Page 112 - ESCARPMENT MAGAZINE | Winter 2013

112 Escarpment Magazine Winter 2013
Honk, honk, honk! It's 6:45 and an old bicycle horn
blasts over the radio waves throughout Camp Celtic. Al-
though initially unbearable for most of the 120 campers
nestled away in their bunks, this discomfort of getting up
with the sunrise will soon be forgotten as they're diving
into the brisk waters of Lake Huron. The 'Polar Bear Dip'
is one of many pre-breakfast morning activities offered
at camp each morning.
On this misty Bruce Peninsula dawn, ‘Shire’ accompanies
her cabin of 10 and 11 year-old campers to the lake.
She explains, “My girls talked about it last night, and decided it would be really cool if
our whole cabin got up early and went to Polar Bear dip. So here we are!”
‘Shire’ is a counsellor at Camp Celtic, a family-owned camp near Lions Head, Ontario.
In her other life, the one she lives when she's away from camp, she is Devon MacNeil, a
3rd year honours student at the University of Windsor. But for a fewmonths each summer
she becomes the most important person in the world, one week at a time, as a counsellor
and mentor to the kids entrusted to her care.
Celtic is a family-owned Sports and Arts camp entering its 30th year of providing excep-
tional instruction for kids in a traditional summer camp setting. There are sports and spe-
cialty programmes including tennis, soccer, sailing, ropes and climbing, rugby, kayaking,
wilderness survival, and archery, but also drama, a radio station, and a small animal
farm. It's a close-knit camp with structure, but also offers a wide variety of electives, and,
for older campers, wilderness canoeing, Leadership Training, and intense Volleyball and
Basketball camps. Celtic boasts a mature staff, friendly atmosphere, and one of the best
waterfront beaches in Ontario.
Camps in general, and Celtic in particular, have proven to be one of the best venues for
personal growth for kids in our whole society. Dr. Michael Ungar of Dalhousie University
recently said, “Summer camps... are perfect places to help children optimize their psy-
chosocial development. After all, summer camps are
places where children get the experiences they need to
bolster their range of coping strategies. There are the sim-
ple challenges of learning how to build a fire, going on
a hike, or conquering a high ropes course. There are the
much more complex challenges of getting along with a
new group of peers, learning how to ask for help from
others, or taking manageable amount of risks without a
parent following after you.”
This sounds like the Celtic experience for generations of
campers and staff who have attended. Independence,
cooperation, awareness of self and nature, adventure...
these are all ingredients in the wonderful recipe which is
'Camp Celtic'. |E|
ESCARPMENT ESCAPES | spotlight on camp celtic...
CAMP... life
Looking forward to
Summer adventures
For more information please visitwww.campceltic.ca