Scamp Spirit 2025
Dear Aloha, I hope this finds you well — whether you’re deep into school, sports, theater, SAT prep, or just figuring out life day by day. I miss you! I’ve loved receiving email updates from some of you and seeing many of you at our open houses this fall. One of the best parts of my job is getting to watch you grow and surprise yourselves. You inspire me all the time. Because I get to know you well, I also hear about the harder things in life — losses, struggles, challenges. And I know you are each so much more than just what happens to you or
around you, but that these things can impact us when we’re at camp. I know this because I felt it when I was a camper, too. I remember the summer I opened a letter with some tough news from home. I had known it might be coming, but it still felt raw. I cried and shared the news with my tent family. We hugged. We all cried a little. And then we got into costumes for our unit party, and we laughed and danced. Somehow, by the end of the day, I rested my head on my pillow feeling held and continued on page 2
IN THIS ISSUE...
Letter from the Director ........................................................ 1 Spot the Difference.............................................................. 3 IYKYK ............................................................................4 GORP! ........................................................................... 5 Only Green Shorts in the Hale, Season 3....................................6 Fun & Games..................................................................... 7 Important Camp Dates, 2026................................................8
Continued from page 1…
supported. Camp allows for two feelings at the same time: sadness and joy, homesickness and FOMO. On that day, the people around me struck just the right balance — giving me space to feel but also pulling me back into joy. Over the next several summers, there were plenty of other “real life” events that happened while I was away at camp. My mom decided it was time to sell our house to move into something smaller. I was going to have a half-brother! That’s how camp became my anchor. While life at home kept changing, camp felt steady, safe, and full of belonging. Whether I was on the lake, climbing Mount Ascutney, or performing at Aloha Entertains, I was surrounded by people who made me feel seen and understood. That sense of belonging helped carry me through some tough times. I see you cultivating this support for each other every year. I see the risks you take and confidence you build with our community backing you, silently saying, “Give it a shot, we won’t judge you, we will be thrilled that you tried and give you a big hug after you’re done.” This is why I now receive letters that say, “Camp has been the place where I can truly be myself and feel welcomed for the past 4 years.” And, “Over the past 6 years, I have gotten to meet some of the most influential people in my life. Camp has brought me my favorite people in the world.”
Our community grounds us, but it also allows us to soar into the unknown. It’s the basis for letters like this: “Camp has made me try new things out of my comfort zone, and it helps me be myself. I never thought I would swim around the entire lake and then run around it.” These leaps of faith happen way after our camp careers end — we feel that silent support forever, and it empowers us to keep putting ourselves out there. And as for next summer? Is there such a thing as being too excited? If so, that’s me. So many of you have been reaching out to say, “Char, I want to be a Clubber!” or, “I’m ready to come full, help me convince my parents, please!” Just thinking about us being together again (with chipwiches, obviously) makes me smile. So, until then, take care of yourselves. Take care of each other. Send someone some surprise snail mail. And remember — no matter how far away camp might feel right now or what’s going on in your home life, this community is here for you, we’ve got your back, and we want to see you soar! Aloha,
Charlotte Messervy Director of Aloha 2
the aloha foundation
spot the difference!
Answers on page 7
Can you spot the 8 differences and find the 3 hidden loons in these photos?
Scamp Spirit • 2025
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iykyk who's the Most Creative person in camp? “Millie because she always finds ways to incorporate campers’ ideas and make a project.” Serena Spiro — Trip-Sub, Pines
“Chris because she comes up with good nicknames, heads AURA, and she created her own boy band and she writes her own music.” Maeve Hibbard — Sub-Club, Old Hideaway
“Gretchen because she is always thinking of creative swimming activities.” Allegra Modenesi — Sub-Club, Old Hideaway Lots of you listed everyone in the Art Barn and your friends!
If you could rename a department or building... “I would call the path to Winships to ‘The Aloha Way.’” Ocean Lundell — Dub-Sub, Crossroads
“I would call the swimming department the ‘Mermaid Club’ !” Marlyn Torres — Dub-Sub, Pines
“I would call the Woodchuck Hole ‘Survival Skills.’” Margaret Ward — Dub-Sub, Seventh Heaven
What’s your favorite Camp Saying? “Shooooot” (most popular by far!) “In a minute but not yet” “Live life the Aloha Way.” “That’s not the Aloha Way” “I am joy. I am rest. I am happy. I am blessed.” “I lost the game.” 4
the aloha foundation
P GOR trips,
is for t family en not t meals! Shel xo
gorp
shel's recipe
Best Tent Family Meal We tallied the votes and results don't lie…
➊ MAC & CHEESE ➋ SCRAMBLED BROWNIES ➌ CALZONES
ingredients: ➡ a scant cup of M&Ms ➡ a cup of raisins ➡ a bulging cup of Goldfish ➡ a couple handfuls of pretzels ➡ 2 cups of Tasty-O’s (Cheerio clones) ➡ 2 cups of Golden Grahams
What’s a moment at Aloha that made you feel connected to Nature? “Wishing Fire/singing at Wishing Fire.” Siyona Goel — Trip-Sub, Crossroads Many of you listed backpacking and canoe trips including…
“My trip when I didn’t have a toilet so I peed in the woods!” Mesha Jimenez — Dub-Sub, Pines Many of you said Solos made you feel connected to nature (despite the bugs)
“During solos at first I aggressively tried to swat away the bugs/insects until I realized once I calmed down and let them live in their habitat, I started to see beauty in things I hated/was scared of previously and they left me alone.” Izzy Steffey — Dub-Sub, Crossroads
“My solo. I had never done one before and by the end of it I had embraced the simplicity.” Eleanor Coyne — Dub-Sub, Crossroads Scamp Spirit • 2025
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Only Green Shorts in the Hale top-rated true crime podcast from the 05045, with hosts, Cher Missouri & Flye Squadron
SEASON 3, The Chipwich Conspiracy It started with an echo. A kind of echo you only hear in the freezer of Camp Aloha’s kitchen when the metal door creaks open, then slams shut. An echo of absence. Of deep, soulshattering nothingness. No chipwiches. Not a drop of vanilla-bean goodness. Just empty wire shelves, a sticky floor, and a silence that felt... suspicious. It had been three weeks. Three weeks of whispers. Of longing. Of freezer peeks that ended in heartbreak. And now... Brita had had enough. It was Free Swim, and Brita was floating just next to the Bongo 20 by Rave Sports, staring up at the sky and trying to pretend she wasn’t hangry. But then, something caught her eye. A flicker below the surface. A glimmer of something not quite... natural.
