Unirondack 101 - Manual for Beginners

Just who is behind this camp and what's with the name?

Unirondack was founded by the NYS Universalists Convention in 1951 after renting camps for a few years.   The name was representing 'Universalists in the Adirondacks'.

 Today it is a MEMBER corporation with Unitarian-Universalist church congregations and individuals/families making up the membership.    Thus the camp is 'owned' by the membership.  Membership is open to anyone with an interest in Unirondack.

So what gives?  Is it a church camp?  What is UU about?  

 To learn more about the UU (Unitarian-Universalist) connection see info on the camp web-site link:   www.unirondack.org/about-unirondack 

In short, everyone is welcome at camp.  There is no pressure to be or join any religion.

How will my kid know when to wake up?

Unirondack works on a bell system, starting with a morning wake-up bell.  And then following that up with a KP bell.  When activities end or change,a quick bell is rung.  The bell system is used in Emergencies as well with 3 bells repeating over and over signaling an emergency or Fire Drill.    The important bell is when you hear 2 bells, it means TIME TO EAT - get to the dining hall (Gilman).

WHAT does KP mean?

    KP, or Kitchen Party, is a central part of coming together as a community and contributing to the overall community.  Traditionally each cabin is assigned a day when they will cover the KP duties.  They report at the KP bell (15 minutes prior to the 2 ring meal signal)  The kitchen staff will give information on what to place on the tables.  Tables are set with cups/plates or whatever is needed.   It is not a race or a challenge or a demand to work, it is a shared responsibility to offer your service and help with your turn at the fun.  During meals, KPs are often split up onto separate tables and act to gather more food from the kitchen or refill drink containers.  Having one select person for each table cuts down on many people running about.  Being KP of the table is an important role to be treasured and admired.  After the meal and announcements are over, the KP team gathers the plates and food and takes items up to the kitchen or dish racks and then wipes the tables and sweeps the floor.  There is always a break after a meal so KPs do not miss any activities outside the fun in the dining hall.    KP is literally the first step young campers take in contributing their effort and thought to the camp.  It is a life-time lesson of contributing for the greater good of the camp week and thus the camp and the world.   (who knew?)

FIRE DRILL? 

  Each week, the camp is required to perform a fire-drill like in any school.  It is a surprise time and the 3 bell signal will blast from the school like bells.  There are 4 bells scattered through the camp.   They are not shocking  unless you are standing under one when it goes off.  Hearing 3 bells is always a shock to the system and the camp gathers at the designated area for a roll call.  The Wayne crew will start up the fire system and often roll out the hose and send water high in the air as a practice drill.   

Wayne Manor

This is the maintenance shop located in one end of the camp near the Woods Quad.  The shop is locked up when not in use.  Campers generally shy away from the Manor but it is a great place to tour if you ask a Wayne.  The Manor includes 3 floors of maintenance supplies, a stained glass window, a crew Wall of Fame (going up the steps), and yes, there really is a bat pole which stops at the first floor or continues to bat cellar.   The Manor was named in honor of the Guillaumes with Marc being the original "Wayne."   The story goes that Adam Farington and Marc came to camp as staff.  Adam could not remember all the names, so he just looked at Marc and said, "You look like a Wayne."   For several days Adam just called Marc "Wayne", and the name stuck but not for Marc but for Marc's crew and every crew since 1991 when that happened.

Evening Program

  During the summer, after dinner and KP clean up, the Evening Program takes place.  This is normally an all camp event on a grand scale.   Capture the Flag is an all time favorite but the staff in recent years has been going all out on major productions with themes relevant to the age group on campus.  During the high school camps there is sometimes events that are a bit too realistic or startling to some campers so the staff goes to lengths to offer 'safe' spaces or areas out of the general chaos.  Examples would be going to the art shop  for an alternative to the event or being stationed in a safe zone.  A great example was during a recent senior High School age zombie type outbreak event there was a safe room where campers would control radios and camera feeds rather than being out on the campus within the mayhem.   Generally all Evening Activities are fun games or shows the entire camp participates in.   Veteran campers might have a small edge while playing capture the flag or something but new campers are encouraged to jump right in or stand back and watch depending on what their mood is.   Friday is normally a packed night with a dinner banquet, the talent show or coffee house the camp fire and a dance in the lodge.

The Chapel

    The Chapel is a beautiful area next to the lake, with towering pines that give it the grandeur of a European cathedral.  It is used for weddings and occasional meditation or other events.  Church services are not a normal thing, but a special guest could hold a service or event in the chapel.  Benches are brought over from the Stevens center to sit on.  Traditionally lots of mosquitoes hang out in the chapel area.

