In the 1950’s, summer in a small Georgia town was a Tom Sawyer-esque existence, I didn’t want to go to camp. But the mother of one of my friends talked my mother into sending me. First, at the ripe old age of six was Camp Pinetops. A camp run by the legendary Cobern Kelley, but in Athens, and only two weeks long – starter camp. The next year we were eligible for the month long sessions at Tallulah Falls – big boy camp – Athens Y. Each year it was the same, I didn’t want to go, but once there, I didn’t want to come home. The paradise of youth, indeed.
 
 

 
 
It hardly matters when one attended, I found out today that Athens Y does not change. They still do the ice cream hike and tell the Vandiver-man story. The lake, the aluminum canoes, the cabins are still faded green, the place is a time capsule. I hope my grandchildren, who are attending this summer, will be able to say the same thing in 2077.