Camp Echo Lark, Poyntelle, PA
1987

Number fifteen out of twenty: "The Pile-On."

"Sleeping camper is woken by seven or more campers jumping on him, crushing him under cumulative weight. First camper on takes one for the team."

Utica, MS
c. 1984

More trunks than a forest full of elephants. 

Camp Echo Lark, Poyntelle, PA
1989

“The bus is about to leave. My brother looks overjoyed to be going home, while his best friend is crying”.

Utica, MS
c. 1981

Just a couple of kids who enjoy portable music. 

Utica, MS
1987

 The girl in the front row on the left is just upset because she got put in the corner.  Jennifer Grey never had to put up with that kind of neglect.

Camp Walden, Cheboygan, MI
1989

“This shot was taken immediately after my swim test at Camp Walden. I swear, even to this day, I have to convince my friends that this priceless green-and-black Speedo is indeed a swimsuit and not underwear”.

Camp Edward Isaacs, Holmes, NY
1987

Two girls provide the perfect 80's snapshot. 

French Woods, Hancock, NY
1979

“Kitchen help was sectioned off at the top of the hill, away from the rest of the camp”.

Camp Lochearn, Post Mills, VT
1983

“Lochearn camp donning our ‘Sunday Campfire’ outfits. It was a Scottish camp, so the outfit included a ‘plaid.’ And, if you were the cabin in charge of the campfire program for the week, you also wore a little blue bonnet.”

Camp Romaca, Hinsdale, MA
1989

“We were getting ready for a social with our brother camp, Greylock. Unbeknownst to each other, we both had decided to go with the Debbie Gibson look, hat and all. Before every social, we paraded our outfits around the camp for hours before making our debut with the boys. This picture was taken right outside of the oldest girls’ bunk, who gave us the ultimate thumbs-up on these winning ensembles. The boys were after us all night.”

Camp Takajo, Naples, ME
1979

“I grew up in New York and went to camp in central Maine, nine miles away from my family summer home on the same lake. I always felt that if times really got tough I could walk home, though nine miles might as well have been 3,000 to a ten year old. I convinced the camp to let my bunk go on a field trip to my family’s summer home and used the trip as a ruse to lobby to stay home and not return to camp. It did not work.”

YMCA of Greater Des Moines Y Camp, Boone, IA
1989

“As the oldest female cabin, we thought the face masks at breakfast made us seem mature. We loved the attention we got in the dining hall.”

Camp Saginaw, Oxford, PA
1991

"Bunk S dressed up in tie-dye and Keds for a coed social. In the early ‘90s it was well known that bright colors were an aphrodisiac to the pubescent male. Lots of time had been spent on the hair, ensuring the bangs had enough but not too much poof as this was no longer the ‘80s.”

Lake Owego Camp, Greeley, PA
1992

“It pelted with rain one day. We all headed back to the bunks to await instructions for whatever rain day activity was in the works. Cabin fever sets in. We became a little restless and decided that the moment called for a little mischief. A bunch of us changed into our swim trunks, donned our flip flops, and tore out onto the lower field for some good ol’ fashion mud sliding. The field was just perfectly slick that day.”

Camp Scatico, Elizaville, NY
c. 1978

Bringing new meaning to the idea of a full moon over the lake.