Dear Campers, Parents, Alums & Friends,
There has been some craziness going on out there! Up at camp, it has been snowing a lot, and our caretaker, GREG FUS, has ventured out to take some great photos for us. It is truly the frozen tundra up there, but that’s really good news! The more snow we have now, the
We continue to fill our few remaining spots in the 2nd session, and we are so pumped about the enthusiasm you’ve shown for camp! It’s going to be an epic summer for sure! Welcome back to the following “old-timers” who re-enrolled last month: SPENCER COUDAL, JACOB KLINE, and AIDAN YERKES of Chicago, IL; MAX GOOTTER of Tucson, AZ; ADAM CORTES-FERRIE of Deerfield, IL; NOAH FREEMAN and RYAN GARLAND of St. Louis, MO; and ETHAN GLASBERG and SPENCER LITOW of Glencoe, IL.
And welcome aboard to the following new campers who will join us this summer: JONAH GERSTEIN of Evanston, IL; WILL CRAIG of St. Louis, MO; and LEO SCLAMBERG of Highland Park, IL.
YO PARENTS: It’s March, which means we have lots of stuff to tell you about. Why? Because it’s time to start getting serious about things like medical forms, the packing list, and other goodies like that. So, let’s start with some news regarding the Packing List.
The packing list is online, and you can view or download it from your Parent Keylog Page. NEW THIS YEAR: Flip flops are no longer acceptable footwear for outside the cabin. We have experienced way too many toe and foot injuries during the summer, which sideline kids from camp activities, and which are entirely avoidable. Flip flops are fine for the shower, but they cannot be worn outside the cabin at any time. Sandals that have a back strap (i.e. Tevas, Chacos) can be worn outside of the cabin. However, at the end of the afternoon free period, everyone will be required to have closed-toe shoes to wear to Flagpole, dinner, and the rest of the evening. We are certain this will cut down on these injuries immediately and substantially. That’s the big news.
MEDICAL FORMS: As we told you in our last newsletter, we have partnered with CampDoc.com to handle all of our medical forms. Many of you have already completed your forms, which is great. If you’re unsure of what forms you have not yet completed, you can login to CampDoc.com with the login info they sent you and check the status of your forms. We will also track your forms on your Parent Keylog Page for you, but our medical forms tracking is not as up-to-date on your Keylog Page as it will be on the CampDoc.com page. Beginning this month, we will periodically send you an email that lists which forms we have and have not received from you. If you have any questions along the way, please let us know.
OTHER FORMS & INFORMATION: Isn’t this fun? On your Parent Keylog page, there are a few other forms you will need to fill out and 
send to us, and some important information for you as well. This includes:
*Camper Information Form - Good stuff for us to know about your son to help us get ready for him. Also your 2nd (and last) opportunity to make cabin mate requests. THIS FORM IS NOT REQUIRED FOR CITs.
*Visting Weekend RSPV - If you have a full season camper(s), or CIT, and you plan to join us for our Visiting Weekend, please let us know as soon as you can by filling out this form and submitting it.
*Order Timberwear Online - A link to the Cloz website where you can buy most everything your son will need, as well as camp logo'd items. If you’d like your son to have his clothing and gear in time for camp, PLEASE PLACE YOUR ORDER BY MAY 1ST!
*Activity/Trip List - A 2 page PDF file for you to read or print out and discuss with your son. Get the ball rolling on activities and trips your camper may be interested in. Remember, there are no activity sign ups until the kids arrive at camp.
TRANSPORTATION TO & FROM CAMP: Your Parent Keylog page has this information for you pertaining to your son’s travel:
*Travel Form - This is an online form to confirm with us your son's method of traveling to and from camp. Please submit this to us no later than May 15th. Please also remember our policy regarding changes in bus travel, "Withdrawal from bus travel within 1 week of travel days will still incur full bus fares. Additions to bus travel within 2 weeks of travel days cannot be guaranteed a seat on the bus."
*Info for Campers Flying to Camp – This takes you right to the Sojourn Travel website where you can see all the information regarding flights, Unaccompanied Minor arrangements, baggage concerns, etc. IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY BOOKED YOUR SON’S FLIGHTS TO CAMP, YOU ARE BEHIND SCHEDULE! The later it gets, the higher the fares will be. You can make your booking via the website or by calling our travel agent, Barney, directly at (866) 880-2353.
