AN INTERVIEW WITH NANCY MCCANN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF TRIPP LAKE CAMP

I hope I can do justice to this piece for there is much to tell you about Tripp Lake Camp and Nancy McCann.  Though I grew up only four miles from the Camp and had a sibling and a number of friends who worked summer jobs there, I found that I knew very little about its many nurturing programs and activities.  My family has summered across the lake from TLC for nearly fifty years, so we have always known it to be a good neighbor, a guardian of the lake and the land, improving on it as time goes on.

I talked with Nancy at the camp on a chilly morning toward the end of  September.  She was a wonderful interview, very forthcoming and informative, providing me with DVD’s and literature about the camp, taking me on a walking tour, and even offering a “golf cart” tour of the entire campus on another, warmer day.  She is clearly an asset to TLC and mentioned during our interview that she feels “honored to be here.” 

Nancy was raised in Brunswick, Maine. Following high school, she attended the University of Maine at Farmington as a Home Economics education major. However, she always had a strong desire to work at a summer camp. So, with the help of  John Bouchles, one of her high school teachers, she was hired as a swimming instructor at TLC in 1976, earning the grand sum of $375.  She liked her job so much that she returned for the next four years and, in 1980, became the Waterfront Director, teaching Red Cross standards and eventually replicating an Olympic-sized “swimming pool” with eight 25-meter lanes and a shallow, sandy- bottomed beginner’s section on the shores of the camp.  Today, there are thirty- five staff members instructing at the waterfront. 

Whoops, I got a little ahead of myself. Following graduation from UMF, Nancy taught Home Ec at Oxford Hills High School for seven years.  In the Spring of 1985, the last year she was there, she received the Maine Home Economics Teacher of the Year award.  At that point,  she had to make a difficult career choice for she had been offered a full- time position as Assistant Director at Tripp Lake Camp.  In spite of her success in teaching, she realized that her heart was really at TLC, so she accepted their offer and began working there full time in the Fall of  ‘85.  She told me that she has never regretted that decision.  During the “school year” she and her 16 year old daughter, Julia, live in Auburn. Through the summer months they live near TLC at their cottage on the Tripp Lake Camp Road.

Last summer a beautiful new building was erected on the campus which contains Nancy’s office and the office of her friend and Camp Director, Leslie Levy.  Claire Walker, a Poland resident and stalwart of TLC, is also in this building. It also serves as a reception area for parents and guests. Plaques and awards earned by the campers over the years, as well as historical information and memorabilia,  are prominently displayed.  It is a beautiful building, appropriate to its surroundings, with a wraparound porch and a wonderful view of the lake.

Nancy’s job description is daunting, with a myriad of assignments and activities.  Purchasing, hiring counselors and staff, arranging campers’ transportation for field trips and advertising the camp in publications. There are some international campers and staff, though the majority are from the United States, including our own state of Maine. 

TLC employs 200 people, 135 as counselors.  This summer, nearly a third were returning staff.  Other employees include maintenance, laundry, waitresses, security, nurses, a full- time doctor and support personnel.

Some more information:  meals are served family style with all  350 campers sitting down together!  Can you imagine the din?  The youngest campers are eight years old, the oldest are 16. Some return as counselors later on.

The “dorms” are arranged in an open circle with a comfortable grassy area in the middle.  This creates a close knit, inclusive plan, fostering friendship and social opportunities.  Counselors are nearby to focus attention on each girl and help with any concerns. The camper/counselor ratio is one counselor for every three campers.

In June, counselors arrive for pre-camp orientation, a week of training.  Many come from countries other than  the United States, including South Africa, Australia, England, Scotland, and New Zealand.  Each counselor specializes in a particular activity and teaches it for the entire summer.  Areas of expertise include arts/theater and sports such as tennis, (there are 18 courts) horseback riding, swimming and water sports, ropes & climbing, pottery, photography, silversmithing, dance, gymnastics and more.

In 1911, Clifford Waterhouse, who lived here in Poland, helped the original owners, sisters Miss Cyd Bettelheim and Mrs. Casper Rosenheim, find the property.  Other owners have been Carolyn Levinson, Dr. & Ruth Spahn, Jon & Bev Myers, Nancy Brenner and currently, Jeff Konigsberg.  Mr. Konigsberg has owned the camp for five years and hopes to continue ownership for many more.  He also owns Camp Takajo, a boy’s camp on Long Lake in Naples.  Headquarters for both of these camps is in Armonk, NY.  If you would like to know more about the camps, please go to the following web site: WWW.TRIPPLAKECAMP.COM.   

Nancy also shared her belief that there are friendly ghosts residing in several of the buildings at TLC.  She makes very cursory stops at the theater building whenever she needs to go there, and doesn’t linger in the building that houses the old living room.  She said she has heard “them.”   I believe her for I, too, believe in spirits though I have never seen or heard any. 

I was impressed by Nancy, her knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment to Tripp Lake Camp  and her willingness to spend as much time with me as I needed.  She clearly enjoys her job and is an asset to the Konigsbergs and to the camp organization.