Parent Testimonials About Red Oak, 
Red Barn, and Chincapin Camp

Here are some words from our camp parents and former campers about our Red Oak, Red Barn and Chincapin. We really appreciate these testimonials about our programs.  Our best form of advertisement is you!  Thank you for spreading the word about our camps.

My son has attended Red Barn / Red Oak for the past 7 years. Camp is without a doubt the highlight of his year!  Around September, he starts asking, "how many months until camp?"  By March, he replaces the question with, "how many weeks until camp?"  And as you can no doubt guess, by May he's now asking, "how many DAYS until camp?"  

He has had so many character building, self-esteem building and maturity building experiences at your camp, that it is hard to even know where to start.  I am sure that when he looks back on his youth and the experiences that made him a man, Red Oak will be high on that list.  The staff has been exceptionally kind, knowledgeable, supportive and trustworthy.   

You are in the unique position of being able to provide valuable education, practical skills and to encourage young people to gain self-confidence.  Something as seemingly mundane as helping to gather fire wood, climb a rock wall, set up a tent, cook meals, bait a hook, swim a lap, play a game, share the workload or carve a penguin can teach children a sense of responsibility and self-confidence by offering them a chance to be relied upon and show them that they can successfully complete tasks.  Hiking and reaching a destination can teach them that keeping focused on and working steadily toward a goal will lead them toward success on the trail as well as in other aspects of their lives.  The experiences that my son has had at your camp has helped cultivate a secure and invulnerable core and taught him to follow his values and standards, and to work steadily when his goal seemed distant.  Lessons like this are hard to replicate.  In a world of influences, high-tech, good and bad, anything a parent can latch on to that can help their child grow into a responsible, self-reliant and motivated young adult is a welcome sight.  Red Oak Camp is just that and more.  You, as staff members, are Red Oak.  You deserve to be acknowledged and thanked!  

 Thank You! Debbie Baxter

 

“Safety first, last and always” and “always leave a campsite nicer than you found it” are mantras for life and they both came from my Red Barn experience. They served me well as a camper, counselor and adult. The Red Barn experience is about boys playing, growing, learning and trying things and making lifelong friends in an outdoor atmosphere where the emphasis is on the CAN DO without the aid of computers, cell phones or Ipods! In many ways, my Red Barn experience provided some of the best days of my life. 

Chris Hitchcock, Former Camper and Camp Parent

 

 

The genuine interest and reception, variety of activities, growth of personal as well as group accomplishments, not to mention the serene surroundings, had my approval of Red Oak Camp immediately. I commend the practice that the campers first half hour of camp is spent doing chores, and that there is a small reward for doing them well. 

 

Choice on how to spend the day, but not doing the same activity more than three times, so they get a variety of experience, is a welcome practice for kids who might otherwise stick to a familiar favorite. Our Son took a particular interest in the Science Center. On Parents Night his instructor was ecstatic to meet her "Science Junkies" family. We were thrilled at how she had obviously connected with him, and the knowledge and interests she had opened in him. I stand by what I told David Roskos at open house, as I watched my Son and Husband paddling a canoe around the lake, "I'm sending myself here for the summer; he can go to work for me." As for our son, he is more than anxious for it to be summer to attend his second session, and he is already aspiring to someday be a Red Oak Counselor. 

Lori Brzeczkowski, Camp Parent

 

 

My son Evan loved every single day at Red Barn! This is an old-fashioned camp that understands boys and instills great values. The boys have the freedom to do what they want within boundaries that they learn to respect. My son had fun fishing all summer, making new friends and learning all about the sport. He developed a terrific sense of independence! I would recommend Red Barn to anyone! 

Judy Rosman, Camp Parent

 

 

I was a "charter" Chincapin camper in 1957 and returned until I was too old to do so. In that year, over 50 years ago, the camp was started by "the Corning Girls" and little did I know what an honor it was to be able to attend. I learned almost everything about a horse that it was possible to know (except for the underlying expense, which my parents were assured they could dodge if they just held out till I discovered boys.) I guess it worked. 

 

I loved everything about flora and fauna as a small girl, but Chincapin nurtured those interests in me. We proudly sewed felt cutouts of "horseshoes" on our hats to confirm having passed tests on equine knowledge. Not only do I, to this day, know what a boll spavin is, but I also know all the names for all the colors of horses and the fact that the horse you would call "white" is probably "a gray". 

Every day we had chore time at the Holden Arboretum cutting weeds, working in the greenhouse, learning how to graft, helping re-pot exotic plants, or doing whatever was necessary. At the end of the summer we got a paycheck for the munificent sum of about $6.00. High times!! 

