Somewhere along the way, the Coin stopped being just a coin. It became something you notice without thinking about it, a little bit of weight on a Blue Kerchief, a quiet reminder that you were here and part of a summer that mattered.
How It Started
Back in 2015, former Program Director Alyse Averdick introduced the Cheley Coin as a simple way to mark time as we looked ahead to our 100th summer. At the time, the team was choosing a camper gift, and a lot of the options felt temporary, something that might not last beyond the summer. The idea for the Coin came from wanting something different, something that could be kept and would stay with campers long after they left.
Inspired by the idea of a challenge coin, it became something more tangible. When the design came together, adding a hole in the center made it possible to wear, sliding it onto a Blue Kerchief alongside the things that already meant the most.
From the beginning, it wasn’t just about the coin itself. It was about creating something campers would carry with them, something that could build over time. The colors changed each year, at first just for fun. Even then, there was already excitement building toward the gold coin that would mark the 100th summer.
Our 100th Summer
Our 100th summer was meant to be 2020. When camp didn’t run, everything paused, but the meaning didn’t disappear.
When we came back in 2021, we marked that moment with an all-gold coin. It felt like the right way to begin again. Gold didn’t just celebrate a milestone; it held a sense of return, a reminder that Cheley and the community that defines this overnight camp experience were still here.
When Campers Spoke Up
Heading into 2024, we made a very human call. The coins had gotten heavy, and we wondered if they still mattered the way they once did, so we didn’t order them. It didn’t take long to realize we had gotten that wrong.
Campers noticed right away. They asked about it, talked about missing it, and started tracking down Jeff and Brooke to find out what happened. There were questions, a few jokes about budget cuts, and they didn’t let it go. Some even made their own during crafts.
What felt like a small detail to us was something much bigger to them. The Coin wasn’t extra. It was part of the experience, woven into the camp traditions that define a summer at Cheley.
We brought it back that same summer! It meant placing a rush order that arrived on the very last day of First Term, something we don’t plan to repeat. More importantly, we listened.
A More Intentional Approach
That moment changed how we think about the Coin. Moving forward, each summer will have one color, and those colors will now follow a consistent order over time. Every camper and staff member will receive that same coin for that summer, stamped with the year. The color doesn’t track experience level or how many summers someone has been at camp. It simply marks that year. Over time, those coins build on a Blue Kerchief. Each one marks another summer.
This summer’s color is orange, the next step in that sequence and the one that will come to represent this particular summer.
Over time, that order starts to take shape. Each summer moves to the next color in the sequence, building across years and across campers’ experiences. It’s not something you have to think about while you’re at camp, but later, when you look back at a Blue Kerchief filled with coins, you start to see the pattern. Every so often, the sequence returns to gold, marking milestone summers like the 110th, 120th, and 130th, and a moment to pause before it begins again.
What It Becomes
Worn on a Blue Kerchief, the coins become something more over time. They slide on through the center hole and wrap into the fabric, sitting alongside each other as the years add up. They’re simple and consistent, but together they start to tell a story. They hold the weight of summers spent outside, friendships built, challenges faced, and moments that stay with you long after camp ends.
We didn’t always realize how much the Coin mattered. Now we do. And now, every color, every year stamped into it, and every bit of weight it adds is chosen with care, because at Cheley, it’s often the smallest traditions that end up meaning the most.
If you’re curious, here’s how the full color sequence unfolds over time.
The Coin Color Sequence
The Coin follows a repeating sequence of colors over time:
- Gold (milestone years)
- Green
- Indigo / Deep Blue
- Purple
- Red
- Orange
- Brown
- Yellow
- Neutral Light
- Blue
The sequence continues year after year, returning to gold for milestone summers before beginning again.
