Alford Lake Camp

We are taking a look back at our summer of 2009 and remembering…

Barn Overnights
Splashing in puddles
The Egg Drop Contest in Challenge
Fires in the fireplace in the library
Sunset Yoga
Letters from home
Baskets in the Art House
Spirit Night
Ice Cream on Sundays
Rangers in the War Canoe
Visitors’ Weekend Horseshow, Drama and Sychronized Swimming
“The sun is out!!”
Camp Sisters
Logs — funny ones, serious ones, rhyming ones, musical ones…
Wearing whites on Sunday
Camp Birthday Celebration… Happy 103rd ALC!
SOARing
The Camper Show
Fairy sightings on the path to Challenge
Dining Room Squad
Out of Camp Trips:  Chairbacks, Moose River, Camden Hills, Sugarloaf, Katahdin..
Extended Trips departures from ALC
Extended Trips returns to ALC
Sunday songs in the dining room..Dominique!!
Backwards Day
The “Croc” Hunter
PT projects with the Jr. CTs
Apples in the basket in the dining room
The ever-silly Counselor Show
Guide Crew and their crazy hats
Revielle in the morning
Three minute showers
Thursday night Bungalow dinners
The Counselor Hunt
Tent inspections
Teaspoons balancing on noses
Saturday Night Theatre
Everyone brushing their teeth all together in Grasshopper and Paradise
Squeals of delight while sliding down the slip ‘n slide
4th of July tug-of-war
The Loon Mobile!
Wearing your evening clothes
Beach days
Frozen bananas dipped in chocolate
Morale Boosters
Tetherball
Wimbeldon on the blue tennis courts
CTs singing
Tent overnights
Swimming in the lake, swimming in the ocean, swimming across the lake!
Campfire skits
Flashlights and headlamps
Blue blankets on beds made the ALC-way
Mrs. M’s stories
Song Contest
The Laundry Queen
Sunday in the Pines
Dance performances by Russian campers
The smell of the pine trees
The sound of the loons
A hug goodbye from a tentmate, a counselor, a friend….

We remember all the fun we shared and thank each and every member of our camp community for making ALC 2009 a summer filled with amazing memories.  Share your favorite memories from last summer, or any summer spent at ALC!

We send our entire camp family best wishes for a safe, happy and healthy 2010!  We are busy preparing for our awesome summer together!   Summer will be here before we know it and we can’t wait!!  Thank you all for making 2009 a summer of cherished memories.

We love you all…
Sue McMullan, Director
Betsy Brayley, Asistant Director

Imagine the holidays at Camp…

Mrs. M is in the Camphouse, lighting a candle every night of Hanukkah and singing “Patterns” to the very, very cold loons on Alford Lake!

Max is busy in his Workshop… lending a hand to the elves with last minute projects!

The “Laundry Queen” is hanging stockings (with name labels, of course) with care in the Jib!!

Karen is in the Barn getting the ALC horses geared up for a snowy sleigh ride!

Susan is baking in the kitchen — gingerbread “women” with blueberries, of course!

The office staff (Bisi, Barb and Lori) are busy getting letters to Santa in the mail!

Sue is in the costume closet, of course, trying on Santa suits!  Ho-ho-ho!

Betsy is humming “Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel” in the foc’sle.  Anyone up for a game?!

ALC Campers are nestled all snug in their beds… under warm blue blankets!!

An ALC campfire is burning bright by the lake.

AMT hikers see stars shining brightly over the trails.

Nova sailors follow the stars…

ALC Alps campers are drinking hot cocoa and yodeling…

ALC Abroad campers are sipping tea and eating crumpets!
…….

The greatest gift of all, the legacy of Alford Lake Camp, is opened and shared by all the campers, CTs, counselors and staff… friendship, personal growth and the joy of sharing summers at ALC!

What do you think the holidays are like at camp?

We wish each and everyone of you a joyous holiday season!

Yes, we know you are singing holiday songs right now but we bet you can sing along to ALC songs anytime of the year.
Care to join us???
Here are the first lines of a few of the songs from our days at ALC.  Let’s see how long it takes for us to complete the song.  You may add up to two lines per turn… check back often.  Which song do we know the best?  Play along, sing along!!

Patterns
The wood fires in the Camphouse,
The loon upon the lake,
………

Let’s sing About Old Friends
Chorus:
Let’s sing about old friends, new friends,
Friends from all around.
Let’s sing about old friends, new friends
That always will be found.

Alford is for everyone who comes from far and near:
The love and friendships all around grow stronger every year.
……….

I’m Going Back
I’m going back where the earth meets the sky and there’s no yesterday
and there’s no by and by.
………

Moose Meister
Moose Meister, self appointed heir to the Baxter throne,
has wandered off into the woods so very far from home.
………..

Wherever You Go
Wherever you go, there’s always someone blueish.
You’re never alone in your blueberry blues.
……..

Seven Golden Daffodils
I do not own a mansion, I haven’t any land
Not even a paper dollar to crinkle in my hand.
……….

