The first day of camp always sneaks up on us.
We prepare the whole year for today. We recruit, hire, train, plan and organize as best as we can and it all leads up to that moment where the entire Menominee Family is reunited at the friendly confines. It is the best day of the year. As the bus made the right turn into camp from County Road D, the veterans once again felt at home while the new campers marveled in the beauty of Al Lewis Field and Woody’s Pitch. Even at the edge of camp we could hear the chants and cheers from the staff and campers who had already arrived and were waiting to greet us at the canteen. Each camper stepped off the bus and ran through a seemingly endless tunnel formed by the staff and campers excited to see them. We then made our way into Wasserman Hall for the opening pep rally where cabins were announced. The boys met their counselors and their bunk-mates…and we were off to the races!
Hi everybody, Jason here. Welcome to Woody’s Word and Menominee’s 91st summer. Each night we will write a recap of the days events, and do our best to capture the energy and the spirit of what we hope was another incredible day at camp. I know some of you out there are anxious to hear from your son, or sitting at home refreshing our site in anticipation of the Word so you can get some idea of what is going on at camp. I hope it brings you some peace and happiness to know that your boys are safely resting in their cabins as I type. It has been a long and fun day. After the pep rally we broke into activity sign-ups, waterfront and target sport safety discussions, health checks and letters home. Yes, we have the kids write you on the first day! We then gathered for our first meal of the summer in the Mess Hall. The Senior Cabin lead us in some cheers and we shared our first meal as a family in 2018 which included burgers, chicken, hot dogs and peas. Our kitchen staff will make sure your boys are well fed this summer! Then the fun REALLY started.
It has become a night one tradition each session to play all-camp capture the flag and we are not one to break with tradition. We split the camp up into CM colors Green & White for this contest. The white team jumped out early taking the first 2 games. The greens came storming back and
matched with 2 victories of their own. In the decider, both teams were moving the flag toward the line, but the greens made it across first on a great throw and catch from one camper to a counselor. Both teams gathered for cheers, shook hands and hit the showers.
We ended the perfect 72 degree evening with a campfire at sand lake. The boys gathered around the fire for some music from Associate Director Thomas C. Adler and Chef Mike, a few jokes and some welcoming stories. The evening was highlighted by “The Jackson 3”, counselors Jackson, Shane and Josh performing Justin Bieber’s ‘Love Yourself’ which elicited some slightly off beat snapping and arm waiting from the rest of the camp :).
After singing taps, the boys went back to their cabins to go over some camp rules, set personal goals and write their Cabin Contracts. The contracts are a way for the cabin to get on the same page, set clear expectations of one another and come up with some group goals for the summer.
It brings us so much joy to see your boys running around camp smiling and enjoying themselves. The Menominee Family is once gain whole today. Thank you for trusting in our care and our program. We are going to have a great summer!
Don’t forget to stop here every night for updates. We will also begin posting our newspaper, the Menominee Megaphone tomorrow and pictures are currently uploading to CampInTouch. We ask your patience as this process takes hours each evening and you may not see the full upload until the following morning, but it will be there! Please follow us on Instagram for real time pictures and YouTube for all the fun videos we will do over the summer.
The first day of camp always sneaks up on us, and now we look to the next 50+. All is well, safely rest, goodnight everybody.
For the Love of Camp – Jason