Sam McFadden noticed it first. Then he saw something he never expected to see at Aloha Camp. A narrow trail behind the wheelbarrow full of trash bags. Freshly dug. Just the right size for a small dog or large racoon. That night, Brita and Sam staked it out. They watched from the new DiffCon Bench. At 10:03 p.m., they saw her. Winnie trotted into view. She paused at the bottom of the stairs. Sniffed. Then disappeared underground. Brita followed the tunnel with her flashlight while Sam used his DTL instincts and ran inside the kitchen… opening the freezer. And there she was. Winnie.
She dove down using her favorite Shel Dive. And for just a moment, the lake bottom looked like it wasn’t crawling with milfoil. It was smooth. Structured. Almost like… another roof. Another camp. Right beneath Aloha.
Lying inside the freezer, on her side, legs gently kicking, surrounded by 14 half-eaten chipwich wrappers and one still stuck to her ear.
She emerged gasping and swam back to shore, only one thought in her mind:
Turns out, the loons weren’t the masterminds. There was no organized plot. No deep-sea dessert trafficking.
“There’s a camp under the lake.”
Just a very clever dog. With a serious craving. And a tunnel system no one saw coming. She’d been making nightly visits to the back of the freezer for weeks. Each time, eating a little more. Each time, growing a little bigger.
The clues piled up. Chipwiches vanished without a trace. Loons circled overhead, then disappeared below. Campers began looking suspiciously at the water. Some stopped swimming altogether. At one point, Gini tried to question a loon using the chalkboard menu from dinner. Results were inconclusive. It all pointed in one direction: Camp Ahola. The mirror world beneath us. And their plot to steal all our desserts. And yet… there was one thing no one could explain. Winnie.
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In June she was just a teeny tiny pupper love. But lately, she was looking… big… tall. Her head was a little rounder. Her energy levels a little… post-chipwich.
the aloha foundation
The freezer is now sealed. The tunnel has been filled in with mulch and pinecones. And Winnie? She’s on a supervised snack plan. The loons were cleared of all charges. Camp Ahola remains unconfirmed. And all was quiet on the hillside. For now.
FUN & GAMES
aloha crossword challenge Answers below
ACROSS 3. Stands for johns and sinks (4) 6. He brought us wooden mugs and amazing woodworking skills (5) 10. Campcraft department at Aloha (16) 12. Sunday evenings are spent together here (11) 14. It appeared from thin air and we jumped on it! (23) 15. A canoeing skill we should all learn (10) 16. What we call our 7th grade graduates (8) 17. Our summer theme (11)
DOWN 1. The color Clubbers wear (4) 2. Nancy’s nightmare theme (hint: not Western, not cowboys) (5) 4. The letters Louisa used in most Performing Arts announcements (5) 5. She most likely attacked you with a snake in the Dining Room (7) 7. Aloha’s very own “boyband” (6) 8. Aloha’s very own “girlband” (4) 9. They always got first dibs on our extra desserts (14) 11. The first half show (20) 13. Scarlett Johnston’s deep passion (15)
J.O.t.s aloha m.a.s.h.!
Start by picking a random number — for example, count how many times you can blink in 10 seconds or draw a spiral and count the lines. Then, move through the list of all your category options in order, counting each item until you reach that number and crossing it off. Keep going, skipping any crossed-off ones, until there’s only one option left in each category. Those final choices reveal your “future”! HOME:
SPECIAL DAY:
Jinx (Sev Hev Jinx) Ohana (Char’s Cabin) Tent (Brita’s tent in OH) Shack (Kahua A)
Nancy’s Nightmare Fireworks Day All Out Day Solo Sunday
TENTMATE:
MEAL:
Skye Walden Winnie the Pup Baby Georgia A wasp’s nest
Deli day Banquet Grilled cheese & tomato soup Pizza & salad
Scamp Spirit • 2025
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2968 Lake Morey Road Fairlee, Vermont 05045
ENROLLMENT IS OPEN! CAMP DATES 2026 FULL SEASON: Friday, June 26–Wednesday, August 12 1st SESSION: Friday, June 26–Sunday, July 19 2nd SESSION: Tuesday, July 21–Wednesday, August 12 INTRO SESSION: Tuesday, July 21–Tuesday, August 4 CLUB PROGRAM: Monday, June 22–Wednesday, August 12 Visiting weekend: Saturday, July 18–Sunday, July 19 Aloha/hive reunion: Friday, August 14–Sunday, August 16
alohafoundation.org