Philosophy John Duda set up Camp Friendship-Maine in 1970 with two beliefs about working with children that he inherited from his father, John L. Duda:      1.  Let children be children; and      2.  Children learn best by doing. These beliefs have been constant in the 60-year history of the camp. Activities are geared to what the children themselves want to do – catch a fish, chase in the woods, search for creatures at low tide under the seaweed, and letting their imagination loose listening to night-time stories.
	Doing means taking the initiative in all kinds of situations – captaining a sailboat, sorting out relationships with their peers, or given tools with the general instruction: "OK, build us a teepee." Despite living in an era of cell phones, ipods, x-boxes and DVDs, campers at John's Boys & Girls Camp spend their time in the woods, sailing out at sea, climbing mountain trails, or sitting, eating and yarning beside a starlit campfire.