From the Director

Dear Alumnae and Friends of Strawderman,

I don’t know what your favorite camp memories are, but mine include Kappa swims after campfire, whittling with Pete, and rainy afternoons in the cabin. Perhaps yours are campfire songs, hiking on a Thursday carrying the jugs of ‘bug juice,’ or something else! Whatever they are, I am so excited to be sharing this first edition of The Strawderman Page with you.

It has been my honor to serve as Director since 2019. During this time, we have weathered a pandemic, changed from an eight week camp to a six-week camp, added a family camp (Afterglow,) and completed various construction projects (see Property Matters.) One of the greatest gifts that Margie left us was the means to keep Strawderman going long after she was gone, and I have been privileged to be a part of the process in camp becoming a nonprofit. With this status come many opportunities for camp, our campers, and you. The purpose of this newsletter is twofold; first, it is designed to share with you all that Strawderman is still doing. I think you will find that our traditions are strong—camp still has the same heart it always has—but that we are also adapting to the times.

Second, we want to let you know about opportunities for you to get involved. In this issue, you can find out more about coming to family camp, and please don’t miss the opportunity to fill our our alumna questionnaire. We are a family at Strawderman, and we welcome the chance to have you back in the fold.

If you know alumna that are not aware of our network, encourage them to join by forwarding this newsletter, which will come out twice a year. In closing, welcome back to the family.

“We’ll always love our fellow campers—as we live through the years we’ll love them more.”

From the Program Director

I am beyond excited to be preparing for our 2025 summer session and Afterglow. This summer, we have counselors who are alumnae, some brand new counselors from the United States, and international counselors from Australia, United Kingdom, Spain, Ghana, Colombia, and Mexico. The cultural exchange is always a favorite part of camp. We are looking for help in getting our international counselors to camp (see box on right.) This is a great way to support Strawderman, and also get to know some really impressive young women.

We will also be offering a new activity this summer for the first time during our daily morning classes: Soccer!

When we moved to a six-week season, we decided to have a Water Pageant every other year—and this is one of those years! “Over The Rainbow” will be held on Saturday, July 19th at 3:00 PM at the pool. We would love to have you join us!

Other highlights of the summer will include Showboat, A Meddi-val Faire and Shakespeare production, a swim meet, horse shows, and much, much more.

Valerie Webdell

Afterglow 2025

Ever dream of returning to camp as a camper? Join us this August 6-10 and do just that.

For the past four years after our traditional summer camp for girls has ended, an enthusiastic group of family campers have come to camp for four days of Strawderman magic. Some people, like Ali and Kyle Duffy, came in 2023 as newcomers to Strawderman with their daughters. They liked it so much that they signed up their oldest daughter, Hazel, for camp the next year, and sister Clara is not far behind. Ali says, “Getting to unplug and experience camp life as a family was not only fun, but allowed us to slow down and reconnect as a family without our day to day work distractions. It also gave us the unique experience of witnessing our girls falling in love with Camp Strawderman. Although I never attended camp as a kid, I completely understand why this place is so important to campers long after they’ve grown up.” Others, like Board President and alumna Zhia Shepardson, are longtime campers and alumna. Even though Zhia’s daughter Magnolia comes for all of regular camp, she comes back with her brother and parents for family camp. Zhia says, “Family camp allows me to experience my childhood summer home not only with old friends, but also my kids.”

“Although I never attended camp as a kid, I completely understand why this place is so important to campers long after they’ve grown up.”

What makes Afterglow so special? First, we offer all of the same activities that regular camp offers—riding, swimming, archery, tennis, art, and yoga—but at your own pace. Even if you haven’t been on a horse since you were a camper, or have never ridden before, Laurie and our riding staff will work with you to have a great experience on a horse. Our pool is lifeguarded whenever it is open, and the tennis and pickleball courts are available for your use any time. There is always a project in the art room—for both kids and adults, and the mornings start off with a wonderful yoga session in the Rec Hall with the stunning view of the mountains that surround camp. You can hike on any of our trails, or just sit on the Old House Porch and enjoy a book in one of our porch rockers.

