Hand Crafting

At full capacity, camp can sleep 144 kids. For the past few years and this summer as well, we will average 75 kids per week. Through luck, prayer, a little bit of negligance from the Board and 62 years of history, we have managed to keep going, despite being half full. It's not ideal, but I have been assured and reassured by the Board and so I know that camp will remain open and I just need to be really focused on turning it around.

Less kids isn't ideal. Obviously financially, it's a struggle, but also I find that the more kids we have, the more energy and excitement fills camp, so when there's a small group, it's kind of dull. However, there are some advantages to the small camp size.

The oldest group of campers go on an overnight camping trip each week. They set up tents and cook over the fire. We own a piece of property a little ways away and it is heavily wooded and the perfect place for roughing it in the wilderness.

We figured out that it is 9 miles away by canoe and the boys this week decided that's how they wanted to get there. I was against it. I thought it would take them 4-5 hours and it would be hot and exhausting and I wasn't sure they'd be able to do it. But they practicied canoeing and assured me they were ready.

They made it 9 miles in 2 hours and 57 minutes on the way there and 2 hours and 27 minutes on the way back. They were exhausted, but so proud of themselves. Counselor P came to me afterwards and asked if we could give them some kind of recognition, "just like a paper certificate or something?" He doesn't know me yet.

I don't like paper certificates. That's the easy way out because they take 5 minutes to type up. And kids end up throwing them away just as quickly, because, well, they are lame.

The awards we give out for program areas are AWESOME. Program Director S made BEAUTIFUL trophies. The golden bobber award (for fishing) is a real bobber, glued to a round wood piece, sprayed gold. Super cool, especially if you are a kid who's used to getting lame certificates.

And so when P asked for something for recognition, S and I started brainstorming. It doesn't hurt that we both love crafting and are impressed by spray painted junk- we are the perfect people to create cool stuff kids love.

S has been dying to try out my dad's wood burner. And so we created the Adventurer Award (see photo). On the back, she burned the name of camp and the date. At the closing ceremony, we recognized the boys and handed out the awards and everyone was super jealous and impressed by how cool they were. This week I had also spent some time making candles that we will use with the Leaders-in-Training group next week. And between the two projects, I realized that maybe having a smaller group isn't all bad. If I had 200 kids a week, I couldn't give such individual attention to kids and highlight the most special accomplishments. And so, for the next few years, I will enjoy the moments I am able to celebrate every little thing. Camp is all about building relationships anyway, so, half capacity, yes, but doing exactly what we are supposed to be- 100%.