Category: Events

CAMP NAKANAWA
2021 Covid-19 Protocol
May 26, 2021

Camp Nakanawa will make every effort to create an environment that will ensure the health and safety of the children you have entrusted to us.  The Covid-19 Pandemic has affected all our lives.  The published Protocol for Camp Nakanawa has been developed with the guidelines from the Cumberland County Tennessee Health Department, the Center for Disease Control and American Camping Association.   If future changes in Protocols and Guidelines are issued, they will be posted on our Website: www.campnakanawa.com. 

OPENING DAY

1.  Temperatures will be taken for campers and parents/guardian, with touch-less thermometers. This includes a Health Screening and a questionnaire about any symptoms and persons you have been in contact with that have possibly been exposed to the virus. 

2.  Campers, please quarantine at home for 7 to 10 days prior to arrival at camp. Campers MUST arrive with the negative results of a Covid-19 Test having been taken 3 to 5 days prior to arrival at camp.  Or, if available, have your daughter vaccinated for Covid-19 prior to attending camp. Please bring vaccination card with you.

3. Any campers that are experiencing any symptoms like fever, sore throat, nausea, please contact camp and delay your arrival to camp.

4. We request only one parent deliver their camper to camp.

5. Campers are required to wear masks on Opening Day and at other times to be determined. Please have your camper bring 5 to 10 washable masks with her to camp. 

6. Parents and Campers please check in at Welcome Gazebo in Junior or Senior Camp. All campers and their luggage will be delivered to their cabins by camp personnel from the Senior Camp Wigwam Area and the Junior Camp Parking Lot.  We encourage you to ship your daughter’s luggage to camp via FEDEX or UPS one week prior to the opening of camp.   The luggage will be delivered directly to her cabin.

7. All Medical Forms should be completed, signed by the parent and the doctor, and submitted to camp before Opening Day by mail, email or FAX.

DURING THE CAMP SEASON

8. All cabins and mattresses will be disinfected regularly.

9. Proper PPE supplies will be available at each Infirmary.

10. If someone has Covid-19 symptoms, we will immediately isolate and notify the parents. We have identified places suitable for isolation.

11. Hand sanitizer will be available in Main Buildings, Dining Halls, Infirmaries and various Activity locations.

12. Bathrooms will be cleaned and sanitized frequently.

13. Temperature checks weekly or as needed throughout the session.

14. We are striving for a Covid-19 Free environment. Requests for campers to leave camp for special events and then return, will not be allowed.  Late Arrivals to camp and Early Departures from camp would be allowed.  No visitors are allowed throughout the camp session.  

DELIVERIES

1. Vendor deliveries have no contact with the campers and counselors.
2. We have a No Package policy.

CLOSING DAY

1. One parent should pick up their camper. Campers and their Luggage should be picked up in the Senior Camp Wigwam Area and the Junior Camp Parking Lot.   We offer the opportunity to ship your daughter’s luggage home via FEDEX only. 

2. We plan to video the Two Week Junior, Intermediate Musicals and Four Week Junior Operetta. We will video other events throughout the camp season.   We will post all videos on our Website.

3. Following present day protocols, Camp Nakanawa will have our traditional closing day ceremonies in all sessions just for the campers and counselors, without parents and visitors. The ceremonies will be videoed and posted on our Website.

This protocol is subject to change according to guidelines published by the State of Tennessee Health Department and Center for Disease Control in May/June/July 2021. 

We appreciate your loyalty and trust in Camp Nakanawa.  We will do everything possible to make this a safe and fulfilling summer.  Thank for your continued support. 

Ann and Pepe

The McCormack Sisters entered a contest for a gift certificate from “Everything Summer Camp.”  Their stories are wonderful tributes to Camp Nakanawa and the people who make it so special.  We would love to hear from all of you about someone or something that is special to you about Camp Nakanawa.  Contact us to submit your story via email and we will add it to this page!

Dear 2021 Nakanawa Parent,

One of the many benefits of being a camper at Camp Nakanawa is having an “unplugged” summer experience away from all of the social networks, cell phones, texts, instant messages and internet access that has become such a part of our young girls’ everyday lives.

We are delighted to see that there are many other great camps across the nation that have made the decision to go “unplugged” as well. Nakanawa has never allowed campers to bring laptops, iPads, cell phones, electronic readers or any device that has wireless capability to camp. We do, however, realize the value of having appropriate music balanced with the simple and “back to basic” atmosphere that Nakanawa has always offered.

We want our campers to have reasonable access to music at camp by allowing them to bring personal music devices. However, we want to make sure that our “no wireless devices” policy is clear. We certainly do not want your daughter to be disappointed if she arrives at camp with an unapproved device for listening to music. We have skits, dances and events (like the prom or the talent show), which would not be the same without music.

The only approved music listening devices are those that have NO WIRELESS CAPABILITY. Your daughter may NOT bring a device that has wireless capability even if it can be disabled. The devices may NOT have that capability at all. If a camper arrives at camp with a wireless device, she will not be permitted to use it at camp. It will be put with the valuables in the safe and returned to her as she leaves camp.

