STONEHAM – Other teachers wonder how Mike and Sue Davis can do it.

“It” is working 24/7 each summer with 8- to 12-year-old campers.

The question makes the Davises smile.

“You have to like kids,” said Sue, surrounded by a noisy mob of children making Popsicle boxes and beaded masks in the arts and crafts cabin at Camp Susan Curtis.

During the school year Sue is a guidance counselor at Fairview Elementary School in Auburn. Mike teaches music at Sherwood Heights Elementary School, also in Auburn.

Most educators look forward to a break from kids in June. Not the Davises. They grab their 3- and 5-year-old sons and rush out to this western Maine camp, where they live until late August.

“We tell people, ‘We summer in Stoneham,'” Sue joked.

She’s in charge of arts and crafts for 100 campers each two-week session. Mike is the assistant director and he teaches drumming and boating.

There are no days off, except for one Saturday every other week, before the next set of campers arrive.

The Davises say they’ve fallen in love with the camp and its mission of helping economically disadvantaged children experience boating, swimming and other activities.

“These are awesome kids who wouldn’t be able to afford the summer camp experience without coming here tuition-free. All they pay is $25,” Mike said.

Each year Camp Susan Curtis offers two-week sessions to some 400 Maine youngsters. One-fourth are from Androscoggin County.

They are kids like Brandin Knowlton of Auburn, a fifth-grader at Sherwood Heights.

“You can sleep here and do a bunch of activities,” Brandin said. “They have a lake here to swim. There’s boating, baseball, arts and crafts. It’s pretty fun here.”

Brandin just celebrated his 10th birthday at camp. During dinner he got a cake and stood while more than 100 people sang happy birthday to him. “It felt pretty cool,” he said.

During the school year the Davises can recommend Auburn students to the camp, something they and the camp boss appreciate.

The couple has worked at the camp going on eight years. Director Patrick Carson credited them with being instrumental in the camp’s development, which now includes year-round programming. Those programs help Maine’s growing population of children living in poverty, Carson said.

Seeing students at Camp Susan Curtis gives Sue Davis a better understanding, she said. Sometimes kids who struggle academically “create a scene for a reason.”

They might not do well in school, but they come to camp and turn into leaders, are respectful and excel at activities. “They find their niche at camp,” she said.

At Camp Susan Curtis, it’s easy to forget about problems back home.

Nature takes a front seat.

“This is Trout Lake. This is the ideal set-up.” Mike said as he showed off the grounds near the White Mountain region.

Campers sleep in log cabins that have views of the lake. There’s a small sandy beach with a dock and float. Mountains and fir trees surround the lake. On this day, a pair of loons floated on the water, occasionally calling out.

The serenity was replaced a few hours later by the noise of a boating class. Wearing life preservers, campers listened as Mike explained the rules of a race that pitted boys against girls.

They were to get into the little kayaks, paddle around the float and return to shore. They were warned that there may be sharks (teenage counselors) in the water to flip them. The point of dumping campers was to teach them how to maneuver the boats.

The race began. Boys cheered on boys; girls cheered on girls. The boys won.

Camp ends Aug. 18. That gives Mike and Sue about one week of vacation before school begins.

That’s not a lot, they acknowledged. Working at the camp when they could be sitting in their backyard is demanding, but rewarding.

“This is really, really fun,” Mike said. “We get the enjoyment of seeing kids be successful here.”

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