"Red and Yellow and Pink and Green
Orange and Purple and Blue
I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow,
Sing a rainbow too."
The following explains all of the groups at Camp Alleghany. Each group has a unique color and holds special meaning to the spirit of camp.
The Upstarts are the group of 15 and 16 year olds at Camp Alleghany. These girls stay with younger campers while their counselor is on time off during rest hour and at night. Upstarts' own counselors sleep in tents next door rather than being in the same tent. This is unique of any other campers at camp and is a privilege. Other privileges of Upstarts include organizing special activities for the rest of camp once per summer. The captains of the Blue and Gray teams are also Upstarts.
The Maroons at camp are counselors who never went through the Junior Counselor program, but were campers at some time.
The NCCC's are counselors who were never campers, or JC's. They lead the second campfire of 1st term where they do funny skits and get initiated as full-fledged counselors by Cooper. NCCC stands for Non-Camper Counselor Club.
Startups are the oldest campers in Junior Camp. Their duties include John Duty (making sure all the younger kids flush, brush, and rush to their tents), taking mail to the postmistress to be sent, and leading songs at Milk and Cookies. The Junior Blue/Gray captains are also Startups.
The Green Team are the boys at camp. They help out with all the odd jobs: wash dishes, lawn mowing, getting people across the river, and maybe teaching some classes.
The Midways are campers who are midway between Startups and Upstarts. They are 13 and 14 years old and their duties are raising the flag and doing devotions at morning assembly. They also sub for Upstarts and hoppers when they can't upstart or hop for some reason.
The Blues and the Grays are teams at Camp Alleghany. Every single person at camp is either a blue or a gray. This color never changes and continues through a family. The Blue/Gray rivalry has gone at Camp Alleghany since its founding in 1922. The teams battle it out all summer in sporting events, scavenger hunts, and other assorted contests. When they meet for contests, each team decked out in their color and making as much noise as possible to show spirit, they are bitter rivals. But after competition, everyone's back to being friends.
The Mini Camper is tie dye. The mix of colors represent the many colors that they will be a part of over their future summers as Ghany gals. The explosive pattern of tie dye is symbolic of the burst of excitement that accompanies the abbreviated Ghany experience enjoyed by each of these one-week, first-time campers during their Mini-Camp week.
The JC's, or Junior Counselors, are a group of new counselors at Camp. They are fresh out of their camping years. They have a "mom" who leads their class and helps them with their new counseloring experiences. The JC's have all their purple things taken the first week of first term. Until their initiation, they aren't allowed to wear purple, eat purple, drink purple, or even say the word "purple."
The Tinges are a group of counselors who were campers and then went through the JC program, adding a purple "tinge" to their pink counselor color. Pink is also the color of all the counselors in camp, NCCC's, Tinges, JC's, and Maroons. They all band together under one color and plan activities and teach classes. They keep a constant eye on all campers and help out when needed.
Black is the color of the Four Year Figaro Flip Flops. These girls have been at camp for four years or more. Each year, the "old" four years (those who have been there for five years or more) take the campers who are on their fourth year to a secret initiation. No one knows what they do or where they do it, but they all have a celebration with the new four years after it's all over. It's all great fun and a little spooky, but we assure you that no one gets hurt. This secret society adds a bit of mystery to camp.