Every Friday, about 20 men scattered across the country open their laptops and dial into a Zoom call. They’re in their 70s and 80s now, but for an hour or so, they’re kids at camp again.

The thread connecting them is Camp Saginaw, the overnight camp in Oxford farmland where they spent their summers in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. Decades later, the bonds they built have held through weddings, loss, reunions, and everything in between, writes Brooke Schultz for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

It began as a small Zoom meeting during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Over the past six years, it has become something they hold dearly and look forward to, no matter where they’re at in life.

There’s no agenda. The conversations wander freely from old camp legends and sports debates to family news, current events, and the realities of getting older. Its the kind of talk that only comes from knowing someone for half a century. 

“Saginaw — is it unique?” said former camper Brian Redman, now 73. “That’s hard to say, but it’s certainly very unusual, in that the bond that we created and the friendships that we developed over the years is what is sort of the foundation of this whole thing. I mean, if we didn’t like each other, and remember fondly our time together and all that stuff, then we wouldn’t be doing this, but we do.” 

Camp Saginaw, which is approaching its 100th anniversary, continues to celebrate its history and traditions.  

Camp leaders say many families return generation after generation, with parents showing their children where their names remain etched in cabins throughout the campgrounds.  

Read the full story about the lifelong bonds formed at Camp Saginaw and view a bunch of old photos at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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