by Margot Callahan, contributing writer
So, this is the summer camp issue. For many of you lucky readers, summer camp brings back all kinds of memories, some cringe-worthy, some so exciting, you can’t wait. I bet, right now, you are thinking about summer camp!
When I think about summer camp, I think about that time I expected to go to this great camp and instead wound up at a rundown one with gross conditions, weird counselors, but then eventually overcame all of it at the summer camp games. Wait, that was the movie “Fred 3: Camp Fred”. And the camp had my favorite name: Camp Iwannapeepee. Mostly for young viewers, it’s still a hoot.
Seriously, my favorite summer camp memory was when I was a counselor and not much older than a lot of the campers. I befriended a loner camper who was having trouble fitting in and helped him overcome his shyness and basically help our campers win the annual Olympiad competition. He even helped me get the attention of another counselor at the camp who I later dated! Wait, that was “Meatballs.” What a funny movie that made, “It just doesn’t matter!” a catch-phrase of the summer.
OK, NOW I remember. I was there with my sister. Our parents were divorced, so she and I schemed to get them back together by…you know where this is going, yet another summer camp movie: “Parent Trap.” So popular that it was made twice – once in 1961 and again in 1998. And yes, there were competitions, always competitions.
Why so many summer camp movies? You tell me. Is it because it’s often the first step toward independence by living away from home? Is it a chance to experience things that you never would at home or school? Does it give you a chance to meet people from other walks of life? Do you often walk away from it with lifelong friends? Does it give you insight into what you might want to do someday or what you don’t want to do? Is it the quintessential teenage experience that everyone can relate to?
Depending on where you live and how prosperous your family, it’s more likely a privilege than a right. If you live in a large city, like Pittsburgh, that has Scout camps or a YM/WCA camp or even a Boys and Girls Club, summer camp might be free or low cost, but with limited space. These fill up fast and a lot of kids are left out.
Did you ever think about the families that rely on school to keep their kids during the day so that they can work? When school is out, summer camp is how parents can continue to keep their jobs even while much of their wage goes to summer camp.
I never went to a summer camp, spending my summers at the free playground where two counselors led games and weekly art projects and where we would all huddle under a small pavilion when it rained. My friends and I would meet there at 8:00am, sometimes pack a lunch so that we wouldn’t have to go home until 4:00pm. It was so much fun and I don’t miss not having a summer camp experience.
I admit that what I imagine camp to be is colored by all the camp movies. You may not understand yet how much summer camp means to you. Some things get weightier with the passage of time.
My wish for you this summer is long: good weather, good friends, good counselors, good learning experiences, good fun, and good memories. And maybe a camp competition where the underdog overcomes something to be the hero.
Here’s a good list of summer camp movies with their ratings. Happy viewing, happy summer!
- Camp Nowhere PG
- Heavyweights PG
- Holes PG
- Meatballs PG
- Parent Trap PG
- Addams Family Values PG-13
- Moonrise Kingdom PG-13
- Theater Camp PG-13
- Friday the 13th R
- Wet Hot American Summer R (so many of today’s stars in their first movie)
- Fred 3: Camp Fred (unrated)
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About the author: Margot Callahan has published her first book, a humorous and affectionate “look behind the Amish apron” titled “Namish,” available as an e-book on many platforms. A former Highland Park resident, she now lives near Lancaster County.
