Fourth of July, North Star Style

Happy Fourth of July! For most of you, by the time you read this, it will probably the fifth or sixth of July, and we hope that you had a great Independence Day, enjoyed the day with family and friends, and saw some great fireworks. At camp, the Fourth of July is a pretty big deal from start to finish and we make sure that our campers have a memorable day!

In traditional North Star fashion, we started out with a very red, white and blue breakfast. The lodge was decked out in patriotic decorations and we have our traditional breakfast of waffles garnished with whipped cream and strawberries (we may need to add some blueberries next year!). Once breakfast is over, we go straight into our Green-White Marathon.

Shortly after our campers arrive at camp, they are put on either the green or white team for their session at North Star. They play different games over the course of the summer, representing their team. For the marathon, however, we have one massive camp wide race comprised of 40 or so events. Each camper is in at least one event, racing against the other team. Events range from running relays and canoe races to tent building and bed making. While the marathon is going on, two campers for each team are collecting wood and birch for the ending event, the boil water boil. All told, the marathon goes for about 90 minutes and at the final event, the two campers for each team have one goal, get a #10 tin can full of water to boil over by building the best fire they can. The two pairs started their fires within a few seconds of each other (in the marathon, you cannot start your event until the event before yours has been completed). Everything was neck and neck, and both teams build tremendous fires. Green, however, edged out the White team, with their water boiling about fifteen seconds ahead. It was one of the closest marathons in recent memory.

The marathon would be enough for one day, but we didn't have time to rest with our friends from Camp Birch Trail coming over in the afternoon. Everyone had time to take a shower and put on their finest attire for the social. The ladies from BT arrived in time for some great opening skits. Once that was done, we had some different ice breakers for each village with their female counterparts. Just before dinner we opened lots of different program areas and then our kitchen did great work feeding not just our campers and staff, but the over 300 visitors from Birch Trail.

After dinner we headed up to our tennis courts for music and entertainment. We are lucky enough to have several very talented counselors who play different instruments and they put together a band that played several songs before we headed into Mike Hall for more music and dancing. One of the great parts of the Fourth of July is that we get to meet several of our camper's sisters. While some brothers play it cool, they all really love seeing their older or younger sisters after a few week hiatus.

The day ended with several cabin groups sitting outside, watching the different fireworks going off around the lake. This Fourth of July also has some additional significance. As usual, we have a great crew of staff from other countries that choose to spend their summers working at camp. Additionally, we're proud to have staff members who spent time serving in the military. We love having lots of fun on the day, but we also relish the opportunity to help our campers understand the significance of Independence Day.

Camp Gives Kids the Chance to be Zombies?

Each night at camp gives us the opportunity to do something special. Many of these evening programs are traditional things that we do either once a week (like our Friday Night Services) or on a semi regular basis (village campfires, capture the flag, Green-White Series). Then there are nights where we have an open slot to fill and some staff members step up with something new and creative. 

Tonight, our Counselors in Training planned our evening program and transformed NSC to NSZ, with the "Z" standing for Zombie. Campers all had different spots around camp that they had to get to over the course of the night. Standing in their way, however, were counselors transformed into zombies. If campers got tagged by zombies, they got a mark on a tag they were wearing. Once campers got three marks and they themselves joined the band of zombies themselves, trying to tag out their former teammates.

There were some other complexities and rules to the game, but ultimately, this evening program was just another opportunity for campers to run around and have fun, this time while trying to evade zombies. Props to our CITs who did a great job planning the evening program, which was capped off by the zombies demanding a half hour later for tomorrow. We will sleep in an extra half hour as we prepare for our Green-White marathon before hosting the ladies of Camp Birch Trail.

Cruising...

Cruiser Days are some of my favorites days at camp. In many ways, it is like our weekend at North Star. Cruiser Day is a cabin day, which typically falls each Tuesday at camp. It is a break from our normal routine where each cabin plans a full day of games and activities that they will do together. Each Cruiser Day starts with breakfast in bed. We follow that up by changing our sheets and sending out our laundry, and a community pickup, where each cabin takes responsibility for cleaning an area of camp.

From there it is up to each cabin what they will do that day. Some Cruiser Day favorites include tubing, visiting one of the resorts across the lake, scavenger hunts, slip and slides and more. Kim McCormack works hard to make sure each Cruiser Day is filled with special events for the campers. This week she set up a scavenger hunts, ice cream sandwich making, and a slip and slide.

The slip and slide is one of the seminal moments of the summer for me. It is living proof of how the energy of our staff fuels our summer. With two sheets of plastic, some shampoo and a hose, our staff can create one wild and crazy day of slipping and sliding.

Each village also has a village cruiser day. The first week was the Junior Village Cruiser Day and our youngest guys spent the day at the water park, mini-golfing, and then they paid homage to the Northwoods culture by attending a Lumberjack show. The boys learned about the logging history of the region and also were entertained by yelling "Yo-Ho" to cheer on their favorite Lumberjack. Each camper was able to take a whirl with the big saw and became an official Junior Lumberjack. This week our Senior Village campers headed to Wild Mountain water park and enjoyed the nice weather.

