Clara Barton Wacky Weekend

      The ADA camp director for the PA teen weekends had connections at other camps, including this "Wacky Winter Weekend Camp," hosted by the Clara Barton Diabetes Center (now named The Barton Center for Diabetes Education). The camp was named after the woman who founded the American Red Cross and was born in the same town of North Oxford, MA. I believe the camp location was on her original property.

View from the "Mountain" out behind the camp

                                        

     The main goal of the camp was to normalize diabetes, as it asked children with diabetes it bring their non diabetic friends or siblings. The camp is still in existence today, and is associated with Camp Joslin, named for Dr Elliot Joslin, who was one of their first doctors to administer insulin to children suffering with Diabetes in 1932 when the Clara Barton Birthplace Camp was first formed.  

Kids performing a song in the community room

     

     Because it was a two day-two night camp experience nearly 20 years ago, I don't remember that much from the experience. Here are a (very) few memories.

    For one of the free time activities, all of the counselors put together activities for the campers to participate at their choice. I was interested in the "mountain" out behind the property, and I wanted to take some of the kids - 10-13 years old, on an expedition up the mountain. I remember no one chose my activity, which was not really surprising, since there were other camp favorite activities going on at the same time.

Fog rolling in across the mountain top

     We also had some free time in the cabins between meals and in general when the weather was bad. At first many of the kids sat, playing with magic the gathering cards (it was 1997, after all). I was never into Magic, so they tried to explain what they were doing to me. I was an old man to them, but only really about 8 years older than most.

     On another free time period in the cabins, I remember we took all of the mattresses off the cots and made a wrestling ring to do some "pro-wrestling" activities. I was the ref, and I remember there were a set of twins that were always in the ring. Only one was diabetic, but the beauty of this camp was that here, the non-diabetic was the unusual one.