Camp Chewonki — Attraction in Wiscasset

I attended Maine Reach from the fall of 1975 to the spring of 1976. I spent my senior year of high school on Chewonki Neck and then returned to Concord, Mass. where I graduated with my class in 1976. Don Hudson, Mike Heath, Carol ?, Dorcus Miller, Tim ? and Jay Sperling (Director) were on staff and a few of the students I can remember are Brian Taylor, Judy Wasserman, Harold (Mass.), John, Mark and Rebecca Marvil. I'm totally forgetting most of their last names.

The boys bunked in a cabin below the White House where most of our meals and "classes" were held. The girls bunked in a house on the main green. I haven't been back in at least 15 years, so please pardon my lack of exact names of things.

I think I attended the second year Maine Reach was in existence.

The first trip was to Katahdin in Baxter State Park trip where a Moose charged the entire student body along a marsh boardwalk where you've never seen so many bodies flying in either direction in avoidance of a two ton Moose bent on treeing the ranger who certainly did.

The second big adventure was our winter camping trip. Lake Umbagog straddles the border between New Hampshire and Maine. When we overnighted in a tent, it got down to -32 below and none of us had that kind of rated sleeping bag. EMS was about the biggest outdoor store but that was about 213 miles away in Boston. I remember that Rebecca got pretty wet cutting firewood and had to be warmed up in a sleeping bag with another female student. Maybe the first time it crossed my mind that women might feel more comfortable with each other than with guys. I didn't dwell on it as when we skied out to the vans, the wind chill was about -65! My one and only beard I've ever grown, was well frosted.

The spring outing was just as eventful. The vans dropped us off complete with canoes, supplies and enough food to last us about a week. What they didn't tell us was that one of us would conclude their trip with a stay in a Bangor hospital. The rapids were too much for the group to canoe, so the staff held the canoes and a large boulder fell on the biggest staff member and broke his femur. He was transported out in the bottom of a canoe with a broken paddle as a splint and remarkably recovered later that summer. That incident coincided exactly with the arrival of 1976's Black Fly season.

Even with all of these events, the staff of Maine Reach kept their cool and handled it well. After all these years, in my recollection of the school, it became a family instead of anything really all that formal. So, in 2014, it seems strange trying to write a few paragraphs about an "alternative" school that was really at the forefront of these types of schools back in the 70's. Just past the Vietnam War and before the technology age kicked in, the Chewonki Foundation was part of an experiment in extending their legacy of a Summer Camp in the Northeast expanding out to embrace a creative form...

There's no doubt that lots of kids have fun experiences here, but that was NOT the case with our daughter. We coordinated with our friends who had moved to Hawaii so that their daughter & our daughter could rekindle their best friendship for a few weeks over the summer at Camp Chewonki. The camp counselors thought they had a better idea, keeping the two friends separated for almost the entire stay to keep them from talking with each other too much. This hateful move left a VERY negative impression that has lasted for decades amongst all of us.

Amazingly, we still get stuff in the mail from Camp Chewonki decades after two of our kids went there. I guess they're hoping we'll send our grandkids there?...

my son has gone to the boys camp for 5 years and it is the highlight of his year! He absolutely loves it, and has learned so many great outdoor skills. He sails, kayaks, and his highlight is the 10 day wilderness trip they take. This is a great camp for the child who loves the outdoors and learning how to live responsibly in it -- Chewonki really stresses environmental responsibility also, so the kids learn to be cognizant of the "environmental footprint" they leave. It has been a great experience for him, and one he will likely continue for as...