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<\/p>\nCousins Will Pierce and Courtney Pierce Philippou grew up on the Pierce Country Day Camp property. They lived there, they went to camp there, and now they\u2019re back as fourth-generation owners and directors of the 100-year-old summer camp in Roslyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I was a little child, I\u2019ve grown up here. I was a camper here, I went to our sleep-away Camp Birchmont in New Hampshire; this is my backyard,\u201d Philippou said. \u201cI\u2019ve had so many personal memories. We live and work here on the grounds. Not only is it my backyard, but it\u2019s a wonderful place for the campers and staff to come every day and make their own memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Founded by their great-grandfather Forrester \u201cPop\u201d Pierce in Deal, New Jersey, in 1918, America\u2019s first day camp has remained in the family ever since, Pierce said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the first private day camp in America,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cIn 1918, that\u2019s when the automobile was coming out, which would really make day camping possible, so it was originally started to watch people\u2019s children during the day while they were at the beach or enjoying the Jersey Shore. Pop was a gym teacher and football coach, and he ended up finally being able to realize his dream of purchasing property rather than running it from a leased location when he bought the Roslyn property.\u201d<\/p>\n
The camp boasts one of the largest aquatic centers in Nassau County with seven pools divided by age group, including an Olympic-sized indoor pool that ranges from 3 feet to 12 feet deep for all ages of campers to use on the rare rainy day, Philippou said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like to say it never rains at Pierce,\u201d Philippou joked.<\/p>\n
The 27-acre property is filled with activity stations, multiple sports fields, a splash ground and a three-person zip line race over the pond for the 3- to 13-year-old campers, all revolving around the former Villa Marina mansion in the center.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mansion in the middle of our property is a replica of the Tuscan villa where the owner [Frank C. Henderson] and his new wife spent their honeymoon,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cNow it\u2019s our preschool [Pierce Country Day School] and one of the main indoor facilities we use for our camp.\u201d<\/p>\n
The preschool, founded in the 1950s by Pierce\u2019s grandfather, runs from September through June, but during the summer, it\u2019s all about camp.<\/p>\n
And camp is all about traditions.<\/p>\n
Philippou said the generations of campers who became counselors and are now parents come back with their children for \u201cpow wows\u201d where one of the camp\u2019s most remembered tradition is the hallmark of the night: the hoop of fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was started by my great grandfather, my grandfather then took it over, my father did it for 40 years, and for the last five years, Will has been doing it,\u201d Philippou said.<\/p>\n
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After singing and dancing and making \u201cmagic rock candy,\u201d Philippou said her cousin climbs to the top of a totem pole while staff on the ground lights a gasoline-filled hoop. As the campers, counselors and parents cheer, Pierce cannonballs through the hoop into the pool, providing for quite the spectacle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe campers, and staff and parents too, are just amazed by it,\u201d Philippou said. \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty cool ending of that night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pierce moved back to Long Island five years ago after working in commercial real estate in Los Angeles after he got married and realized he wanted his children to have the same camp-filled experiences he did as a kid.<\/p>\n
As director, Pierce now spends much of his time on the business side of the camp, but he always schedules time to be outside, away from his desk and immersed in the camp life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best part of my day is always when I get out of the office, which I religiously do both in the morning and in the afternoon, to interact with my campers,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cI stop by the groups, see how they\u2019re doing, see what excites them and really get to know them better.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s really, for me, why I came back to run my family business. That\u2019s my passion \u2014 watching our campers gain confidence, develop new skills, watch them make friendships and really fall in love with camp the way I did as a camper.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having a business stay within one family for a century is a feat in itself, and Pierce and Philippou both said they have a special kind of family to make living and working and even vacationing together work.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing that one family has owned and operated this camp for four generations now,\u201d Philippou said. \u201cTo have that, it\u2019s pretty rare, and it\u2019s exciting to now be taking over this legacy. The torch has now been passed, and Will and I are ecstatic to take over with the support of our families and a wonderful staff that surrounds us. We hope to leave it to our children and our grandchildren for hopefully 100 more years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Philippou has three sons of her own and Pierce has one daughter with a baby on the way, and Pierce said they plan to keep the business in the family for the next 100 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery decision we make isn\u2019t just the best thing for the next three or five years, it\u2019s really what\u2019s the best thing for the next 100 years,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cThat\u2019s our outlook. We\u2019re looking at how this will affect camp today but also 30 years down the road when my daughter and my son and Courtney\u2019s sons are dealing with the things we do now, how will that affect them.\u201d<\/p>\n