SUMMER 2021 CORONAVIRUS COMMUNICATIONS & UPDATES
Dear WLC Family,
Dear Parents and Staff,
We are excited to announce that 100% of our staff will be vaccinated this summer! We are still processing how this will effect camp but we wanted to share our pride in the responsible, caring staff we will have on site this summer.
As we process the information we are gathering from the State of NH, the CDC, our weekly calls with the New Hampshire Camp Director Association and personal calls to individual camps, we have decided that pre-arrival testing is no longer necessary for FULLY VACCINATED campers and staff. We are continuing to analyze and discuss the necessity of the Arrival Day and Week 1 tests for VACCINATED campers and staff but have NOT made a decision to change our original policy yet.
We are also happy to announce that campers, vaccinated or not, will NOT have to wear masks this summer when outside! As our program, including mealtimes this summer, is almost completely outdoors, we do not foresee campers having to wear masks for the majority of the summer. Exceptions include when indoors with multiple cohorts (we do not plan to schedule this) and all-camp seated activities such as Council Ring and Password. We are working to make slight changes to these types of activities to allow for mask-less enjoyment.
We are planning and preparing for the possibility of COVID exposure at camp although we do not expect to have to use these plans. We are still taking precautions to ensure our unvaccinated population is completely safe at camp. We continue to require a negative pre-arrival molecular test for unvaccinated campers, as well as an Arrival Day and Week 1 negative test results. We have added ventilation to all our buildings, including solar powered fans to our cabins, to protect the well-being of all campers if we were to face inclement weather. We will also be ensuring our staff does not have the potential to bring COVID into camp and that our program is designed to ensure the lowest rate of transmission, ie. outdoors with a lot of movement!
Although we are not requiring anyone to be vaccinated prior to the start of camp, we know that vaccinated campers and staff that are potentially exposed to COVID at camp will not have to quarantine. This will allow us to continue with our normal program. For campers that are not able to be vaccinated and are potentially exposed to COVID at camp, we will create a complete quarantine schedule which simply separates those campers from the larger population but still allows them to enjoy every aspect of camp.
Please remember that regardless of being vaccinated or not, you MUST complete the Pre-Screening Questionnaire via campdoc.com for the 7 days prior to arrival. In this questionnaire you will have the opportunity to upload your son(s)’s vaccination record.
Please call or email with any questions or concerns.
Looking forward to summer 2021!
Nat and JessicaHave questions? Check out the Frequently Asked Questions document we put together for you
or Call 603-569-3698 or email
COVID- 19 Website Links:
ACA Camp Operations Guide Summer 2021
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
World Health Organization (WHO)
About WLC
William Lawrence Camp offers a world-class overnight camp experience in New Hampshire for young boys and teens. The combination of our beautiful, rural setting, multitude of camper activites, and extensive campus guarantees your son will enjoy a resident camp experience that will create memories to last a lifetime.William Lawrence Camp is an independent, not-for-profit organization located in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire; our entire focus is on providing an extraordinary experience for your child that will benefit him for years to come. We believe that the best way for boys to learn is through being active, especially while surrounded by natural beauty. Our well-balanced choice program offers instruction in diverse activities, such as Archery, Waterskiing, and Wilderness Trips, that your child would likely not be able to participate in at home. And, as a small residential camp, we do not experience the bottlenecks at popular activities that larger camps are rife with: if your child is interested in an activity, they will be able to do it. As well, our better than 3-to-1 camper to staff ratio ensures that your child will be well looked after.We encourage you to watch the video linked to below to get a sense of everything William Lawrence Camp has to offer.
William Lawrence Camp is Preparing for the 2023 Overnight Summer Camps in New Hampshire | William Lawrence Camp
William Lawrence Camp is Rallying into Place for the 2023 Overnight Summer Camps Season
We're mustering the staff, clearing away the winter leftovers from our miles of trails, stocking the tackle boxes, and (since it's a boys' camp) ordering an army’s worth of food
By alumnus Isaac S. Peterson (1987-1995)
Lower Beech Pond in Tuftonboro, New Hampshire, hosts non-stop raucous, splashy summer fun every June, July and August. At William Lawrence, kids ages 8 to 16 are being the noisiest and rowdiest (but safest) of summer guests on this small rural New England pond.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
Up the waterfront trail (past the famously butt-shaped rock, because, boys) from the pond, past the archery range, the soccer field, the tennis courts and the huge barn for rainy-day rambunctiousness, is the lively dining hall where the chants and folk carols of 110 years of tradition ring through the surrounding ancient birch forest.
