Opening Day 2026
I have just returned to my house from the gym, directly across the street, where 313 boys and 75 plus counselors are singing at the top of their lungs to the tunes of old camp songs. Many of these songs have been sung for decades at camp. I can now hear whistles, chants, and cheers, the sounds of boys enjoying a few more minutes of night games before heading to bed, marking the end of the first day of Alpine’s 68th summer of camping.
To the parents of Junior Campers, thank you for allowing your boys to be here. My name is Glenn Breazeale. My wife, Carter, and I are Directors. As parents ourselves, who sent our girls off to camp, we know it’s not easy. It would be totally normal if you shed a few tears today leaving camp. Then again don’t feel guilty if you shed no tears at all! Enjoy your week. Either way, you have given your son a gift by allowing him to be at camp. We are grateful you have chosen Alpine. Join us in praying that your boys will “grow in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” as the Bible talks about with Jesus in Luke 2:52. That is the longtime mission of Alpine Camp.
After you left today boys accomplished some necessary first day items. All campers received a lice check and quick health chat with our camp doctor. We are appreciative of having Dr. Clayton Dugan with us this week, a pediatrician in Birmingham, and former counselor himself (and camp parent too). 3 incredibly compassionate camp nurses (and maybe more importantly camp moms!) are here to serve our campers and counselors this week too.
Unofficial cabin photos were made in front of our oak leaf hydrangeas on the lawn of the Dining Hall. Those are now posted under the Photos tab with your Campminder login, along with more shots from the day. A word about the daily photo upload - our goal is to give you a glimpse into each day at camp. A window into our world that tells a bit of the story of each day. The goal is not necessarily to capture every camper every day. We really want boys to feel unplugged while here and that includes not feeling like there are cameras in their face all day every day. Tomorrow Lane Taylor, a professional photgrapher from Chattanooga, will join us to take cabin and individual photos of your boys in their Alpine Sunday whites. You’ll receive those at the end of the week.
Lunch beckoned us just in the nick of time. Opening day lunch is a tradition that goes back as far as I know. Gail, and her mother before her, make silver dollar size, buttery biscuits from scratch. Some get put on platters to serve out on each of the 38 tables (we eat family style). Others go into their legendary chicken pot pie, served alongside green peas and corn off the cob. A green salad with sliced tomatoes and ranch dressing also added to the variety.
After a brief rest time, followed by afternoon store, the camp bell summoned us to our first activities of the term, 4th and 5th period. I stood in the center of camp to help boys who might need to know where activites meet. Campers bounded, quite literally in some cases, to their classes. You could see the joy on their faces as camp called them out of the classroom and into summer.
Tonight after a fine supper of chicken sandwiches and tater tots, we held our traditional all camp meeting in the gym. Carter and I welcomed the boys to Alpine. We introduced various key head staff who could help them throughout the week if needed. I stressed the importance of letting us know if something was bothering them, physical or otherwise. And to tell someone if anybody asked them to do something that they knew wasn’t right or keep a secret. No secrets at Alpine! We also named homesickness as a very normal feeling. I encouraged boys to talk with their counselor if they are missing home. Talking about it is almost a sure cure. We talked about a few other camp rules and also what it means to be a Christian camp. Principally what it means is that we value the various and intricate ways God made each of us. And we do not pick on or make fun of folks who are different. And of course it also means that they have a chance to learn from older Christian guys, the counselors, through word and deed. The counselors are what make Alpine special!
