2022 was a big year for us here at Camp Alleghany, along with our yearly sessions we were looking forward to and planning our 100th Anniversary! At the end of Summer 2021, we recruited a committee of Alumni to help plan and execute our 100th Anniversary celebrations, they, along with our admin team and staff, made Summer 2022 one for the books!
Before camp even started we kicked off our 100th Anniversary with a special Virtual Campfire that was presented by a multi-generational family of long time Ghany girls. Thank you to the Rowe Family! There were Spring reunions as well.
Term Camp Celebrations
Term Campers were able to celebrate our 100th Anniversary right along with us! Our Program Director, Casey, planned an evening activity celebrating the past and future of Alleghany. The Campers watched a slideshow of Alleghany through the decades, recreated iconic ‘Ghany photos, made 100th Anniversary patches, and got to add anything they wanted to the Camp Map! These additions included waterslides, ziplines, and even an outdoor escalator!
First Term, the 10 years and Alumni Support Staff created a special campfire that had everyone in stitches! It was Alleghany through the decades with 10 skits within the one campfire. It was fun for our current campers to see the “old ladies” participate and be silly. The campfire ended with a song created specially for the occation.
Our Director, Elizabeth, hosted “Porch Parties” on the cottage porch for each age group at camp. The campers were invited up to the cottage to look at old scrapbooks and yearbooks and to chat with alumni about their years as campers and counselors. These parties always ended with a peppermint patty and a special craft!
Family Camp
All of these celebrations lead up to the main event which took place during Family Camp. Our 100th Anniversary Bash included a live band, catered meal, speeches, a silent auction, and lots of memorabilia.
Past, present, and future campers and their families were all in attendance for the fun. Over 150 people joined the already packed Family Camp attendees for our special evening. Participants were asked to bring photos and memories to display in the Play Hall. It was so fun to see Alleghany from years passed as well as banquet themes, programs, JC beanies, and patch pillows to name a few things. Old yearbooks were on display and for sale as well.
Our evening began with hors doeures and Blue/Gray Signature cocktails followed by food! Elizabeth welcomed everyone. Her address included parts of camp’s history and the many decades of events and changes that have taken place over the last 100 years. Alumnus Pattie Ames blessed our food and dinner was served!
Thank you so much to our very own chefs and kitchen staff through Wolfoods who prepared and served our meal. They worked tirelessly with the 100th Committee to create a special dinner for all to enjoy. We served some camp favorites such as chicken patties and grilled cheese with tomato soup as well as some more sophisticated dishes like brisket and pulled pork sliders. After the meal, we celebrated with Birthday Cake (and Peppermint Patties of course!)
Our Band, Apple Butter Soul, from Lynchburg VA, got started and the real fun began! The Silent Auction, put on by the Alumni Association, was underway and our speeches began.
Alleghany honored a few people near and dear to us. Rocking chairs were dedicated to Sam and Bonnie, the owners of Alleghany, Casey Tucker, our recently retired Program Director, and BA, our former Mini Camp Director, and current Outreach Director for their many summers at Alleghany and the special role that they have played in our history. Kitty Farrar, Lelia Graham Webb, Carson Gilberman, Cloud Conrad, and Elizabeth Shreckhise put together thoughtful and warming speeches for each one of our honorees. We recognized the Anniversary committee, Stephanie Astley, Mary-Curtis Powell, Laura Gorsuch, MR Litman, and Hannah Baker who made the entire celebration possible. After all of that, we continued with our celebrations!
The band played some of our favorite songs and we even ended the night as we do all our special events with “Here’s a Health”! Late-night bites and celebrations continued all over camp and in town for the rest of the evening!
Our 100th Celebration throughout the entire year would not have been possible without the leadership of Elizabeth and the 100th Committee who met monthly and worked tirelessly until days after our Big Celebration. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped without being asked as well as to the Family Camp Staff who worked behind the scenes to make it all go smoothly. Thank you to camper-parent Mary Baldwin, owner of Havenbrook Media in Lewisburg, for her wonderful gift in kind of being our photographer that evening. Lots of applause for Roger Hopkins of Wolfoods, who came to Alleghany to make sure this was the wonderful night that we had imagined and visioned for months.
On to Summer 101!
While we are still basking in the glow of our 100th Anniversary, we must move forward! Although 101 doesn’t have the same ring as 100 we know Summer 2023 will top 2022. With lots of new additions to our Admin Team (stay tuned here for those announcements!), we are already planning and hiring! Summer 2023 will be the best one yet. Cheers to our 101st summer!