This summer camp is a bustling hive of wholesome boyish good times. But it takes an awful lot of work to put that honeycomb together (every year), as it were.
It's May, so Executive Director Nat and Associate Director Jessica are busy as bees, for sure. Having this much fun at one of the oldest NH camps takes a lot of planning.
Nature Camp Programs Means Seasonal Clean Up
The stunning New England autumns that draw in the "leaf-peepahs" lead into the sturdy New England winters. Those winters melt into crocus' blooming but also mud season.
Being high up in the White Mountains, William Lawrence's forests have a lot of alpine. But they also have centuries-old oak, pine and beech trees which means a lot of cleanup. Our staff is clearing the carpet of leaves along the waterfront foot path and also the vehicle/auxiliary trail. Not to mention the twigs and branches culled from those stately trees by the winter's raging Nor'easters.
It's not just nature that's getting the check-in. William Lawrence is going through each of our 14 cabins. From clearing the dust to checking each hinge on the screen doors--they're going to open and close a lot during the busy sessions. The staff will be checking all the running water in the showers and sinks in the newly-updated washrooms.
Get out the bows at the archery range to test the strings, check the clips and buckles on the life jackets, and inventory the oars. Helping kids make memories means remembering a lot of things!
Who's doing all this work? We're glad you asked.
The Camp Life Means the Best Leadership
There's a lot of training that goes into being ready to have fun. Boys always want to take risks. It's fruitless to try and stop this every single time. From personnel to property, WLC--an ACA Member--ensures safe adventuring for your young men. Comprising 250 acres, mostly through dense woods and trails, we ensure trained personnel are on site.
We stress this training is not some perfunctory 90-minute CPR class on a Saturday; our staff must train in a battery of First Aid, CPR, water safety and accompanying mandatory safety seminars.
Nat and Jessica round out the preparation season by leading and assisting in this safety prep. It's a full week of training in mid-June. During that time, the counselors and staff are living on-site in the same rustic conditions as the campers themselves, fostering camaraderie with shared meals.
Our counselors and staff are a broad and diverse group. We have the in-house expertise and tradition of long-time former campers with a handful of leaders new to the William Lawrence Camp circle of friends.
Supplies and Demand: Skills, Crafts, Carnival
Any veteran non-profit or business owner can tell you the challenge of stocking the shelves in the rural far-north of New England during the good old days (this author grew up in a small business family in this location). Nat and Jessica personally know many of the Lakes Region's nearby small business owners, like the classic New Hampshire general store where the camp mailbox is. Whenever possible, they utilize these local businesses.
The supplies are many and varied, and it's a lot of shopping but also taking stock. Bowstrings, oars, liquid soap for the dispensers in the wayside. Check. Check. Check.
How about colored sand? The arts and crafts are an essential part of both the reflective and creative impulses in a boy's development, and we stock the feathers, the clay, the beads for necklaces--all the things for a more personal and fun interruption when a young man wants to finally sit still for a minute at William Lawrence. Naturally, Nat and Jessica are scouring Pinterest and the internet ordering colored sand by the pound for layered-glass art.
But there are other supplies to gather.
This hive of activity that is William Lawrence Camp is the vigorous and rustic outdoors with only nutritiously hearty (and plentiful, because, boys) meals. But Nat and Jessica will also be stocking up on sweets for this coming hive. After all, it's not vinegar that bees are after. Candy is strict contraband during the sessions, but the carnival at the end means their extra pillowcase is sagging with jolly ranchers and bubble gum. Those who find the golden nuggets hidden strategically throughout the camp get even more (just ask!).
And, of course, there are monthly deliveries of a full semi-truck of food trudging up the rural dirt road and delivering a literal truckload of food to feed the boys. Nat and Jessica are looking over the menu, talking with the culinary-trained kitchen staff and ordering that as well.
Registration is Still Open!
As William Lawrence is preparing, stocking and clearing the trails for the overnight camp season of summer 2023, we still have a few spots left for your son, grandson, or nephew to attend.
Participate in the Willingness, Loyalty, Comradeship, Sportsmanship of WLCS summer camp. Spots are filling up fast!
Why You Shouldn't Bring a Close Friend to Overnight Camp | William Lawrence Camp
Summer camp is always an exciting and unforgettable experience for children - a chance to make new friends, try new activities, and learn new skills. But what if your child wants to bring a close friend along? While it may seem like a great idea at first, there are some reasons why it may not be the best decision. A recent article published in New York Family by Jess Michaels relates some of the reasons we reiterate below.
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