Huckins by Megan DuFault
The first time I drove through the white gates of Camp Nellie Huckins, I knew it would have a place in my heart forever. The cabins were lined up in alphabetical order. The sun shone through the trees and sparkled brightly on the lake. But even brighter than that, were the smiles on the girls. Hundreds of girls, isolated from technology and the real world, gathered in a little piece of paradise for a short 2 weeks. Each day, I woke up to the calls of the loons. The grasshoppers chirped from the woods. My bunk bed squeaked each time Read More…
Huckster Card – 2015
I can’t imagine what I would have done without Huckins these past 5 years. Huckins has given me a self confidence I never knew I had. At Huckins I am never afraid to truly be myself. I have made friendships here that I never could have made anywhere else. I have made so many memories here too; like playing manhunt on the island, waterskiing around the lake, going on hikes and fishing with Jody as a junior. Without Huckins my life wouldn’t be the same. Huckins allows you to be your true self without being judged; it also allows you Read More…
Senior Assembly Presentation by Natalie James (SC ’16)
When I was nine years old I said goodbye to my parents for two weeks in a strange place that I have never seen before. Instead of answering to them, I would now be left with two teenagers whom I had never met before to look after me. I was terrified. My parents, and my home were a nine hour drive away, and being seven years short of the driving age, I was trapped in the woods of New Hampshire for the first part of my summer. Now, this explanation makes a camp seem like a prison. And at the Read More…
College Essay by Eva Gaufberg (double SC in ’16)
As rows of campers fill the wooden chapel, I sit with my unlit candle and watch. We are surrounded by nature; the stars and moon peek through the tree line, watching as we begin a custom I know by heart. On this last night of summer camp our Director Jody begins the candlelight ceremony and I reflect on the experiences that have brought me to this exact moment…. Most mornings at Camp Huckins, the eerie yet soothing sound of loons flows through the cool air, just before the bugle blows. As I open my eyes and peer out the window, Read More…
A Huckins Poem
I Am Huckins By Madison Cilk (August 2014 CIT) I am from the tall pines, shading me from the summer sun. I am from chocolate chip pudding. I am from Sundae Sunday. I am from “Let’s ‘Nellie-Skip’ ladies!” I am from the hopes of getting a letter. I am from rarely getting a package. I am from “Ladies! Please quiet down! It’s past taps!” I am from Olympic Day. I am from loon calls, singing me their haunting songs late at night. I am from Taylor Swift songs every morning. I am from capers. I am from Read More…
Peace Poles
Towards the end of this summer, Joanne Landry (alumna and staff parent) with the help of the Craft Shop started the Peace Pole Project; a series of four peace poles – to be placed around Camp. Traditionally a Peace Pole is a hand-crafted monument that displays the message and prayer ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ on each of its four or six sides, usually in different languages. The Huckins Peace Poles – painted in the four core value colors of red, blue, yellow and green- will represent these core values, with each value (caring, honesty, respect and responsibility), written in different languages Read More…
The Teachings of Camp
It was just like any other dreary January day in 2007: an ominous sky, snow and dirt lining the roads, a brisk breeze. I have found that when every day of the month is a repetition of this gloomy weather, all the days seem to mesh together, and I can’t remember one from another. On one gray day that month, my Mom informed me that she had signed me up for sleep away camp that summer. I was handed a brochure for YMCA Camp Nellie Huckins, an all-girls camp on Lake Ossipee in Freedom, New Hampshire. Skimming through it and Read More…
Reflections from Alisson Borowski Kolodner – A few of our favorite things
Last summer, I had the pleasure of being the Middler Division Leader at Camp. This was my 16th summer, and the opportunity to spend an entire season back at Huckins with my four children (and my husband every weekend) was too amazing to pass up. With only 75 days left until the girls come pouring back through the white gates, we took tonight’s dinner to talk about a few of our favorite things. Tadhg (age 4): Archery! Kiernan (age 6): Swimming. Of any type. Oliver (age 8): Peter Pan and Harry Potter days. Merin (age 2): Owls. Loons. Mike (my Read More…
Thought of the Day – Jessie Felber
For the last six months, I spent my life traveling around the world. I visited and lived in 6 states, 7 countries and on two different continents. Every place I visited was extremely different from the others; the people, food, language, culture, and even the way things looked were different. At times, this felt overwhelming. I craved some sort of consistency, and searched hard to find something in common between all these different places. The one connection I was able to find was that people everywhere want to give and be loved. The way people do this is different, but Read More…