CIT TRAVEL – We have been in touch with many CIT parents already about this. We have a special email for you pertaining to CIT travel to and from camp that will come your way early this month.
GENERAL POLICY INFO: More fun stuff for you to read about on your Parent Keylog page.
*Unplugged Policy – We are again allowing campers to bring their video-capable iPods to camp. This does not include iPads or iPhones (or any type of tablet computer or phone). Upon their arrival, we will ask for the iPods (in a required sort of way), and we will disable all functions on the iPods except for music with our own locking code. When the boys leave camp to go home, we will give them the code to unlock the iPod and enable the other functions. This way they can keep their iPods, have their music in the cabins, and we’re still pretty darned unplugged. No videos, no apps, no Internet, just music and happy children! WE DO NOT ALLOW E-READERS.
*Packages Policy – Unchanged this year. You can only send reading material like books and magazines. Unplugged ones!
YO OLD GUYS: If you will complete 7th grade or older this summer, you may be eligible for one or more of our "Big Trips" this summer.
You've certainly heard older campers talk about these trips a lot during prior summers, so you know how special they are. Next month we'll send you a letter that will note what trips you have already completed, and what trips you are eligible for. Have a look, and if you'd like to pre-register for a big trip that you are (or soon can be) eligible for, you can do that from our website. The link for that is here.
Quick news about the Quetico! We have booked our permits for all of the trips, including the Quetico (a.k.a. The Canadian). The rules for gaining access to the Canadian back country have changed this year, and we will need to request Remote Area Border Crossing (RABC) permits for all participants this year, not just the trip leaders. This means that we will ask those of you who are eligible for this trip to try and decide before camp starts if you want to go. If so, we’ll have a little paper work for your parents to sign, and we’ll need a photo copy of your passport that we can include in your RABC application. It’s a little more complicated, but it is just so worth it! Please call or email us if you want to talk about this or any other trips for this summer.
We also want to remind you this one last time that if you will complete 8th grade or older this summer, you are a candidate to be a Big Brother for a new camper. As we noted last month, if you would prefer NOT to be a Big Brother, that's fine, but you need to let us know by March 15th. We will begin making Big Brother/Little Brother assignments after that, so we can send those assignments out in early April. Thanks very much.
YO STAFF: You guys can now complete your Staff Health History forms online! You’ll still need your immunization history from your doctor, but the form is online and accessed from your Staff Keylog page. We need this by May 15th, please.
We also want to remind you of the training opportunities available to you this summer. These include Lifeguard Training certification, as well as recertification courses to renew your LGT and/or First Aid and/or CPR for the Professional Rescuer. Remember, your LGT certification is NOT VALID unless your CPR Pro is current. CPR Pro must be renewed every year or 2 years, depending on when you last completed it. How do you sign up? Log in to your Staff Keylog Page, and click the "Extra Training" link. And what does it cost? Not a single penny! Please do this as soon as you know you can make those training dates.
