Moving into the new year always brings excitement for the upcoming summer, and we are ecstatic about 2021! We will be reunited with many girls who we haven’t seen in two years, and we are eager to meet new campers who had to put off their first summer. Some of the counselors who missed last … Continued

Last week Gardner kicked off a Thankfulness campaign on camp’s Instagram and it’s been inspiring to see the messages of gratitude come in from Illahee girls. We’ve put together their thoughts in a Thanksgiving Video. This is a unique Thanksgiving with Zoom family reunions and smaller tables. Our family has been wrestling with Thanksgiving plans … Continued

We just returned from three weeks on the road covering twelve states and 3000 miles- a New England Road tour. This wasn’t our typical Camp Illahee fall road show which would include packed living rooms and campers gathered around to watch the most recent highlights video! We had the opportunity to go a different route … Continued

We all can use some good news during this season… we have a recent wedding and an engagement to tell you about! With large scale parties “on hold” for the near future, Turner and Marie tied the knot on a Colorado mountain top in June! While their event was a little different from the wedding … Continued

Today’s pleasant highlight was a McLeod porch visit with alums Ellis Pearce and Brevard resident Kitty Coleman Neff who chose Illahee as a spot to catch up, tell camp stories, and enjoy a picnic. Friends since the 1960’s when Ellis was a camper and Kitty a counselor, their camp experience spans generations and groups of … Continued

In April a parent from California emailed us a You Tube Video about an American family in South Korea returning to school. Her subject was “Camp with masks is better than no camp.” My reaction was “No Way…camp in masks?” On May 15th we had made the heart breaking decision to cancel our season. On … Continued

We had a Zoom gathering last night with some lifelong friends who we had taken a sailing trip with in January.  One of their sons and daughter-in-law had led the trip and are now quarantined on their boat in St. John.  They joined us each in our separate settings for a sunset Zoom.  After initial … Continued

Happy Easter Weekend, Illahee family.  It’s been a beautiful week at camp and at times felt strangely normal around here.  Yesterday we took a break from our activity area cleaning spree and had our own egg hunt on the soccer field.  Gardner raided the costume room to find an assortment of 1980’s era bridesmaid’s dresses … Continued

I’ve been spending more time in my living room re-reading  Jesus Calling and  Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest, my “go to” devotional guides.  Built in 1947,our big picture window overlooks the canoe lake, the red barn and the empty green pastures.  At this time of year our neighbors use the area as their … Continued