June 5th, 2000 Parent Letter
Dear Friends:
This will be the last general communication before camp begins on June 24 (June 21 for Senior Lodge campers -15 year olds). I will be at camp on June 5. See you soon!
Sincerely yours,
Philip H. Lilienthal
TRAVEL
Enclosed is an updated transportation list of how I expect campers to be getting to camp. Please call or write to advise me if I am mistaken. If the list reflects your son is traveling by air, please call Pam or Margrit at Carlson Wagonlit Travel at 800-338-0728 or 703-437-6664 to arrange for payment and ticketing if you have not already done so. If you want to change your means of travel, just let me know. We are told that there may be schedule changes, so please call the airline or travel agent a day or two before travel to confirm.
BUS:
All boys traveling on the New York, Westchester, or Boston buses should bring snacks, lunches, drinks in cans or plastic containers, (no glass please!) with straws, and any games, comics, or other quiet entertainment for the bus. Please make sure your son's name is on his lunch. Please no Game Boys, Pokemon cards, or Super Soakers, or their equivalents, on the bus or at camp.
New York City: The New York City group will leave at 8:00 a.m. from the Hayden Planetarium on 81st Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. Please be there at 7:30 a.m. so we can get everything loaded quickly and depart promptly.
Westchester: The Westchester group will leave f rot the parking lot of the Kohl's Shopping Center on Route 1 across from United Hospital just north of I-287 (the Cross-Westchester Expressway) and near I-95. The bus will leave at 9:00 a.m. - Please be there by 8:30 a.m. The bus will be in front of the Kohl's Department Store (formerly Caldor's).
Boston: Boys meeting in Boston to take the bus to camp should meet at the gas station and former Roy Rogers restaurant parking lot on Northbound Route 128 in the Lexington area. This is just south of Exit 30 and north of Route 2. Please be there at 12:45 p.m. for a 1:15 p.m. departure.
FLIGHTS: Boys arriving by air in Portland will be met by counselors at their flight. If for some reason a counselor is delayed, the camper should wait for him at the arrival gate area. Please be sure to check all baggage through to the final destination (usually Portland, Maine). We will have Jason Alday, a veteran counselor, as a chaperone on the Newark flight. He will meet the boys at the departure gate and will meet boys with flights that connect in Newark at their arrival gate. Not knowing what food will be served, a lunch should be packed as the boys will not arrive at camp until after lunch time.
CAR: Boys arriving by car should arrive at camp after 2:30 p.m. on June 24. Second session campers should arrive after 9:15 am on July 20.
PAYMENT:
All tuition most be paid before June 24. A boy may not come to camp if there is tuition unpaid. Reminders are included as enclosures to this letter.
MAIL: The single greatest cause of homesickness for campers (new and old) is not getting mail at the beginning of camp. Help us by starting to send letters or postcards about four days before camp starts. The impact of having mail on the first day of camp is enormous! (See the enclosed sheet on letters.) And then keep writing.
CLOTHING: 1). Everything not attached to him and that you want to be returned must have a name tag. Assume everything will be misplaced at some point in the summer. Please make sure that less obvious articles - tennis racquets, shoes, baseball gloves, sleeping bags and flashlights - have your son's name marked on them. 2). Everyone should bring one set of "civilian" clothes for our civilian clothes day. Boys completing 6th grade this spring, and older, should bring a couple of other "outfits" for the socials we have with girls camps. 3). Our drama department will happily give your old clothes a new home. To us they're costumes; to you they're old slacks, shirts, dresses, skirts and blouses.
ATHLETIC BAGS: We will send, under separate cover, each new camper a present of the Camp Winnebago 75th anniversary athletic bag. International campers will receive them upon arrival at camp.
BAGGAGE: We encourage you to send duffels and other items to camp early. We can have bags at the bunk so there are fewer things to carry off the bus. Please send the items to arrive on June 23 by United Parcel Service. They should be shipped to Your Son, Camp Winnebago, Route 17 (this is necessary for UPS), Kents Hill ME 04349. For parcel post shipments through the Post Office, use the mailing address of RR 2, Box 1400, Kents Hill, ME 04349. Suitcases and duffels should be securely tied but not locked unless we are sent a key. They may be sent insured. You may have your son bring his duffel, sleeping bag, and/or suitcase with him, but each must be a reasonable size for the bus or plane. Second session campers should send the bags to arrive around July 19, or bring them with you.
MEDICATIONS: It is best, if possible, to send all medications a few days ahead, attention Phil and infirmary, rather than have your son bring them.
INTERNATIONAL CAMPERS: For boys living abroad, we also provide towels and sleeping bags.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS: If you will be changing your address, either temporarily or permanently, during the summer, please let-us know it and your new phone number, fax and/or E-mail. We need these for purposes of sending you a weekly report on your son's activities and so we can contact you in the event of an emergency. Enclosed is a form for this purpose.
CAMP ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER: All mail to your son should be sent to him at Camp Winnebago, RR2, Box 1400, Kents Hill, ME 04349. Our phone number is 207-685-4918. After camp begins, we will send you his bunk number so you can put it on the envelope and speed delivery within camp.