The food is also delicious, featuring traditional Strawderman sandwiches, homemade BBQ, hamburgers, and much more! Each day around 5:00, people gather in front of Wits End for BYO snacks and adult beverages. Shepardson says, “Family camp is the best; its all the fun of summer camp, but with wine!”

Child supervision is provided daily from 4:30-6:00 so that parents have a chance to kick back and relax. The family camp community is growing, and we’d love to have you be a part of it. To find out more, visit https://campstrawderman.com/news-posts/2023-family-camp/. We’d love to have you join us!

Strawderman named ‘best of’ for Second Year!

For two years in a row, people have voted for Strawderman to be the Best Summer Camp in Virginia Living Magazine—and we are thrilled to announce that for two years in a row we have won! Thanks to all of our families, friends, and alumnae of Strawderman for supporting us!

Tell us More!

We want you to be a part of Strawderman.

In late 2023, we purchased a database subscription to help us with camp administration. This program is called CampMinder, and is an amazing tool. One of the tools it includes is a way to build our alumna network. Many of you have already signed up, and we are so glad. If you have not, or you know someone from your cabin group who has not, we encourage you to reach out so that they can sign up. To register as an alumna, click on this link:

https://campstrawderman.campintouch.com/ui/forms/application/alumni/App

If you have already registered, the link to login to your Camp account is here:

https://campstrawderman.campintouch.com/v2/login.aspx?cx=a

There is a form in your Camp account which we hope you will complete. To find it, login to your camp account (link above,) and look under ‘forms.’ We will never share information without your permission. We can’t wait to connect!

Property Matters

Rustic on Purpose

Over the past several years, we have done several property updates to make sure that our infrastructure is sound while maintaining the rustic feel you remember. They include:

Completely new regulation size tennis courts, with one court also lined for pickleball. Tennis continues to be a really popular activity at camp!
Restoration of Puddleby and Outlook.
Substantial dead and hazardous tree removal. We hired a miller to turn the wood into useable wood around camp.
Two run-in sheds complete with electricity for the barns, so that the horses have a shelter throughout the year.
Completely new showers behind wits end. We call these the ‘fancy' showers, because they have built in benches…and HOOKS on the wall!
There is always a lot of behind the scenes work on plumbing, electricity, wells, and much more.

Counselor Spotlight

Daniela Muños Diaz

First Summer: 2024

Country: Madrid, Spain

Age: 20

When you are not at camp, what do you do? “I am a full-time student at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

What made you decide to come to Strawderman last summer? “Hearing about camp spirit and values caught my attention, and the thought of going outside of my comfort zone didn’t sound bad at all!”

What is one of your favorite camp memories? “Another counselor and I were preparing for the game of ‘Bonkers,’ in her cabin, and it started to rain a lot. I was stuck in Puddleby [the youngest cabin] with the two counselors and five campers until the storm passed. I laughed a lot, learned more bout camp, had refreshing talks, and felt even more than before that I was a part of what I was living.”

What is the silliest tradition at Strawderman?”Don’t get me wrong, but the first moment I heard about Christmas In August I was little bit confused. I love Christmas, but in summer??!! Now I love every single part of it and I can’t wait for Santa and Mrs. Claus to come back this summer to tell us more about their adventures. I think I heard something about a trip to Spain? :)”

What would you tell other international counselors who are considering coming to camp? “That it is a safe space full of love, or incredible people who in a very short time become your second family in another country. It is a real opportunity to learn, to grow personally, and at the same time to be able to allow yourself to be a child again.”

Why are you choosing to come again this year? “The first reason that comes to mind is feeling at home even thousands of kilometers away, feeling completely understood even when speaking different languages, and for each of the people who make up camp. In just a few days they managed to completely steal my heart. It didn’t take me even a week there to tell my parents that I was coming back to camp next year if I could. I am thankful for how lucky I am to have found camp and that they want to count on me again for this summer.”

What is your favorite Strawderman meal? “I don’t know if it’s possible to feel judged before even saying this, but I love scrambled eggs with bacon in the morning.”

What is your favorite Activity at camp? “I love senior choir. I learned and laughed a lot. Although singing is still not my thing, feeling part of something as beautiful as this is rewarding. I can’t wait to learn more songs this summer.