Thanks for singing along!
We hear your ALCer voices ringing out all over the world!!

What am I thankful for? In addition to being thankful for my family and friends, I am thankful for the wonderful ALC community that I have had the privilege to be a part of for over 40 years.  I am thankful that Alford Lake is, after 104 years, still a place where young women (and men) can experience the unique gift of believing in themselves.  I am thankful that our extended ALC community supports and continues to value our traditional residential camp experience for the special girls in their lives.  I am thankful for happy campers, dedicated counselors, white canvas tents, loons on Alford Lake, sunny days, ALC songs and my treasured memories of our summers shared together.  In short, I am thankful for all of you who make Alford Lake Camp such a wonderful community! And for those of you who live overseas and do not eat turkey on Thursday, please know that we send our warmest wishes and are thinking of you on our Day of Thanks…

Happy Thanksgiving!
Sue McMullan

What a BLAST we had in New Canaan last weekend connecting with all of the current (and future!) ALCers!

ALC wishes all their friends and families
a fun and safe Halloween Night!!

As announced recently, ALC is creating a newsletter for our campers!  We are calling it our “ALC E-News” and we are inviting everyone to participate in our photo game.  Blueberry Blues on the Road! Pull out your ALC t-shirt, ALC sweatshirt or any camp clothing and have someone take a picture of you wearing it anywhere!!  Suggestions for photo locations: at a school event, on a family outing, at the pumpkin patch, hanging out with your friends at the mall… or maybe even when you are traveling!  Be creative!  Be silly! The idea is to have fun with this. 
Email your photos to us (or send it to Blueberry Blue c/o Alford Lake Camp,5 Salt Marsh Way, Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107) and look for your shot in the first ALC E-News.  Everyone who sends us a picture will get a special prize. Unpack those Blueberry Blues and don’t forget to smile!!

Thanks for participating!  Keep in touch!

Hey ALCers!  Happy Fall!

We miss you all so much and decided that it is time to try something new.  Starting in early November, we will be creating a newsletter for ALC campers.

This will be YOUR newsletter – a chance to share your news with friends from last summer.  Newsletters will be sent every two months and we want you to share your news with us!  Have you joined a new team at school?  Working on a service project?  Traveling some place new or fun?  Have you seen an ALCer or organized a mini-camp reunion?  These are just some of the topics we will be exploring each edition. Best way to share your news + jpeg photos is by e-mailing us.

Keep in touch with camp friends and keep checking your inbox for the First Edition of the ALC E-News coming in early November. No matter how far we are apart during the winter months, we can still stay connected to our ALC family!

Thanks for participating!

Guest Blog by Matt Hamilton

According to ALC lore, the antidote to feeling “bluish” on account of being “newish” is to…”reach in your trunk, put on your Blueberry Blues!”
“Ba-da-da Ba-da-da Ba-da-da-da-da!”
“Miles apart,” now I am – and even rather close to one of “Wherever You Go”’s sung cities – Tel Aviv, as Israel is just a ways over the Jordan River from Amman, Jordan. Just two weeks ago I came to this capital city of Jordan to work as a teacher to Iraqi refugees while studying the Arabic language. The work is fun, the culture is different, and yes, I am very far from home, my parents, friends, and my brother Dave (known to the Rangers as Davina, the Tennis Playing Diva).
Like at camp though, when you are far from loved ones and comfortable places, two things happen: you realize how much you do love your family, friends, and home but as well, you see the vastness of the world, the people in it, and the commonalities shared among us all.
Homesickness is inevitable. Like those first nights for campers at ALC, my first night here I laid in bed, unable to sleep; my bed was thousands of miles away, the air felt different, and the noises were unfamiliar. No longer was I hearing taps, reveille, and the chilling screams of the loon, but the bustle of the city cars and the Islamic call to prayer issuing five times each day from the minaret of the mosque located across the street from my apartment.
My second day here, though, I did reach down into my suitcase and, quite unexpectedly, pulled out my blue ALC t-shirt. Far away from home and from camp, I put it on and felt better – empowered, even, to stop feeling sad, and to look at this new and challenging place as I would Mt. Sugarloaf, Mt. Battie, or Mt. Katahdin – an opportunity! I had helped to lead campers to these summits – now I had to lead myself through unknown, foreign territory.
After two weeks, Amman has become a new type of home, with new friends, new lessons, and unexpected personal growth and maturing. My Arabic is improving and my knowledge of the city has increased. The homesickness has ebbed, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss home; like the camper starting a new school, a new year in college, or life in a new city or state, a longing for family and friends remains.  The longing just signifies love, though, and love always is a good thing.
From Amman,
Matt

An Out-of-Camp Trip Leader during the 2009 Summer, Matt Hamilton is a recent graduate of Boston College now working as a teacher and student in Amman, Jordan. Matt enjoys Congo Bars with cheese and honey, pie, and peanut butter M&Ms.