Camp Woodland Blog
Camp is a Place to Find Your People
The song, “Find Your People,” by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors was in this year’s Coed Show as one of the slide show songs. It is a perfect song for this purpose as the lyrics speak to the camp community that is created every summer at Camp Woodland; 2024 being no exception. Now that your family has been reunited, this may give a peek into the window of what your camper/s experienced over the course of 6 weeks.
You gotta find your people
The ones that make you feel alright
The kind you want to stay up with all night
You got to find your people
The ones that make you feel whole
That won’t leave your side when you lose control
The ones that don’t lose your soul
You gotta find your people
The ones that get the joke
Who understand what you’re saying before a word is spoke
You gotta find your people
That put the needle in the groove
When you’re together, you got nothing to prove
When you’re together, you got nothing to lose
In a world of strangers, you don’t know who to trust
All you see is danger, trying to find what you lost
You can’t go in alone, everybody needs help
You gotta find your people, then you’ll find yourself
You gotta find your people
That’ll call your bluff
Who’ll ride along when the road is rough
You gotta find your people
The ones that you feel equal
They pick you up and don’t put you down
Help you find your way in the lost and found
In a world of strangers, you don’t know who to trust
All you see is danger, trying to find what you lost
You can’t go in alone, everybody needs help
You gotta find your people, then you’ll find yourself
The ones that understand you
The ones that lend a hand to you
The ones that don’t demand anything from you
You gotta find your people
The ones that make you feel alright
That tell you the truth then wish you well
You gotta find your people, then you’ll find yourself
You gotta find your people, then you’ll find yourself
After spending 6 weeks in the camp ecosystem, these girls have “found their people.” Now that your camper/s are back at home and making their way into the world again, our hope is that they are able to stay true to themselves and “find their people” at school, in sports and activities, at work, and with their friend groups. This song is a yardstick for measuring the true depth of friendships. Do those friends make her feel alright? Make her whole? Will they leave her side or ride along when the road is tough?
Will she falter? Absolutely. Will she make poor choices? Most likely. Will she need gentle reminders? Of course. That’s our job as adults. We guide and support them on the path to “finding their people.”
I think it is safe to say that each camper who spent the summer with us knows a little more about herself as a result of the people she spent time with. We hope this will last the next 9 months or so until she can be back in the Northwoods at Camp Woodland with “her people” and that you will reserve her spot for 2025 (early bird discount through 8/31/24 when registering for 6 weeks): https://cwtp.campbrainregistration.com
We Are the Fortunate Ones
“We are the fortunate ones, and although we may not know it yet, we are. Fortunate enough to have sand between our toes, mildew growing in our swimsuits, a farmer’s tan, deer fly bites and extra pounds…lucky us!
We may not realize it yet, we may not see the magic of a summer in a forest by the lake amongst our friends, and it is ok if we don’t.
Maybe we can’t yet measure the depth in which Woodland will tattoo our hearts, the longing we will feel whenever we are sad, the gratitude we will experience when we stop to turn around, and see how far in our lives we’ve walked.
It is then we will embrace the memory of the Woodland road and finally, truly, wonderfully understand we are the fortunate ones.” Camila Villegas, Camp Woodland alum
I can’t believe this is the last full day before our guests arrive. It is a jolting fact that takes me by surprise even though I know it is coming. Today is Banquet Day. It elicits the familiar pangs of sadness and joy that this day always brings. Behind the mixed emotions are justified reasons that we truly are the fortunate ones:
- We are fortunate to have made friends. We are one big happy family now. The fireplace inside the lodge, our activities, the cozy cabins, Vespers Hill, the campfire circle, are just a few places that bring us all together. The familiar faces and spaces greet us and bring joy. We care about each other deeply. We love each other. Where else can you say that you love everyone (even those who you don’t like that much)? That annoying person has become endearing in her own way. It is unique and special that such a community exists…we wish we could have more time together!
We are fortunate to have familiar routines. The ringing of the bell, cabin clean-up, assembly, meals, activities, rest hour, campfire, Camper Council, donut day, Sunday events, goodnight singers…where else do we get serenaded after reading a bedtime story before we drift off with sweet dreams of another exciting day? Routines bring comfort and are what we can count on, especially in the beginning, so that we know what to expect. We also like changing it up as we become more comfortable. We are fortunate to have Gymkhana, Olympics, canoe trips, ropes course and other surprises along the way.
