If you’re a Skyland alumna, you’ve likely just sung “K – and the next letter is …” Y – we’re singing along L – we’re half through the song A – and we’re filling it in N – and we’re nearing the en – D S-K-Y-L-A-N-D … That is the way to spell Skyland!
Campers still sing this, and other favorite camp songs, every Sunday night as they sit criss-cross on the Clubhouse floor. Their voices carry across all of Skyland Hill as their hands and arms do “all the motions” and the piano plays the sweet century-old melodies.
Do you remember Frances playing that piano? Maybe you’re a more recent alumna and remember Cindy at the piano. What was your favorite song? And do you remember the hand motions to the songs? Do you remember being a new camper and trying to learn those songs on the first night? And that one super cool camper or counselor who said “c’mon, be my partner, I’ll teach you.”
Skyland’s Sunday Song Night is a favorite memory of alumnae, and continues to be a favorite for today’s campers. One of the most striking moments during Skyland’s 2017 Centennial Celebration Reunion was song night. The clubhouse was filled with campers and alumnae. And we mean FILLED. On the floor were scores of alumnae sitting in rows and facing each other. All of the benches were filled, as was every inch of the front part of the camp stage. And the piano played … and we sang.
Alumnae were singing the familiar songs as though they had never left Skyland Hill. In an instant the energy shifted. That night, in that Clubhouse, generations of Skyland campers became ONE SKYLAND as we sang our familiar and beloved Skyland songs. Scores of women ranging in age from 9 to 93, with many different life experiences, were all sharing one common experience that connects all of us at the heart and soul level. What happened – by the simple striking of the first chords on the piano, was complete and utter magic.
We are Skyland because we began our journeys of self-discovery on Skyland Hill. During that precious window of time, we found our voice and developed our confidence. We connected with our own creativity and personal power. We became who we are because of our experience on Skyland Hill. And in doing so, we became part of a much bigger collective. A 10-year old camper can immediately connect with an 80-year old alumna over a camp song, or a funny Skyland Hill story. Skyland is an invisible bond that holds us all together, and makes us ready to love and support each other in ways that only Skyland campers can do.
So that song … S – is the way it begins … really IS the truth. Skyland is the way it begins. Skyland is the way it began … for each of us as we embarked on our individual life journeys in this big crazy world. We now walk through our lives knowing that we are connected to something bigger than ourselves … something that cannot be described in words, in writing, or in verse. It can’t be described … because it’s a feeling. It’s the heartfelt love for a place where we all started as young curious, strong girls … and where we sang camp songs on Sunday nights.
