Hey, Campers!

Did you know that every year more than 10 million kids go to summer camp? That’s A LOT of kids! And because everybody and their mothers went to summer camp at some point, it’s not surprising to discover the loads upon loads of famous folks who were summer campers just like you once upon a time. But it was only roughly a decade ago that Ms. Halston Sage went to summer camp.

Born in Los Angeles, Halston traveled courageously far for her summer camp stay. She spent her summer stay on Crescent Lake at Camp Laurel South, near Portland, Maine in the beautiful Sebago Lakes region which includes a great beach and clear waters, sports fields, and pristine woodlands. She discovered a passion for horseback riding and would eventually go on to win awards in horseshows.

The oldest of three, Halston sets a great example for her siblings, showing them how to forage your own career path. She may be new to the show business scene, but this girl is already making a name for herself and has been since she launched her acting career at 18 with the television series ‘How to Rock’ in 2011.

She continued to make appearances and guest star in other shows like ‘The First Time’ as well as Nickelodeon shows ‘Victorious’ and ‘Bucket & Skinner’s Epic Adventures’. And in just a couple years after her breakthrough, she debuted in her first feature film alongside Emma Watson in ‘The Bling Ring’. She worked with Adam Sandler as well in ‘Grown Ups 2’—she likened the set and crew of this filmmaking experience to summer camp.

But that was just the beginning and Halston’s just getting started. Last year she co-starred in ‘Goosebumps’ with Jack Black and she also has a role in ‘Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse’ in which a group of Boy Scouts become heroes when their hometown is overrun with zombies.

With such a charismatic personality and a such a great start, Halston’s career has nowhere to go but up. She also loves to write too. Get the most out of your summer camp stay like Halston did and find out just how much good summer camp can do for you! As always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

We all know ‘pretty woman’ Julia Roberts extremely well. I posted about her back in the fall of 2013. But did you know that her niece, Emma Roberts went to summer camp as well? Following in her aunt’s footsteps, Emma’s embarked on her own acting career and making a good name for herself. 

With an uncle in the family who owns his own summer camp, it only made sense as it did for Julia, that Emma would attend Camp Birchwood in Minnesota. She loved it so much that she spent six whole summers playing tennis, practicing archery, and going sailing. Big advocates of the summer camp experience, the Roberts obviously enjoyed their time at Birchwood.

Julia says, “All the coolest things I know how to do, I learned to do at camp.”

But even before her time at summer camp, the seed of acting had already been planted for Emma. An outstanding example of how somebody with a difficult childhood can land successfully, Emma’s parents separated when she was a baby and didn’t see eye to eye about how to raise their child—her mom wanted her to have a ‘normal’ upbringing.

Emma, however, found a reliable role model in her aunt Julia and spent a lot of time on the film sets where her aunt was working. She broke into acting when she was just 10 years old and by 13, she landed the lead role of Addie Singer in ‘Unfabulous’, a Nickelodeon series. This got Emma a nomination for a Teen Choice Award as well as several nominations for the Young Artist Award.

Also known for her title role in the ‘Nancy Drew’ movie from 2006, Emma continues to pave a successful career path for herself today. And just like her aunt, she learned all the coolest things she knows at summer camp! See what cool things you can learn at summer camp and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Lots of people go to camp. Others send their kids to camp. And SOME people do both. And celebrated American author of the beloved novel ‘The Great Gatsby’, F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of those individuals. It’s no longer in operation now, but Fitzgerald enjoyed a month-long stay at a Camp Chatham, located in Orillia, Ontario in 1907.

Fitzgerald must have well understood what a momentous time camp is for children. When he sent his 11-year-old daughter, Frances Fitzgerald to summer camp in 1933, he wrote to her a rather ‘grown up’ letter with some strong advice for her. Here are his words to her:

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DEAR PIE:

I feel very strongly about you doing duty. Would you give me a little more documentation about your reading in French? I am glad you are happy– but I never believe much in happiness. I never believe in misery either. Those are things you see on the stage or the screen or the printed page, they never really happen to you in life.

All I believe in in life is the rewards for virtue (according to your talents) and the punishments for not fulfilling your duties, which are doubly costly. If there is such a volume in the camp library, will you ask Mrs. Tyson to let you look up a sonnet of Shakespeare’s in which the line occurs Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds…

I think of you, and always pleasantly, but I am going to take the White Cat out and beat his bottom hard, six times for every time you are impertinent. Do you react to that?…
Half-wit, I will conclude.

