Author: Lee Albrecht Biear

And when I wake up in July and feel a crisp, cool dry air (occasional, very occasional in Virginia), I think “Ooh!  This is a Gold Rush day.”

In reality, any kind of day is a good day for Gold Rush.  But crisp cool and dry is best – because in Gold Rush?  In Gold Rush you run.  With your hands held, for hours, so no one wants extra sweaty hands.  Extra sweaty hands means you might accidentally let go of a hand, and THEN….. well, then the sherriff is going to get you for not holding hands.  And then you might wind up in jail.  Then you might wind up having to hand over your clue money in order to buy your way out of jail.  Then you might have to leave behind an awesome pile of gold you just found, and another cabin’s going to know you left it behind, and get it.

Jamie K (alum) and her cabin found the gold in 2001!!

Looking back on Gold Rush, like Santa, there are many things I”m surprised I didn’t wonder about.  I knew the counselors and CITs put out all the rocks, but how did they manage to haul buckets of rocks all over camp?  (With very sore arms the next day, that’s how.)  And how did they hide the mother lode without ANYONE knowing? (Because JoAnne and/or Chet is a sneaky genius, that’s how.)  How come the clues were so darn difficult, until you got to the end, and then they were so darn obvious, yet you didn’t know it until you stumbled on the rock-of-all-rocks?  (Because JoAnne and/or Lee is a wicket clue-writer, that’s how.)   I did, however, understand why a CIT was a little trigger-happy with a water guy.  Who can blame them, really.

So get your pans, get your stakes, get your running shoes. And parents, when you wake up this morning, hope for a cool crisp dry day. Becuase rain or shine, it’s GOLD RUSH!

Ps. We will be tweeting the gold rush clues tomorrow on Twitter (Woodland handle is @Woodlandfun).  Follow us and follow the fun!

 Woodland Love,

Another touching letter from our Camp Woodland Alum, Courtney.  Even though Courtney can’t be with us this summer, she is a “lifer” for sure!………….

Dear John & Anne Jordan – 

Thank you. Thank you for creating and developing this place that so many have called home for so many years. Thank you for the friendships that have blossomed here at TP and Woodland. Thank you for everything from the sailboats and the horses all the way down to the friendship bracelet string in the Arts & Crafts room. 

This past weekend was a great reminder and show of just a small portion of the few whose hearts have been touched by Towering Pines and Woodland and who hold these memories close to their hearts. It was a weekend filled to the brink with fun and friends, nostalgia for the past summers we spent together, and excitement for the summers that are to come for the campers who may not yet know what’s ahead – the lucky ones! 

Thank you for everything – I am where I am today because of the influence of camp early on in my life – but that’s a story for another time. 

This place is special and I hope it never changes. 
Love, 
Courtney

Last summer we celebrated our 70^th summer of Jordan Camping Traditions – 70 years of starting Towering Pines Camp for Boys and 46 years of owning Camp Woodland for Girls. Alumni from all over the world rallied and embarked on a journey back to camp (even if it was for just one weekend!). The journey was partly an emotional one, as they were able to re-live why they love Camp Woodland so much. They also saw the magic in the making on how camp shaped them be the successful people they are today! After their weekend of tubing, sailing, horseback riding, and cookout, we asked them a question, “If you could write a note to Mr. and Mrs. Jordan, what would you tell them?”. Over the summer we will share these heart felt letters. Here is the first……..

Dear Commander Anne,

Do you remember when Michelle Behnke and I affectionately coined that nickname? We loved you then and still do!

I am indebted to you for helping me become the woman I am today. If it weren’t for Woodland, I don’t believe I would have the self-confidence to try new things and to persevere when things are difficult.

I missed you at the reunion. You would have been so pleased to see so many of us recalling our greatest memories of our summers at Woodland. It was amazing that 30 years later, we could pick up where we left off.

You must be proud of your children. They are carrying on the traditions that make Woodland and TP great. Your legacy continues and it makes us all happy.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Love, Mary Thuma

I love summer camp themes. There I said it! My name is Lee and I love summer camp themes. I still remember the first camp I went to (so sadly not Woodland) and the theme was “Feeling Great in ’88!” They weren’t wrong, I felt great as a camper in 1988. I was ready to start out on an adventure and accomplish HUGE things. For example, I was going to be the confident girl (very shy at school) and the best at swimming (known for the belly flop at the local pool). Yes, I had lofty goals but I remember feeling GREAT trying to do all those things, and all the counselors trying so hard to teach me to dive off the swimming platform.

