The Daily Log 2023

We awoke sharply at 7am to the sound of the canon followed by the final Reveille of the summer, which was delivered beautifully by bugler Ryder Hopkins. As we energetically raced through the morning routine, Wilson and Jackson exchanged railroads in acknowledgement of the summer-long race to be ready first each morning. During announcements, the council shared their goodbyes to the community. Taylor West drew tears from most of camp during his heartfelt goodbye and reminder to keep coming back to this place. With our hearts heavy from the weight of the goodbyes but still light from the joyful memories of the summer, we rose and sang the final two verses of the camp song. Then we began the epic packing process. With the dorms barren, bags loaded on the truck to be driven down the hill, and each boy dressed in their Sunday Pasquaney best, we gathered for one more walk to the chapel in the pines. After we sang the hymn “American Anthem,” Mr. Michael gave a Chapel Talk on bringing what we learned at camp home with us. We joined together for a mess of hugs and tears as we said goodbye under the pines and beeches. Within the hour, the hillside was silent besides the rustling of the leaves.

Water Sports Saturday shaped up to be an extensive day-long performance for the parents to showcase all of Pasquaney’s activities and rituals for the visiting parents, families, and friends. From Reveille to Taps, campers and counsellors alike had all hands on deck to smoothly facilitate the many events for our guests. The day kicked off after breakfast with what has come to be known as Super Duties, where all boys meticulously tended to their assigned spaces to prepare the hillside for the action-packed day. A steady stream of campers flowed through the office after each duty finished, and each set of hands were reassigned to a new duty until every corner of the hillside was ship-shaped and dressed to impress. After an hour and a half of hard work, the boys made their way down the impeccably clean hillside to the waterfront to impeccably clean themselves at tub. Inspection followed shortly after, in which the Birch boys took a first place in the final inspection and leading dorm Stanwood placed, surprisingly, in last place. After an efficient lunch and short rest, the community was ready to receive our guests. Families and friends flowed onto the Bathhouse dock and enjoyed a rapid-fire demonstration of all our Water Sports activities, complete with obstacle races, canoe tilts, an exhibition dive, crew boat show, canoe races, and more. Once they were released from the bathhouse and boathouse, the boys rushed towards their families with hugs and gratitude flying in all directions. The floodgates opened from the waterfront, and a tide of campers began milling around the hillside, showing the families all the fond memories from the summer. The hour was full to the brim with new introductions, cookies at Eastbourne, a shop project showcase, exhibition tennis matches, and a complete summer slideshow. The day of performances continued as shortened Tree Talks and the Glade Play: All In The Timing, soon followed. After a delicious buffet dinner, the guests filed into the theater, where campers and counsellors led an improvised music show to entertain before the Theater Play, Fools, began. After a joyful evening in the Watson Theater, the bonfire was lit; a tall tower shaped like a rainstorm to represent our relentless early summer storms, burned brightly to light up the faces of the community at Baird Hall during the singing performance. With a plethora of camp songs finished, railroads for our guests and Pasquaney concluded the night for our guests. As the parents made their way down the lamp-lit hillside, campers and counsellors convened in Baird hall for the character cup awards and the 16 year old lamp ceremony. Malik Foster-Thomas and Ben Hubbard were awarded Mr. Teddy’s Cup, Matt O’Reilly earned the Mauran Cup for his humble service all summer, and Grey Durham was awarded Most Faithful Boy. After thanking the 16 year olds for their service and dedication to Pasquaney, and presenting them with their lamps, the boys shared a long final moment of silence during prayers, just as the skies opened into a torrential downpour. In the dry safety of our dorms, Circles extended late into the night as boys cheerfully and melancholically reflected on the summer behind them. With an action-packed day at our backs and our Saturday ceremonies completed, we rested easy in our bunks for the final night of the summer.

Waking up, it was an about-average morning of 61º F. During breakfast, 16 year olds Matt O’Reilly, Peter Davies, and Elliott Beveridge were congratulated on achieving the greatest feat possible in canoeing, getting their Solos! After a quick and efficient duty period, there was a specie to what was later dubbed Mr. Vinnies Waterfall because he introduced it to Camp. Baseball had final cuts with many 16 year olds getting their first Hobbs Field home runs. We all headed down for the final soak. Almost everyone got in to watch the 16 year olds jump in wearing goofy costumes, acting out clever skits, or performing tricks. We sang the Camp song with all the gusto it deserves, and then our illustrious waterfront director, Rich Desalvo, led us in a railroad for Lake Newfound and a railroad for Pasquaney. With our goodbye to the lake complete, we began the trek up the hill to Mem Hall for fruit one more time. The afternoon activity period came out of nowhere, marking the final activities of the summer. Shop prepared for the shop show that evening, tennis had a fantastic senior final, which Jean Vivier won, and it was overall a phenomenal goodbye to activities. Immediately after dinner, we transitioned into the shop show, which showcased all the camper projects. Besides the many boxes and pens, there were many custom projects such as a guitar, a longboard, and an award-winning chess board. The shop show was followed by the Awards Ceremony, which was an evening full of fun and recognition of talent, as well as acknowledgement of everyone who didn’t quite make it but still deserved a mention. Mr. Michael provided a host of explanations for the many inspiring people to whom the awards were dedicated. The night finished with a railroad for the Council, one for Pasquaney, and then mines, prayers, and Taps.