Things to worry about:
 •    Worry about courage
•    Worry about cleanliness
•    Worry about efficiency
•    Worry about horsemanship…

Things not to worry about:
•    Don’t worry about popular opinion
•    Don’t worry about dolls
•    Don’t worry about the past
•    Don’t worry about the future
•    Don’t worry about growing up
•    Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you
•    Don’t worry about triumph
•    Don’t worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault
•    Don’t worry about mosquitoes
•    Don’t worry about flies
•    Don’t worry about insects in general
•    Don’t worry about parents
•    Don’t worry about boys
•    Don’t worry about disappointments
•    Don’t worry about pleasures
•    Don’t worry about satisfactions

Things to think about:
•    What am I really aiming at?
•    How good am I really in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to:
        (a) Scholarship
        (b) Do I really understand about people and am I able to get along with them?
        (c) Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it?

With dearest love,

l

l

Giving a wonderful sense of his terse, yet compassionate fathering, this letter illustrates the honest relationship between the two. No wonder, Frances Fitzgerald followed in her father’s footsteps and saw great success as a writer as well.

We carry great products that encourage convenience for parents to stay in touch with their campers while they’re away. Check it out right here and, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

The world is certainly crazy about camp! From singer/songwriters to famous athletes and big-name Hollywood stars, it seems EVERYONE goes to camp! Wrongfully convicted inmates and their loyal little brothers are no exception either—at least the actors that play them, anyway! A few years back, I told you about ‘Prison Break’ star Paul Adelstein’s time at North Star Camp. 

Best known for his role as Agent Paul Kellerman in the TV series ‘Prison Break’, Paul isn’t the only star of the show to attend camp. The lead role of Michael Scofield is played by Wentworth Miller who went to Frost Valley, a YMCA camp, located on 5000 acres in the Catskill Mountains, just two-and-a-half hours north of New York City.

Born in England, Wentworth’s parents moved when he was just one year old and raised him in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He had a pretty normal upbringing, attending Midwood High School and later transferring to Quaker Valley Senior High School in Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1990 a straight-A student and moved on to study at Princeton University.

A cartoonist for the school paper and also baritone for the A Capella group called ‘The Princeton Tigertones’, Wentworth’s interests were all over the map. It was during Tigertones’ shows, however, that Wentworth realized he wanted to perform in front of an audience for a living. After graduating from Princeton, he moved to California, seeking out an acting career.

He made his television debut in the cult classic TV show, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and went on to make lots of appearances in shows like ‘ER’, ‘Law and Order’, ‘House’, and—most currently—‘The Flash’. ‘Prison Break’, however, is what really boosted his career. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for best actor in a leading role for his lead part in the show.

Making his way to the top wasn’t always easy. In his words, it was “a long time…coming and there were a lot of upsets and a lot of failures and roadblocks, but I couldn’t walk away from it. I needed it like I needed air. It was just something I had to do.”

While he hasn’t lost interest in acting, Wentworth has been trying his hand at screenwriting and producing more so these days, writing the horror movie ‘Stoker’, released in 2013. Wentworth is obviously an individual who understands hard work and determination—two qualities that summer camp teaches.

Summer camp did good for Wentworth. What will it do for you? As always, thanks for reading, campers!

- John

Hey, Fashion Aficionados!

Fashion is a big deal to a lot of campers. That’s why you can always find a plethora of pretty patterns and cool designs in all of our camping gear, and other camp supplies. Not surprisingly, an extremely famous fashion designer was once a summer camper like all of you. In fact, Ralph Lauren thought camp was so nice, he went there twice (or to two different camps anyway which are both now closed).

He attended Camp Massad, located among the magical, “Lauren”tian mountains in Pennsylvania. After a summer stay there, he continued his personal growth at Camp Roosevelt in Monticello, New York in the Catskill Mountains on Lake Sackett. At these places, Ralph took his first steps into a larger and more independent world.

Like his summer camp experiences, Ralph went to two different high schools as well: the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy as well as DeWitt Clinton High School, from which he graduated in 1957. Ralph grew up admiring role models like John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Stewart so it had always been a dream of his to develop the type of persona and reputation that a movie star might have.

His fashion sense was budding early—in his high school days—when he started selling neckties to his classmates and other students. He went on to study business at Baruch College. With only a few business classes under his belt, Ralph started his own business to reprise his production of neckties.

Making minor tweaks to the skinny, plain neckties of the day, Ralph made wide ties that popped with color. His simple, new take on fashion swept Bloomingdale’s and other retailers of the time. In his first year of business, he sold $500,000 in ties! This business eventually grew into the Ralph Lauren Corporation clothing company which is now a globally recognized multi-billion-dollar venture.

Since his wild success, Ralph has noted that in his Clinton High yearbook, he put down ‘millionaire’ as one of his life goals. Last year, his wealth was estimated to be $8 billion, making him the 155th richest person the world over.

Summer camp certainly helped Ralph to see that some risks are healthy to take and, sometimes, will lead to endless success! What will summer camp teach you? As always, thanks for reading!

- John