The Cowbell

The cowbell is very important relic from the camp's distant past.  The cow bell was used since the start of the camp and survived the fire which destroyed the main lodge in 1976.  Thus, with this history, the bell is quite important and continues to serve its purpose at every meal.   Various games are played with the directors about their announcements but you need to start your request Before they actually ring the bell.  The staff will explain the rules to traditions such as these as they change over the years.

1976 Fire

  To learn about the Old Lodge and the fire there is a lot of information in these archives about the old lodge,  Lodge fire,  Planning for and building a new lodge is one of the pivotal points in the camp's history.  To read about how they did it look here.   All the kids were herded out of camp to neighbors and the fire department saved the Sweet building.  The old lodge contained: The kitchen, dining hall, living room, porch, office, camp store.  It was all lost but the camp reopened after only a 1 week break in the summer.

Sweet

Sweet is a large two-story housing building with 3 cabins on the upper floor and 4 cabins on the lower floor.  Sweet was the guest house for the original John Patterson camp.  

Things that happen during meals

   Every year the staff seems to come up with new twists and turns to happenings during a meal.  For example there are thing about leaving your seat - you need to take your spoon or something or else your chair might get turned around on you.  These silly things should be explained by your counselor.  One that I do know of as it is a very very old tradition is the hula hop.  Generally not allowed at breakfast as the sound can be very jarring, at lunch or dinner a table will decide on person or a category of people to perform the Hula Hop.  Normally this can happen only once per meal—except during the banquet, when all bets are off.   the table quickly decides on what they are doing and then pounds the table three times and singing: Here's to ______________ and the way they do the Hula Hop, here's to  _____________ and the way the do the Hula Hop, The Hula Hop, The Hula Hula Hop. Let's See ________________do the Hula Hop.   (might be a name or a cabin or everyone with a birthday or everyone over 30)  .  One catch here is that in about 1990 when the staff was all new the song was forgotten so that the last little part is not known today.   (Let's See ____________ do the Hula Hop)  will not be sung as they don't know it is missing...  so you can be the king by explaining to the veterans the proper way it is supposed to be done.

    If you are targeted to do the Hula Hop all it requires is you carefully stand on your chair and do a little dance as you see fit.

The Banquet 

The Banquet is a long-running tradition in which the staff puts on an elaborate final dinner for the campers.  The staff take over KP and decorate the dining hall in the theme for the banquet.  The theme is generally decided on during Camp Council by a secret vote after everyone has a chance to shout out their suggestions for the theme.  Getting your suggestion to win is very difficult as there are usually a wide range of choices.  So do not fret if your dream banquet theme does not happen.  Sometimes it takes 10 years of trying before you get enough votes.  Staff and campers spend time preparing for costumes to match the theme of the banquet if they desire to.  If you don't want to dress up you come as you are for the good food.  The art shop and Wayne Manor often get in on helping campers prepare for the banquet.   

Where did the old buildings come from?

The camp land was purchased from the Fisher Forestry Company in the early 1920s and the original buildings were constructed by John Patterson of the National Cash Register Company.  John was one of the richest and most influential 'robber barrons' at the turn of the century.  National Cash Register held a monopoly in cash registers.  John was conservative and did not spend lavishly, but built a comfortable Adirondack escape for his family, friends and executives.  One son inherited the camp while his other son and daughter each built different camps on Beaver Lake.  The three Patterson camps can be identified on the lake as they are the only camps with larger, two story boathouses.  The old lodge screen porch was named Patterson Porch in honor of the family as they donated funds to help our camp. The original buildings are shown in the etching at the header of this page - (boathouse not shown).  The campus had two driveway loops.  The first loop for guests went in front of the Lodge and then swung by the Guest house (we call Sweet).   The back loop was for the staff and included the Garage and chauffeur rooms (Overlook), maids' quarters (Sophia Fahs), an icehouse and wood shed next to the play house (Manwell).    - The icehouse and Woodshed were combined by Unirondack and moved the site of Leining to make way for the showerhouse (Anderson).  Those combined buildings were called Leining and served as the dispensary and staff quarters until they were torn down to make room for the new Leining building about 2001.

The Good-Bye Bell

  The original Good-Bye Bell was a small brass bell located on the main power pole near the camps entrance/exit on the upper camp.  When a car was getting ready to leave a race to the bell was made with a quick , loud clanging of the bell.  This notified everyone that a car was leaving and to come say good-bye before it was too late.   This original bell has somehow gotten lost and really needs to be found as it had a very special ring to it.

