I can’t believe this is the last blog of the summer! Summer 2026 was one for the ages. From the beginning of the first session to the end of this session, we had one of our best summers to date.
We started the morning with cheesy omelets for breakfast, followed by packing and getting the cabins cleaned and ready. After lunch, we had departure health screenings and then headed into our all-camp special program: all-camp tushball.
We ended the summer with a campfire, singing traditional songs and telling a story. We heard great music. At the last campfire of the summer, a camper said farewell and thank you to the staff on behalf of all the campers. Both of these are at the end of this blog, and I hope you enjoy reading them. We ended the fire with our key log ceremony.
At the end of the campfire, the whole camp walks down to the swim area and places candles in cups in the water. It is a very special time with a lot of tears and being grateful for an amazing summer.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the blog this summer. We have certainly enjoyed telling you about all the amazing things that we’re doing here at camp.
On a personal note, thank you from the bottom of my heart for sending your campers to camp this summer. It has been an honor to watch them take risks, grow into themselves, form real friendships, and fully embrace everything camp has to offer. I look forward to welcoming all of your campers back to the shores of Lake Towanda next summer.
Benches Up,
Sam
Farewell to the Staff by Alex Rodriguez
I still remember my first year back in 24, i was nervous to come to camp, I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t have the best english (i still dont), i had no idea how it was going to be, so i made a very important decision, to be myself, camp is a place where you can truly express yourself, this is the most important thing at camp because you get to meet a lot of people who will like for who you truly are, and that people, either campers or counselors will become some of your best friends for life, you will remember them forever, and you should cherish every single second you spend with them, because at camp you lose the track of time, for example i still feel like its the first week of camp, but we are about to leave.
Camp has helped me grow so much as a person, either by trying new things i would never do at home, or challenging myself to become better every day, but what has helped me more is the people at camp, either the campers or the counselors, i still remember all my counselors by name, theres navajo year with Jose Gomez, Bailey Ober, Owen Lilly, and even Clay Baron, who was only there for like a week, then there’s Pablo, Jacob nelms and CJ Rizzo, and finally this year with Emilio, Eden and Caleb,
But the people who truly make camp feel special, is the STAFF, and i wanna thank every single one of them for helping the camp in such unique ways only they could, either the kitchen staff, who work all day to give us delicious meals; like for real, some of the best food i have ever eaten has been at camp, the delicious honey garlic chicken, some very good pasta, and especially Bstrains cookies, the health center who always help us feel better and are always chasing people that haven’t taken their meds, all the village Directors and their sketchy inspection results, The chalet, they are always helping with everything, But, most importantly, I feel like i couldn’t have gotten a better PA director Noah is the embodiment of what a counselor should be, if i come back as a counselor i aspire to be like him
And i wanna give a huge thanks to the admin staff who help run the camp,
I could not imagine camp without them, imagine no more HIII from Melrose, or not seeing Ryan’s pony tail, I couldn’t live without hitch always remind us to sign up for trips and check the lost and found, it would be Chaos without Rich at the Waterfront, and lastly i wanna thanks pickles for everything he has done for camp, he does so much stuff behind the scenes that he never gets thanked for.
So yeah, thanks to them, camp feels like my second home
Farewell to the Campers by Noah Coen
Dear Campers,
Thank you.
Thank you for bringing your energy to this place. Thank you for the laughter that echoes through the cabins, the excitement that makes every day feel like a new adventure, and the smiles that remind us why we come back every summer. But most of all, thank you for being yourselves.
As counselors and staff, we’re often asked why we keep coming back. For me, the answer started long before I ever wore a staff shirt.
Every year I was a camper here, I would come home to one simple question from my mother: “How was it?” My answer was always the same: “Good.” But one word could never capture what Camp Timberlane truly meant to me.
To me, the magic of camp has always been the ability to be yourself. Somehow, in these woods, surrounded by people who accept you exactly as you are, the pressure to be anyone else disappears.
Looking back, growing up at Camp Timberlane is the greatest gift my parents ever gave me. At the time, I thought they were simply sending me away for a few weeks each summer. What they were really giving me was a place that would shape who I became. Camp taught me resilience. It taught me friendship. It taught me what it means to belong. Summer after summer, this place quietly helped me become the person I am today.
Years went by, friends came and went, but one thing never changed: camp was always the place where I could be completely myself. That’s why I came back as a counselor. I wanted to help create that same experience for the next generation of campers.
Because camp is more than cabins, campfires, or traditions. It’s a brotherhood. It’s looking out for the person beside you. It’s knowing that the friendships you build here are rooted in trust, kindness, and shared experiences. Those are the things that last long after the summer ends.
That’s why all of us on staff care so deeply about this place. We know what camp can become in your life because, for many of us, it did exactly that.
Right now, each of you is writing your own Camp Timberlane story. Some of you are just beginning it. Others are writing your final chapter as campers. Whether you realize it or not, you’re becoming part of something much bigger than yourselves—a tradition that has shaped generations before you and will continue long after all of us are gone.
Thank you for waking up each morning ready to make another memory. Thank you for trying something new, even when it’s hard. Thank you for cheering for one another, welcoming new campers, and choosing kindness every day. Those moments may seem small, but together they create the culture that makes Camp Timberlane unlike anywhere else.
Whether this is your first summer or your last, I hope you realize what a gift it is to grow up in a place like this. Years from now, you probably won’t remember every game you played or every meal you ate. But you’ll remember how this place made you feel. You’ll remember the people who became your family, the counselors who believed in you, and the version of yourself you found here.
When you leave these woods, I hope you don’t leave that version of yourself behind. Take your confidence with you. Take your kindness with you. Take the friendships, the lessons, and the courage you’ve found here, and let them continue shaping the person you become.
Because Camp Timberlane doesn’t just give you great summers. It gives you a family. It gives you a place to belong. And if you’re lucky, as so many of us on staff have been, it gives you the opportunity to discover who you really are.
So, from every counselor, every staff member, and everyone who has the privilege of calling this place home, thank you.
Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for making us laugh. Thank you for challenging yourselves, for supporting one another, and for carrying on the brotherhood that has been passed down through generations of campers before you.
So, on behalf of every counselor and every staff member, thank you for making Camp Timberlane what it is. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your story. And most of all, thank you for being unapologetically, authentically you. That’s the greatest gift you can give this camp, and it’s what will keep the magic of Camp Timberlane alive for generations to come.