We are winding down our staffing for the summer, and we’re so pleased with the great return of folks from last summer(s). Say hi to the following returning staff members:
| SEBASTIAN ACUÑA | Making the long trip up from Bogota, Colombia, 25 year-old Sebastian is a Trip Leader and Trip Director for the Off Bound Adventures Company where he takes kids on wilderness trips around Colombia. He will be returning for his second summer as one of our wilderness trip leaders. |
 MHAIRI BALD | Returning for her second summer, 22 year-old Mhairi lives in the United Kingdom where she is trying to start her own business. As Mhairi explains, “After an amazing summer of camp and travelling the length and breadth of America, I'm looking forward to coming back for my second year at at Timberlane before starting my Master’s degree.” This summer Mhairi will be working as one of our babysitters. |
 JOSH BOLING | 25 year-old Josh is originally from Georgia but is currently living in Utah with a group of former trip leaders where he works at Park City Ski resort (quite a life!). We’re thrilled to welcome back Josh for his 4th summer as one of our wilderness trip leaders. |
 NORM DUDEK | Norm!! Back for his 3rd summer, living in nearby Lac du Flambeau, Norm will once again be joining us as our expert driver, dropping off and picking up our hearty trippers all across the Midwest. Norm drives school buses for the local district up north. |
 DAVID LANGEBARTEL | After a summer’s absence, we’re so happy to have 19 year-old David be part of the camp community once more for his 6th summer at camp! He is currently a freshman at the University of Arizona. Building on his experience as a CIT and Junior Counselor, David is looking forward to being a cabin counselor and assisting our Rock Climbing, Mountain Biking, and Waterskiing program. |
 BRIDGET MASUR | Returning for her 2nd summer, Bridget is excited to be a Trip Leader for this summer. Bridget is from Indianapolis, IN and studies Outdoor Recreation as a Sophomore at Indiana University in Bloomington with many of our other Trip Leaders. She will be 20 years old this summer. |
 JOVAN MCGEE | Back for, drum-roll please, SUMMER NUMBER 10, Jovan McGee will be returning to camp as one of our cabin counselors and the director of our Tennis and Gymnastics program. Originally from Minnesota, Jovan is 30 years old and lives in Parkland, FL where he is an elementary school teacher. |
 RICH MCGOWAN | Back for summer number 17, Rich McGowan will once again be our incredible waterfront director. Rich currently lives in the Chicagoland area where he works as a cinematographer. He did an amazing job down at the waterfront last year and we look forward to his continued success down there. Rich is 40 years old. |
 CALLIE SIMMONS | Returning to us again is 19 year-old Callie Simmons. Callie currently lives in Oregon where she is a university student and is really looking forward to joining us for her 2nd summer where she will again be contributing as part of our kitchen staff. |
 EMMA SMITH | 19 year-old Emma is looking forward to return to camp. She is currently a student at the University of Dundee in Scotland where she studies Environmental Interior Design. For her 2nd summer Emma will be joining us once again as part of our kitchen staff. |
 JAMES WOOD | He’s back! After a summer’s absence spent volunteering for the summer Olympics (an acceptable excuse…we guess), 22 year-old James Wood will be returning for his 3rd summer at camp. James lives in the UK where he runs a trampoline club, works in a gymnastics club, and coaches primary school sports lessons. This summer James will be a cabin counselor and will be assisting our Gymnastics, Archery, Waterskiing, Mountain Biking, Cardio, and Weights program. |
And join us in welcoming these new folks who will be with us this summer:
 MICKI ABRAHAMSON | Currently from Eden Prairie, MN, 24 year-old Micki is looking forward to his first summer at camp. Micki is a true man of the world, having spent the past year working various jobs throughout Spain, Portugal, and Sweden. He happens to speak Swedish but we’ll see if he can pick up some Northwoods-ese this summer. This summer, Micki will be working as one of our kitchen staff members. |
 ASHLEIGH BROWN | Hailing from Manchester in the United Kingdom, 21 year-old Ashleigh is a studying to become a Primary School teacher for children with special education needs. She has taught several arts courses through her training and is thrilled to join us this summer as our Arts and Crafts director. |
 CHRIS PEDERSEN | A freshman at the University of Michigan (note from Michael Breen: Go Blue!), Chris is an 19 year-old originally from Marblehead, MA. Chris is currently pre-business and has led multi-week high adventure trips for his Boy Scout troop. After spending the past two summers as a counselor at the North Shore YMCA’s summer camp, we’re excited to have Chris join us this summer as one of our Trip Leaders. |
