Holding Space at Camp
Even though I have trained as a Yoga teacher, lead an occasional class at my local studio and maintain a (somewhat) regular practice, I have never particularly liked that phrase, “holding space.” Maybe it is because some of the early classes I attended where it was whispered in an all-too-breathy new agey fashion made me more inclined to flee the space I was occupying rather than let this person hold it for me! But recently, a friend commented that what we have done with Camp - all of us who work here and care and tend to Mishawaka- is really to hold a space for kids of all ages to learn and grow. In this concrete example, I began to accept the phrase, even embrace it.
Today I walked around a nearly empty campus, picking up sticks, a bit of trash and a seemingly endless supply of water bottles left behind. The space of Camp is empty of kids, staff and the beehive of activity one sees in the summer. I have also come to accept this quiet - even embrace it, but for those who have never set foot on Camp when it is empty, it can be disquieting. So many only know this place in one mode, or season. This summer our programs ran for just 75 days of the 365 that make up a year. I have no doubt that some would classify this “under utilization” as a waste of space, but if you were to ask anyone who has occupied it as an important part of their childhood, or adult development, I think you’d get a different answer.
For sure, there are times that I think we could continue to “better use” or somehow “monetize” this space in the off-season. Alas, I am an educator, not an entrepreneur, so those efforts have never really taken shape. Plus, even though Camp just ended, there is already a fall-like chill in the air, and the leaves are starting to turn. Our window for operation is incredibly short, and I think we do make great use of space in the time we are given. To borrow the county assessor’s phrase, but not their use of it, the highest and best use of these acres is to operate a summer camp.
I get asked repeatedly what exactly it is we do in the off season. Many might assume, mistakenly, that we just kick back till next June. The pace changes, the tasks change, but the work opportunities are endless. All this from a person who chose Minister as an option in my 5th grade career fair because I thought they only worked one day a week! Camp directors do work more than just the summer, too.
Camp is a big space - not Montana big - but big enough that it takes more than one person to hold it, or even a small group of people to do so. In making the conversion to a nonprofit entity in 2024, we acknowledged that it takes us all to hold it, to preserve it, and to protect it. I owned these grounds for more than 30 years but always saw myself as more of a steward than a landlord. We are all stewards now, and we count on you, as the Girls Camp closing song goes, “whether far or near, [to} hold ever dear, Mishawaka, and all we find here.”
In the meantime, we will be here - writing, reading, cleaning and filling this space for the summer of 2026!
