Camp Woodland Blog

by Becky Coady Langton

For those that remember the movies of the 80’s, there is a final scene in Breakfast Club where Jud Nelson reminisces on the day of detention he endured with the most untypical group of students from his high school. Over the process of the detention day, they break down their personal walls and expose who they truly are. Due to those brave acts, they walk away learning so much about each other and themselves. This classic film describes something very similar about my experiences as both a camper at Camp Woodland in ’88 and as a current parent of campers at both Woodland and Towering Pines.

I was a sophomore in high school in 1988. It was a year where I had begun to hang with the “wrong” crowd, and at 15 my parents decided to send me to camp in order to remove me from that environment. I was mortified to be “punished” by being sent to camp. What was I going to do without all my comforts of home and rowdy friends? My sister, Sarah, had gone to Woodland the summer of ’87, but she was ten that summer and in my 15-year-old mind was less connected to her life at home; therefore, she had nothing to lose.

Reluctantly, I began to accept I would be going. Shortly after the decision had been made, JoAnne assigned me a camp sister named Maureen. She had attended camp for several years and was going to be in my cabin – Aquarius (which in my mind was going to look like the song out of the musical Hair I’d seen at Great America my freshman year in high school). We wrote back and forth for a few months (we still have the letters), and I began to feel more connected to leaving my life and heading up to the Northwoods for the summer.

That summer turned out to be the most magical and personal growth oriented summer of my life. I learned how to shoot a rifle and an arrow, how to ski and sail (EN Forever!!), and I got to participate in the best CO-ED show ever! All of these activities I never would have experienced without getting out of my comfort zone just by saying YES.

Activities aside, the most impactful take away from that summer were the friendships. BEST friendships. Friends that I am still deeply connected to today, friends that know the real me and love me anyway. Friends that will tell me my butt looks bad in “those” jeans and friends that make me laugh so hard that I actually pee those same jeans. I just can’t imagine what my life would be like without these people. Camp for me was life changing…life lifting… and personal growth oriented. In no small part I believe I am the person I am today because of that love and caring I received all those summers ago.

Today my kids are at camp having those same experiences (for the 3rd year in a row – lucky ducks!). Syd and Sammy, you are both so fortunate to have the opportunity to do this earlier than I did. I can’t go back in time and attend camp any more years than I had, but you get to do all of what I did and more. I know the impact it’s had on my life, and I know your life will be enriched in a way that you’ll never know any differently. You are getting outside your comfort zones, learning personal communication skills, how to play well with others, how to be goofy and how to be caring and sincere. You’re eating yummy food, working hard at your activities, being a good friend, using your imaginations, setting goals, sleeping hard, and growing into the people that you’ll become. My hope is that one day you will send your kids and make it a 3-generation tradition.

In closing, I will say that each of my camp experiences aided in my gaining a deeper sense of who I was. I left camp that summer and made some different decisions on the friends I would hang with. I began to make better decisions which let to greater personal accomplishment and focus in school. I’m so thankful that my parents insisted I go to camp, my own Breakfast Club experience. It was the opposite of punishment, it was one of the greatest gifts of my life. It was the unexpected. The gloves are off, the emotions are flowing, my heart is open, and I am so deeply grateful for Camp Woodland and Towering Pines…here’s to another 50 years!

One of my favorite camp traditions is listening to the story that JoAnne reads each week at the end of campfire. The mood transitions from one of silliness and laughter to a more quiet and reflective tone. Girls get comfy in their spot around the fire as the red and orange flames give way to embers glowing yellow and white. A recent message from The Precious Present by Spencer Johnson encapsulates the essence of what camp is all about.

A young boy listens to an old man and learns about the best present of all, The Precious Present. Such a gift brings happiness forever to the receiver. Of course, the boy spends a lot of time searching for what could make him eternally happy and is frustrated as he grows into a man and is still unable to put his fingers on it. He becomes frightened that he will never figure out how to be happy.

Along the way he learns that:

• The Precious Present has nothing to do with wishing.
• When you have the Precious Present, you will be perfectly content to be where you are.
• The richness of the Precious Present comes from its own source.
• The Precious Present is not something that someone gives to you.
• It is something you give yourself.

I have been back at camp just a little over a week now, and what I love about my return to Woodland every summer is to see how much this community truly embraces living in the present. While JoAnne was reading the story, I observed a camper tilt back in her crazy creek and gaze up at the sky. How often do we slow down enough to notice that which is in front of us or around us every single day?

I am reminded to be more observant as Chet shares the latest moth spotting with me; he recently saw a fairly large one hanging with unusual coloring out at the Blue Barn. I retaliated by noticing a much smaller white moth on a chair next to our table in the lodge. During last week’s campfire, we saw an eagle soar overhead and heard the loons calling to one another across the lake. As the waxing moon passed through various stages to reach its optimal fullness this month, we were able to mark its growth and expansion as it left a trail of light on Sand Lake several nights in a row.

The campers are happy. They are exactly where they need to be at this moment in time. They are truly content where they are. Technology has been out of the picture for several weeks now, and it is absolutely fabulous to see girls enjoying a leisurely conversation at the dinner table or strolling to the next activity while chatting with a friend or stopping to notice a unique pinecone on the path.

There is an awareness that camp days are numbered now, and it won’t be long before we head back to home and school and the hustle and bustle of our lives outside of the Northwoods. Each moment is even more precious and to be savored for this is the season that so many wait all year to return to. Woodland is the place where so many girls find their happy. A summer at camp IS the Precious Present for the happiness it forever brings to the receiver.

The Present Is What It Is…It Is Precious. Even if I do not know why. It is already just the way it is supposed to be. When I see the present, and experience the present, I am well, and I am happy.

