DAILY LIFE AT CAMP

A good portion of each Regular Mowglis Day is spent in Industries. Industries are made up of a core of 16 activities taught in a personalized setting by a capable and caring staff. Boys choose their industries and work towards achieving a "ribbon" or "husky mark" which acknowledges their accomplishments and skill level.

Though Industries take place every day, there is always a great deal of variety. Each day, the counselor in charge organizes a function for the whole camp to engage in during Open Period. This is often the time when team sports take place, as well as counselor hunts, capture the flag, or problem solving and leadership games. Every boy gets to the Waterfront each day for an afternoon soak. Newfound Lake is a true gem, being one of the clearest and cleanest lakes in the US. Nothing is more refreshing for boys and staff alike than to catch a soak before dinner.

A regular day also brings a sense of responsibility to each camper, as a part of the day is dedicated to cleaning and taking care of our bed and bureau, and fulfilling a duty that benefits the community as a whole. At the end of every day, Campfire gives us a chance to relax and reflect, and take part in song, or some form of entertainment that the counselor of the day provides. Industries, Soak, Open Period, Duties, Evening Program; these all make up the regular days, but not all days are regular at Mowglis. Our Trip Program and our Crew Program really shape who we are, and often provide some of the most defining memories of the summer.

Our structured environment offers many choices and provides boys with the opportunity to grow and assume greater personal responsibility. Boys are led from one activity to another throughout the day by a series of bugle calls that they very soon come to recognize.

Daily Schedule:

7:15    Reveille, boys and staff rise and fold sheets and blankets
|7:40    Table boys report to Dining Hall to set tables.
7:50    Bugle call to mealtime, boys wash hands and head to breakfast
7:55    Breakfast
9:00    Duties; each boy has a duty assigned on a rotating basis to keep the camp in shape
9:30    First activity (Industry) period
10:45  Sign-up for daily activities
11:55  Call to Quarters (return to dorms)
12:00  Table boys report to Dining Hall to help set up for lunch
12:15  Lunch
1:00    Period of relaxation
2:00    Clean up for Inspection; boys and staff make beds and clean dorms to be inspected by the Counselor of the Day
2:20    Inspection
2:35    Second Industry period
3:45    Open Period; staff organize an all-camp activity
4:45    Soak, all boys and staff to the waterfront
5:45    Table boys report for duty
6:00    Dinner
7:15    Colors; colors ceremony to take down the flag
7:30    Campfire

8:45    Call to Quarters to prepare for bed, reading, and writing time
9:15    Taps

 

Saturday Schedule:
Daily Schedule through Breakfast

9:00    Medical Checks (weight)
10:00  Duties
10:30  Industries or preparation for special events

See daily schedule through Inspection

2:45    Assembly for special events|
4:45    Soak

Resume daily schedule

 

Sunday Schedule:

7:45    Reveille
8:15    Breakfast
9:30    Duties
10:00  Clubs; a period when staff offer unique activities, otherwise unavailable
11:45  Call to Quarters to write Howls (journal entries) and letters home|
1:00    Sunday Meal
2:00    Relax
3:00    Clean-up and Inspection
4:00    Chapel
4:45    Soak
5:45    Picnic Supper, regular schedule resumes

 

MOWGLIS LINGO

 

Baloo Cove                  

A beach and swimming area used by the Cubs

  

Clean Up        

A period of time every day in which dorms are swept, beds are made, bureaus are tidied and contraband is carefully concealed; a quarter will bounce nicely on a properly made Mowglis bed, and everything has its place in a properly organized Mowglis bureau.

