Camp Timanous is a historic boys'
summer camp
A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...
in
Raymond, Maine
Raymond is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,536 at the 2020 census. It is a summer recreation area and is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. Ra ...
, United States. It offers a "traditional"
Gary Paul Nabhan
Gary Paul Nabhan (born 1952) is an agricultural ecologist, Ethnobotanist, Ecumenical Franciscan Brother, and author whose work has focused primarily on the plants and cultures of the desert Southwest. He is considered a pioneer in the local food ...
(1995)
''The Geography of Childhood: Why Children Need Wild Places''
Beacon Press, p. 123 program of land and water activities, aimed at developing "Body, Mind, and Spirit".
Camp Timanous is both a progenitor
[Charlie E. Hartsoe, M. Douglas Sanders, & Meredith Bridgers, ed. (2009)]
''Profiles in Leadership: Robert W. Crawford Recreation and Park Hall of Fame''
Sagamore Publishing, p. 62 of the Maine sleepaway camping tradition
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
, '' Nightline'', July 7, 2007. and industry and is one of the oldest continually operating summer camps in America. Across Maine in a typical summer, some 40,000 children participate in youth summer programs, mostly at one of Maine's 200 licensed summer camps, such as Camp Timanous.
[Beth Quimby (June 24, 2007), "Family weeks have a faithful following", '' The Maine Sunday Telegram'']
History
Timanous was founded in 1887 in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
by American
physical fitness education pioneer
Luther Halsey Gulick (1865–1918), who also founded the
Camp Fire Girls
Camp Fire, formerly Camp Fire USA and originally Camp Fire Girls of America, is a co-ed youth development organization. Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multicultural organization for girls in America. It is gender inclusive, and its prog ...
in 1910 and was instrumental in the development of the
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
, and
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
. In 1920, Gulick moved the boys' camp to the current Raymond, Maine, location on Panther Pond, a large offshoot of
Sebago Lake
Sebago Lake is the deepest and second-largest lake in the U.S. state of Maine. The lake is deep at its deepest point, with a mean depth of . It is possible that Sebago is the deepest lake wholly contained within the entire New England region, ...
.
![Luther Halsey Gulick](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Luther_Halsey_Gulick.jpg)
The name "Timanous" derives from the Indian name Gulick was known by, meaning "Guiding Spirit."
[Margaret R. O'Leary, Dennis S. O'Leary (2011)]
"Adventures at Wohelo Camp: Summer Of 1928"
''iUniverse'' In 1907, Gulick founded a sister camp,
Wohelo, with which Timanous interacts through dances, swim meets and various races.
John (Johnny) and Martha (Marti) Suitor purchased the camp from the Gulick family and began operating it in 1942. In the early 1980s, the Suitors' two sons, Jack and David, became directors. Camp Timanous is currently owned and operated by David and Linda Suitor,
who became active directors in 1983.
Staff, campers, and counselors have a very high return rate. In 2006, 93% of the 50 counseling staff were former campers, averaging over 10 years at camp (12 were teachers).
There is no indoor plumbing nor electricity in living quarters at Timanous.
Facilities and campus
Intended for boys aged 7 to 15, the summer is divided into two three-and-a-half-week-long sessions, and many campers choose to attend both. It is located on of land abutting
Panther Pond in
Raymond
Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...
,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
.
There are typically around 125 campers at camp at any given point in the summer.
Campers live in either one of the 10 wooden
cabins (otherwise known as "bunks"),
a large tent or a waterside structure called "The Nest". There is no electricity or running water in any of the cabins; standard plumbing-equipped outhouses are spread along the bunkline. Campers are grouped by age. Cabins are named after birds, such as
mallards or
crow
A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...
s.
Program
Sports and activities
At the outset, the Timanous daily program served as a model for Gulick to originate and "test" ideas later implemented in the
Camp Fire program,
helping form the traditional notions of American camping. In a typical day at today's camp, campers participate in both instructional and recreational activity; options include
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
,
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
,
soccer,
running
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
,
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...
,
canoeing and
boating,
water skiing
Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...
,
handicrafts
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
,
woodshop
Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...
,
riflery,
climbing wall
A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used i ...
and
archery.
[David Suitor and Jake Congleton (2010), "The Timanous Story". J.S. McCarthy Printers, Augusta, Maine, USA.]
Camping trips and camp events
Camp Timanous offers a variety of
camping
Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...
trips throughout
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
and
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
, including trips to the
White Mountains,
Mount Washington
Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River.
The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...
, and
Sebago Lake
Sebago Lake is the deepest and second-largest lake in the U.S. state of Maine. The lake is deep at its deepest point, with a mean depth of . It is possible that Sebago is the deepest lake wholly contained within the entire New England region, ...
