YMCA Camp of Maine | Return to Summer Camp

Entrance to the YMCA Camp in Winthrop, Maine.
Credit: Brenda Darroch I picked up the phone to call the YMCA Camp of Maine in Winthrop to ask if I could drop by for a visit, and the staff was kind enough to agree. As my husband Jim and I rolled down the dirt road that would lead us to the heart of Y camp early Monday morning, half forgotten memories that had taken place on the very ground we were traveling over began to resurface. Here I was returning to the place where I had learned to swim, sail, throw pottery, and, perhaps most memorable of all, curse in French. And then the questions started: Would Y camp look the same viewed through the eyes of an adult, and would I feel the kind of connection described by Little Wohelo alumni? How does this generation of campers, raised in an electronic age, react to goofy songs about fleas and old farmers? Would the moose be there to silently greet me when I entered the dining hall as he had countless times back in the 80’s? And what about camp food – did it still taste like, well, camp food? With camera in tow, we went in search of the answers. Executive director Barry Costa and arts & crafts director Ruth Eastman were on hand to lead us through the morning festivities: to the chapel for the daily message; the waterfront for the raising of the flag and a bit of song and dance; the dining hall for breakfast, where we learned the food had come a long way from the fare they were serving the summer that I lived on peanut butter and honey sandwiches; and then off for a quick tour around the campus before sending us out to trail after campers engrossed in what they would surely one day remember as life-enriching activities.