Some examples of music listening devices that do not have wireless capabilities and are approved to bring are: iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Classic, Music Tube mp3 5G Style, Music Tube mp3 6G Style. The campers may also bring cd’s and a cd listening device as long as the device does not have wireless capabilities.

Additionally, please note that we do not allow electronic readers (such as Nooks, Kindles, or iPads), we do not allow any type of DVD players, gaming devices or videos of any type to be brought or viewed at camp. Campers may bring the approved devices for listening to music only. (We are emphasizing no Electronic Readers; as all of them are now wireless as far as we know. Please plan to bring good-old-fashioned paperback books for your camper’s rest hour reading.)

Additionally, please remember that camp is not able to accommodate regular charging of these approved devices. If you want to bring a docking station, be sure to bring one that runs on batteries.

Our goal is always to encourage a community atmosphere. Ultimately, we would like to ask our campers to take their earbuds out and interact with each other. Our core Nakanawa values are based on friendships, nature, and a strong sense of community.

So please make sure your daughter is bringing a music listening device that complies with our ” no wireless capability” policy. Of course, it is not necessary to bring one at all. We have plenty of music around camp for everyone. Additionally, we’d love for you to suggest that the girls bring their guitars, fiddles, harmonicas, paperback books, and craft activities.

Just a note ….. Our counselors comply with this policy while in the cabin area as well. See you soon!

Ann and Pepe

FRIDAY

3:00 – 5:00 Registration; Move into cabins

4:45 – 6:00  Free Swim

5:00 & 5:30 Camp Tours – meet at Flagpole

6:25               Flag Lowering

6:30               Dinner

7:15               Introductory Meetings; Camper group performances

8:30               Lights out/Taps

SATURDAY

7:00               Wake-up bell

7:25               Flag Raising

7:30               Breakfast

8:30               Activities Rotation (adults and children together): Riding, Glee Club, Nature, Climbing Wall

12:30             Lunch

1:30 – 2:30  Rest Hour / Quiet Time

2:45 – 5:00  Afternoon Activities: Hayride to Junior Camp; Council Ring; Nature hikes; Free Swim

5:00 – 6:00  Showers

6:00              Cookout – bonfire & camp songs by the lake

7:15               Evening Entertainment

8:30              Lights out

SUNDAY

7:00               Wake-up bell

7:25               Flag Raising

7:30               Breakfast

8:15               Q & A Meeting

9:15               Church

11:30             Lunch

A word about Egypt – Our bath house is called Egypt, because in the olden days of Nakanawa, it was considered “far, far away.” We suggest flip-flops or shower shoes, and perhaps a small “Egypt bucket” for you and your daughter(s) to share.  In the bucket, you will have all the necessities: shampoo, soap, your toothbrush and toothpaste; anything needed for that far-off journey to Egypt!

Snacks – For Mother-Daughter weekend, we encourage Moms to bring along snacks.  We will provide plenty of grab-and-go food, but you know best what your daughter enjoys.  Feel free to bring a cooler.

Hi, I’m Goodwin Burgess, Tent Row 2007 (yeaahh ‘07!!), and I was a counselor in the two-week session during my TR summer and during both sessions last summer. (That’s me on the right, with Rebecca Darling.)

I had dreamed of being a counselor ever since my early years at camp. In 5th grade, Elise Landau and I actually made plans to teach arts and crafts together someday. That didn’t work out.  Having been a camper, I thought it was a little weird to be a counselor. It’s an odd transition, especially from your TR summer. It’s also very different depending on what camp you’re in; I have been a counselor in both Junior and Senior, so I’ll talk about both.

If Camp Nakanawa were an ice cream cone (just go with it), Junior would be the ice cream, and Senior would be the cone. Junior Camp is just this amazing, messy whirlwind of laughing and screaming and silliness and juicy cups while Senior has a more serious side but with plenty of giggles thrown in. I, personally, found it easier to know my place as a counselor in Junior than in Senior. You are almost like a surrogate mother in Junior while you’re this combination of friend and authority in Senior. Also, you already have relationships with the campers in Senior. I’m not going to lie, it took me a while to feel normal again. How do you act around the girls you willed stuff to, as a counselor? From watching older camper-counselors and just over the four weeks, I realized that it’s okay to still have those special friendships and “I Spy My Tie” is a game that’s just going to happen. But, you have to remember why you’re there. You are a counselor, and camp is now your job. You have responsibilities to your own bunkies, to the other counselors, to Karen and to Ann and Pepe. It’s a lot of work.Imagine you’re working on AWR, VSP and Banquet all at once for two, four or six weeks…it’s kind of like that.

But what I particularly enjoyed about being a counselor (other than the hot tub and bowling alley in the CB) was that I formed this whole new type of relationship to camp. Yeah, it takes a little adjusting, but being a counselor is amazing. You feel like you’ve really contributed to camp and like you’ve bonded with the other counselors and with your fellow ex-campers in this whole new awesome way. And I would not trade reading The Princess Bride aloud with my bunkies, bailing canoes or late night CB dance parties for anything (well, maybe the bailing canoes one). Anyway, moral of the story, camp remains paradise on earth even when you’re done being a camper. The only difference is your role in that paradise.