Each Cruiser Day, every cabin cooks out their dinner over a fire. For the first cookout we made Tinfoil Surprise, a camp favorite. It's a combination of ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions and topped with cheese. You wrap it up in Tin Foil, and the outcome is the delicious surprise! Dessert was the traditional yet scrumptious S'mores.

The best part of Cruiser Day is getting to see the relationships that have formed within the cabins. These groups really do become close because of the efforts of our staff. Each cabin has their own unique identity and the friendships born out of them are the glue that makes our community such a strong one. 

Camp in the Words of a First Year Counselor

One of our first year counselors took some time to sit down and write a poem about camp. Zach isn't an English major... he's actually been majoring in engineering while on the wrestling team at Western New England University in Massachusetts. He's a football and pathfinders instructor for us and his poem really captures what we hope is the essence of camp.

This North Star Camp has changed my life
From sports and games to campfire nights
From campers here with cheerful smiles 
to all the friends I've made this while
and people outside just passing by
See a lake and trees and birds that fly
these passerbys though, miss whats here
Its not about the playful cheers
Its not about some guys we've met
or one silly tune we might forget
life here at camp is about true friends
a destiny of brothers that are here till the end
a loving home out here I've found
I now have family all around
and this one short poem just won't suffice
to show how much North Star has changed my life

- Zach Bantle, J1 Counselor 

Off to a Quick Start

From the time that the campers arrive on Monday afternoon until they start their first instructional activities, less than two days pass. Within about 42 hours, campers will step off a bus and then onto a football field, tennis court, fishing boat or any of our other activity areas. Its important for the campers to hit the ground running, and this is why the day that campers arrive, we make sure that there is some type of action for them to get out, run around, and have fun.

We also want to make sure that they start getting into the rhythm of the summer and get accustomed to a consistent program and schedule. Of course, before this happens we have to do things like swim tests and camper physicals, but on the first night, we get campers thinking about the cool stuff they get to do by having them complete their first set of activity requests. As we head into Friday, campers will be completing their first three-day activity set.

Beyond the main camp program, the last few days have been filled with action to make sure we jump start the summer of 2013. Tuesday night we played our first game of capture the flag for the summer. Wednesday morning we bid adieu to the Pine Manor campers (our oldest campers), who left for their nine-day trip to Quetico Provincial Park in Southern Ontario. We also sent two trips to the Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as well as a river trip down the Flambeau. Wednesday was the first day of programming and evening program allowed us to introduce all of the great men and women that make camp run in our opening Staff Show.

Rain headed our way on Thursday, but if it had to rain, the timing was pretty good. We were able to get in all of our instructional periods before bringing the campers inside late in the afternoon. Our Junior and Intermediate village directors were able to come up with some fun games to get us to dinner, when it looked like we'd be able to resume outdoor programming. The weather had other ideas, however, and we had to come up with a great indoor evening program.

If we told you that we were able to create a fun filled night with lots of energy by having campers assemble puzzles, you'd thing that we were lying. Several years ago we bought about 20 jigsaw puzzles for a rainy day event. With the right build up, some fun competition, and the help of our tremendous staff, we had our first cabin puzzle challenge. Each cabin group got to choose a puzzle from our collection and they took on each other to see which cabin would be the first to complete their puzzle. Older cabins had to select from larger puzzles and we also threw in few curves. What resulted was an evening of part puzzle building, part dance party and a ton of fun.

The rainy day puzzle contest shows the importance of great staff as well as the importance of turning something fairly insignificant into a big deal. We could have handed out a bunch of puzzles, left out the fun announcements, crazy build-up and other random silliness, but the event would not have had nearly the same level of excitement and participation. Our staff were vital in both getting our campers into the contest and keeping the momentum flowing. Its pretty clear that we've got a special group of counselors!  Several cabins continued to try to complete their puzzles, even after the contest had ended. All of this was proof that at camp, you can turn something as basic as assembling a puzzle into a tremendously fun evening program.

"Nowhere I'd Rather Be"

Today at camp we celebrated our first camp birthday of the Summer of 2013. Jacob B stood on the chair in the dining hall and was serenaded by the our traditional, unique birthday songs. After he blew out the candle in his cake, I made my usual blowing-out-the-candles joke, "We're all still here." Jacob's response, in his 7th summer and first as a counselor, was quick to turn my joke into a great moment.

There is nowhere I'd rather be.

The dining hall agreed! That was just dinner on our first full day of camp, which was no regular dinner. It was our our Opening Banquet, in which all of the campers are welcomed into the dining hall by a full staff of guys dressed up in ridiculous costumes and cheering with excitement. We have such a great group of campers here this summer, and we are so proud to welcome these guys (back) into the North Star family.

Our first full day at camp came with perfect weather. After a chilly night, we had a beautiful day in the upper 70s with the sun shining. It was perfect for a day of physicals, swim tests, and the all-important games of Continuous Dodgeball. This game has truly become a staple of the first day at camp, where a whole village is out on the athletic fields playing an every-man-for-themselves version of dodgeball. The twist on the first day is that when you get somebody out, you have to go introduce yourself to that person. Between the candlelight ceremonies that took place last night, and the various activities throughout the day, this helped facilitate an environment whereby all the of the campers know the names of their fellow campers.