 

Over the summers we caught frogs, toads and salamanders and made them terrarium homes (that was before "environments"), we learned equestrian protocol in the ring, we went on trail rides, we learned swimming and archery, and we met wonderful new friends. We had the all-important, season-ending horse show. We overnighted at "exotic" locations in and around the Holden Arboretum. In short, we were Princesses of the Natural World. How much more wonderful could it get?! 

 

I had fellow campers who had grown up on horses, and some who, in those days, even brought their own horses to board for the summer. I was not an athlete or gifted in any respect. I think my crowning glory at camp was to get the award for "Most Improved Swimmer" in my first year. But I loved the experience. I was passionate about being in the country and soaking up all it had to offer. To this day my most consuming passions are for Things Natural. 

 

My daughter, Amelia Rogers Lindberg, went to Chincapin as soon as she was old enough. Chincapin, of course, had changed a bit over twenty-five years, but her experience was virtually parallel to mine. Amelia stayed until she, in turn, was too old, and later returned to spend two years as a counselor. In between, she attended a wonderful overnight camp in The Algonquin Park of Ontario, but she said that nothing ever equaled her experience at Chincapin. 

 

The camp has changed with the times, of course, but the underlying mission is still the same as it was when I attended. I cannot say enough wonderful things about Chincapin. It is a perfect place for a girl who loves horses and nature and wants to go to camp, but is not ready for the big leap to "overnight camp". In fact, Chincapin just might be better.

Martha Gibson Rogers Marsh

 

The legacy of a wonderful summer camp experience for boys continues at Red Barn summer camp. From the leadership of Ken Roskos who was director when my older son Chris attended, to the creative developments by David Roskos who has been director since my son Andrew has attended, this camp has provided outdoors activities, fun games and competitions, friendships and instilled values of responsibility for nature as well as the camp community

My sons remember being with friends, enjoying the feeling of being on their own in the woods while doing camp activities, feeling as though they were camping, while still being able to go home each night. Friendships were created that lasted from grade school, through high school and college, and into adulthood. Moral and ethical values were taught and encouraged through activities and contests such as earning credits for doing chores around camp and at the Arboretum, with prizes making it fun and exciting.

Red Barn provides a great summer camp experience for boys and is a Cleveland treasure. I have loved knowing that my sons were spending their summertime swimming, doing archery, ropes course, and playing sports games under the supervision of talented and attentive counselors, developing their love of nature and having fun with their friends.

From Cynthia Taylor, MD, sons Chris and Andrew Taylor-Shaut

 

Our son went to Red Barn for four years. I think it gave him a kind of "grounding" he could never have had in his urban home life. He breathed the magical country air, got wet when it rained and moved his bones and muscles in concert with the earth. He did all this along with a batch of kids who were not his comfortable friends from school. He even allowed himself to care about achieving a plaque. He finally did manage to get one of those which was all the more precious for not being easy.  But more important was what he got that is now a part of him.

Amie Albert & Ms. Diana Petrauskas

 

In 1989 my son, our first of three Red Oak and Chincapin campers, entered Red Barn. We were looking for traditional summer camp activities close to home. Since then, all three Schirm children have enjoyed camp experiences which far exceeded our original expectations. 

Yes, the camps provided the traditional experiences we sought, but the development of leadership skills, a sense of independence and lasting friendships, teamed with a deep affection for the camp, are among the much greater benefits and rewards. It was heartbreaking for each child to "outgrow" camp, but an honor to return as a member of the staff. 

Nothing can top hearing the homecoming tales each year from the "Big Trips": the campfire legends, "outdoor gourmet" skills, visions of, "wild blueberries as far as you could see," tribal competitions, the tricks of packing on one's back everything to sustain them for two weeks, their respect for leaving nature as they found it, climbing and canoeing challenges, not to forget the thrill of bears and wildlife. The Roskos family and staff always provide an exciting, yet safe, camp experience. 

My husband and I especially appreciated the camp schedule which allowed our children to have their "away from home" camp experiences while we shared our weekends together as family. 

Education is a priority for our family. The camps have added dimensions to my children's lives which schools can't begin to offer. Red Oak's partnership with the Holden Arboretum fostered an appreciation for stewardship and nature. The programs which promote independence and preparedness are unique to Red Oak and Chincapin Camps. Our summer experiences have been rich… a priceless reward for me as a camp parent. My many thanks to Red Barn, Red Oak and Chincapin camps! 

Kitty Schirm