I hope this has been helpful. Returning TR girls, you will also be asked to watch this 20 minute video.  It will address some of the issues you might confront.  Please plan the time to watch it before you come to camp.

Smiles and Pep,

Goodwin

Hey Everyone…… My name is Val Lambert, and I am an Ever Returning Four Week Junior Nakanawa Counselor.

My first experience with Camp Nakanawa was the summer of 1971. I had just graduated from Southeastern LA. University, had a teaching job lined up for the fall but had nothing to do for the summer. A graduate-assistant, who had been to camp, told me about Camp and got me the information.

Needless to say, I was a little on the scared side since it would be the first time for me to drive over 700 miles by myself, I wasn’t sure the best route to take, I had never driven in the mountains either, and I knew no one that was going.

After arriving at the Senior Office, I could tell that this would be right up my alley. I’m an outdoorsy type person and after seeing the cabins and lake, I was on my way to being hooked. Of course, another thing that really won me over was that there were NO Mosquitoes even when you are out on the lake at night. (For a Louisiana gal, that is a BIG PLUS!!)

The friendships, the teaching, the pranks, being a Koochie, the atmosphere and the Grace of God have all been a part of the reason that I keep returning. Nakanawa has been a fabulous experience for this small town girl.

Being a teacher, made returning to camp easy because it fit in my schedule perfectly. I loved being with children, helping them with the sharing of a cabin, learning to work together to make it livable, modeling responsibility, helping them to learn to be the best that they can be, to help one another and to be happy.

I spent 4 wonderful summers at Nakanawa. Then I got married. I continued to keep in touch with my camp friends. Twenty years down the road, I had the itching to go back. I wanted my daughter to see and love camp like I had, so with my husband’s blessing in 1994 I returned with daughter at my side. She was too old to be a camper so she came to help with Jr. campers. I’ll never forget our first phone call home to her Dad. “Dad why did you let me do this!” She was miserable. She didn’t like the food, felt out of place, didn’t like the lake, or Egypt! Three weeks later, “The Spirit of Nakanawa” got her too and I was so happy for her.

I am approaching my 30th summer as a Nakanawa Counselor. I continue to come back because Ann & Pepe let me and because I feel like a special person when I’m here.

I came to camp as a counselor at age 18 (for eight weeks!), and did not know one soul at Nakanawa. I am proof that you don’t have to be a former camper to decide that spending summers at Nakanawa is not just a summer job, it is a lifestyle. Now in my 60s, I look forward all year to my time at camp. It is a Neverland where your age doesn’t matter. Everyone is young at heart.

After teaching horseback riding and Arts and Crafts in Senior Camp, I had two daughters of my own and started a whole new chapter in Junior Camp. My special passion is teaching Nature, and I am sure I have more fun than the girls do at the Nature Hut. It is my goal to have each girl become more attuned to the world of nature, more appreciative of the creatures and the beauty of the lake, more excited about hiking and adventuring, less worried about getting muddy or getting a tick; more excited about holding a snake for the first time or feeding baby ducks, less worried about germs and spiders.

I can’t wait to meet all of you!
Margaret

Hello everyone….

My mother, Sarah Hunter from Mobile boarded a train full of New Orleans girls back in the 1920’s for Nakanawa. She always talked about her love for Colonel Rice-the discipline he gave the girls and the expectations he had of them. She loved the dance program the most along with the pageants and her Valkyrie team. She began a legacy that is unbroken to this day…

4 Generations:  Lots of Lotts

My oldest sister, Sally arrived at Nakanawa in the early 1950’s, followed by my sister, Annette. They spent many happy summers at Nakanawa. They were both in Tent Row and Annette was Valkyrie Captain. Following in their footsteps, my sister, Lillis began her summers at the age of 9 in 1961, and finally I came in 1965 as the youngest (and smallest….thus the name “Tiny”). Lillis was Valkyrie Captain in Junior camp and went on to cross the lake for a few years. I spent 10 summers at Nakanawa through the late 60’s and early 70’s when camp attendance was slim. We went through the changes of 8 weeks to 7 weeks, then 6 weeks. I was in Tent Row two times-1974 and 1975. Meanwhile four of my nieces (Sally’s children) began coming to camp. My sister, Annette, sent her 2 adopted girls to camp also.

Flash forward to 1990 when I returned with my girls, Sarah and Catherine, to Nakanawa-one as a camper and one only 4 years old! My daughters went all the way through Tent Row and served as counselors also. Catherine is on the staff to this day. I have been back at camp every summer since 1990. Other nieces have also come and many great-nieces as well.
Nakanawa is part of my life and always has been. I grew up there. My friendships are long lasting and meaningful at camp. Nakanawa is where I regroup every year.  It is my retreat (though a working retreat!), my summer home in heart and soul!

Every summer when I crawl into my freshly made bed, I sigh a peaceful sigh knowing that I have once again come home.
Nakanawa is a tradition in my family that I hope continues long after I am gone. I have one granddaughter that was born last year. I hope that she will find her place at Nakanawa as have I and the other women in my family. The tradition continues!
Love,
Tiny