It was a beautiful day in Black Mountain as parents were bringing their excited campers to have the summer of a lifetime! Anticipating their friends to arrive, 1A and 1F campers chatted excitedly at breakfast. The Tweedles spent a fun day at the Boyd’s house swimming, the older girls in cooking class enjoyed the morning by heading off to the local farmers’ market to buy fresh vegetables, and everyone else hiked to Catawba Falls to enjoy the fresh mountain water.

As our new campers arrived, they headed up to the Mike to check in, found out which cabin they will call home, and shopped for the latest Merri-Mac styles. They met their counselors, made new friends, and were reunited with old ones. After helping move their daughters in, parents enjoyed a delicious lunch and headed home with heartfelt goodbyes.

Campers and counselors played games to break the ice and make way for new friendships. The dinner bell rang and everyone ran down to enjoy chicken tacos in our beautiful new Tucker Inn. Cabins had fun singing their cabin songs before filing up to the Council ring for Initiation.

At Camp Merri-Mac, the tribes are the campers’ families. They are the best way for new girls, whom we call “Pale-faces” to become true Merri-Mac girls. The tribes are the Choctaw, whose colors are red and gray, the Iroquois, whose colors are black and white, and the Seminoles, whose colors are blue and gold. The tribes are led by the oldest campers and help girls form friendships from all ages of camp.

These are the brand new members of the tribes:

Choctaw: Nettie P., Ellizabeth R., Katherine W., Kindle H., Kaci M., Emily W., Sarah R., Anna Myers., Kate A., Alexis., Lucie F., and Shannon M.

Iroquois: Hallie B.

Seminole: Harmon K., Carolyn S., Mary Ashton R., Eliza K., Reilly B., Gaby F., Kennedy D., and Chloe J.

New initiates joined their tribes for a first tribe meeting to learn new cheers and meet their leaders. After the meetings, the girls all went up to their cabins. The Tweedles got ready for bed while the cabins on the hill could be found making mischief whether it be raiding Trading Post or sneaking off for their own cabin initiations. As Taps sounded, the girls crawled into their cozy bunks, excited to start their activities tomorrow morning.

As former campers, we understand how difficult it can be to be away from your daughters for weeks at a time, but we are so thankful that you have granted them this opportunity and shared them with us. Our camp memories are the best of our lives and we can’t wait to join your daughters in making some of their own.

With love and blessings,

The CITs