CBC Digital Archives

Summer camp: The sadness of leaving camp

Swimming, canoeing, campfires and making new friends: these summer camp activities have been a rite of passage for countless Canadian children for more than a century. In recent decades, we've also seen the proliferation of specialty camps – be it music camp, space camp or circus camp – as well as camps for children with special needs and various medical conditions. From the first hello to the last sad goodbye, CBC Digital Archives looks at summer camp since the 1960s.

It's the last day of camp, and the mood is sombre. "It's not as fun when you're knowing that tomorrow we have to leave," says one young boy. At this traditional summer camp in Big Cove, N.S., the campers are going to miss the swimming, canoeing and campfires. But most of all, they're going to miss their new friends. "I had so much fun at camp that I don't really want to go home," says a forlorn girl in this 1994 CBC-TV news report. 
• Founded in 1889 and operated by the YMCA of Halifax/Dartmouth, Big Cove is among the oldest summer camps in Canada.
  • In a 2009 issue of Newsweek, child psychologist Christopher Thurber wrote about the benefits of sending your child to summer camp: "Camp is a wonderful change of pace, environment, and context. At camp, young people can shed their old reputations and feel free to be the person they know they are. At camp, young people can relax and learn life skills - such as making friends and playing fair - that will serve them and the people whose lives they touch... High quality camps are places where young people not only realize their potential in athletic or artistic pursuits; they realize their potential to do good in the world."

Medium: Television
Program: Sunday Report
Broadcast Date: Aug. 28, 1994
Reporter: Dan Bjarnason
Duration: 3:07

Last updated: February 16, 2012

Page consulted on April 2, 2013

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