My personal favorite Summer Theme

This is why I love Summer Camp Themes – you get to imagine all the possibilities! Whether you Dare To Explore, All We Can Be, or Everything Clicks, this summer is all about testing your own potential and fulfilling goals. By the way, we are really really good at that at Camp Woodland for Girls. The coolest thing is that you may find you are not just learning new skills, but being the best person you can be. Therefore, this summer we want to celebrate your amazing achievements. When you return home at the end of camp, we want you to be excited and confident on how “Everything clicked 1-6”.

Last year’s summer theme “Where I Thrive in 1-5!”

P.S. There are all kinds of fun ways to check in what is happening at camp right now!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Photo Galler
• Twitter

Keep reading, this is still the Camp Woodland Blog.   I had a great opportunity to attend the 2016 American Camp Association Midstates Conference in Illinois. It is an annual training opportunity for over 700 camp professionals from various midwest states to learn and keep making camp experiences great for campers, staff, alumni, and parents! It is an energizing weekend where I could learn and immediately add techniques and activities to my toolbox: from a new simple camp game to learning new techniques to build engaging staff training activities.

Susan, Joanne, and myself having a little fun before learning new things 🙂

I also got to be “Michael Brandweined”. Ah, yes, I totally pulled a Calvin Hobbs and verbed a person’s name. But I believe Michael has earned the right to be verbed. Michael Brandwein is an internationally recognized expert on management, communication, leadership, team-building, and customer service. Anyone who produced and performed with Jim Henson’s Muppets has got my attention!

But I digress from my story……Michael was one of the Keynote speakers of the conference, and he talked about the vision of camp and our professional responsibility to camp. He first had us fill in the blanks:

We teach skills for life in a safe, fun, loving place!

Simple but deep statement and then followed up by getting the whole audience to repeat after him:

“We are the in the business of Construction and we build great kids!”

I heard it the first time and thought yup, that is exactly right, Camp Woodland is in the business of Construction, and we definitely specialize in building great kids. Then we (the audience of 700 camp professionals) were asked again, what is our business and the response got louder, “We are in the business of construction and we build great kids!!” I was now in a room with fully engaged directors and staff who are in the business of construction. There is nothing better than being in a room of 700 energized camp representatives!

The lightbulb was now blinking in my brain – Michael you have my attention, but how do we build great kids? Then there it was, as if Michael and I were having a one on one conversation, he took his vision to the next level. (Ps. this is what he is internationally known for).

Michael continued, we build great kids by developing a nurturing, positive environment for them to learn in. I am paraphrasing of course because Michael is a genius at articulating a big vision, and I am still learning this technique. So instead I will give you the example that he used of an adult/counselor reacting to a child/camper using his vision in the following themes:

• Problem solving: “We’ve got a problem, this is a good one! How can we solve this? What our options??”
• Team Work: “Let’s try to do this together”
• Persistence: “Let’s try again. This is a hard one!”
• The Mantra: “We can do hard things”

Wow! As I am writing this down, I am thinking, I am going to try this as a parenting technique too. Sure enough, instead of accusing my children or negatively anchoring on the problem of spilling milk or not sharing or not listening (we have all been there), I changed my tone and redirected. The outcome was miraculous!

Maddie (frustrated 4 year old): I spilled my milk – everywhere!

Me (in a happier tone): Oops! We have got a problem, this is a good one! How can we solve this? What our options??”

Maddie: Well Mommy, I think I can clean it up but I can’t reach the paper towels.

Me: Let’s try to do this together. I will get you the paper towel if you wipe the milk

Maddie: Thank you for helping me. I really didn’t mean to spill my milk

Me: We can do hard things Maddie girl!

Micheal ended his presentation with this statement, “What they “see” is how they will “be”. It’s true, children of any age want to emulate what they see in their life. They are demanding tools to learn to be “grownups”. So by training our counselors to focus on a solution instead of the problem, they can provide campers the tools to be caring, do hard things and be great grownups!

Camp Woodland is proud to be in the business of construction!

Parents, I am so glad we are partnering with you in the business of Construction and specializing in building great kids! Our goal as camp professionals is to build a positive, nurturing environment where we teach skills for life in a safe, fun, loving place!

I am truly greatful to be part of the team Where Everything Clicks in 1-6!

Me and my family!