We are fortunate to be immersed in silliness. Dressing in costumes both for events and impromptu reasons, putting spoons in our hair, wearing two different colored Crocs, coming to breakfast on Sunday’s in our pajamas, wearing underwear on the outside of our clothes, skipping to the next activity, putting on fake tattoos, painting our nails, taking a spigot “shower”, getting “married” on Fair Day, side ponytails, doing cartwheels across the lawn, eating a donut from a string, “blobbing” our friends, and more. We appreciate the little things that bring unexpected smiles.
We are fortunate to learn from our activities. Many of us now have a passion for an activity we didn’t even know we liked. Archery, riflery, canoeing, sailing, paddle boarding, tennis, drama, dance, gymnastics, riding, swimming, water-skiing, arts & crafts, farm zoo, fishing… the list goes on. Many of these activities are difficult to do elsewhere, and even if we can do them, they will not be the same. We appreciate our missteps and little steps forward to developing a new skill. We have learned so much from each other. 
We are fortunate to have nourishment for active camp days. We have such good food with minimal effort required on our part (deciding on the menu, finding ingredients, cooking, and clean-up). We enjoy hot/cold cereal, blueberry muffins, coffee cake, oatmeal topped with Rice Krispies, salad bar, meatloaf, fajitas, taco bar, chili mac, lasagne, garlic bread, carrot sticks with ranch dressing, baked/mashed potatoes, chips with ketchup, hotdogs/burgers, watermelon, brownies, “fancy” cookies, banana creme pie (that got a standing ovation!), cake with icing piled high, and so much more. Three meals a day to build community with our cabin group. And this doesn’t even include canteen, evening snack, pizza parties, and other yummy treats.
We are fortunate to be unplugged and living in nature. Deer bounding across the field, loons calling to each other in the early morning and again in the evening, eagles soaring overhead, day lilies bursting orange in front of the lodge, ferns adorning the hillside and roadside, a trail ride through the Climax forest, the streaks of color we see at sunrise and sunset, the smell of the fire greeting us as we walk to the lodge each morning for breakfast, the moon leaving a shimmering trail on the water, the taste of mint along the lake’s edge, the feeling of “sinking” into the bog, “bouncing” on the moss, catching a fish, and tall pine trees that can almost touch the blue sky. Our five senses are keenly aware that nature abounds in this special place.
As summer 2024 comes to a close, we can’t help but say that we truly ARE the fortunate ones.
Mmmmmmm, I wanna linger here. Mmmmmmm, a little longer here. Mmmmmmm, a little longer here with you. Mmmmmmm, and as the years go by, I’ll think of you and sigh. This is goodnight and not good-bye!
The Value of the Woodland Dollar
This is probably not the headline you would expect from a summer camp blogpost! You may even think you landed here by accidentally clicking on a link found on a popular news platform. I have been supporting camp from home part-time this summer, and I have to say there is “sticker shock” every time I pay for gas, groceries, A/C repairs, and more. With inflation being one of many contributing factors, I’m certain that you also notice the dollar continues to buy less while the price of just about everything continues to go up. There is one place; however, where the value of the dollar has remained steady over the past 78 years!
Every year on the 4th Sunday, the Woodland girls take a 2-mile field trip to Towering Pines for the annual TP fair, and on the following Sunday, the boys head east on County D for the Woodland Fair. When fair goers dig into their pocket for “bills” to purchase a yummy treat or play a game at either Fair, they may not even realize the bargain they are getting. A cup of homemade (hand-cranked) ice cream, a chance to play “Bozo Buckets” or to send someone to “Jail” is only $1-2 in “TP/Woodland dollars” – the same price I paid in 1986 during my first summer as a counselor! What a deal!
This past Sunday, the boys from Towering Pines joined us to play various games and enjoy ice cream, popcorn, and bug juice for just a few “Woodland bucks” per game or food/beverage item. The great thing is that the “bank” is open on Sunday’s, and campers simply have to request a “cash advance” from a number of “tellers” so that they can enjoy all the fun a homemade carnival has to offer. There was fortune telling, a dunking machine, marriage booth, dance party, arm wrestling, fish pond, and a plethora of other games set up on and around the volleyball court – Fair Day always delivers a GREAT time!
