The following appeared as the “From Where I Sit” column in the May 12, 2016 issue of the newspaper, The Sun, serving the Lower Dauphin County in Pennsylvania, which includes the towns of Hershey and Hummelstown. The column was penned by Mr. William S. Jackson, who attended Mowglis during the summers of 1946 and 1947.
Rather than simply recount the Den’s activities this year, I thought I would instead offer some advice to the younger dorms on how to make the most of Mowglis and become a true Mowglis Man.
On May 1, 1925, the 39-year-old Alcott F. Elwell submitted to the Harvard Graduate School of Education a doctoral thesis titled “The Summer Camp—A New Factor in Education.” He had served as a Counselor at Mowglis on and off since 1905, a year prior to enrolling at Harvard as a part of the undergraduate class of 1910.
What does it take in today’s ever faster, ever more connected world to develop young men of strength and character? Men willing and eager to change the world for the better; to raise strong families; to sacrifice, sweat and struggle building communities that thrive while respecting and protecting the natural world we live in.
When I first came to Mowglis and realized the full extent of what I was being asked to do by starting the fencing program, I must admit I was nervous. I was not an experienced outdoorsman, and fencing is an indoor sport.
Despite the current swell of 90-degree weather here in New York’s Hudson Valley, there are creepings of fall peeking in at the edges of everything. Due to the heat, people have been sticking to the shade or heading to the water to keep cool.
Our Alumni Magazine, the Call recaps the 2015 summer and illustrates how, after being influenced by Kipling’s Jungle Book Stories, Camp Mowglis was founded to give boys the time and space for them to reconnect with nature and to learn what it means to be ethical, well-rounded members of a community.
To an outside spectator, the daily life of campers at Mowglis may seem foreign and even strange at times. Telling time through military bugle calls, singing old marching songs in the dining hall, having dorms inspected, swimming “Waingungas,” and getting to sit in the “Inner Circle” during campfire are all unique aspects of Camp Mowglis that campers experience on a regular basis.
We live in an ever-growing digital culture that requires us to remain "plugged in" at all hours of the day and night. There is no denying our prevailing attachment to our cell phones, our incessant need to check our social media pages, and our relentless desire to stay tuned in to the popular culture trends of our society.
Every summer, parents from across the world send their children to live the rustic Mowglis lifestyle in the fresh pines of northern New Hampshire. The moment their son is dropped off on Mowglis opening day, they are placing their parental trust in the hands of the carefully selected Mowglis staff.