For evening program, we played our first game of All-Camp Capture the Flag! We start by dividing the whole camp into two teams, and then create flag circles on completely opposite ends of camp. We rang a bell and they were off.

While the night was through then for most of our boys, our oldest group was preparing to leave for Canada. Tomorrow morning, they will take off on their 10-day journey through Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario. They did some training today along with packing, and the group also gathered at Leb and Sue's house for a proper send-off. We talked about the significance of the trip and previewed just how much fun these guys are going to have.

It is always amazing to send off these boys on their Canadian trip. It is a moment that they have been working towards for as long as seven years as campers. In this group, we have seven guys whose fathers also went on the Canadian trip. And some of us old-timers shared stories of Canadians past, it is always fun to think how the nervous energy of the group will be transformed into hard work and teamwork while they're on their trip, and finally transformed into confidence and poise when they return with a knowledge of what they completed. We'll see them in 10 days!

The Summer of 2013 is Underway!

The Summer of 2013 is finally here! The day we have all been waiting for and, more importantly, the campers we have all been waiting for have arrived. The buses were filled with excitement for camp, and that was before the boys starting eating their candy. In addition to hearing about all of the incredible things that our boys have done over the offseason, one of my favorite parts of the bus ride is listening to the returning campers explain to the first timers every little detail of what they are about to experience. Between that and everybody joining in and singing songs, I could already feel the sense of community building on the bus!

We pulled into camp to see the counselors jumping around like crazy. The staff have been arriving since late May and have been working hard to prepare the grounds, get trained in their specific activities areas, and, most importantly, to learn as much as possible in order to take great care of your sons. And they have done a great job. We did an exercise during orientation where I asked the staff what they were going to do as role models for the campers this summer. Here's what they came up with:
•  Treat others how you want to be treated
•  Smile as much as possible
•  Say "hi" to everyone you see
•  Lead by example
•  Be open minded
•  Try new things
•  Make the best out of everything
•  Encourage everyone to find their voice
•  Praise uniqueness
•  Don’t Judge
•  Don't let others' judgments matter
•  Find the campers’ interests
•  Help campers find their own interest
•  Acknowledge anything is possible
•  Be supportive
•  Keep things in perspective
•  Have fun in un-fun situations
•  Be 100% committed
•  Demonstrate that it's okay to fail
•  Be the best you can
•  Have high expectations and help the campers reach them
•  Praise good behavior
•  Be Selfless
•  Teach problem solving
•  Handle defeat well
•  Handle success well
•  Have views from different perspectives
•  Express your hopes and dreams
•  Work towards your hopes and dreams

That's a pretty impressive list. Not only are these guys going to be great role models, they demonstrated right out of the gate that they are going to be a ton of fun as well.

Straight off the bus we gathered around the flagpole, and as we announced the cabins, the staff and campers went crazy. High fives, chest bumps and prepared shenanigans put a smile on everybody's face. The kids have now unpacked and new campers have been given a tour of camp. By the time they go to sleep tonight, they'll have played games with their cabins and met some of the other guys their age as well.

Dinner this evening will be burgers, fries, jello, salad and the ever present Sun Butter and jelly (no more Peanut Butter). There will be vegetarian burgers available for those that prefer, and brownies for dessert.

Immediately following dinner, the campers will choose their first week's activities. Their counselors will be encouraging them not only to participate in the activities that they are already familiar with, but also to try out some new ones as well. The evening activities will be followed by the candlelight ceremonies, where each cabin will have a meeting led by their counselors. They will share their goals and expectations for the summer, while continuing to get to know one another. This will be the first of many cabin discussions that are an important part of the "team" building goals that we have for each cabin group, and helps develop the strong sense of community that we strive for at camp.

Tomorrow the kids will have a busy day as they get checked out by the medical staff, take a swim test, choose their 1st week's schedule and find time to play several games of dodgeball. Evening program tomorrow will be our first game of All-Camp Capture the Flag. First thing on Wednesday morning the boys will begin their first week of regular activities. Wednesday morning our oldest campers will leave for their Canadian adventure, where they will spend 10 days in the Canadian wilderness in Quetico Provincial Park. Wednesday evening will be the staff show, where our very talented group will be on display.

FOLLOW CAMP ONLINE

From here on out, you can follow along with the summer of 2013 on our website at www.NorthStarCamp.com/blog. We will also be posting updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/northstarcampforboys and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/northstarcamp.

We post pictures online on a regular basis, and you can access those directly from your CampInTouch page. To access your CampInTouch page, go to www.northstarcamp.com and click "login" in the upper right hand corner. From there you can click on "Photos" to see those smiling faces. If you'd like to set up guest accounts for friends or family you can do that from your landing page by clicking on "Guest Accounts."

Thank you for trusting us with your boys. We can't wait for the rest of a great Summer of 2013!