In recent years check out and camper leaving takes place from the lower camp and a new bell was placed near the entrance to the waterfront.  

    This new bell is also used when playing games on the athletic field.  Often if your team looses or you made a bad bad move you would have to run to the bell and give a ring to signify the lose or infraction.  This athletic field use of the bell was a Luke Mandola tradition and may not be carried forward.

The “Dear Unirondack” letters 

  One of the more recent traditions has graduating Ballou campers write a farewell letter beginning with “Dear Unirondack.” These often become deeply emotional reflections on the friendships, acceptance, and experiences they have had at camp. The tradition has expanded to include people of any age. 

What is Members Weekend?

Anyone connected to Unirondack can become a Member through the camp website.  As a reward to members we created a special weekend where members venture to camp to gather and attend the Corporate Annual Meeting and have a fun time.  The weekend is scheduled on Indigenous Peoples' Day  weekend and is the last program of the year.  Attendees also can help close up camp for the winter by moving boats, tables and equipment and performing other tasks to put the camp to sleep for the winter.   The weather is normally cool to cold in the evening and glorious during the days this time of year.  It is a 3 day weekend as Monday is a holiday for many workers.    Members elect new board members and vote on proposals put forth.  

Little Beaver Lake and WHAT GIVES with the road block??

   Behind our camp is Little Beaver Lake.  Little Beaver connects to Beaver Lake through a channel of water.  This makes Unirondack on a peninsula of land.  So if you boat along the shore and go around the peninsula you will find the channel to Little Beaver.  You go out in the main lake and just head left.  The problem is our neighbors have a floating barrier across the channel blocking access to the Little Beaver Lake.  The neighbors (The Hough Family/ Fisher Forestry) own all the land around the Little Beaver lake and even the land under the water.  So for many many decades they have blocked access to this large body of water.  The barrier is not hard to boat over so many have gone into the little Beaver lake and many have been shouted at by the Hough family members over the decades.  The sheriff and ranger say they can't block access to the lake but they do.  As they are important neighbors of ours we just live with it.   Our camp and driveway is surrounded by their land and they give us permission to place our container for trash on their land, so it is imperative that we maintain good relations.

Do the trip camp campers get to experience the camp at Unirondack?

How does the kitchen handle Gluten free requirements and other special food needs?

I am mobility limited will camp work for me?

Meal Songs - Why am I standing here when I am hungry?

  A little song or chant before each meal one of those traditions from the first days of camp.  After the 2 rings of the bell to signify time to eat everyone enters Gilman dining hall and finds a random seat.  Find a place you like and meet new friends at your table.  The chairs will be folded up against the table so just stand behind a chair.  When the staff is ready someone will ring the Cowbell letting everyone know to be quiet.  Kitchen folks will explain what the meal consists of and where the Vegan or other special dishes are.  A request will be made for a Meal Song to kick off the eating.  Some songs go way back some could be invented during your meal - by staff or camper.   The song or chant will be quickly explained and then the entire camp will take a shot at it.  After the song everyone is free to dig in.  Standing and going through this process gives everyone a chance to make it to the meal and allows everyone an equal shot at the meal.    Meal songs have evolved over the years as some phrases were deemed inappropriate or just not in good taste.  In fact we used to call the songs Grace until it was pointed out the singing about black socks or other silly things is not very Grace Like or respectful to those who take a Grace as serious.  In fact the song about black socks has been sidelined in respect for steering clear of potential racial undertones.  "Oh, the Lords been good to me" has been changed to "Oh, the Earths been good to me".   So if you hear something you don't like, bring it up and camp council and you too can get a phrase or song changed.

Why was I told not to go in the kitchen?  

Just like walking near a Wayne worker in action kitchen staff are busy and often carrying tools, food or dishes.  Getting in the way can lead to accidents that it is better to avoid by just staying clear of the kitchen work area.  Anything needed can be requested through the counter window.  Kitchen staff are always eagerly awaiting interaction with campers who seek advice or extra milk so don't be afraid to step up and ask.  If the food served just doesn't cut it for you the kitchen staff can arrange peanut butter, cereal or something that you might be able to enjoy.  When I was a dishwasher our director quickly walked into the kitchen when I was coming out with a stack of hot plates, and the plates ended up smashed all over the floor.  Even directors should stay out of the kitchen when the action is hot.

What is the Adirondack Fun Camp?