I can remember coming home from school in my youth and heading outside first thing after grabbing a snack. Many neighborhood kids would congregate at our house as we lived in the middle of the block. We played kickball in our side yard and wore paths between bases until there was no more grass (much to my Dad’s chagrin). The only way we knew it was time to come in for dinner was to listen for the bell that my Mom would ring from the front steps. Ghosts in the Graveyard was a popular night time game that usually took place across several connected yards. We would play for hours upon hours until our parents would drag us inside (kicking and screaming, no doubt!).

Being at Woodland reminds me of that same neighborhood feel I remember so well from being a kid. The cabins are nestled in the trees and create their own neighborhood as they are in close proximity to each other (more in a clump than a straight line). Each cabin is slightly different in design yet offers a similar inviting appearance with a porch, clothesline, cabin flag, and flowers on the stoop. There is a flurry of activity in this neighborhood multiple times a day when campers return “home” from a busy morning or afternoon of activities or following a meal.

I love hearing doors open and close as campers come in and out of the cabin to share the highlights of a fun-filled camp day with each other and their counselors. Girls will hang out on the porch or make their way to the tether ball areas for a friendly pick-up game. In the mornings and evening, the spigot is a gathering place for mixed ages to gather for communal toothbrushing and shaving parties. There are several camp-wide games that utilize the cabin area because of the ability to sneak up on the opposing team while playing tag or Cortation Fugation (a popular end-of-summer game).

I am reminded by my good friend, Jolly Corley, that this neighborhood that camp provides is something that has has long since disappeared from our communities.  While neighborhoods may no longer exist in very many towns or cities around the country, we both believe they can be found at camp.

Camp is place where children interact with children of all ages, and the person in charge very likely may not be over twenty-one years old; a place where children can still make up the rules to a game they’ve just invented; a place where play is valued. For these reasons, going to camp is more important for children now than it ever has been! 

(Woodland) creates a safe neighborhood for children to become independent and confident in their own abilities to control themselves and to contribute in a way they may not be able to do in their neighborhood at home.

At Woodland, the camper of the day rings the bell to bring campers back to the neighborhood community we have created in the Northwoods!

Click HERE to see Jolly’s full article found in Camping Magazine (published in January of 2014).

When we think of tests, we often think of being in school and the exams taken that mark the end of a chapter, unit, semester or year.  While we try not to compare camp to school, Woodland actually had two tests of its own this summer!  On Monday, Camp Woodland greeted 2 trained volunteers from the American Camp Association (ACA) for our accreditation visit that occurs every 5th year.  JoAnne and Lee gave our guests the grand tour of camp. They stopped to watch various activities in action, check out a few cabins, interview some campers and staff, and take a look at the kitchen and health center.  Following the tour, the visitors went through multiple notebook binders to verify that we have the necessary documentation to be in compliance with close to 300 health, safety, and program quality standards!  Whew!

One of the first signs you see when you come into camp!

Why do we seek accreditation? We’re glad you asked!  Camp Woodland and Towering Pines PROUDLY display the ACA-Accredited Camp sign as it has 50+ years of parent trust behind it.  Accreditation means that both camps have proof of accountability, credibility, and commitment to the best practices established by the camp industry.  Experts from many fields including the American Red Cross and The American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, are consulted to work with ACA to continually improve the camp standards program.  We are happy to report that Camp Woodland “PASSED” this big test again this year!  Towering Pines will be on the list of camps to be visited next summer. Marion Jordan (JoAnne, Susan, and Jeff’s grandfather) was instrumental in getting the ACA Accreditation program started back in the day!

Wearing a helmet, boots, and long pants is an example of one of the program standards for horseback riding.

For our second “test” this summer, the Oneida health department came for their annual review last week, and they made similar stops to ACA on their walk around camp.  The great thing is that because our staff are well-trained at the beginning of each summer and on an on-going basis, they handled any questions that were asked like pros and did a nice job telling the story of what we do and why.  Camp Woodland had another excellent report from the health department (are you surprised?!)!  It made for a busy week, and we are glad to get back to the more FUN part of our jobs (like driving the ski boat, prepping for canoe trips, reading a story at campfire, and spending quality time with your daughters)!

Now that the first 2 weeks are behind us, campers are more than ready to expand their horizons and take a deep dive into all the opportunities for fun and adventure at camp. Every day except Sundays, campers take activities that they can choose themselves. Today was especially delightful because it is the first day of the 2nd sign-up of activities.

Every other weekend at camp, campers choose their next round of six activities that they will take for 2 weeks. Some campers enjoy taking the same activities every time because they want to continue building their skills, they particularly enjoy being with those activity instructors, or they are just big fans of that activity. On the other hand, some campers choose new activities every rotation in order to try the most they can while at camp, since many of our activities are things that are often not available at home. Either way, campers practice decision-making and independence when they pick activities and challenge themselves to try new things.

At the waterfront, campers learn to swim, ski, knee or wakeboard, sail, windsurf, paddleboard, and canoe. They also can enjoy Rec Swim each afternoon and play on the water mats, take a try at log rolling, or catch a ride with a friend and tour around the lake on the Atom. 

Meanwhile on land, campers try their hand at archery, riflery, tennis, gymnastics, dance, drama, horseback riding, farm zoo, and arts & crafts. So hard to choose – each activity is a ton of fun!

No matter the activity, campers are able to take something away with them when they leave camp. Whether it is a freshly honed skill in knot tying (sailing), an experience on horseback they’ve never had before, or a new friend they made in arts and crafts, each camper heads home with more than they arrived with. The combination of immersion in nature, working with activity specialists, and daily opportunities to build both skills and relationships make activities at Woodland a unique learning experience.

Note: This blog post was inspired by Rockbrook Camp (NC).