Holiday Hill Camp

So I had just turned 8 when I went to my first sleepaway camp. Can you spot me in the first row? Hint: culottes and knee socks were all the rage. My sister is in the very top row on the right, but is hard to see due to a mysterious stain on the old photo.

The camp was run by two older women. I still have the sterling silver bracelet made from small circles linked together to make a chain. One of the owners hand-made them and gave them to the new campers. There may have been charms that were added subsequently but this was my only year here.

My mom had ironed all the little name tags in my clothes. We lived in little cabins with cots -- eight girls and their counselor.

Luckily my big sister was a counselor so I wasn't homesick. When I went up to her cabin, her teenage campers fawned over me.

I had a lot of firsts that summer: horseback riding, riflery, archery, sailing, swimming, and skinny-dipping. I mastered the doggie paddle, but I'm not sure if I was actually swimming.

What I didn't know then is that soon my life would take a turn. With our impending surprise move, seminal figures would enter my life....and learning to swim, as it were, would come in handy.