 

Council Rock               

The large rock overlooking the campfire circle on which the Director sits

 

Counselor’s supper  

An informal meeting of counselors that takes place after the boys have gone to bed, in which staff can share a snack and talk about the day’s events

 

Crew Coach                 

The Senior Staff member responsible for overseeing the camp’s long and storied crew program

  

Duties 

A set of chores performed by campers every day to keep the camp functioning at its best; duty assignments rotate frequently and are posted on the Duty Board; since some duties are quite a bit better than others, cries of despair or relief are often heard in front of the Duty Board  

 

Golden Arrow              

Awarded for proficiency in archery

 

Graduate’s Dinner        

The formal dinner held each year at the end of the season in the Jungle House for graduates; each graduate is “toasted” by one of the Senior Staff members, during which creative and usually hilarious song and verse are employed to recap that graduate’s Mowglis career.   

 

Graduate’s Medal        

A silver medal awarded to each member of the Den who successfully completes the rigorous requirements for graduation; a much-prized symbol of achievement that many graduates treasure for the rest of their lives

 

Gray Brothers’ Hall       

The large hall containing the camp auditorium, store , library and office; the focal point of camp life on rainy days

 

Heights and weights    

A period of time on Sundays when each dorm is called to the Red Cross House to be weighed and measured; fun in bathrobes

 

Inner Circle                  

The ring of campfire chairs closest to the fire, occupied by those who have earned at least four ribbons; once inducted into the Inner Circle, members retain the privilege of occupying a chair in the Circle for life

 

Inspection Point          

A much sought after accolade awarded to whichever dorm is judged to be tidiest during that day’s inspection; any dorm industrious enough to earn 10 inspection points is rewarded with a treat.

 

Inspection       

A period of time immediately following Clean Up in which the housekeeping efforts of campers are scrutinized; no dustbunny, contraband or mis-folded clothing can escapes the harsh glare of the Inspectors’ flashlights;

  

Jungle House  

The camp's administrative offices

  

Lazy Day        

A day in which the Regular Mowglis Day schedule is set aside and campers get to do whatever they like; like a lunar eclipse, they are rare and special events

 

Lodge 

The camp infirmary, where sick campers go to recuperate and receive care from the camp Nurse

 

Mines 

Toilets

 

Regular Mowglis Day

A day in which the standard schedule of duties, industries and other regular activities applies; the opposite of Lazy Day

 

Relax   (noun)

A period immediately after lunch in which campers take to their beds for a nap or some quiet time, with no talking allowed!

 

Reveille         

The loudest and most jarring of bugle calls, which signals the beginning of a new Mowglis day

  

Senior Staff    

Counselors of college age or older, responsible for the day to day supervision of campers and camp activities; historically a very diverse and talented group of educators drawn from all over the world

 

Soak   (noun)

A period set aside for campers to enjoy a swim in the pristine waters of Newfound Lake; a voluntary endeavor, unlike the dreaded Instructional Swim

 

Table Boys     

Those campers who have drawn the duty of setting and cleaning their dorms’ tables, and obtaining food from the kitchen during the course of the meal; unlike other duties, this one rotates daily 

 

Taps                             

The bugle call that signals the end of the Mowglis day

 

Tetherball                    

While not strictly unique to Mowglis, a rather unusual sport in which two players face off on a round court and try to hit a ball past their opponent that is tethered to the top of a high, centrally-located pole by a string, victory is achieved by hitting the ball past your opponent so many times that the string wraps all the way around the pole; while the concept is simple, the execution is not and tetherball champions are much admired

 

Trip Day                      

That day of the week in which the whole camp heads into the mountains to enjoy a variety of hikes or river trips, rain or shine

 

Tripmaster      

The Senior Staff member responsible for organizing and leading all Mowglis trips; an exalted position that has been held over the years by many legendary Mowglis Men

 

Waingunga Rock          

A very large, submerged rock located off of Cub Point, a rallying point for many waterfront activities; the halfway mark for swimmers hoping to earn their “Waingunga” swimming credential

 

Watermaster                 

The waterfront equivalent of the Tripmaster, a Senior Staff member responsible for organizing and supervising all activities at the waterfront; also an exalted position that has been held over the years by many legendary Mowglis Men

 

Wolf’s Paw                  

The name of the award given every so often at the end of a season to one extraordinary camper who has proven himself to be an exceptional Mowglis Man in both achievement and character.