A Letter from our Director

St. Joe’s Friends and Families, 

I hope this letter finds you and your family well. As we begin the new season, I would like to welcome all of our new families and would also like to extend a great welcome back to each of our alumni families! I am so excited to share this year’s summer experience with you and your children. No matter which session your child attends, I know they will have a safe, fun, and formative experience, shared with once-in-a-lifetime friends, and led by dedicated role models. This was true for me as a camper here at St. Joe’s, and it’s true today.

Throughout my 15 summers at St. Joe’s, I have had the opportunity to see many of our traditions being carried on and new ones being created. I’ve seen, as some of you have, how traditions are woven into every part of camp; traditions about the songs we sing around the fire, the stories that are told about camp; like why there is a hollow opening in the oak tree on the corner of our campus, and even what food we eat. There are traditions that guide how to dress on Fridays (tie-dye), what campers sing before every meal, and the flag-raising ceremony each morning. 

These traditions go back to a time before me at St. Joe’s and flow through generations of campers and staff all the way back to the beginning. Traditions play such an important role at camp. They tie us to those who came before and allow us to have a shared experience with other generations. We lean on traditions when change is swirling around us, but camp traditions can also ebb and flow. Some become more important than others at different points in time depending on the needs of the camp community, and new traditions are introduced as well. Traditions ground us in our camp experience. They are the “constant” of camp, and they make our St. Joe's experience unique from that of another camp.

Once you experience camp, you become a part of the traditions, whether new or old, that will be carried on for years to come. Although you may only attend camp for one summer, your impact on our community lasts a lifetime. 

Thank you for choosing to be part of our ever-evolving traditions at St. Joe’s. 

Sincerely, 

Sarah Amos

Camp Director