 TYLER RAY | Tyler is a 21 year old Junior from Indianapolis who is studying Outdoor Recreation at Indiana University in Bloomington. Tyler has various experience participating and leading trips and is looking forward to joining us as one of our Trip Leaders. He also attends many classes with fellow trip leaders Bridget Masur, Sean Slattery, Emily Jones, Sam Gilbert, and Chris Sajdak. |
 LEE SNELLING | Lee is an 18 year-old from Stansted in the United Kingdom. He currently works at a children’s activities center where he teaches different challenge and ropes course programs. He is also a skilled fire juggler (don’t worry parents, that won’t be an activity at camp)! This summer Lee will be a cabin counselor and help out with our Rock Climbing, Archery, and Ropes Course programs. |
 CARIEL WYNHOFF | Having just moved to Wisconsin after several years living in Portland, Oregon, we’re thrilled to welcome Cariel Wynhoff and her husband Corey (see below) to camp for her first summer. Cariel has worked as a chef at restaurants and catering companies in Portland, and she also worked at a Gluten-Free grocery store and bakery. She will be our Assistant Cook this summer. She and Corey recently acquired some property up near Eagle River, and they plan to build a home and live there. |
 COREY WYNHOFF | Corey also comes to us from Portland, Oregon, though he is a Wisconsin native. He has worked in various restaurants and large catering operations, including cooking at an outpost on Mt. Rainier, managing food service at Yellowstone National Park, and most recently managing banquet operations at the Rose Garden, home to the Portland Trailblazers. This summer Corey will be our Lead Cook. As mentioned above, he and Cariel have started to build on their property in Eagle River. They are starting with a platform tent that they’ll live in as they build their home on the property. |
Here in Tucson, AIDAN MEASE has been playing basketball. BRYAN EASLEY has a cool school laptop that he gets to take home and use. He’s been riding his bike and doing some archery. SAM ALBERTS is busy with baseball and basketball. SPENCER LEWIS is playing on a basketball team that travels all over the place. By the end of this month, he’ll have played in tournaments in Portland, OR, Tampa, FL, Salt Lake City, UT, and Orlando, FL. ADAM POGER traveled from St. Louis to Chicago last month for a hockey tournament, and was surprised one morning at breakfast by MICHAEL BREEN. In the Chicago area, Bar Mitzvah congrats to ADAM RUBIN who celebrates this month! ALEX PECK is playing guitar at the School of Rock, and he played a Led Zeppelin show and is soon playing a Beatles show. Long live classic rock! JACOB ROSENSTEIN’s volleyball team placed 13th in a national volleyball tournament. He’s got his learner’s permit, and he’s taking a stand-up comedy class at Second City. Jacob recently had a night on the town (or at least the bowling alley) with RYAN COHEN, ARI LACKNER, and ZACK SCHREIER. JOSH SPAETH went to Israel last month, and in May he’ll pay a visit to Dallas where he plans to hang out with BEN SCHACHTER and ZACH RUDNER. DILLON GROSS broke his wrist playing tennis, but he’ll be good for high school tennis season coming up. While we’re at it, in Los Angeles, GABRIEL ADLER broke his wrist snowboarding. He had a great season as his basketball team’s starting center and rebounding machine. And let’s just keep at it…in New Orleans, ARI BERK broke his finger at recess. He and his brother SETH BERK escaped Mardi Gras and spent a few days soaking up the sun in Florida.
In Phoenix, ROSS KRULISKY finished high school soccer season, and lit his hands on fire in Chemistry class. In Tucson, DAVID ARTZI has joined the U of A weight lifting club, and got to meet Derrick Williams last month. MAX WEINTRAUB is walking much better after his knee surgery, and has been having a great time doing physical therapy. We have some world travelers out there…RYAN ELIAS has been all over the planet with his brother, “old-timer” ADAM ELIAS. Most recently, they were in New Zealand where they spent some time with “old-timers” NICK ALPE, CHRIS PEAT, JEMS TODD, and LOGAN FUNNELL. They then trekked over to Vietnam and Cambodia. Amazing! JERMEY SUTTON is taking university classes and playing baseball in Australia, and he also did a little traveling in New Zealand. Out in Utah, GRACE MC GOWAN is working at the Park City Ski School, at a restaurant and bakery in Salt Lake City, and soon will begin classes at chef school. JOEY PAWLAN is in school in Tampa, FL, and also works as an assistant biologist at the Florida Aquarium helping with the care of the animals.
THE JUICE
A special section from Michael Breen
FULL RETRACTION: Ok, I blew it. So, in my last Juice I erroneously stated that Scott Wolf won the all-camp Tush game last year. Within an hour of the Timberlife going live, Aaron Glazer (aka the Keeper of Timberlane Facts) made it clear that Dan Newman won last summer and that Scott Wolf won in 2011. My apologies to Dan!
