Roger’s Alumni Story
Roger’s connection to camp began before he could even walk. In 1967, Roger’s mother worked as the camp cook, and he joined her for his first summer at Moorelands Camp when he was just six months old. Until 1993, he spent 25 summers at camp, missing only one along the way.
“I would be at camp from late May into September every year—it was a great life,” Roger says. “And I remained as a camper until I was old enough to become staff.”
Looking back, Roger sees camp as his home.
“My time at Moorelands was utopian,” he says. “It was everything to me and became a part of my foundational core. Moorelands was the peak event of my life.”
Roger has fond memories of growing up at camp. He recalls running barefoot along the gravel camp road in Beaverton before it was paved, walking through the trees to the pebbled swimming area and spending quiet days helping open and close camp before the campers arrived. Some of the friendships he formed as a Moorelander and staff member have lasted more than 40 years.
“To this day, they’re still my best friends,” he says. “Being on an island, you have nowhere else to go, so you become very close with the people around you. I love those people.”
Like many Moorelands alumni, Roger believes camp teaches lessons that extend far beyond a week or two in the summer, and he often witnessed that growth and learning in the campers. It brought him joy to see the children he had once mentored as campers returning as fellow staff members.
“Campers became staff, and then they became best friends,” he says.
His mother strongly believed in helping others, and she often reinforced the values that camp nurtured—kindness, empathy, compassion and seeing situations from another person’s perspective. He has carried those values with him throughout his life.
Camp also became the place where Roger developed confidence as a leader and in his outdoors skills. He always loved spending time outside, but Moorelands gave him a place to learn and practise skills that quickly became passions. His specialty was canoe tripping, and he spent much of his time leading campers on out-trips.
“I felt very confident taking people into the wilderness for canoe trips,” he says. “It’s a confidence I don’t think I would have had otherwise.”
As an instructor, Roger believed that success wasn’t a test that people would pass or fail. He acknowledges that sometimes, as humans, we stumble under pressure. If a camper demonstrated a skill correctly after making a mistake first, he made sure that progress was recognized. He believes in helping young people build confidence by giving them opportunities to try, learn and try again.
Although camp has evolved over the decades, including moving from Beaverton to Dorset, Ontario in 1971, Roger welcomes change. The heart of Moorelands remains the same, found in the transformative experiences that continue to shape children and youth, the lifelong friendships made at camp, and the opportunity to grow and learn in a safe and inclusive environment.
“Change is inevitable,” he says. “You must meet the needs of today’s campers rather than remaining rigid to the old ways.”
For today’s Moorelanders, Roger leaves a simple word of advice: “Enjoy it,” he says. “Experience everything that you’re able to and carry that with you.”