Visitation among Friends: FGConnections, Summer 2004
Beyond Summers in the Catoctin Mountains
by Risë Hunter
Apple onion apple. This is the name of the community building ritual that we practice at Catoctin Quaker Camp every summer. In a group of five people who spent the summer living and working together, we each receive two compliments (the ‘apples’) and a suggestion for personal improvement (the ‘onion’). One August afternoon my unit gathered in the stone walled lodge to begin this sacred meeting. During this particular meeting I received an onion, which has turned into a goal for how I now live my life. My friend Carrie wisely told me, “Risë, you need to let yourself be the person you are at camp in other aspects of your life.” Carrie and I went to Guilford College together and she understood how I blossomed in the supportive environment of camp and how that differed from my life at school. She articulated what I knew and how I felt when I was surrounded by friends from camp; that I was my best self at Catoctin. What a challenge she gave me.
Carrie’s onion became a seed that I worked to nurture. I began to let the person I was at camp show herself more and more through my everyday life. I discovered that I could live my life in such a way that the woman I was in my core could shine through in other environments. While at Guilford and later while living in Philadelphia, I let the many facets of my personality begin to show; my warmth, spirituality, patience, humor, and strength. Not only did I feel more honest with myself, my relationships with others were more genuine because my true personality was revealed.
As that person emerged I realized my calling to move to Monteverde, Costa Rica where I am currently teaching and attending Monteverde Friends Meeting. Here I have found that the person my new friends in Costa Rica know and love is an older version of the woman I was during my days at Catoctin.
Living so far away from the United States has given me the time and distance to reflect on my relationships with those who have touched my life. While I have not worked at camp for a few years, my friends from my six summers working there are still the people who understand me best and have encouraged me with this exciting change. In Monteverde, I strive to let my Quaker values inspire my teaching and interactions with my students and colleagues. Through my correspondence with camp friends I know that they too are living out these same principles through their passion for their work. We remain so connected because, while we are separated by distance, we are all aspiring to be our best selves through the work we do. Eo expresses himself through his sculpture and artwork. Ingrid is the development coordinator for a non-profit that helps facilitate dialogues amongst people with differing worldviews to discuss public issues. Zoey is training to become a genetic counselor to provide support to individuals and families who have concerns about genetic conditions. Ethan is writing his own novel while Matt and Silas are working on screenplays. Kate recently returned from Tanzania where she was teaching sustainable development and plans to continue this work in Ghana. Ben is working for a non-profit organization that seeks to improve the New York State justice system to meet the needs of local communities. And Carrie is a staff attorney providing free legal services to lowincome citizens from Washington DC. Many other Catoctin alums are working hard to better our world through their choices and actions. Each path is different, However, many of us feel the support, strength and honesty that we found during our days in the Catoctin Mountains has led us to become the young adults we are.
The role of honesty at Catoctin, through rituals like apple-onion-apple, makes it a unique and magical place to work and grow. Participating in apple-onionapple puts each of us in a very vulnerable position where our true selves are exposed. We hear our strengths and weaknesses not as counselors but as people and members of a spiritual family. These meetings are only one small aspect of what makes Catoctin a refuge for children and adults alike. What I discovered through Carrie’s wisdom has been proved time and time again. Working, playing, and worshipping together at camp creates relationships that are not easily forgotten at the end of the summer. In fact, these connections have stretched over the miles and through the years as we have grown.
As I admire the mountainous views of Monteverde, I feel so fortunate for my past experiences and friendships that have led me here. While my friends here did not share Catoctin with me, they know the person who was shaped by such a loving and supportive environment. The woman I became at Catoctin is the same woman that I allow new friends to know. Friend by friend I have risen to Carrie’s challenge. While Monteverde is my new home, Catoctin is still my spiritual base where my Light was kindled. As I listen to the bellbird’s metallic song during meeting, I center by imagining myself at our fire circle surrounded by the spirit of Quakerism made visible through the community of Catoctin.
