Blog

Faster than a speeding bullet in Lake McWain, able to leap tall  cabins in a single bound—that was Pete Haas. A hero in everyone’s eyes, Pete is remembered as the consummate Birch  Rocker, a true gentleman, champion swimmer and proud United  States Marine. He embodied our ethos, Help the Other Fellow,  365 days a year. Pete […]

What do you think about independence for children? And have you tuned in yet to the Japanese reality TV show Old Enough!? A hit show for three decades in Japan, it’s new to Netflix and American viewers. The premise is shocking here in the US—tiny Japanese children run errands all alone for their parents on […]

The Birch Bark, Spring ’22 edition, is here with a tribute to Janice Walker, our treasured Camp Lady. As is traditional in the spring, college-bound Birch Rockers share their essays with the whole camp community. And Rich Deering offers his “Reflections from the Rock.”

What do Birch Rockers and the ancient Stoics have in common? Remarkably similar philosophies, it turns out! First century philosophers like Seneca and Epictetus can teach us how to become more resilient and even-tempered, and less frustrated by ordinary difficulties. Professor William Irvine has written many books on the wisdom of Greek and Roman philosophers, […]

To be at Birch Rock in the 1980’s was to have one foot in the past and another in the future. In many ways, it was still the Birch Rock of the 40’s or the 50’s: a place where the Grove was on the right side of the driveway, the Museum was up the hill, […]

Fellow Birch Rockers! This Thanksgiving we can be grateful for real, gather-‘round-the-table holidays with family and friends—thanks to COVID vaccines and boosters keeping us safe. This year’s Thanksgiving is momentous for another reason. It’s exactly 400 years since the first harvest festival shared by Indigenous people and Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The actual 1621 gathering, […]

We can’t believe that our 95th Season has come to an end! These past seven weeks have flown by! It’s been an incredible summer! Thank you to the wonderful camper’s that we had this season, the parents who sent their boys to stay with us, the CIT’s who worked tirelessly to support the campers and […]

Today began with the soothing sounds of WBRC radio, bringing everything to everyone from funky tunes to important news. The dominating story in the news today was the stunning turn of events in the triathlon: Campbell H. was ruled out due to medical concerns. Campbell had dominated the event placing first the past two summers, […]

Wow time sure has flown by this summer! Today was the last full day of activities here at camp. We all awoke at 7:30 this morning eager to earn those final badge parts. We had two whales in the water this morning – John F. and Quinn C. The weather in the morning was slightly […]

As we near the final days of camp, it becomes crunch time for campers to achieve their goals for activities or long distance swims. Today was jam packed with such achievements. Trent G. and Campbell H. were both awarded their advanced volleyball badges today and Liam B. became probably the youngest camper in Birch Rock […]