A Special Community for Teens.

Almost fifty years ago, Applejack Teen Camp was founded on the site of the old Applejack Farm. In its infant years, Applejack Teen Camp emphasized a teenage community living experience with campers involved in various work and service projects within both the camp and in the local community. After several years of operating two camps, Regis and Applejack, on separate sites about 6 miles apart, Earl and Pauline Humes decided to sell the Applejack site and enlarge the facilities at Regis to accommodate a teenage Regis group. It was thanks to the campers arriving for their first year as teenagers on the Regis site who saw that the name Applejack stayed alive. They arrived that first season with pre-made banners and signs proclaiming “Applejack Lives,” “Applejack Forever,” and “We Are Applejack Teen Camp.” Bowing to popular demand, the Regis teen group maintained the name “Applejack Teen Camp,” and the name and this heritage are still carried on today.

This story has an important point; teenagers need to feel that they have their own identity and that their unique interests and needs are recognized. The adolescent years are a critical time in a person’s growth and maturity, and it takes a special place to help nurture and foster this process. Applejack Teen Camp tries to become that special place for a group of about 125 campers (ages 13-16) each summer.

The teen years can be a very emotional time, marked by uncertainty and turmoil. Applejack Teen Camp strives to provide an environment in which teens can feel good about themselves and their community. Campers are given the opportunity, through greater involvement in formulating their own daily schedule, to pursue activities which they feel good about, and to master a high level of skills in those areas. They are also given a chance to confront challenges and, with the guidance and instruction of our caring staff, gain the tremendous feeling of having met the teen camp experience with success. They also have the opportunity to contribute to the running of our large community and to this gain the wonderful feeling of having made an impact upon the betterment of other lives.

Social life is also a very important aspect of the teen years. One of the Applejack Teen Camp’s goals is to provide a safe, well-monitored, and non-threatening atmosphere where teenagers can get to know each other, form close friendships and find the significant joy of comradery with one’s peers. To this end, the cabins all have a living room with a fireplace so that there is an informal gathering place for bunkmates to get to know each other. A recent addition is a huge, open-air, covered pavilion to serve as the focal point for teen camp gatherings. With a large fieldstone fireplace, electricity and lighting, this spot has quickly come to serve as an area for special evening programs as well as for informal “hanging out.” The teen cabins are all clustered in wooded areas surrounding the pavilion and are on a separate section of the property from the area reserved for the younger Regis campers’ cabins. With this layout, the teens feel a sense of unique belonging within the larger community that is Camp Regis Applejack.

Another important focus of Applejack is to keep our campers active and involved. A full daily schedule keeps our teens busy in all of the activity areas of camp, and then a special activity program spices up their stay with various out-of-camp trips. For our younger teens, there are day trips to Montreal for an Expo’s baseball game, or the excitement of a jet boat ride through the Lachine Rapids, topped off by dinner and a visit to the old French Quarter. There are also opportunities for white water rafting, amusement park outings, or water park visits. We also offer evening out at the movies, skating rink, or bowling alley.

For the older teens we offer these same possibilities, with the addition of an evening dinner and dance cruise on Lake George, and in August, a week-long travel trip to areas around either Niagra Falls, Toronto, Quebec, the Maine Coast, or other New England tourist spots. Variety is the spice of life, especially for your adolescents, and although there are quiet times and time for reflection and just slowing down, we hope that none of our Applejackers ever have a chance to get bored.

Applejack is a special community, one that must be experienced to be truly appreciated. Campers come from many different countries and backgrounds, each bringing with them their own unique contribution to our lives. The first-time campers will find themselves, along with many other newcomers to the Applejack experience, with an opportunity for activity, growth, and friendship in a non-threatening atmosphere where it is easy to fit in. Returning and experienced campers find new challenges, new programs, and, new friendships that make each year different and special.

For many, the teenage years can be challenging. Therefore Applejack Teen Camp tries to provide an environment geared toward success through involvement, socialization, special activities and a program and staff that is aware of the unique aspects and needs of these teenage years.