There are places you experience in your life which leave an indelible mark etched on your soul. You may even know it at the time but I am not sure you can appreciate it until years later.  When I was in college, I had the great privilege to work for four summers at a summer camp in Central Maine called Camp Caribou.  To describe the whole experience would take a book, but suffice it to say I learned many lessons of life there I still think of today.  Bill and Martha Lerman were the owners and operators of the camp and they were the major lesson teachers there. I am sure that thousands of young people have benefitted more than I have from their kindness, honesty, and consistency, but none appreciate it more.  These are a few of the lessons I learned at Camp Caribou in Winslow, Maine.

First, to set the scene, Camp Caribou is located on a peninsula on Pattie’s Pond. To access the camp you have to travel down a half mile long dirt road. I remember the first time I drove down it, not really knowing what to expect, a little fear and excitement mixed together. What story would this road reveal? I am sure that every kid of all ages felt something similar the first time they traveled that road.  It is windy, and people honked as they got to some curves to alert anyone coming the other way.  And then suddenly out of the woods, it opens up and brings you into the middle of the camp.  A playground of fun, with all kinds of activities kids, love.  It was enchanting and my education was just beginning.

Leadership Bill Lerman Style

Leadership is a skill some come by naturally, and others develop through experience. I know that I learned how to be a good leader from Bill Lerman. It is a story I tell often about digging a ditch. If you want to get five people to dig a ditch, do it quickly and enthusiastically, you get in the ditch with them and work like hell for about 5 minutes. All the others will fall in line and dig like hell too. Then you can back away and let them finish because the momentum is already set.  I was fortunate enough to observe Bill do this with me as one of the workers, and to later be able to lead others to the same ditch digging task. (different ditch)  Lead by example, and never ask anyone else to do something you wouldn’t do yourself. That lesson has proven to transcend all of the many careers I have participated in over the years.  I am continually grateful for the lessons Bill taught me. It has proven invaluable.

That is just one of many things that Bill taught. He probably doesn’t even know that he does it. He has a very unique voice and style of speaking so, his stories resonate with you and I do believe I developed a pretty good imitation of the man.  Pre-camp, before the kids came was a lot of work, getting everything ready for the kid’s arrival and training for the staff. All camps I am sure have some form of this, but with Bill, it was a one of a kind show.  Have a look at the video and listen to him talk.

Kindness Martha Lerman Style

One of the lasting memories I carry from my Camp Caribou days is the kindness that Martha Lerman always brought to everyone. And I mean every one. It didn’t matter if you were a camper or a counselor, she would find a way to make sure you felt like you belonged and were important to what was going on.  It could be taking the whole staff out to a movie during pre-camp when everyone had been working hard. Or making sure there was some kind of “treat” for the staff during staff

meetings.  When I was in that first year of being a counselor, Martha often checked to make sure that I was doing OK.

It could be a run down the road with a kid who needed some encouragement, or just a quick conversation with someone who needed to be uplifted. Her kindness never shuts off.  I have seen the power of being kind over the years and its alternative.  I now try to treat people with the mantra of “kindness first”, and I have been fortunate to have many good role models in that area, but Martha Lerman was definitely one of the most powerful examples of consistent and powerful kindness I ever experienced, I am eternally grateful for that.

Brotherhood

There are two types of family in life, the ones you are born into and then there are the ones you grow into.  At Camp Caribou, it was the kind you grew into.  All of the staff members came from all over the world and had different skills, backgrounds, religions, and philosophies about life.  Yet, enter the peninsula of Camp Caribou and all that is washed away. It is your character and ability to work together that separates you. I value all of the people that I worked with and the unique skill set they brought to the table. Some were singers, some were great athletes, others got the job done every time they were called upon.  Above all other things, there were people who I could rely on for encouragement, a joke, to get out of the camp every other night, or to endure an evening activity or bunk night with.

Camp places you in a 24 hour, intense experience, so you bond with others quickly and it is a unique thing that will stay with you forever.  Two summers ago I was able to reunite with a few of the people I worked with at Camp Caribou. Although we are all much older, the relationships were still the same and the laughs just as genuine.  I learned the value of sharing an experience with someone and remembering the good things about them and it. All of my Caribou brothers are valuable, those I was close to and those I worked with for years. I see them now on Facebook and wish them all the best of everything that life has to offer.

There are too many lessons to include in just one day, so like the second half of the summer, tomorrow will carry us to the end when everyone will go home.