Camp St. Charles marks 75 summers of religion, friendship and enjoyable.

Joseph “Joe” Long didn’t wish to go to camp the primary time.

“It was kind of mandatory,” mentioned the 15-year-old from Lackey High School. “But then after that, I wanted to come back.”

Now getting into his fourth summer time at Camp St. Charles, Joe describes the expertise in a approach that captures each its simplicity and its endurance.

“It’s been really fun. It’s like fun mixed with… nostalgic,” he mentioned. “Like, kind of analog fun.”

That form of unplugged, screen-free expertise — paired with religion, friendship and private development — is precisely what Camp St. Charles has supplied generations of campers because it celebrates its seventy fifth anniversary.

Located on a peninsula alongside Charleston Creek and the Wicomico River in Southern Maryland, the Catholic summer time camp in Newburg serves about 142 campers every week, ages 6 to fifteen, together with older teenagers in its mentor program. With rustic cabins, wooded trails and waterfront actions, the camp gives a conventional sleepaway expertise rooted in group and care.

For Laura Hall, the camp’s govt director, that have has formed practically her whole life.

Hall first encountered Camp St. Charles as a baby, when she obtained a flyer however couldn’t attend as a result of the camp was then solely open to boys. Years later, she returned as a counselor, intending to remain for only one summer time.

“I really fell in love with the place,” she mentioned. “I kept coming back again and again.”

More than three a long time later, Hall has spent 32 summers at Camp St. Charles and practically 25 years as its director. She met her husband there, was married there, and raised her kids on the camp, each of whom are actually younger adults serving to with the anniversary celebration.

“It’s just been a really huge part of our lives and a tremendous blessing,” she mentioned.

While some points of camp have developed over time, Hall mentioned its core mission stays the identical: serving to younger individuals develop by means of problem, group and time away from house.

“We want there to be challenges – things that are possible but still difficult,” she mentioned. “You feel that wonderful sense of accomplishment when you overcome those challenges.”

That development typically begins within the camp’s cabins, the place campers of various ages stay collectively in what Hall describes as a “family-style” surroundings.

“It’s very much like a family,” she mentioned. “Older campers become encouragers, like big brothers and big sisters.”

That sense of connection is precisely what retains campers coming again – and what builds friendships that final far past the summer time.

Samantha D’Ambrosio, a center faculty scholar from La Plata, mentioned she is returning for her third yr for a easy motive.

“Her,” she mentioned, pointing to her good friend.

That good friend, Hope Kubiak of Manassas, Virginia, has been coming to camp for 5 years. The two met at camp and have stayed in contact ever since.

“We were in the same group and just started talking and hanging out,” Hope mentioned.

For Hope, camp turned particularly significant after the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was just happy to be outside and around people again,” she mentioned. “I don’t have a lot of friends who live nearby, so camp is a place where I can really connect with people.”

Last yr, she served as a mentor, serving to information youthful campers — an expertise that helped her develop in confidence and communication.

“It taught me how to communicate better with younger kids and build a sense of community,” she mentioned.

That welcoming surroundings extends to campers of all backgrounds.

Samantha, who’s Lutheran, mentioned she has at all times felt included.

“Everyone is really welcoming and friendly,” she mentioned.

For her youthful sister Abby, a sixth grader, that sense of welcome made all of the distinction throughout her first summer time.

“At first, I was a little scared,” Abby mentioned. “But everyone made me feel less scared.”

Now getting into her third yr, Abby mentioned camp has helped her grow to be extra impartial.

“There are a lot of things where the kids help out and do things on their own,” she mentioned.

For mother and father, that sense of care and construction could make all of the distinction when deciding whether or not to ship their kids away for the primary time.

Becky D’Ambrosio, whose daughters first realized in regards to the camp on the Charles County Fair, mentioned she initially had some hesitation, particularly as a result of her kids aren’t Catholic.

“I did worry a little about my daughter not being Catholic and whether she might feel left out — but that did not happen at all,” she mentioned.

