Good evening everybody! Jason here – I’ve given Woody the night out. As is tradition, I’d like to apologize for not providing the smooth, elegant English prose that you are used to from our esteemed Assistant Director. I will do the best I can.
We had a spectacular day here at the Friendly Confines. I don’t even know where to begin…so I’ll start with the morning. Yesterday, the hygienic men of Cabin 7 won cabin cleanup with a score of 97 so they got the pick the wake-up song, an incentive that is proving to be useful. They chose a song I’ve never heard of by an artist I can’t remember, but he camp seemed to enjoy it. After that we had a productive morning of Big Ten instructional activities. The clear blue sky and bright sun of the Northwoods provided the perfect setting as our boys worked to improve our tennis strokes, sharpshooting abilities, get up on waterskis and much more. We even had a camper slalom for his first time today. Menominee Firsts are a big deal to us. As the summer roles on, we will be giving trophies and prizes out to any of our boys who can accomplish something for the first time at camp. Getting up on skis is one of our most popular Menominee Firsts every year.
After refueling at lunch and recharging during rest period, the camp eagerly filed into Wasserman Hall to discuss the afternoon’s activities. Here we introduced our brand new Leagues format we are calling King of the Camp…the chase for the Goblet! Each camper was assigned to one of four teams: Oneida County Thunderbirds (Orange), Eagle River Knights (Purple), St. Germain Dragons (Yellow), and Rhinelander Phoenix (Red). Over the course of the session the teams will compete in sports and activities such as Basketball, Football, Tennis, Hockey, Soccer, Volleyball, Climbing, Archery, Rifelry, Waterfront and tons more. We will keep points and standings throughout the next four weeks and at the end, we will have a champion who can claim the Goblet. One of the things we promise to each camper is the freedom of choice. This has not changed under the new format. Campers still get to decide what activities they participate in, we just make sure each team is represented at each activity.
After we introduced the teams and gave each time to meet with their General Managers, the boys went out to the first round of King of the Camp. We had a nice long general to wrap up the afternoon, enjoyed some Twilight League softball in the evening, took our showers, got our canteens, and wrapped up the evening with one of our favorite skit nights: Commercial Night. Each cabin performed their own commercial for a Camp Menominee product on the stage in Wass Hall, with the top 3 walking away with free canteens. We definitely have some performers with us this summer!
I’ll share one final thought with you this evening: I am so lucky to have this group of campers at CM right now. In 3 days I have met boys who have unique talents, hilarious personalities, the desire to learn and make new friends. We have a staff of counselors who know the Menominee Way and are eager lead the boys down the right path. I hope the counselors realize that they have as much to learn from the boys as the boys do from them. This group will do amazing things this week, this session and in their lives.
Every time I post The Word I remember how grateful I am to have Woody doing this every evening. That is all for now. All is well at camp. Safely rest.
For the Love of Camp – Jason
