Westport, New York - June 21, 2011
Campers are arriving in Westport, N.Y., from all over the country to kick off the 127th season for Camp Dudley boys.
Some are experienced campers like the Zahringer family from Florida. This is the 12th time they have dropped a son off at Camp Dudley, and it's the third time younger brother Kress has been to camp. After years of jealously watching his brothers go off to camp, he was happy when it was finally his turn to go.
"Well, it's kind of exciting because I actually got to be the one dropped off, instead of just seeing it happen," he said.
Some are here for the very first time. The youngest campers are called "cubs." Ryan Joyce greets the families when they arrive and tells us most new kids are a little nervous.
Joyce said, "You can see in each kid, the real "what am I getting into, and why is everybody being so friendly? Am I going to like anybody here, am I going to like this?"
While the first day is a big day for campers, it's also a big day for parents. They are excited for their campers, but many of them are struggling with a lump in their throats as well. This is the first time Mike and Gretchen Bransford have dropped their son off at camp.
Mike said, "Surprisingly, he's been super excited and he cannot wait for today to come. So no apprehension, which is shocking, and he kind of shooed us out of the cabin as soon as mom made the bunk."
And mom Gretchen added, "As soon as I started to cry he said, 'OK, mom, time to go!!'"
Most campers have ties to Dudley.
"I went to camp '80-84," Mike Bransford said. "I've got two brothers and they went to camp here as well, and my father went here, too."
Many of the father here were campers when they were kids, and they want their sons to have the same camp experience they enjoyed as a kid. There are no cellphones here, no iPods or computers, but lots of swimming, boating, fishing and sports. All things they enjoy doing together as a camp.
"And then when they leave," Joyce said, "there's this moment the night before they leave when we all get together as a camp and there's tears shed, and the kids say, 'maybe I'll stay a little longer next summer.'"
Sharon Meyer - WCAX Weather
