Merri-Mac: First, Last and Always.

Today was the celebration of life of a very great man whom I have known for most of my life.  Not my dad, my grandfather, an uncle, a cousin or even a best friend.  I can't even imagine that he even knew my name, but he has touched the life of thousands of girls...who are now wonderful sisters, wives, aunts, friends and daughters all over the world.  

I remember one summer when I was little, my mom approached me with an old VHS tape of a camp deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, not far from where my family vacationed each fall.  I remember that old tape like it was yesterday, and still remember some of the familiar faces and the bluegrass song that played in the background as groups of girls hiked along the ridges of the mountains at sunrise, cheered loud and crazy songs in the dining hall, and repelled off of ginormous cliffs at sunset.  

Spencer Boyd, who directed Camp Merri-Mac long before I was born, created a place where girls could go to be girls.  No television, no electronics, no boys, and no cell phones (which, when I started going, wasn't a problem at all) were all key elements in the magic of Merri-Mac.  

I was destined to go to summer camp, as Molly was my beloved American girl doll and what she did, I did..right?  Molly Saves the Day? Camp Gowonagin?  Merri-Mac was just Camp Go-On-Again in real life! Yes! 

That first summer I was a "first session" girl, and I began with going two weeks.  We packed my bright blue trunk, filled the lid with pictures of friends and family members, and neatly folded clothes just barely fit inside.  I remember pulling up to the green painted cabin with Tweedle Doe written across the  doorway.  Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were both connected to Tweedle Doe, but I felt safe right in the middle.  Charlotte and Ansley were my counselors, and I immediately chose the top bunk next to another girl named Maggie, Maggie Nicholson was her name (funny how you remember things like that, huh?).  We took pictures and I played with a few girls in the creek, mom made my bed and I put some things in my old plywood cubbies.  I did cry that year when my parents left, but dad tossed me his package of Big Red gum so that I could chew a piece when I was feeling homesick.  

What I didn't know is that I would be beginning a summer experience that would forever change my life.  The gravel roadways leading to Lake Doris, the Mike, and Senior Hill where all of the grown-up girls lived were where I received my first and only scar on my knee.  The canoe dock is where I first learned how to roll in a kayak.  The old fire ring at the camp craft hut is where I built my first fire...by myself.  Stardust cabin is where I first learned to sweep.  The counselor's ring deep in the mountain is where crazy people came out of the woods and painted my face and pronounced me to be not an Iroquois, not a Choctaw, but a Seminole...which I will now and forever support and be with pride.   Because SBT!  Comet cabin is home to the first toilet I ever cleaned.  That a package labeled "The Wrinkled Egg" was probably going to be the highlight of your week.  The ropes course beside the Big House is where I had my first boost of self-confidence and then got rope burn on the last swing.  And the horseback riding ring is where I realized that I really hate to ride.  

The list goes on from running to be the first in line for trading post to yelling at every meal: "Announcements, Announcements, Announcements! Spencer's Got Another One, Another One, Another One..." (I won't go on because it's terribly long and those of you that are unfamiliar will really think I'm crazy).   Of course, all of these things don't mean very much if you do not know Camp Merri-Mac, but for those of you who do...I am certain you can relish in the happy memories.  

Spencer created a place where no one ever wanted to grow up...and you didn't have to because there was no rush, no outside world pushing in.  All you had were your best friends, tribal spirit, and the cool mountain breeze whistling through the trees.  My camp friends were a special breed.  Thanks to Facebook, I am still good friends with a few of them.  (Dave, Kelsey Martin, and Isabelle...I'm looking at you!)  Girls from all over the country could come together from different backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, all walks of life...and share the common bond of Camp Merri-Mac that ran thickly through our veins.  The only place I can remember in my life where a 17 year old could be best friends with a 7 year old, where there's a song for every rhyme or reason and you might as well stand up on the dining hall benches and scream it from the top of yours lungs (because..why not?), and a lovely character such as Patti-O would be everyone's confidant and counselor.  It's a feeling and a belonging that I can't describe in words, but only something that can be experienced and cherished.  

When I was about 13 or 14 Spencer handed over the camp to his son, Adam Boyd but you could still spot Spencer riding around camp and visiting with the girls on his favorite white horse.  Adam made a lot of changes to the camp, some...I liked.  Some..I didn't like.  I was accustomed to nothing ever changing (which was why everyone liked to go back every year) and so when Adam made so many changes in one summer I remember being outraged and devastated.  But, he has made so many positive changes to the camp.  Not only has he improved the facilities 100 times over, but he has been able to bring in more girls and better quality of staff because of the camp's national award status.  It has made me even more proud to be a Merri-Mac alumni.    

It was an absolute privilege to be able to attend and experience such a wonderful place as Camp Merri-Mac.  I owe it all to my parents as it wouldn't have been possible without them.  It only got better when Laine was old enough to join in on the experience and be initiated as a Seminole (Seminole pride woop woop! Seminole power! *stomp, clap*) and we shared so many things together and memories that we will cherish for a lifetime.  It prepared me for so many things in life and I only hope that my children will one day have the chance to attend Camp Merri-Mac, be painted in the blue and gold, and swim in Lake Doris...and become a special, beautiful, fabulous Merri-Mac girl.  

It will forever hold a special place in many girl's hearts, and I will always call it home.  So thanks to Spencer Boyd for establishing a place where girls can be themselves and grow up confident in whoever that person may be...and where the Seminoles are always and forever will be: Number 1.

Merri-Mac: First, Last and Always.  

From this haven they say you are going.

I will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile.

For they say you are taking the sunshine

That brightens our pathway a while.

Come and sit by my side if you love me,

Do not hasten to bid me adieu.

Just remember this place we call Merri-Mac,

And the friends who have loved you so true.