William J.

After initiation we headed to dinner where we enjoyed a delicious meal of country fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans and dinner rolls. We also had a salad bar and a pasta bar for those who weren’t in the mood for the main course. We take our food very seriously here at camp, and tonight did not disappoint. 

Evenings are for big games here at Timberlake, and tonight we played the most famous game of all, Sock War. As I type this out I can hear the sounds of a hard fought battle raging across camp. If you’ve never played Sock War, picture a giant capture the flag style game where you throw a balled up sock at your opponent to get them out and you can get the idea. We wait to announce the winner of each tribal game until the next day at lunch so be sure to tune back in tomorrow to find out who emerged victorious. 

Every night you can check back to read all the latest news and stories from here at Camp Timberlake. We’re off to a great start to 1B so far and we can’t wait to see what’s ahead for all of our guys. Thanks so much for sharing them with us this summer!

Great Camping,

John

Director, Camp Timberlake

Proud Golden Eagle