How do you think Strawderman will help prepare you for your career? “I study Physical Activity and Sports Science. The most common jobs are physical education teacher, personal trainer, or camp staff. I would say camp prepares me 10 out of 10 for my career.”

Camper Spotlight

Claire Venstrom

First Summer: 2023

Hometown: Valparaiso, IN

Age: 7

How did you first hear about Strawderman?“When I was four years old, I met Jeannie and Valerie and they told me about camp. I was very excited!

How many years have you attended camp, and what cabins have you been in? “I have been to Camp Strawderman for two summers. I was in Inn my first year, and Puddleby my second.

What are two things you love about camp?“”Oooh, that’s hard to just pick two. I like playing tennis and Campfire. What I like about tennis is the counselors and I learned about tennis at camp and now I get to play at home. Campfire is fun because I get to sing a bunch of fun songs.”

What is your favorite campfire song? ”My favorite campfire song is ‘Ragtime Cowboy Joe’ because I like making the galloping sound motion.”

What is one favorite camp memory? “Painting the horses. That was an afternoon activity and it was really fun because they looked very silly at the end. I liked what I painted on the horses, like smileys, owls, and my name!”

If you were trying to convince another seven year old to come to camp, what would you tell them ? “First, there are no boys there! Second, the food is really yummy but if you don’t want it, you can have a jelly sandwich with peanut butter.”

What is your favorite Strawderman meal? “Apple Butter.”

Who is your favorite horse? “Teddy! Teddy! Teddy! He is very noisy!”

Alumna Spotlight

Drayton Beebe Holcomb

What years did you attend Strawderman?

Camper 2000-2009 (Inn-TA;) Counselor 2010, 2012 (Outlook, Puddleby)

What is your current job?

“I own my own graphic design business, Notyard Creative. I work with small businesses and nonprofits to create anything from logos and brand design to marketing materials like websites, ad campaigns, flyers, etc.”

How did you first hear of camp?

“My mom, aunt, and grandmother were all proud Strawdergirls. I grew up surrounded by stories and the off-pitch (but confident) chorus of “We are the girls of old Strawderman” for as long as I can remember. “

What was your favorite cabin?

“I loved being in TA, it felt like the perfect culmination of all my years at camp - I loved being there for eight weeks with the same girls I grew up with.”

Two things camp taught you about life:

“Strawderman taught me how to be comfortable in my own skin and gave me the confidence in meeting new people and build friendships wherever I go.”

How are you and your cabin mates still connected?

“Angela Tabb was my maid of honor, and now we live just 10 minutes apart! We go on neighborhood walks, have family meals, and even just run errands together. A group of us Strawdergirls also have an ongoing group text where we swap exciting life updates and funny camp references or memories that pop up in daily life. I love watching my friends grow up - I think it's special to be able to look up to your friends. I'm proud of the strong, fun, confident, smart women we've become.”

Favorite campfire song:

“I See the Moon has always been special. I remember my mom singing it to me when I was little. Now, I sing it to my son every night, and it’s this sweet link between generations and it brings me right back to summer nights in the Rec Hall.”

Most mischief you ever got into at camp:

“What’s the statute of limitations? I’m still worried about losing schedule... “

Favorite camp memory:

“How can I pick just one? Selling meal tickets with Bridget for 50 cents to desperate campers, hiking up to the rocks with Kelsey during Indians and hearing camp fun echoing from the hill, snow cones and TA grams at the Meddilark Fair, or the Sox Washers softball game (wash those sox), practicing for the Little Mermaid Water Pageant, basically the silliness that camp brings out when we have the space to be ourselves and make our own fun.”

What kept you coming back year after year?

“The friendships—those bonds that feel like no time has passed, no matter how long we’ve been apart. Each summer, we’d pick up right where we left off, slipping back into our rhythms and inside jokes. And there was comfort in knowing that as we grew and changed, camp remained a constant—steady, familiar, and full of magic.”

The Ideals of Camp Strawderman are:

To make girls so happy they will share their happiness with others.

To create friendships that will last through life.

To develop strong, healthy bodies through regular exercise, good food, and rest in the pure mountain air.

To create a love for God’s out-of-doors and a reverence for his handiwork.

To bring out the hidden possibilities that lie within each girl, and to help her to find herself.

Welcome to the First Edition of The Strawderman Page.