This year, we celebrate our 60th anniversary on Old Forge Mountain. We have thousands of Camp Highlander alumni all over the world, many of whom have continued the Highlander tradition within their families. Each month, we’ll profile one family who has come to the mountain for generations and experienced the magic and long-lasting positive effects of camp.
Our family in the spotlight this month features two sisters who attended camp in the 1980s and early 1990s, and now send their children to Highlander. Jill Vogel Banister and Wendy Vogel Schreck have a combined 23 summers on the mountain! Camp Highlander has had a profound impact on their lives and they now see their children, Dylan, Olivia, Jacob, and Ryan gaining valuable life skills through the camp experience.
What has Camp Highlander meant to you?
Jill: Camp Highlander was such an important part of my childhood. With so many summers on the mountain, I feel like I grew up there. I was pushed to try new things, be brave and trust my cabin mates and counselors. There was a sense of freedom there and connection to nature that I haven’t really felt anywhere else. It wasn’t easy leaving home and going to camp every summer, but I think I realized the importance of getting outside my comfort zone at an early age. I also had this great group of friends who went to camp year after year with me – Joey Ross, Kim Goldman, Amy Bryant, Angela Gold, Cara Quigg, etc. Most importantly, my sister and I bonded so much at Camp Highlander. We were always close, but being away from our parents brought us even closer together. We took care of each other and I loved that. The memories that I have from Camp Highlander remind me of the amazing adventures I had there.
Wendy: Camp is my “happy place” and always has been. I lived to go to camp every year – merely tolerating 10 months of the year to get to my nine weeks at camp. Camp Highlander really shaped who I was and am today. I felt at home there, and I could be who I wanted to be, not who my classmates or teachers or parents expected me to be. I made some great friends over the years and even became closer to my sister Jill, as we grew up at camp together.
How have you seen your children grow from the camp experience?
Jill: This year was the first year my children went to CH as campers. We initially introduced them to camp by attending Family Camp. My husband had never attended sleep away camp as a child, so it was his first time at camp, too. It was an amazing three-day weekend seeing him finally understand what I’ve been talking about all these years and experiencing some of my favorite childhood activities with my family. We rolled the windows down as we drove into camp and smelled those smells that I remember from my years at camp. We tried new things together and bonded as a family away from the craziness of a connected world. It was awesome.
My kids had a great time at Session A this year and they both want to go back already. When I picked my daughter up from camp, she cried as she was saying goodbye to her counselor. She loved her cabin mates, counselors, and horseback riding. Her confidence continued to grow at camp. My son is on the quieter side, but he had the opportunity to push himself to try new things and he grew from it – both in character and in height! He talks about his canoeing overnight and sleeping on the island under a tarp with pride. His cabin rescued a baby bird that was trapped in some mud during that overnight and I know that the experience will forever be etched in his mind. I also love that my kids attended camp with their cousins, Ryan and Jacob Schreck. They all bonded and looked after each other. Olivia apparently forced them into daily hugs, but I don’t think they minded.
Wendy: Each year when the boys come home from camp, I’ve see them become more independent and self-sufficient, as well as grow in maturity (and height!). They’ve become closer as brothers and have learned to appreciate each other too, just like my sister and I years ago. They’ve tried many new activities like the ropes course, camping, rock-climbing, whitewater rafting, that they never could participate in where we live, and this has given each of them great confidence and fun stories too!
Camp Highlander alumni get a 5% tuition discount for their children! Learn More!
What are your favorite memories of camp as a camper/staff member?
Jill: It’s hard to narrow this down to a few … I remember my sister and I walking up the hill towards the dining hall and just hanging out together on the wall in front of the dining hall catching up with each other and with other campers as they hung out waiting for a meal. I remember “breakfast in bed” where our counselors would bring milk crates filled with donuts, bagels and milk on Sunday morning. Campfire songs still make me tear up and bring these amazing memories of singing together and sometimes crying together with my cabin mates. After her first summer at CH, my daughter already cried during the last campfire when they sang “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” Color War is a favorite memory for me with the intensity of events like the rope burning, winning the mountain relay or the pride in seeing your plaque displayed. I loved horseback riding and still remember that feeling of cantering on my favorite horse Sailor around the ring. Some of my best memories are from just hanging out with my cabin mates swinging on hammocks from the rafters or shaving our legs from a bucket on the front porch.
Wendy: My best childhood memories are from Camp Highlander – rafting, climbing over the wall in Wilderness, building a fire, running Old Forge, picking blueberries on a three-day overnight with Paige Cole and turning them into blueberry pancakes, singing silly songs on the bus, playing jacks, cards, and lanyards in the cabin, swinging on a hammock in the woods, Brother Love, square dances, Color War and on and on. My very favorite memories are of campfires every Sunday – sitting on the hill in the dark with the fire crackling, the fireflies lighting up, listening to great music from Greg Galloway, Bruce Threlkeld, Matt Manning and even Ernie playing the banjo and singing Old Blue. I loved singing with friends all around, not to mention the last campfire, holding candles and listening to the song “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” crying our eyes out every year!
How have you seen camp evolve through the years?
Jill: I loved seeing camp again this summer for family camp. While camp is much safer than when I was there, there are still so many activities that push our kids to be brave and embrace adventure. The values of camp have come to life and while many of these were part of the fabric of camp life in the 80s, they are embedded more firmly in the culture of camp today. Karl and Shelley treat camp like it’s their home, and campers as if they are family. There are new activities that are more diverse than when I was at camp – glass blowing, yoga, zip line, cooking, etc. but there are still some classics that I loved – woodworking, arts and crafts, pool and horseback riding.
Wendy: Camp has gotten safer and more organized over the years! I love that there are more specialists now who can train the campers to shoot an arrow at archery or take aim in riflery and prevent kids from getting lost in the woods (which actually happened way back when!). There are counselors heading up each section of camp and a counselor in the cabin at all times, preventing sneaking out and mishaps after hours. As a kid, I might not have liked the restrictions, but as a parent, I appreciate all of it.
Any final thoughts?
Jill: My camp experience made me a stronger person. I feel like the independence and bravery I gained from camp has helped me tackle challenges in my adult life. Camp also taught me to get up and keep going when I fall down. There were many times at camp where I wasn’t able to accomplish something or wasn’t good at something, but my counselors and cabin mates kept pushing me to keep trying and keep going. We didn’t give up and that is a trait that is challenging to develop in children these days.
Did you attend Camp Highlander as a camper or work as staff and now you send your kids to CH? Tell us your story! Email CH alum, Julia Ade, at today, and you could be our next Highlander Family Spotlight!
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