I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the “value” of spending a summer at camp. We’ve been together 5+ weeks now, and it is hard to put a price tag on the minutes, hours, and days that accumulate to form each individual’s Woodland or TP experience. Each person will go home with various technical skills developed by spending 36+ hours per activity taken for the three, 2-week sign-up periods (and no chauffeuring on your part!).
This is in addition to 650+ hours, discovering and being the best version of yourself, building relationships with new and old friends that will last long after the summer has ended, laughing till your sides hurt, singing your lungs out, and loving the people and place called Camp Woodland with your whole heart. Without a doubt, the value of the Woodland dollar has stayed strong over the course of its 55 years (78 for Towering Pines). The Jordan family continues to invest in developing youth today so that they can be future leaders tomorrow!
p.s. It is interesting to note that some campers save their Woodland/TP “dollars” from the current year and bring to camp the following year. It’s kind of like having a stash of “forever” stamps – they never lose their value!
The Precious Gift of Time at Camp
Time is such an interesting phenomenon. Young kids, especially, often have a distorted view of time and can have no concept and/or easily lose track of it (both good things!). They generally know that a few minutes is shorter than a few hours or days, but that is about the extent of it.
You might be familiar with the saying, “the days are long, but the years are short”. I sometimes feel that way about camp; the days are long, but the summer is short! I have often said that a typical camp day is really 3 days. The morning is a day. The afternoon is another day. The evening is a third day. This explains why we are so tired at night. By the time we crawl under the covers, we have really been up for 3 days straight! It is also the reason we sleep so deeply and so well in our cozy cabins.
There is no doubt that we are aware that the number of days at camp are dwindling. And quickly. We can’t help but feel it. The end of the summer always goes faster than the beginning. When the staff arrived and we had 8 days of pre-camp training, 7+ weeks of summer stretched out ahead of us. We had all the time in the world. In June there seemed to be an endless supply of the camp days we long for the rest of year. Or so we thought. The roughly 1.28 weeks remaining now seem like nothing. All of a sudden, the surplus of time we banked on earlier in the summer can be counted on two hands. Now we wonder where did the time go?!
This realization makes us truly value the gift of time we have. While we can’t completely stop the clock from ticking, at the very least we can make it appear to slow down as we savor every moment from this point forward. To make the most of the remaining days that are left, it might be helpful to reflect on those things we need to do MORE and LESS of so that we are truly present and enjoying every single minute of this precious commodity called time.
Things we should do MORE of:
- Spending time with friends
- Seeking out people we don’t know as well
- Singing
- Being in the moment
- Trying something new
- Being flexible (knowing that some things are out of our control)
- Recognizing the good things
- Being silly
- Wearing costumes just because
- Focusing on the positive
- Appreciating nature
- Getting rest
- Being grateful
- Assuming the best intentions of others
Things we should do LESS of:
- Stressing over the little stuff (someone borrowing something without asking)
- Complaining (it’s so hot, the water is too cold)
- Comparing our achievements to others (look at where we are now with earlier versions of ourselves)
- Drama (unless it is your activity)
- Worrying about what’s next after camp (school, work)
- Eating Dan’s lasagne (well, maybe not…)
I can assure you that since we know what we are up against with our fight against time, we are acutely aware of what needs to happen to make the “Open New Doors in ‘2-4” one for the books! Bucket lists are being made. We don’t want there to be any regrets. Staff are pouring everything they have into making the final sign-up of activities one of progress and skill advancement. We are enjoying this all too precious time as cabin groups and a camp community. We are throwing in a few surprises here and there to keep things exciting (spoon tag coming up – get ready!).
This past week was the much anticipated all-camp Olympics. There was an ENORMOUS amount of cheering across the swim area, field and Woodland Road as campers supported their own and the opposing team (Good Job Everybody, Good Job!). The counselors were SO into it – face paint, costumes, energy, and spirit – nothing short of the best kind of pure camp fun.
Regardless of whether we are at camp or at home or school, time is a gift. A gift without a price tag. Time has a way of showing us what really matters. At Camp Woodland, the people are what matter most. Yes, it may feel like “crunch” time and the days are getting to be less and less, but there is still MORE summer to do!! A LOT more.
p.s. What can YOU do more/less of in the days before your camper/s return home?