. Every cabin goes on one trip per summer,
ranging from one to three days, and optional sign-up trips are available to the eldest five cabins. These trips usually consist of hiking or canoeing, but occasionally include rafting, biking, backpacking and kayaking.
Several times during the summer, the regular schedule is suspended for popular camp-wide games of
capture the flag
Capture the flag (CTF) is a traditional outdoor sport where two or more teams each have a flag (or other markers) and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base", and bring it safely back to their own base. ...
. Campers and counselors are divided into two teams, green and gray. Each camper's association with a team color is permanent, and each new arrival to Timanous with alumni relatives is automatically assigned to the relatives' former team.
On the
4th of July, the entire camp builds a
bonfire. It is part of the annual, camp-wide celebration of the
American Independence Day
Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...
, and is often attended by Timanous alumni.
Sharing a common heritage although under different ownership today, Timanous and Wohelo have a long history of interacting all summer long.
The camps hold dances and swim meets, as well as organize a "brother-sister day", during which Wohelo and Timanous campers with siblings at the opposite camp will spend a couple of hours together.
Council Fire
Council Fire follows every Sunday dinner. The entire camp congregates at a specific site to recognize the achievements of the past week, including awards earned and good deeds done. This tradition dates back to the earliest summers at Timanous.
Chapel
Six times a summer, on Sunday mornings, the entire camp gathers for chapel, a brief service of reflection and consideration that offers time for quiet thought punctuated by both traditional and contemporary songs.
Annually during the summer, all Timanous campers and staff visit Wohelo for an inter-camp gathering and service in remembrance, recognition and appreciation of the lives of their mutual founders, Luther Halsey and his wife, Charlotte Vetter Gulick. This event often serves as an informal alumni reunion for past Timanous and Wohelo campers and counselors.
Watersports
On the morning of the final day of the summer, the camp is again split into the two green and gray teams, and the campers participate in Watersports Day,
a final competition between the two colors, with events including
war canoe
A war canoe is a watercraft of the canoe type designed and outfitted for warfare, and which is found in various forms in many world cultures. In modern times, such designs have become adapted as a sport, and "war canoe" can mean a type of flatwat ...
,
kayak and swim races.
Culture
The commitment to "Body, Mind, and Spirit"
remains best identified with the Timanous "T", a triangular emblem. Each corner of the triangle represents one of the three ideals that Camp Timanous is based around.
While recent years have updated and diversified the camper uniform, the basic elements have been maintained since the early 20th century. The Timanous colors, green and grey, are on the uniforms and also represent the two teams for occasional camp-wide activities that resemble a
color war
Color wars is a competition played in summer camps, schools and some social organizations (such as sororities, fraternities, or small businesses). Participants are divided into teams, each of which is assigned a color. The teams compete against ea ...
.
Notable alumni
*
Chris Beam, author
*
Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons (born April 9, 1945) is an American sportswriter, media personality, and musician. He is a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Early ...
, sports writer and
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
personality
*
Porter J. Goss,
former Director of the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
*
Luther H. Gulick, camping, basketball, volleyball and physical education innovator
*
Mark Herzlich
Mark Herzlich Jr. (born September 1, 1987) is a former American football linebacker and current sports commentator. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and played all seven seasons of his professional career w ...
, college football All-American and linebacker for the New York Giants
*
Karl N. Llewellyn
Karl Nickerson Llewellyn (May 22, 1893 – February 13, 1962) was a prominent American jurisprudential scholar associated with the school of legal realism. ''The Journal of Legal Studies'' has identified Llewellyn as one of the twenty most cited A ...
, scholar and proponent of American
legal realism
Legal realism is a naturalistic approach to law. It is the view that jurisprudence should emulate the methods of natural science, i.e., rely on empirical evidence. Hypotheses must be tested against observations of the world.
Legal realists b ...
*
Samuel Pickering,
[Samuel Pickering, Jr. (1997)]
''Living to Prowl''
p. 168. Athens: University of Georgia Press. . author and professor
*
Peter Suber
Peter Dain Suber (born November 8, 1951) is a philosopher specializing in the philosophy of law and open access to knowledge. He is a Senior Researcher at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Director of the Harvard Office for Scholarl ...
, American philosopher and director of the Harvard Office for Scholarly Communication
*Thomas Meaney, writer
*
Samuel Holden Jaffe, musician professionally known as
Del Water Gap
Samuel Holden Jaffe, known professionally as Del Water Gap, is an American musician and record producer based in Brooklyn, New York.
Career
Jaffe is from Sharon, Connecticut. While at boarding school in Millbrook, New York, Jaffe first record ...
References
External links
Timanous' website
{{Summer camps in Maine
Timanous
Buildings and structures in Cumberland County, Maine
Raymond, Maine