Choosing a camp is hard. These are the things the directors would tell you in person.
Winona is known for its programming for boys. We are very active and have a lot of fun, and our trained staff are just as attentive to building character: confidence, leadership, community living skills and life-long friendships.
Campers and staff live in 16′ canvas tents with six cots and no electricity. No cell phones, iPods or tablets; only digital cameras. It is a place to make real connections and to make daily decisions on your own.
Junior, Intermediate, Senior and CIT each run as a separate, smaller camp with their own staff and facilities. There are three sets of archery staff at Winona, and three archery ranges.
In morning and afternoon assemblies each boy hears what is on offer and decides for himself. We set no weekly schedule. Better engagement, faster skills.
On Moose Pond in Bridgton, in Maine’s Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains, about an hour west of Portland.
110 men and women staff Winona each summer. Unit staff return at a rate of about 90%; many have been here ten years or more. Four boys to one counselor.
Campers and staff come from over 25 states and 25 countries. A generous alumni Campership Fund helps families who could not otherwise afford tuition.
To preserve a sense of earned accomplishment and perseverance over instant gratification; to encourage let-me-experiment attitudes over show-me boredom; and to bring back patience and concentration.
Winona's de facto motto: courage, integrity and friendships. It comes from the lyrics of one of the camp's best-loved songs, The Pines of Winona.
Winona has been owned and run by the Ordway family for fifty years. The directors live and work at camp year-round, and every staff member is an Uncle or an Aunt.
Registered Maine Guide and American Red Cross Instructor Trainer, with more than 50 years at Winona. Leads program development, staff training and accreditation, and chairs the state’s Junior Maine Guide committee.
Spencer’s sister: a former NOLS instructor and wilderness-medicine educator, with ascents of Denali and Aconcagua. Lives at camp year-round and leads parent & camper communications and the Health Center.
In his 40th year at Winona. Camper for eleven summers, Senior head counselor, the BAT in 1978, now the coach to every counselor.
Nineteenth summer on the shores. His family has been here for four generations.
An Inty camper in 1986, staff since 1990, and the BAT in 1996.
At Winona since 1983. The BAT in 2015, a critical-care paramedic and the first winner of the Uncle Al Award.
Three veteran Uncles: Jeff Kolva (26th summer), Jim Morse (31st) and Potz, whose family has spent four generations at Winona and Wyonegonic.
Wiggies, totems, the Lodge. Learn the words before the first Sunday.
Is a long-running tradition in which two or more counselors (dressed in BAT costumes) are chosen by former BATs to spend the summer making surprise appearances to campers. The legend is that if a camper catches and unmasks the BAT, he gets a free summer at camp. The BAT has the longest winning streak in the world…he’s never been caught!
Are pieces of wood that one camper team shows the other camper squadrons. In each unit the rules are slightly different, but the competition is just as exciting. Junior has a “stick”, Intermediate has the “Oscar” (a polar bear), and Senior makes a new totem each year. The counselors also partake in the fun by showing a totem to the campers. The tradition attached to the counselor totems is that campers in the unit get an extra piece of candy if they capture the counselor totem. The Junior staff make a new totem each year, Intermediate has a bell, and Senior has a lantern (or flashlight).
The unit building where meetings are held and where the counselor room is located.
Levels of achievement in Junior and Intermediate. Each activity incorporates these three levels increasing the difficulty of the activity through the levels.
Levels of achievement and awards in Senior. These are similar to Chipmunk, Beaver and Eagle.
Each unit has a banner each year. The banner is a piece of fabric upon which campers’ names are printed to recognize achievement from the previous year.
Every camper is a member of a color team and remains on that team throughout his years at Winona. The two teams compete in intracamp competitions throughout the summer. The winner of the highest point total by the end of the summer determines the color of that year’s banner. The last few days of each session involves a large number of Red/Gray events, so the outcome of the competition is unknown until Awards Night.
New in 2021, each Winona camper will be a member of one of the four squadrons: Dirigo Ravens, Mountain Hawks, Ocean Osprey, Swift Falcons. Similar to Red/Gray teams, a Winona camper remains a member of the same squadron throughout his years at Winona.
All staff in Junior, and most in the other units, are “uncles” or “aunts” to the campers, i.e. Uncle Erik or Aunt Sara.
This is Winona’s defacto motto we use to convey our culture of courage, integrity and friendships. It comes from the lyrics of one of our most beloved camp songs, “The Pines of Winona”.
Wyonegonic, established in 1902, is the oldest camp for girls in Maine. Brothers and sisters can arrive together on Opening Day and mid-season, regattas and road races are co-sponsored by the two camps, and Senior campfires are shared a few times each summer.
Visit wyonegonic.com Ask the directors a question