Now, the fact that I could not remember who won all-camp tush this past summer is actually kind of disconcerting. I think it is the first sign that I am developing Selective Timberlane Memory (STM®). After 17 summers of camp, 510 karaoke night skits, 136 UN/Pow Wow team names, 17 leg wrestling champions, 17 all-camp tush victors (including 2012’s DAN NEWMAN!), and 136 Capture the Flag generals, all the facts just kind of seem to run together. For a million dollars I could not tell you who the vice-president of the Timberbats was in 2003 (Aaron…a little help?).
I wise man named Rick Jones once used an analogy to describe going to camp for multiple summers: it’s like being in an ice cream shop. Each summer is its own flavor of ice cream with its own unique combination of ingredients. So, while I can still tell you all about how much I love to eat ice cream, sometimes I just can’t tell you the difference between 1997’s mint chocolate chip and 2008’s mint chocolate chunk.
I didn’t used to be this way; up until about summer 15 I could remember every minute detail. As my STM® becomes worse with each passing summer, I think it is time to find someone new to carry the intimate knowledge of the details of camp. I’m ready to crown a new Monarch of Memory, a Knight of Nostalgia, a Rajah of Recall, a Tsar of Tsubconsciousness. We need a new Camp Timberlane Memory Champ!
So, in lieu of sharing memories from this past summer, this month we will instead have a little contest to find a new Camp Timberlane Memory Champ. Below you will find several questions to test your knowledge of all things Timberlane. If you want to participate, please read over the questions and email your answers to camp.associate.director@gmail.com. I will be announcing the winner next month and look forward to a new reigning champion!
TIMBERTRIVIA QUESTIONS
1. What country were the following staff members from:
a. Justin Lowry
b. Sarahjane Tierney
c. Jakob Scharnagl
d. Tom Murdoch
e. Jake Kleckner
2. Who was the Intermediate Village Director in 2010?
3. What is the name of the cabin where the kitchen staff lives?
4. Who won Pow Wow day in 2007?
5. True or False: There was another owner/director of Camp Timberlane in between Harold Hiken and Mike Cohen?
6. Where did the Arts and Crafts program used to be located?
7. True or False: We used to serve ribs for dinner at camp?
8. Name the sibling of the following counselors:
a. Cameron Cavalier
b. Joey Rodin
c. Ryan Elias (his older brother)
d. Ben Levey
e. Jordan Taylor
f. Colby Sharlin
g. Joey Marks
9. Name two counselors who celebrated their 10-year in 2011?
10. Name the UN or Pow Wow teams that the following staff member led:
a. Max Weintraub
b. Matt Rodin
c. Kathy Leverton
d. Ryan Cohen
e. Jovan McGee
f. Eric Brown
11. How many words are in the song Piccolomini?
12. Name any horse that used to be at camp
13. Where did the Infirmary used to be located?
14. EXTRA HARD: What was the Chippewa Ranch Camp play in 2008?
15. EXTRA HARD: Name any UN or Pow Wow Day team from 1996
-Michael Breen
BRAVO TO OUR MARCH BIRTHDAY BOYS & GIRLS! Alexander Echt - 3/1/1999, Brett Miller - 3/1/2004, Wil Craig - 3/2/2001, Dillon Berlin - 3/4/2002, Alex Wise - 3/7/1998, Jordan Castleman - 3/8/2000, Ben Sollinger - 3/11/2001, Jonah Gerstein - 3/12/2004, Harris Lerner - 3/14/1999, Spencer Coplan - 3/15/2002, Jonathan Bloom - 3/20/1999, Sam Jaffe - 3/20/1999, Cassie Schwarzhans - 3/21/1993, Brian Strain - 3/22/1981, Sean Slattery - 3/26/1993, Matt Rodin - 3/27/1992, Joe Berns - 3/28/2001, Brandon Cramin - 3/28/1996, Aaron Berkowitz - 3/29/1996, Michael Bloom - 3/29/1996, Adam Rubin - 3/29/2000, Zach Coplan - 3/31/2000.
That wraps up another exciting newsletter. Camp is shaping up so incredibly well! We can’t wait to get up there and get started!! Thanks, everyone. Please keep those newsbits coming our way, and we’ll write to you again next month.
Benches up,