Just like in every classic movie about summer camps - every lake has a competing camp across the way.  On Beaver Lake there are in fact two camps,  Unirondack and Beaver Camp.  Beaver Camp is on land  that was also a private camp of the Patterson family and thus they have a large old boathouse on their shore.   Their swimming and boating area has a slide and other items that make it look like a fancy place and thus the name - Adirondack Fun Camp!    And the camps do compete with each other just like in the camp movies.  Going back to at least 1980 we have competed in Staff against Staff with highschool campers mixed in at times.  We played volleyball in 1980 but traditioinally it is now ultimate frisbee.  The winner holds the treasured trophy.  I think Beaver Camp has won most years but I know in 1980 we won at volleyball on their court!   

The connection between the two camps is very close and has always been that way.  In fact in 1950 the Universalists rented their camp that was a Boys camp at the time.  The founders of Unirondack heard about our property for sale and canoed over to take a look around.  They bought the property and Unirondack started in 1951!    We have borrowed heavy equipment from them, asked for advice or local knowledge.  Our campers stay overnight there before sessions at times.  Our kitchen even paid a call to Beaver Camp when we ran out of rice and made a quick run over to borrow some!  This year (2026) our trip camp leaders were working with their trip camp leader.  So we try to be the best neighbors we can and they certainly are great neighbors.     Quick story:  Back in the 1950s their camp played Reveille (Military Bugle Call for wake up) on a record player over their loud speaker system.  Tired of this sound every morning Jon Guillaume and another staff member canoed over and snuck into the office and made off with the Reveille record!  They were found out eventually and returned the record .  Click the link below to hear what it would have sounded like as the sound drifted across the lake!

Where is the Nature Trail?

The nature trail runs parrell to the lake starting from the road on the right side of Gilman running towards the lake and then along the hillside towards the boathouse.  After the boathouse a section picks up in the woods and leads towards the campfire circle.  The main use for the nature trail below Gilman is to make fast get-aways during capture the flag games.

Tell me about the lean-to building

Camp built it's own authentic Adirondack lean-to and it is located between the campfire circle and the waterfront.  This was a dream of camp director Jim Michaelson who arranged to have specific logs cut and brought in.  Jim then arranged for Terry Perkins the Stillwater forest ranger to come to camp and instruct the crew each summer on how to build the lean-to.  It took three summers to complete between 1981 and 1983.  Most of the work went to Brian Kress who was on crew all three years and got stuck down there doing most of the cutting and working on it.  The lean-to makes a great place for cabin sleepovers if their counselor is cool enough to suggest it.  Fun trivia is that the  beams for the ceiling trusses in the Morse addition were brought in by the same lumberman when we built the addition.  He brought his wife along to show her the lean-to as he and his boys had walked their land and picked out the exact trees for the lean-to project.  He was very proud to show his wife after almost 30 years.

What type of clothing to bring?

What is the Closing Circle?

Phrases Used for important concepts

I imagine there are many specialized phrases the staff uses with the campers to try to convey ideas and these will be learned but a few standard ones are:  

Don't Yuck my Yum   This means if you don't like something you see or are offered just keep it to yourself basically.  No need to call out how bad something looks or sounds or how you hate it as others may like what you do not like.  By you saying something sounds "gross" may spoil it for those that wanted to try it or already love it.

Leave a space for Jesus  At camp our use of this phrase just means alway try to leave space for the next person to join your group.  Leave an extra chair open so someone new feels welcome to slip into the group chat.  If in a group talking try to leave a space so others feel welcome to join in.   The point is to avoid a closed group with barriers to entry for the next person who comes along.  When Zeke used to visit and campers su rrounded her the rule was to leave a space so Zeke would not feel surrounded and trapped.  Similar idea!

   On the flip side of that I would add a personal observation of a concept we need: Leave no one behind,  at camp this plays out if everyone is leaving a building or a room and you notice someone hanging back, just invite them to come along.  Exiting and leaving someone alone can be very hurtful and lead to loneliness for the one just left behind.  So keep your eyes out and as your group moves through camp be sure to include and pick up stragglers that may really feel excluded.  If your gang got done kayaking and are headed up to camp and you see someone just tossing stones under the boathouse be sure to shout to them asking them to come up with you.

What does it mean when the group plans to "Make a Covenant"?

Often at the start of a week or a youth con the group comes together or works in groups to form a covenant.  This is just an agreement or promise between all the participants to follow.  In these social settings it would revolve around how we will treat each other or the environment we are living in.  Like making a list of rules to live by but more meaningful as the list is dervied with input from all those present.  Before adopting a covenant you would have a chance to voice opposition or suggest changes to proposals.