Home: The Winona Experience

The Winona Experience

"There is no such thing here as a new boy or an old boy; once you come through the gate at the farmhouse, you are a Winona boy, and from the start you are all equal in privilege."* Special attention is paid to each camper's developing needs and abilities, different at every age.

Shortly after its inception, Winona adopted the Unit System, which assured the closest rapport between a camper and his counselor, a sense of place for each age group, and yet overall the advantages of equipment and staff which only a large camp could support and attract. There are three units: Junior - boys 8-11; Intermediate (Inty) - boys 11-13; and Senior - boys 13-15. Each unit overlaps the next by one year to accommodate prior camping experience, grade in school, or camper preference. Normally, a camper new to Winona will be assigned to a unit where he will be one of the older boys.

They share in activities that confirm their's is a special stage of growing up.

Each unit has separate athletic fields, tennis courts, swimming docks, and target ranges so camp directors can fashion programs that challege a full range of age and experience levels. Everyone, of course, enjoys daily meals together and there are any number of all-camp functions, ranging from Banana Split Night to weekly movies. But, within their respective units, boys can enjoy the comforting social focus of their own age group.