FOOD: Camp food is plentiful and well-prepared. Please do not send up anything extra. We have the campers open all their packages and bulky envelops in the office and, if it is food, candy, gum, etc., the secretaries have the unpleasant job of throwing it out. We hate to do this, so please make our lives easier by not sending any food and by advising all relatives and friends similarly.
PACKAGES: Please keep the number of packages sent to an appropriate limit. A package requires the camper to make a special trip to the office where he has to wait in line and then open the package in front of the secretary. It is an inconvenience, we suggest no more than 3 during the summer. If the item is expected to come home with your son, realize that space in the bunk and on the return flight or bus is extremely limited.
VISITING DAY: We look forward to seeing you at camp on Friday, July 21, or Saturday, July 22. Enclosed are driving instructions. Please let us know, if you haven't already done so, on which day you will be visiting and if others will be visiting with you. If you are not visiting, we would like to know that, too, as we take the boys whose parents do not visit out for a meal. First session campers are visited on July 19, the last day at camp. Second session campers have a flexible schedule which is arranged individually. One of the days of the normal visiting weekend is fine and is the time usually chosen. I'm sorry but no pets are permitted at any time.
TELEPHONE CALLS: We permit phone calls on a very limited basis. An 8-week camper may receive two; a 4-week camper one. After 10 days at camp (on July 4), we permit new campers to receive phone calls. Beginning on July 6, we permit returning campers to receive phone calls. Families living in other countries may call a second time if they think it is necessary.
If you want to phone, please call the Camp office between 10:00 am - 12:30 p.m to set up a call for that day. If your son is out of camp on a trip or for an athletic contest, you will be so advised. We will advise your son to call you at the appointed time, which will be between 1:30 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. or 6:45 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Phone calls will be limited to five minutes.
Similar arrangements will be in effect following visiting day. Phone calls may be as early as August 1 for all campers. Phone calls will not be scheduled or permitted (except birthday calls) during Final Week (starting on August 10).
Please realize that phone calls may not be very reassuring or informative. I do not recommend them, especially for boys who might be prone to homesickness. Preview the enclosed for a good statement on why phone calls are so limited and why you should not feel obliged to call.
BIRTHDAYS:
If a camper has a birthday at camp, you may call him with an "extra" phone call at meal time. We eat breakfast at 8:00 a.m., lunch at 12:45 p.m., and dinner at 6:00 p.m. It's best to call 15 minutes after the start of the meal. Wednesday lunch and dinner and Sunday breakfast are not good times.
FAX : While we promote real letter-writing (and insist on it for the campers), if you think something is time-sensitive, you may fax it. International families are always invited to fax letters. The fax number is 207-685-9190. You may also use the camp's e-mail address: philcwhv@aol.com. Put your son's, full name on the top line of the message. I repeat this should only be done for important messages, except for families living abroad.
TUTORING : If your son needs academic tutoring during his time at camp, please call or write. The added expense will be billed to you.
TIPPING: We have a firm and absolute policy against tipping. It has been determined by the American Camping Association accreditation standards to be inconsistent with the relationship between camper and counselor. We agree. Please do not embarrass counselors or place them in an awkward position.
HELPFUL HINTS :
(1) Make sure your son packs a pair of old canvas (non-leather) sneakers. Our boating and canoeing program requires the campers to go in the water with sneakers on, and it's a shame to ruin good sneakers. Aqua shoes, sandals, or flipflops are also satisfactory.
(2) Please have your son bring sun screen with an appropriate SPF (15 or over). (3)There is no real need for cash at camp. The bunks are unlocked and money can get lost easily. The secretaries can hold cash in the office for boys who have cash and want it more secure. They can get it whenever they want during office hours.
(4) Please send enough extra batteries for any device your son brings, other than a normal 2-D battery flashlight. We provide those.
CORRESPONDENCE: Our Head of Photography, Tom Hoegeman, is also our webmaster. He has placed all correspondence to families and much more on our website at www.campwinnebago.com. The camp newspaper,
The WAG, will be posted during the summer.
REFERRALS: Many of you have referred camp to friends and their sons are now attending Winnebago. Much thanks to the families of Max and Harry Clayman, Bud Egan, Leo Eisenstein, August Felix, Evan Feldhausen, Louis Mandelbaum, Aaron Nathan, Denis Roubinet, Elliot Steinbaum, and Eric and Mark Tanner. Our records are not perfect - we apologize if we neglected you. Please let us know of the oversight!
PARENT/SON WEEKEND: In our last letter, we mentioned our Parent/Son weekend from Thursday, August 17 (the last day of camp) to Sunday, August 20. There is still space available in this wonderful end of season bonding time. There will be a wide range of activities, lots of fresh air, and wonderful companionship. The cost is $400 for a parent and son and includes your own cabin and all meals and activities for three days. Other family members may attend.
FAMILY CAMP: Families interested in an after camp program are warmly invited to Family Camp. It is a wonderful week in which you can have as much activity as you like and as much relaxation as your family will allow you to have. At Family Camp you will enjoy your own cabin and participate in a wide variety of activities, or just enjoy the quiet by the lake or in the woods. The dates are August20-26. The cost is $550 for adults, $450 for l6-30 year olds in the same family, $350 for 2-16 year olds and $250 for 2000 campers. There is no charge for infants under 2 years old. All meals and activities at camp are included in the price.
If you come for 10 days the weekend is half price.