After the duty period, every camper went to an activity. In tennis, Jean Vivier and Fairfax Randall won the Senior Doubles Tennis Tournament. Rafe Dewey and Rhys Jones won the Junior Doubles Tournament and Emmett Brown and Aurelien Hullin won the Sub-Junior Doubles Tournament. On top of that, Rafe Dewey won the Junior Singles Tournament that afternoon! Other than that, there were not many big events in the morning. After Soak and some wall ball, everyone headed to lunch and announcements were made AGAIN! The main event of the afternoon was the final Senior League ballgame. It was a hard fight, but in the end Peter Davies’s Better Than Wavies won with a final score of 4-2. It was a fantastic game. For campfire we watched the Theater Play, Fools by Neil Simon. The 11 boys who were in this play tried their hardest to perform. In the end, their performance was excellent. As all campers said goodnight to Mr. Michael, they headed to bed after a very eventful day.

We woke to Reveille and the sixteen-year-olds dressed up in costumes from the theater. They were banging on pots and pans with spoons to wake us all up. After the typical morning routine, the sixteen year olds served us breakfast, which consisted of cinnamon buns, taquitos, and crepes. They also made smoothies, horchata, fruit juice, and the best of all– milk shakes!!!! During the activity period, it was so windy that the sailors had to wear helmets during the Regatta. In nature, there was a Sculptured Rock specie and a running specie. Other highlights include the beginning of the first ever Pasquaney Open, a baseball golf event, and a white water swimming safety specie in canoeing. We then had the Glade Play, which was a production of All in the Timing by David Ives, a series of short comedic skits directed by Olivier Bijoux and Hunter McGuire. After that we then ran a Water Sports rehearsal in singing. We ended the night with prayers, Circles, and Taps.

We woke up to a cold and frigid day. then after showers we all headed for breakfast at Mem Hall. During the activity period, we had an extravaganza of finals, such as the senior canoe tilt and the four man. During morning soak, we also had junior and senior crew races, with Dana winning the senior race! In the afternoon activity period, we had the junior league baseball championship, and after a score of 6-2, Gideon Farr’s team took home the trophy. After a delightful dinner, we had singing and then circles. On their day off, Taylor West and Porter Barnes hiked Waumbek and Cabot to complete their 4,000 footers! All in all, it was a great day.

We woke up Reveille with a drizzly 58º F morning. At breakfast Elliott Beveridge, Bixby Hanrahan, and Archer Dansby were announced as COIs. Then we had duties and campers got ready for the activity period. Some memorable moments of the activity period were junior canoe tilt finals, which Michael Head and Michael Rorer won. Another moment was when Xander Kryska won the senior obstacle race finals. After the activity period there was soak and play rehearsals. For the afternoon activity period, the tennis courts were closed. Some memorable moments were war canoe time trials and junior canoe race finals, which Michael Head and Michael Rorer won. After the afternoon activity period, there was an optional soak and play rehearsals. For dinner we had rice, chicken, dumplings, and whoopie pies for dessert. We finished the night with a concert performed by Dave Munsick. He played a few songs about his children growing up and then played the song he wrote about Pasquaney. The finale was “Christmas In Prison,” which he played with Mr. Michael.

In the morning we woke and had morning prayers and then a nice breakfast followed by our duty period. We had a tub to clean up ourselves, and then we had inspection prep. We had the trustees walk through during this inspection. In the afternoon, we had a Chapel Talk on finding happiness and satisfaction in life. After the talk, we had a filling lunch and then an extended rest. It was also announced that there was a surprising four-way tie for first place in inspection, which later turned out to be a mathematical error by the Inspector General and instead there was a first-place winner and a three way tie for second place. After the inspections, we had a cookout down at the waterfront while the annual crew races happened. The races began with the Fourth Boat race. Then we had an exciting Junior Boat race where the Dana Boat broke its steering. Then we had a close Third Boat race where Birch came out on top. The Senior and Junior Boat race will happen at a later date due to the broken boat. For the final race, it was a showdown between the Trad boat and a counsellor boat. The counsellor boat took down the Trad boat easily. All and all, it was a very memorable evening.

We woke to a lovely bugle call. It was a chilly but beautiful morning. After prayers in Dana, we had breakfast and then activities. Sailing was particularly popular. We then had inspection, which Birch won! In the afternoon, we had the Boys-Council Baseball Game. The Council won comfortably with a 9-4 final score. Campers Bennett O’Reilly, Hayden Stone, and Fairfax Randall all hit their first Hobbs Field home runs! We then had dinner and then gathered in the theater for a fabulous play: Thirteen Clocks.

On Friday, camp woke to a gray and rainy sky, which would continue throughout the day. Due to low wind and rain, several activities were closed, such as nature, tennis and sailing. Crew, however, had excellent weather for rowing. As thunder was heard, activities were moved to upper camp. The thunder and lightning continued through lunch and rest and into the afternoon activity. Nature held an insect clinic and there was open shop. There was also photography at Wilson and other various rainy day activities. That evening Henry Anderson delivered a Tree Talk on the different forms of masculinity and how to not be pressured by social norms. Following the Tree Talk was pizza Friday dinner with many trustees, followed by a reading from Mr Vinnie. He read “By the Waters of Babylon,” a camp classic. After the reading, there was mines, prayers, and Taps. All in all, it was a great day.