They Know They’re Home

Letter From the Head of School

Every summer they return. Sometimes we wonder if they’ll come…and thank goodness they always do. The loons on Canaan Street Lake are as much a part of life at Cardigan Mountain School as the towering namesake in whose shadow our community snuggles. During the winter, the loons congregate on the Atlantic coast from Maine to New Jersey, forming “rafts” to feed, socialize, and defend their territory. But each spring, they head north, navigating by an ancient and intuitive compass, eventually peeling off from their raft to return, as mating pairs, to the lakes where they spend their summers. I have to think that upon seeing the rocky summit of Mt. Cardigan our loons know they’re home. They warp around and land with a whoosh; like airplanes on a runway, they come to a stop…and they are home. We know they’ve arrived when we hear their haunting and ancient calls— sometimes a wail, or a hoot, or a tremolo laugh. Their language is the sound of summer in Canaan. 

And every summer, since 1951, kids from all over the country and the world have come as well. They come to Cardigan Summer Session to learn, play, and take advantage of one of the most beautiful and pristine locations on Earth. Cardigan’s campus peninsulates into Canaan Street Lake, a spring-fed gem that boasts clear water (with New Hampshire ledge on the bottom, the lake does not take on the brownish hue that many others do). The kids’ approach is the inverse of the loons; they start their journeys solo or in pairs—in cars, buses, planes, or trains—and they make their way to this brigadoon nestled in the mountains of the Upper Valley. When they arrive, they form rafts of giggly, chatty, enthusiastic boys and girls—learning, growing, and transforming during their four-week stay on The Point. Cardigan Summer Session is and has been a summer destination for boys and girls alike. Their splashes on the waterfront, songs at the campfire, and encouraging cheers during the Green vs. White competitions—these are the sounds of summer in Canaan. 

Cardigan Summer Session celebrated its 75th anniversary this past summer, and we are commemorating this amazing program in the pages of this edition of the Chronicle. A mixture of academic enrichment and summer fun, Cardigan Summer Session has made lasting memories for boys and girls since it began only five years after Cardigan Mountain School’s founding in 1945. It’s one of the oldest summer programs in the country—and the best summer a kid could have. 

Summer in Canaan ends when the call of the loons fades, and the majestic birds take flight, joining their rafts of fellow loons to head for the Atlantic…and when the kids of summer peel themselves from the final embraces of their new best buddies and head their separate ways…back to their “real” lives…until they can return next summer to this crystal lake so clear.

Christopher D. Day P’12,’13
Head of School 

This article was originally published in the fall/winter 2025-2026 issue of the Cardigan Chronicle