I have been pleasantly haunted for years by fond memories of Camp Tegawitha. My parents, my younger sister Jane and I spent a weekend at the Skyline Inn in July of 1962 (click here to view a photo), when I was six years old. We took a tour of the camp, and I have a vivid memory of sitting on the porch steps at Pine Cone as my parents met inside with Rose P. Lynch; after a few minutes, Mrs. Regan sent Kathy and Mary Lou outside to offer Jane and me ice-cold 6-oz bottles of Coke. I have another vivid memory of that trip: at the Skyline Inn there was a children's dance group led by a Miss Logan. For the next several summers as a Tega Camper, I learned the Waltz, Rhumba and Cha-Cha from that same lady, who as I recall seemed to own an endless number of identical two-tone dancing pumps in all the colors of the rainbow to match her very proper dresses.

In 1963 I arrived as an August camper for my first month at Tegawitha. I was assigned to the White Team and initially placed in Jack in the Pulpit cabin, with the very freckled Miss Ludders as counselor.


My cabin mates there were all a couple of years older, and I can still recall the awe and respect I felt for those very mature young ladies. I had no costume for the Costume Contest, but after a glance at my pixie haircut and tiny stature, everyone pitched in with shorts, a crisp white shirt and a blue-and-black plaid jacket, all much too big for me, slapped my Tega Cap on my head, and pinned a sign on my back that read "Little Miss Spencer"...I think I won a prize for "funniest costume," although at the time I had no idea what the joke was.

I was soon moved to my proper age group in Bird's Nest cabin, where I met girls with whom I would share the next seven summers: Kathleen Regan and Donna Scionti and Mary Beth Chepules...

My sister Jane joined me as a Blue team camper a few years later, and continued until 1972. We both attended the first camp reunion in 1992, and Jane returned again when she learned that the camp was being sold.


In 2002 I was driving through the Poconos with my husband and young son, and we decided to detour to Tobyhanna and take a look...the Lodge, the Chapel, and all the cabins had vanished without a trace -- not a single nail or screw -- but the Campfire bleachers, the lakeside Gazebo and the Boathouse were still there. We peeked in the Boathouse window, where there was a wall intercom beneath a tacked-up index card identifying extensions for "Pine Cone," "Office," "Grey Beeches" and "Kitchen." I had the eeriest feeling that if I picked up the receiver and dialed 2, I would hear Miss Fleming's voice on the other end. How I wish that had been possible! Since that afternoon, I've found myself flooded by memories of camp, and yearning to have a place to share them. I finally decided to create that place.

Please use the Share link at left to contact me and share your own memories...and please pass this link on to any Tega Campers you're still in touch with.

Nancy (Knuth) Thompson
(White Team '63-'70)