Tag: sleepaway camp

Camp Weequahic – A Brief History

October 5th, 2015

JFOFcRucVhABVjcW739U2QeAsaHEIXWB5Dm9Y15Kc1UCamp Weequahic was founded in 1953 on an old farm in Lakewood, PA. Art Lustig, who at the time was a teacher and coach at Weequahic High School in Newark, NJ, decided to turn his popular day camp into a residential camp.

With the help of his wife, Mollie, and his three children and their spouses, Mr. Lustig took what used to be an old farm in Lakewood, PA, and turned it into a remarkable summer home for campers and staff alike. Deciding to use what he knew to be a great name, Camp Weequahic was born.

We recently viewed several pictures of CW from its founding. Our Lodge, which serves as the camp office, was shown very clearly with absolutely no trees around it. It’s funny to think about that as the Lodge now enjoys near constant shade from our 100’+ spruce pines.

The Lustig family ran Camp Weequahic continuously from 1953 until 2008. Starting in 2009, the Kelly family took up the torch and has since done nothing else but help welcome campers and staff to Mr. Lustig’s camp.

We are honored to be a part of Camp Weequahic’s history and look forward to many, many more summers by Sly Lake.

Camp Weequahic Camp Outs

September 29th, 2015


 weequahicblog2We were thrilled to have so many campers enjoy a night sleeping outside this past summer. Our head of the Forest, the unforgettable and aptly named Forrest, let trips of campers of all ages and their staff out into the woods for a wonderful evening and morning in nature.

While our campouts take place on Camp Weequahic’s property, our camp ring is way back in the woods. A couple of times each week, campers loaded with sleeping bags, tents, and supplies hiked the 15 minutes from Main Camp to their overnight adventure.

Forrest quickly helps everyone get settled and then directs the placement of tents and collection of firewood. After some fun campfire games lead by Forrest or our Head of Outdoor Adventure, Danny, the kids all have some time to share their experiences with their friends.

Screen Shot 2015-09-22 at 2.43.26 PMFlashlights and campfires are extinguished and the kids quiet down, falling asleep in their tents while listening to the sounds of the forest. The next morning, the campers clean up their campsite, pack up their gear and hike back to camp in time for breakfast.

It’s touching to see so many kids (and some staff) return to camp after their first ever campout. It is a memory built at camp alongside friends from all over the country and world. It’s an experience they won’t soon forget and one that will keep them smiling for months to come.

We look forward to helping our campers continue their exploration of nature each summer!

Birthdays at Camp Weequahic

September 21st, 2015

Screen Shot 2015-09-21 at 12.35.45 PMWhat could be better than celebrating your birthday with your closest friends and amazing mentors? Campers and staff whose birthdays fall during their stay at Camp Weequahic have an amazing day from start to finish.

The day starts with a phone call home. Parents simply need to call our office to set up a time to speak with their camper at a time convenient for both which is normally at breakfast. Plus, it starts everyone’s day off with smiles.

At breakfast, our birthday camper gets the safety neon green birthday shirt to wear in addition to a sharpie for their friends to sign the shirt. Following breakfast and morning clean up (which everyone has to do, whether it’s your birthday or not), our birthday people get to come forward and raise the flag at the end of our morning meeting.

The birthday celebrations come to a crescendo at dinner and evening meeting. Near the end of dinner, our birthday friend is invited forward to stand on a chair in front of the entire camp. Director Cole leads them through some fun questions and then helps direct a camp-wide rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ while a homemade birthday cake is presented, candles and all.

Once the cake has been shared with our birthday camper’s bunkmates, everyone heads to Free Play and our evening Flagpole. This is when things get a little goofy. With the entire camp cheering them on, our birthday friends are challenged to catch a frosted cupcake… that is launched about 100’ in the air with a slingshot! Everyone gets three attempts and, if desired, can call on friends to help.

It’s a wonderful thing to have a birthday at camp. We do our best to help each birthday person enjoy a number of fun (and delicious) memories!