Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alums & Friends,
Okay…it’s June. Let’s get this summer started!! There is just no place like the Northwoods. The people up here are so friendly (and so grateful for the arrival of summer), and the natural beauty up here is incomparable. We have been up at camp for just over 3 weeks, and weather-wise, we’ve already seen it all. The day we arrived it was sunny and mild, and it felt like early summer. Just 2 days later, we got a day-long snow flurry! Nothing accumulated, but the ground and the cabin roofs all had a brief dusting of white. It remained pretty cold for nearly a week, and then it warmed up nicely. Within a week it was in the mid-80s, and we were toasty! And in between those valleys and 
peaks, we had some splendid mild Northwoods days. These past few days we have seen SO MUCH HEAVY DEW! As I’m writing this I can look out my office window and see a small river running right through the Central Area. That’s actually good news for this time of year…it’s great for the lake (which is higher than it has been in 25 years!), and the warm rain brings the lake temperature up quickly. The fields are green, the trees are getting full, and our lush forest is on full display. Is that a nice picture for you to think about for the next few weeks?
We’ve got a small, hard-working, and very fun crew up here, and we’re getting a lot done. We are washing cabins, painting floors and buildings, working on several activity areas, cutting grass, and much more. Most of our big-scale projects are nearing completion, though some will be right down to the wire of getting finished before y’all get up here. No worries…that’s the way it usually is. Wait till you see the new basketball courts! At the moment, we have a huge slab of asphalt. Soon (we hope) they will be coated and striped and ready for play. There are new lights over one of the courts, so later in the summer they may come into use a bit here and there. We have 2 new and larger sailboats, and we are in the latter stages of completely revamping that program. We will dock the new boats all summer on Big Arbor Vitae Lake (less than 10 minutes from camp), which will speed up the process of getting right onto the water and enjoying some exciting windy days out there. And…our brand new air-powered rifles are here and with new sights, they’re ready for you marksmen to show us your stuff. Everywhere you look, it’s just one exciting thing after another going on up here. We’re not ready yet, but we truly can’t wait to start the camping season!
 First session, as you are well aware, has been full for months, and some age groups have waiting lists. There is still room in most of our 2nd session age groups, so if you are still unsure about joining us, maybe sticking around after first session for another session of great fun and friendship, or maybe you know someone still considering camp for their son, we’d love to talk with you. Say hello to first-year campers ALEX AMINI of Los Angeles, CA and ERIC ROBERTS of Highland Park, IL who are joining us this summer! |
It’s June, folks. The paper work train should have arrived in the station already. Most of you have got everything in, and we want you to know how much we appreciate that. There is SO much preparation going on for the arrival of the kids, and having that info that you provide to us and to our medical records company, CampDoc, makes it possible for us to get completely ready. There are some of you (you know 
who you are!) who are a bit behind. Please make sure to contact us if you have any questions or are having difficulty completing the medical forms or the Camper Profile form on our website.
And, as much as we hate to mention it, all accounts are to be paid in full at this point unless a different arrangement has been made with us. We will remind you if you are past due, but we expect you to check your Keylog account and know what the status of your son’s account is, and if there is an amount due, we’d appreciate it if you would take care of it right away. Again, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
SPECIAL NOTES ABOUT TRAVEL:
IF YOUR CAMPER IS FLYING: With all the recent delays in the security lines at the airports, we urge you to PLEASE get to the airport in plenty of time for your son’s flight to Minneapolis. We know some of those flights are early, and we’re sorry to ask you, but missing a flight poses an enormous problem that could also be very expensive.
CHICAGO AREA CAMPERS: There is road construction along Deerfield Rd that may impact traffic getting to the Toys ‘R’ Us parking lot for the bus and truck pick up. Please give yourselves plenty of time in case there is a traffic delay. Thanks.
If your son is a full season or first session camper, we have sent you (via US Mail…old school!) the information you need to get your son to the pick-up for camp. Travel day is Monday, June 20th, and it is critically important that you know where to be and when so we can get everyone on their way smoothly. We have also mailed you some baggage tags. If your son is flying en route to camp, then we’ve provided you with 2 paper bag tags and 2 vinyl bag tags. Please put one of each on each of his duffel bags. If he is riding the bus from Chicago or Milwaukee, we’ve sent you 2 paper baggage tags…please place of one each on each of his bags.
