Monthly Archives:November 2014

Happy Thanksgiving!

Silver Birch Favorite Things:

Jillian: I love Dan’s cooking, especially taco bar; watching Yeller’s long mane fly when I canter; Boot Camp is my favorite evening activity because it is intense and we do 100 squats and planks; seeing the looks on people’s faces when they go to the “love bench” at the TP Fair; Spoon Assassins is my favorite all-camp activity – what’s not to love about “killing” people with a spoon?; listening to the “warm & fuzzy” and “lake gnomes” stories at campfire because they are so funny; I love Song Contest because you get to hear everyone’s creative songs

Alien Invasion

Nyki: the delicious homemade cookies are so good!; campfires when people dress up and do skits and songs up; Olympics when people have fun and laugh all they want; Woodland Fair – the fishing booth was so much fun; archery because I get to pass levels, and I get really excited when I get a bulls-eye!

Tory: there are so MANY things I love about camp!  I love activities; riding and tennis are my favorites.  In riding I love Big Red, Spud, and Yeller; in tennis I love the game “Queen of the Court”.  I absolutely love Dan’s homemade M&M cookies!  The favorite part of camp is my cabin; I love all my friends and counselors.  My counselors are always laughing and dancing, and it’s a blast!  My bunkmate is always smiling, and we play this game where we steal blankets from each other.  Last but not least, I love Woodland Fair!  Our cabin was in charge of the fishing booth, and we ran out of prizes so we gave out sticks and money.  One time I put a piece of popcorn I found and the person who was “fishing” ate it!  These are just SOME of my favorite things I love about camp!

Lip Sync Contest

Katie: I like passing levels in activities; I LOVE the grilled cheese here!   It’s awesome when my cabinmates and I make forts during rest hour.  It’s fun just sitting and laughing with everyone even if it is not that funny.  I like when we’re in a goofy mood and making random jokes like “knock, knock”, “who’s there?”, “hoo”, “hoo who?”, “Is there an owl in here?!” I like dancing to songs at night and swimming for cabin night.  My favorite activity is riding.  I loved all of the booths at Woodland Fair, but the fishing booth my favorite because we gave out random things, and it was funny.  These are all the reasons I LOVE Camp Woodland!

Libby: my friends, Dan’s yummy food, riding, Birdie (a horse), canoeing, Dan’s sugar and snicker doodle cookies, the awesome counselors, the goats, Banquet, EVERYTHING!!!!

Final Banquet

November is a notoriously happy time for a lot of reasons, namely the first snowfall, imminent holidays and promise of winter break in less than a month. But as a winter chill enters the air, it also brings about a certain nostalgia, because it feels like camp has never been further away. At least while it was still warm out, we could pretend like Eagle River was still within our reach, as if we had only just left the north woods or maybe—if we closed our eyes and tried really hard to imagine it—as if we were still there. The memories tend to linger longer when the sun is still warm on our cheeks and our backs and school hasn’t quite started yet.

But when winter comes around, it’s a cold reminder that there are still some long months ahead of us before we can head back to camp, and we want nothing more than to be surrounded by our camp friends and family.  Lucky for us, the Jordan family knows exactly how we feel. They bring us all back together under one roof on the glorious Saturday in November that we all know as camp reunion day.

To me, the camp reunion is that extra push of motivation to power through the cold weather and the reassurance that, once June rolls around, the wait will be worth it. You are reunited with all of your favorite people and, even in the cold, un-camp-like weather, you are filled with a warmth that reminds you a little bit of Sand Lake, horses and fresh bug juice.

When I was younger and had neither the access to a car nor means of communication to visit my friends who lived hours away, my mom would dutifully drive me to the camp reunion every November so that I could see the people that I loved so much. And even as I grew older and could drive myself, I relished in the chance to be surrounded by the people, pictures and memories that helped me remember that camp is something I can’t live without.

This is the first November in almost thirteen years that I won’t be able to make it to the reunion, so I know that I’ll be surfing through the camp website for photos that can try to replace the happiness that I feel when I’m there. It’s a weaker substitute, but just knowing that other campers and staff will be reuniting, reliving the days of summers past and chatting excitedly about summers future, will help me thaw the icy feeling that living in a world without Woodland tends to bring.

Come November 22^nd, I know I would probably give anything to be at the camp reunion. So if you have the chance to get yourself there—whether it be by driving, carpooling or even biking—I highly suggest that you take it!

Natalie Behnke

As I write this blog, there are about 400,000 bikers (on motorcycles) joining the residents of Galveston Island (where I now live) for the Lone Star Rally this weekend.  As I have listened to bikes of all shapes and sizes drive by all day (and all night), I can’t help but think how they are really just coming here for their yearly reunion.  And, we are about to do the same thing ourselves when Woodland/TP campers and staff come together later this month for an afternoon with camp friends in the Chicago area.

I can only imagine that the excitement for the Lone Star Rally has been building up as the weeks and days drew closer in anticipation of meeting up with friends who haven’t seen each other for a period of time.  Bikers are gathering at their favorite restaurants to catch up on the events that have passed between visits, enjoying rides along the beach and other scenic routes, meeting new friends, and making plans for future opportunities to do what they love (ride motorcycles).  In many ways, this weekend is one giant family reunion.

Sound familiar?!  The excitement for meeting at Jeff and Jenny’s house on Saturday, November 22nd is starting to ramp up as campers and staff make plans to spend a few hours together at the annual reunion the weekend before Thanksgiving.  We even have a few die-hard camp friends among us who will be making the trip to Chicago from Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, and even Mexico City (Aranxta wins the award for coming the farthest distance this year!).  We are also excited to welcome any new campers who will be joining us in 2015.  Please feel free to bring along any friends from home who might want to learn more about the TWO BEST CAMPS AROUND!

The video from the summer will be shown, scrapbooks containing numerous camp photos will be passed around, stories from the past summer will be retold, school year events will be shared, and plans for next year will be made to DO WHAT WE LOVE AT CAMP (and of course, we will enjoy an assortment of yummy snacks!).  And, yes, this weekend will be one giant family reunion!

We can’t wait to see you on Saturday, November 22nd from 3:30-5:30!  Please RSVP to jstarcamp@aol.com to let us know you are coming.  p.s. Motorcycles welcome!