Imagine signing up your kids for the dream: a two-week-long sleepaway camp billed as earthy and rustic, somewhere the kids can run around and get hot and sweaty and be outside for hours on end. Sounds amazing, right?
It turns out that it might just be a little too amazing. As parents in New Hampshire found out earlier this month, Camp Quinebarge was certainly unable to live up to the standards promised this summer.
Camp Quinebarge in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, surprised parents when staff sent everyone home after only six days of operation. Parents paid over $3,000 for the experience and were given very little notice that they needed to pick up their children early.
The camp's executive director, Eric Carlson, issued a statement to People in an attempt to explain what happened: "The decision to cancel the remaining sessions after just a week of camp [was] so heartbreaking. It was a decision not made lightly."
He continued, "Through discussions with other camp directors, it became clear that many were experiencing the same challenges. At no time were we going to push past our limits and we closed when it became clear the staffing and food issues were not improving and were likely to get worse."
Carlson also put a hefty bit of the blame on the pandemic, which is fair: "Without a doubt, this was a result of complications brought on by the pandemic and not due to any long-term issues with camp operations. When we communicated this to our families, they were disappointed but overwhelmingly understood."
Sysco, which supplied food to the camp, issued its own statement as well: "Despite our best efforts, some of our customers have been impacted by delayed deliveries. We value our customers and regret the impact of service delays to Camp Quinebarge and the families affected by the Camp's decision to close."
However, it appeared that the camp was in trouble a full two weeks before it began, when the director sent out an email telling parents he was "in desperate need of additional staff for this summer" since around 15 staff members had suddenly left.
One counselor, MJ Lowry, told the Boston Globe that the hiring process wasn't that great: "I was hired about 4 days before campers arrived. They just kind of said, 'Hey you were referred, we'll send you the application. You seem to be qualified, do you want the position?"
Lowry also said her training period was pretty lackluster: "I played kickball, and got to see the turtle and the frog in the pond and learn about tadpoles. It was stuff like that."
Of course, for many parents the most concerning part of the entire ordeal is what the kids say they went through. One child and a counselor both said they were punched by another camper, some children were served food that was essentially raw, and after the dishwasher broke, children were seen eating off dirty plates.
One camper wrote home, "We have been in tears, bored, and devastated the whole day. [The camp director] is lying to you all. You have to trust us. You have to. We are not joking and we are not having fun. So many things are wrong with this place."
Camp Quinebarge plans to return for summer 2022.