Instead, she discovered a well-organized program that communicated clearly and persistently with households.

“I can honestly say, I have never been a part of anything that communicates so well,” mentioned D’Ambrosio, who works in authorities communications. “You never have to question anything.”

Emily Kubiak, one other mother or father, mentioned her daughters beloved camp a lot after their first session that they couldn’t wait to return.

“They get ‘camp sick,’” she mentioned. “Instead of getting homesick, they miss camp.”

Kubiak mentioned she has seen her daughter develop in confidence by means of the expertise, particularly by studying to navigate challenges independently.

“Being here, being on her own, and doing things without having mom or dad right there to help has really helped her grow,” she mentioned.

That independence is fostered partly by the camp’s dedication to being absolutely unplugged. Campers shouldn’t have entry to telephones, as a substitute spending their days open air canoeing, fishing, swimming, taking part in sports activities and collaborating in group actions.

“There’s definitely some anxiety beforehand,” Hall mentioned. “But we’re busy, we’re outside, and that concern fades pretty quickly.”

Faith additionally stays a gradual, however pure, a part of camp life. Campers take part in every day prayer, brief devotions and Mass throughout longer classes, however the emphasis is on lived expertise slightly than formal instruction.

“It’s not in a classroom setting,” Hall mentioned. “It’s woven naturally into camp life.”

The camp, rooted within the Salvatorian custom, welcomes kids of all faiths and backgrounds.

For many, the impression of Camp St. Charles extends nicely past childhood.

Emily Woodhull, who started attending camp in 2011 and later served as a counselor, credit the expertise with shaping each her id and her profession.

“Camp really helped me become comfortable being my true self,” she mentioned.

At closing campfire, campers and counselors can carry out skits or music. As a counselor, Woodhull started singing in entrance of others, one thing that might later grow to be central to her life.

“Now I do it for a living,” mentioned Woodhull, a rustic and Americana singer-songwriter. “And I owe a lot of that to camp.”

She grew emotional reflecting on the expertise.

“You don’t always think of summer camp as the place where you find your vocation,” she mentioned. “But for me, it really was.”

Kelly Conlon, who spent 4 summers as a camper and later labored a decade on employees, mentioned traditions just like the closing campfire stay central to the expertise.

“The entire camp comes together and sings at the top of their lungs,” she mentioned.

Like others, she mentioned the camp’s unplugged surroundings permits for deeper relationships.

“I still have friendships from when I was a camper because we were able to build those relationships without outside distractions,” she mentioned.

That sense of continuity is mirrored in employees members like Jacob Pantuso, who has spent 14 years related to the camp.

“The campers,” he mentioned, when requested why he retains coming again. “I want to give them the same experience I had… something that helped me grow up and feel comfortable being myself.”

Pantuso’s connection runs even deeper. His grandfather served as a counselor on the camp within the Sixties, and his household stays intently tied to the Salvatorian group.

“I feel like I’m continuing that legacy,” he mentioned. “I’m here to make him proud.”

That lasting impression can be seen within the contributions of younger individuals like Avery Sowa, 21, who constructed a baseball area on the camp as his Eagle Scout venture and continues to remain related whereas pursuing a profession in aviation.

Over the years, Hall has seen former campers return as employees members, and later as mother and father, sending their very own kids to expertise the identical sense of belonging.

“I’ve had the privilege of seeing kids come back year after year… and even return with their own children,” she mentioned.

As Camp St. Charles marks its seventy fifth anniversary, that continuity is on the coronary heart of the celebration.

The camp hosted a full day of occasions on May 2, bringing collectively alumni, households and employees for actions starting from canoeing and camp singalongs to crafts and a commemorative reminiscence venture.

For Hall, the milestone displays one thing deeper than longevity.

“There’s such an incredible opportunity for growth here,” she mentioned. “I hear all the time from parents that their children come home more confident and more independent.”

For campers like Joe Long, that impression is straightforward.

“There’s something for everyone,” he mentioned.

And for some, it turns into one thing extra.