Hey, Summer Campers!
You know who else was a summer camper? LOTS of people! So many, in fact, that a sizable percentage of them went on to become famous celebrities. I’ve written about nearly 100 of them! And today I’m talking about another. His name is Arlo Guthrie. This name may not be as famous as it once was, and even yet, not as famous as his father’s name once was: Woody Guthrie—the man that brought us ‘This Land is Your Land’.
With his dad being born in 1912 and him being born in 1947, it’s understandable that kids of your generation aren’t very familiar with these names. But back then, these guys were as big as Justin Vernon is today. These were the celebrities that Bob Dylan idolized.
Summer camp probably wasn’t quite prominent enough to assume that Woody Guthrie ever attended, but he sent his son Arlo to Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks of New York—one of the oldest traditional overnight camps in the country, operating since 1916.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Arlo attended and graduated grade school as well as high school in his home town. But he moved to Massachusetts in 1965 when he attended college at Stockbridge School. After that, he had an adventure overseas, spending the summer in London. There, he met with a man named Karl Dallas who was able to connect Arlo to the folk rock scene in London and he eventually continued in his father’s footsteps, singing folk songs.
Throughout his life, however, he’s continued his education in Montana to attend the Rocky Mountain College in Billings. Next, he moved back home to attend Siena College and after that Westfield College in 2008 (when he was over 60 years old!).
He loves being a student and he loves being a singer/songwriter. He was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience award on September 26, 1992, though he’s probably best known for his song ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ which you can listen to below if you think you’re up to it (the song is roughly 20 minutes long and goes off the rails a number of times).
Nurture your love for the interests you develop in life like Arlo did and enjoy your visits to summer camp! You can check out Raquette Lake Camp right here and, as always, thanks for reading!
- John