60 Years Of Building A Better Boy

Peterborough Directors Celebrate Camp Ponacka's 60th Anniversary

Written by Bruce Parkinson

"The discerning parent sends a child to camp to have fun, develop independence, self-reliance, leadership skills, how to get along with others and how to overcome obstacles. It's a life-changing experience."
-Anne Morawetz, Camp Ponacka Co-Director

What happens to boys when you take away their Ipods, Game Boys, cell phones and instant messaging capability? "Wonderful things," says Anne Morawetz, who, along with husband Don Bocking runs Camp Ponacka, a boys-only summer camp on Lake Baptiste, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

Camp Ponacka has played a huge role in the lives of Anne and Don. Anne's father, Dr. Bruno Morawetz founded the camp in 1946, going door to door on his bicycle in London, Ontario to try to convince parents to sign their boys up. He and his wife Gwen (known to decades of campers as Okimau and Oki - 'Okimau means Big Chief' in Algonquin) ran the camp for many years, and Anne spent many of her summers there from the age of three weeks.

Don and his four brothers all attended the camp as they grew, and he met Anne there in 1976 when he was a camp counsellor. They married in the camp chapel in 1979, though Don was late for own wedding dinner as he chased an errant windsurfing guest down the lake.

Life at Camp Ponacka is something special. Bruno Morawetz described the camp's philosophy as providing an "I count, I belong experience." But perhaps more important than the camp experience itself is the lasting impression that it makes on campers, an impact that extends far past those idyllic summer days spent on 160 acres of Ontario forest and lake.

"You can watch the city veneer fade away within 2 or three days of boys arriving at camp," says Anne. "They become themselves again, open and willing and curious. It's a happy, supportive, nurturing environment where we clearly state behavioural expectations from the start. We set the bar reasonable but high and the boys respond. The relationships they form are authentic and close - they've lived together, there's no facade. Camp friends survive everything -- we're constantly hearing from past campers who are getting married and inevitably their camp friends are their best men or groomsmen."

Anne says the single-gender nature of the camp is important. "Boys may not be themselves at a co-ed camp. They relate differently, they play differently when there are girls around. Compared to girls, boys tend to have a greater challenge in forming close bonds with each other. Our biggest successes are often with boys who have had prior difficulties making friends. They come here and realize 'I can do it.'"

'Character education' is something much talked about in educational circles these days. At Camp Ponacka, it has always been front and centre. "We do character education every moment of the day," says Anne. "When there are problems, the boys talk them out and the resolution ends with a handshake. One of our secrets to success is that all our counsellors are homegrown - they've spent their summers as campers at Camp Ponacka, and they're the best mentors a parent could ask for. The young kids get to look up to them and want to emulate them."

Character education begins early in the day at Ponacka. After a refreshing morning jump in the lake followed by breakfast, the Canadian flag is raised and O, Canada sung. Then the boys gather together for a 'Morning Talk.' Many of those talks are summarized in a book called 'Ponacka - The First Fifty Years,' that celebrated an earlier milestone. The talks feature engaging life lessons, almost like parables, but designed to capture the attention of boys without preaching. The impact of the talks was brought home recently through the miracle of the Internet. Don and Anne received an e-mail from a school principal who uses Ponacka morning talks in his addresses to students - 30 years after 'graduating' from camp.

Most of the education at Ponacka is cleverly disguised as fun. After the morning talk, tents and cabins are cleaned and inspected and the activities begin. Don describes the approach as "freedom within a structure." Boys choose their own activities from some 20 choices, including archery, horseback riding, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, pottery, lapidary, woodworking, sailing, bush craft and more. Older kids set off on canoe trips, for as long as a week at a time. "Most of our activities are individual-based, so boys can find their own niche," says Anne. Meals are healthy and 'boy-friendly,' with a bottomless bowl of fruit always available and no deep fryer on the premises. Younger boys stay in cabins with their group of 8-10 plus two counsellors. Older boys live in tents built over platforms.

Don says that a major role of Camp Ponacka is "saving our children from 'nature deficit disorder.' Lots of urban kids don't experience nature. Living in nature is a big part of what makes the magic."

Despite a rich 100-year tradition of summer camps in Ontario, Anne says societal changes mean that many parents don't understand their value. "To those who've experienced it, the value is obvious. But to others, they may even look at it as a form of punishment or feel guilty for 'sending their kids away.' I think camp is the biggest gift you could give a child."

Don and Anne put a lot of effort into making sure that both parents and their sons are comfortable with the camp experience. Except for overseas campers (of which there are surprisingly many), the couple spends much of April, travelling Ontario and visiting the homes of first-time campers. Anne will talk to the parents, while Don visits with the new camper, usually getting a tour of his room.

"Their room tells you a great deal about the boy," says Don. "We talk and I answer any questions they have. Then I pass on the information I've learned to the counsellors and it really speeds the integration process. There's a ton of prep work so that once the boy arrives, he fits right in and gets started right away."

Another thing that sets Camp Ponacka apart is the length of stay. Eight- and nine-year-olds can come for two weeks, but boys 10-15 come for four-week stays. "They truly get to know each other in four weeks, and we get to know them. That's why our relationships last a lifetime," says Don.

The Camp Ponacka alumni association boasts over 400 members who pay $25 for a lifetime membership. A 60-year reunion is set for June of this year, and Don and Anne know it will be a good time. "There are so many guys we hear from, who are in their 50s and 60s now, who all say that Camp Ponacka was a pivotal time in their lives and a huge influence in their development. There will be lots of laughs for sure. There are more laughs in a day at Ponacka than a month anywhere else," says Don.

Many of the boys who attend Camp Ponacka come from privileged backgrounds. In 1983 it was staff members who suggested the creation of a fund to help send less advantaged boys to the camp. Four boys are selected each year through Big Brothers of Peterborough, and guaranteed a paid-for spot at the camp through age 15. A more recent initiative sees funds raised by Camp Ponacka directed to the Kinark Camp for Kids fund, which helps disadvantaged children in the Peterborough area attend other local camps. Don spends his 'off-season' from the camp working as a family counsellor with Kinark.

Don and Anne have raised three children with summers at Camp Ponacka, and they're hopeful there will be a third-generation to take over. "It's a place that's hugely important to them," says Anne.

Camp Ponacka is a place that has been hugely important to many boys - men now - who have taken the lessons of sharing and independence and joy and transferred them to busy, productive lives and careers. "It's too important to end," says Anne. "It's very hard to describe the value of camp in a brochure or on a website. But there are magical moments at Camp Ponacka, and they happen every minute of the day."