Carl Headges, from Dorchester, MA, spent his first summer at WEHC in 2017. He first heard about West End through a family member who attended in 2016 and had a great time. After missing summer 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Carl is excited to return for his fourth year at camp this summer.
The first day of camp as a new camper can be a little intimidating. “My first memories of camp are being assigned to bunk 4A and meeting my bunkmates that I hadn’t met yet.”
If you have been to camp before, I am sure you have your favorite activities. What are Carl’s? “I have a lot of favorite activities at camp! Trifecta and Safeguard are two of my favorites, along with any league sport really.”
But what about the food?! Everyone has a favorite meal in the mess hall. Carl, however, has several. What are they? “My favorite meals are the barbecue chicken, or the chicken tenders and french fries.” Agreed, the chicken tenders are a hit in the mess hall!
We all have fond memories of our time at camp. Sometimes the little moments are the most memorable ones, though. “I don’t really have a particular favorite moment. While I have lots of great memories playing sports at camp, some of my favorite memories are times when me and some of my friends were in the bunk just chatting it up and telling stories.”
Many of our campers consider West End House Camp their home away from home. But what is it about WEHC that keeps everyone coming back? Carl can’t answer for everyone, but when I asked for his take on why everyone returns, he said, “I love being able to have friendly competition with friends and having some free time with them to just hang out in the cabin. Camp is always a place I look forward to coming back to every year because of how much fun I know I will have.“
Getting back to camp memories, I wanted to see what Carl’s favorite Color War memory was. Carl was a high senior captain for the White Showtime in 2019, so I knew his favorite Color War memory would be a good one. “My favorite Color War memory would have to be in 2019 when the final score of Color War was read. Before that I was 0-2 and really felt like I couldn’t go winless in CW. So that last one was really special to me.”
What campers take away from an experience like summer camp are skills and lessons that will live with them forever. Carl seems to know this well. After asking him what lessons he has learned from his time at West End House Camp, he had this to say. “I think if there’s one thing I’ve learned from camp, it is to take risks and be willing to put yourself out there. Make new friends, talk to new people, try new things!”
If you have been to WEHC over the course of the last 50 or so years, you definitely know of our Executive Director Bill Margolin’s positive impact on young people each year at camp. As Carl gets ready to take on his first year on staff, I was curious if and how Bill has had an effect on him. “One thing about Bill is that he seems to make everyone that he’s around smile, and just be genuinely happy, from senior staff to junior campers. In and out of camp I continue to try to imitate his ability to make people happy.”
As my interview with Carl came to a close, I had a couple more questions for him. “Can you talk a little about how important it is to be one of the boys”?
“Being one of the boys is important to me because thanks to camp I have guys that I talk to outside of camp, hang out with, and really consider some of my best friends. I am also grateful to have met them the way I did; to have a mutual place where we know we can always see each other every summer is special.”
The bonds formed during a summer at West End House Camp are so special. What’s even more special is running into your camp friends outside of camp! My final question for Carl had to do with any run ins he has had with West Enders. “Before me and Corey (Perkins) became really close friends we ran into each other at the mall. Gabe DaSilva and I both have been playing for the same soccer team for a few years now. This past summer, even though we couldn’t meet up at camp, me and five of my best camp friends had a sleepover and spent the day at the beach. Times like those really show how much we all mean to each other, and how our friendship has grown so close over just a few summers.”
Thank you so much Carl Headges for an awesome interview! Who will I interview next? If you want to be interviewed for Daigle Dishes, send me an email! Take care everyone, and see you in April!