Traditions and Time Capsule

One of the most endearing and sacred things about Lake Bryn Mawr Camp are the traditions: significant to each camper, each one demanding its own reverence, helping us unite as ‘summer sisters’.  These traditions are what transform Lake Bryn Mawr in the thoughts of the campers from ‘a camp’ to ‘my camp’.

In 1992 a new tradition was started at Bryn Mawr.  A time capsule was built to capture the timeless spirit of camp with each bunk and camper putting in something significant to them—there is not a list of what went into the time capsule, which is part of what makes it so exciting to open now, 20 years later.  Who knows what will come out–what favorite camp memento, treasured letter, funny memory?  The Bryn Mawr time capsule will be opened on Alumni Day, Saturday August 4th.  We have invited the alumni who took part in the time capsule as well as those who came before and after to be with us for this special event.  Back in 1992 we did not use emails—we sent out a letter in the mail to all the camp families letting them know about our time capsule.  This year, in 2013, we sent out emails to our camp families as well as putting a post and video on our Facebook page.  The time capsule has become a way to bridge 20 years of camp and we are going to use it to connect us to the future generations of Bryn Mawr campers as well.  We have invited every bunk to bring something special with them on the opening day so that we can then start a new time capsule to be opened in summer 2033.

The face of Bryn Mawr might change on the surface but the feeling it gives you never does.  Bryn Mawr is home to all of us and part of what makes it that way is that the campers know they are enjoying the same activities, in the exact same ways, as generations of campers did before them.  We might not be here in 20 years to watch the next time capsule open and to carry on the traditions we love so much–but we are confident our successors and our campers will.

Jessie Buresh, Camp Blogger

Angel Philosophy

Loyalty means being true, faith and honor in all we do.  Beauty is in more than skin, beauty comes from deep within.  Merit is working hard all day, developing virtue along the way.  Comradeship is being a friend, loving others ‘til the end.  As Bryn Mawr Angels we’ll uphold these four values: the Angel Code.

When I first started working at Bryn Mawr I had no idea just how much that paragraph up there would change my life.  I thought I was in for a one-time deal, a summer job that would let me experience the East Coast and maybe an introduction to sleep-away camp that I had never had before.  Imagine my surprise to find myself sitting here, in my 7th summer, writing this blog!

You know that Bryn Mawr is a unique place, a place that fosters lifelong friendships—‘summer sisters’.  A place where your Angel can be free to express herself and to try new things.  A place where she can roll out of bed, throw on a uniform, and greet the day where the emphasis is on her experience rather than her appearance.  It is a place where the Angel Code is so deeply entrenched that it is a part of every activity and every program lesson.

I am here to tell you that Bryn Mawr is a unique place for a completely different reason, and one you might not have even considered.  The staff, a team of professionals who are here doing what they do best—inspiring, leading, teaching.  The staff, who come back summer after summer for the very same reason your daughters do!  The Angel Philosophy and what it means in our lives also.  The staff at Bryn Mawr genuinely understand the magnitude of the responsibility they have been given for the summer—your children!  Understanding that responsibility makes the four virtues in the Angel Philosophy that much more important because in order to teach it and pass it along we need to feel it, embrace it, and allow it to change our lives just as surely as it changes the lives of the campers.  And I am here to testify that it does!

I will be writing more about the Angel Code as the summer goes on.  I will be looking for those situations that exemplify the Angel Philosophy so that I can share it with all of you and give you not only a glimpse into the summer home that your Angels love so much but also just why the staff here are so inspired and passionate and even awestruck to be working at LBMC.