MovieChat Forums > Wet Hot American Summer (2001) Discussion > What happened to Summer Camps?

What happened to Summer Camps?

posted 15 years ago by MurderFaceMesa
26 replies | jump to latest

First off, i am an 80's kid. So a lot of the jokes and dialog I got. But i grew up on the west coast and never went to summer camp. My question is, was this a big thing back east, sending kids to summer camp? Because I dont think i knew a single kid growing up in California who went to sleep away camp every summer. Maybe I am wrong but are summer camps still around, cause there are a lot of special camps, band,football,space camp. Are there still just regular summer camps backeast?

The minute God crapped out the third caveman, a conspiracy was hatched against one of them!

[–] ravingmouse 12 years ago

Grew up in the mid-late 90s. Every Jewish kid I knew went to camp, and no non-Jewish kid I knew went to camp for more than like 2 weeks. Crazy how that worked out, really.

As there are a number of Jews in acting/producing/etc., I wonder of these camp movies became a thing because so many involved in movies considered it the quintessential summer experience when really it's not terribly common.

[–] chas437 12 years ago

Summer camps were common everywhere in America in the 70s and at least early 80s. It was a great way for a stressed out housewife to get a break from parenting in those days. My brothers and I all went to the same camp for several summers (non-Jewish, and in the West). We would typically be gone for 2 months. Those types of summer camps are much rarer these days, although I gather the "sleep-away" camps for Jewish kids in the East are still common.

My guess is that prohibitive liability costs are to blame for the decline of summer camps in the West (at least those which provided rigorous outdoor adventures). The camp our family attended went under for this reason.

[–] virgiltx 12 years ago

chas437 : "My guess is that prohibitive liability costs are to blame for the decline of summer camps in the West..."

I'd guess the same thing, but I also suspect there is, in the Northeast anyway, concern about deer ticks (Lyme disease plus), and about both Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus from mosquitoes.
http://tbdalliance.org/getinformed/tick-talk/102-ticktalk2
http://www.cdc.gov/EasternEquineEncephalitis/
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/wnv_factsheet.htm
____________________

[–] masuka-fan 11 years ago

I went to day camp and assumed it was something most people did. I don't know why religion would enter into it; it was certainly never a part of any activity. I had to go because I was not "sittin' around the house doin' nothin' all summer long." It was pretty horrible and I wish I was a kid today instead, because of all the specialized camps they have now. Art camp, computer camp, I would have loved that. I lived in PA, BTW.

"Passion is just insanity in a cashmere sweater!"

[–] salene27 11 years ago

I grew up in the 80's in Ohio, and yes we had sleep away camps here, but it was only a week long thing. I went twice, and didn't enjoy it. I liked the hiking, swimming, and boating part of it, however I hated having someone tell me what I was going to be doing with all of my time every day, and then there was craft time, which I hated. After the second time my parents never made me go again.

[–] Wicked_Genius 11 years ago

Summer camps were for east coast clowns. The west coast is where it is at! Summer time in the late 70's thru the 80's rocked! Listening to music, trying to score beer, trying to get laid. That was what the Summer's were about on the west coast

[–] Tomcat710 11 years ago

East Coast Clown here, throwing in my two cents...

I live in California now and it's true: nobody out here had that summer camp experience that I always assumed was a childhood rite of passage. Apparently it's mostly a New England thing? I went to two summer camps, a YMCA camp for 3 years and a Christian summer camp for 3 years. Both were fantastic, actually. At the YMCA camp, I probably made the most classic summer camp memories. We had a camp dance with the girls' camp across the lake, nature hike up a mountain, camp-wide capture the flag, etc... The Christian camp was fun too when you ignored the fact that it was run by crazy religious people - most of the kids at that camp just went because it was an extremely well-funded camp. It had "the blob" in the lake, a giant hillside water slide, a shooting range, and a snack bar where you could buy milkshakes, and other stuff traditional summer camps didn't have.

Listening to music, trying to score beer, and trying to get laid are all excellent summer activities as well but they're all something you can do at any age. Overall, I really miss the summer camp experience because it's really only something you can experience when you're young.

[–] jleslie48 9 years ago

actually they are quite alive and well still here in the east cost. My Daughter was a counselor at one last summer, and for the past 10 years, as a family we go to one the week after the campers leave in August. The camp has been successfully running a family camp week just after the regular summer 8 week program for some 30 years for us folks that have fond memories of summer camp. The regular camp has a waiting list to get it.

[–] michaeluk26 9 years ago

Pretty common here in Kentucky.

Haters gonna hate

[–] Kompressor_Fan 9 years ago

I'n from the East coast and summer camps were common when I was growing up (I'm fifty-ish.) I loved summer camp....lots of fun things to do, and lots of new kids to make friends with. Mom and Dad looked forward to camp, though, more than we did. It was a chance for them to have 3-4 weeks of adult alone time. It was a win/win for everyone.

 The bad news is you have houseguests. There is no good news. 

[–] KatiesGoldenDust 9 years ago

I grew up in California, and went to summer camp a few summers in a row-in California. This was in the 90's. So yes, they may be much more rare on the west coast, but they do exist

[–] PhoenixPhuck 7 years ago

From Oklahoma. I went to summer camp from 1996 to 2005. Summer camps are alive and well...I guess not in California maybe?

Even the most primitive society has an innate respect for the insane.