Summer camp is now summer job

Sisters and Camp St. John staff members Greta and Liddy van der Linden have both spent their summers at Camp St. John since they were five years old. Greta has been the camp director for the past two years and Liddy is a lifeguard at the camp. Shrewsbury - Since 1963, St. John's High School in Shrewsbury has been offering area children a place to gather and enjoy active and fun-filled summer days.

For some families, Camp St. John has become more than simply a way to pass the lazy days of summer; it has become a family tradition. Camp Director Greta van der Linden has been a part of Camp St. John since she was just 5 years old, when she began attending the program as a camper in the summer of 1987.

"I loved camp growing up," van der Linden said. "It was always something that I looked forward to. I always came for the whole summer with my two older sisters, and then with my younger sister Liddy, who I watched over."

Van der Linden, a social studies teacher at Shrewsbury High School, dreamed of being a counselor when she was a child.

PHOTO/MARY PRITCHARD Campers Chris Little, Patrick Arndt and Tyler Burke work on a craft at Camp St. John July 15. The camp had a baseball theme that day, which prompted most campers to wear a shirt related to baseball. "I always pictured myself working here when I was a camper," she said. "St. John's has always been my summer, and I couldn't imagine my summers without it. I looked up to the counselors when I was a camper, and I couldn't wait to be one."

Through the years, van der Linden has traveled the path from camper to camp director. She was a camper from age five though 12. After two years (ages 13 to 15) as a counselor in training (CIT), she worked on the sports staff , then as sports director, and for the last two years as camp director.

As with most traditions, some things remain unchanged and some things change with the times.

"The camp still follows the same schedule, but it is

upgraded' from the past. My staff members are now all 15 years old and up. Also, nowadays, we can't just let kids walk down to the playground by themselves; they are always escorted by a staff member," she said. "Besides those small things, we still do the same things: sports, swimming lessons, arts and crafts, and a special activity in the afternoon.

"As a child, my favorite part of camp was Spree Day, a day in which we would compete with each other for ribbons. Just the other day I was helping my mother clean out her garage and we found some of my Spree Day ribbons. We still do Spree Day every Friday, and the kids still love it."

Camp St. John, which off ers six one-week sessions each summer, welcomes approximately one hundred full day campers (girls and boys) to each session. Van der Linden says that during each session there are approximately 15 counselors, four lifeguards, and about four other staff members (arts and crafts, sports, specials and a nurse).

"I have spent 20 summers of my 26 years of life at Camp St. John. The thing I enjoy most about working at Camp St. John is the kids," she said. "They are just so much fun! I wouldn't be able to teach them in a classroom setting because I love playing with them so much."