“Will someone call us when our camper gets to camp?” Well….no. We know that would be reassuring, but with the number of kids we have arriving, it would take forever. We will send out a tweet when everyone has arrived. Clearly if we have any issues with travel that concern your son, we’ll be in touch with you immediately. Likewise, if you encounter any issues with his travel, we need you to call us right away. Our phone number (is on the front of our website and on everything we send you) is 715-356-6022. No matter where you may be flying, air travel has become a huge hassle these days. We promise you it is worth it, and we will handle everything once your son arrives at his gate at the Minneapolis airport. So please take a deep breath, stock up on patience, and it’ll all work out well.
| A FEW MORE IMPORTANT REMINDERS: Please....DO NOT SEND MATTRESS PADS SUCH AS “EGG CRATES” TO CAMP! Folks, we mean it. They’re totally unnecessary. Our mattresses are not the “typical” 4” cot-style mattresses you think about when you think camp. No, no. Ours are 8” mattresses with springs! They’re super comfy. When kids have the mattress covers, most of the times their bottom sheets won’t fit over the cover and the mattress. So what happens? When they lie down or put any weight on the bed, everything releases from around the mattress and bundles up in the center of the bed. Not pretty, and also not comfy. And guess what happens when camp is over? Those non-bio-degradable petroleum-based foamy, yucky things end up in our garbage cans and ultimately in the land-fill. No more. Don’t buy them, don’t send them, we will NOT permit the boys to use them, and we will ship them back to you at your expense. Thanks. Electronics? Not much use for them up here. As stated on our "Unplugged Policy" document on your Keylog page, we do not permit the boys to have phones or Internet/Wi-Fi devices of any type. If they wish to bring a music device, it must not be capable of playing games or videos. In essence, if it has a screen, it probably will not pass the tech smell test for camp. Inexpensive MP3 devices are sold at Best Buy and Wal-Mart. Music devices are for use in the cabins only. |
This will be the last of our monthly “Timberlife!” newsletters that we publish until September. Beginning very soon after the boys arrive, we will write a twice-weekly report we call the “Directors’ Journal”. We’ll send you an email when the first of those is online and ready for you. At about the same time, if you have a camper with us, you’ll get a notice to check your Keylog page, and you will be able to see a photo of your camper’s cabin group, a list of all of the boys in the cabin, and some biographical information about each of the counselors in the cabin. And, as important things come up (such as getting ready for the trip back home…which comes up faster than any of us would like), we’ll email you with that information. So, EMAIL IS IMPORTANT WHILE YOUR CAMPER IS AT CAMP!! Please be sure to check it from time to time.
And finally, if you ever want or need to call camp, please feel free to do so. Our phone number is 715-356-6022. Calling is the very best way to get our urgent attention. We do get email, of course, but we can so hours or even more than a day before sitting down at the computer to look at emails.
| Some things to know about calling camp:
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BRAVO TO OUR JUNE BIRTHDAY BOYS & GIRLS: Karen Mc Kelvey - 6/1/1949, Zach Piell - 6/2/1999, Justin Griffin - 6/4/2003, Drew Spiegel - 6/6/2005, Mac Clow - 6/10/2003, Ricky Jacobson - 6/10/1996, Ari Kaden - 6/10/2003, Ben Kaden - 6/10/2003, Alex Peck - 6/10/2001, Grant Kibel - 6/12/2001, Miles Peterson - 6/14/2008, Ryan Hearst - 6/15/2000, Drew Mutchnik - 6/18/2004, Jackson Schneider - 6/18/2005, Zachary Segall - 6/18/2007, Henry Cohen - 6/19/2007, Ollie Lucoff - 6/19/2006, Ari Asarch - 6/20/1998, Micah Shulman - 6/20/2006, Jared Settler - 6/22/2005, Mike Cohen - 6/23/1961, Charlie Lovett - 6/23/2003, Arturo Tlahuice - 6/23/1994, Max Kaplan - 6/24/1994, Eli Goldblatt - 6/27/2006, Avi Hiken - 6/28/2001, Tyler Newmark - 6/28/2001, Joey Rosenblum - 6/28/2001, Sam Henson - 6/29/2003, Henry Levy - 6/29/2002, Joe Levy - 6/29/2002, David Wine - 6/29/2001, Noah Goldblatt - 6/30/2004.
Okay….start the countdown for real! We can’t wait to see you guys who are coming up this month! And we hope you 2nd session guys have a fun start to the summer. We’ll see you in mid-July!
Benches up,