Singing as a Gateway to Belonging at Camp
Each day we are at camp brings a deeper sense of place and pace, allowing us all to settle even more into our time here and to become more relaxed and comfortable together…and this happens–not only because we aren’t glued to our phones–but because we like to sing. Woodland girls actually LOVE to sing. And, we sing A LOT! Rumor has it that Song Contest has already been on the radar of some people BEFORE coming to camp!
Part of Camp Culture
I think it is safe to say that there aren’t many places in the world where a relatively big group of people with wildly varying levels of singing ability can come together and make “music.” It might not be music in the traditional sense of harmony, consistent rhythm or even basic unified starting notes, but it is something rare and unique. In fact, if Mrs. J was still with us, she would probably cringe at what our singing has morphed into over the years. When we sing together at camp, it can be familiar words, “This land is your land…,” shared silliness, “I’ll build a bungalow big enough for two,” or part of our culture, “Dip, dip and swing.”
It is the cultural component that makes shared songs an important part of the fabric of camp. We have add-on songs (Green grow the rushes O), “repeat-after-me” songs (The Princess Pat), songs sung in a round (One bottle of pop), spelling songs (L-o-ll-i-p-o-p, it’s a lick on a stick guaranteed to make you sick) and universal songs (If I had a hammer…). We have songs that started out as skits (Herbie the worm…), songs that came from other camps or places (You can tell a girl from Woodland…), and songs that kids just like to sing because they know (almost) all of the words (The Nonsense Song). There are songs/chants about announcements (Announcements, announcements, a-now-ince-ments…woo!) and about having Sunday/Olympic spirit (yes we do!)…and many more.
Singing Builds Community
Community is built and reinforced each evening when the songbooks are passed out at the end of dinner and requests are taken. We dismiss to evening activity with two Woodland songs “W, that’s the way it begins…” (more spelling!) and “We are from Woodland, Woodland are we…” Some songs add a bit of “percussion” and include banging on the table at just the right time (Boom, boom ain’t it great to be crazy…), up and down movement (Johnny has a head like a ping pong ball…), or acting out the words (Have you ever gone fishing?…). These are all invitations to be part of something that is loud and a little (or a lot of) silly, and the beautiful thing is that you never need to know exactly what you are doing to join in. It is a doorway that opens into a sense of belonging–and it is an essential part of camp.
Familiar Rhythm to a Camp Day
From the moment we get up until the time we put our head on our pillow at night, songs are part of the familiar rhythm that keep the “beat” of our camp day. Each morning a variety of popular songs can be heard throughout the cabin area as counselors become DJs and motivate campers to jump out of bed, get dressed, and start cabin clean-up. Some cabins choose to play/sing the same songs every day, while others prefer to “shuffle” tunes. We sing “grace” at the start of every meal; sometimes with just our cabin group and others with the entire camp community. This adds to the routine of the day and is a time to pause for a moment before sitting down to fuel our bodies whether it is a more serious melody (Johnny Appleseed) or on the playful side (a song sung to the Superman theme).
Alive, Alert, Awake, Enthusiastic
Our day would not be complete without JoAnne pepping us up with “I’m alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic” to get the energy going at some opportune moment – often at morning assembly (jazz hands included!). Sometimes the tennis, gymnastics, and/or swim counselors do the honor during first hour activities as part of warmup exercises. While that might not fall into the “song” category, it definitely has a “catchy” vibe to it.
Before-During-After Activities
Woodland girls sing during activities – on sailboats and in canoes, while being creative in the arts & crafts room or changing clothes for riding, and during swim lessons (just to name a few). We sing between activities as we are running or skipping to the next exciting period and picking up friends along the way. It would not be uncommon to belt out in the van as we head to Towering Pines for a sail race, to Cathy’s for winning Clean Freaks, or to the Ropes Course in Rhinelander.
Sending Sweet Dreams
One of my favorite Woodland traditions is having the CIT’s (or next oldest campers at the end of the summer) walk around from cabin to cabin and sing one of several “goodnight” songs. “I see the moon and the moon sees me…” is one that JoAnne and I text back and forth at random times throughout the year. There is something comforting about putting yourself (via your mind) at the deck on the way to the beach to see the moon leave its shimmering trail on Sand Lake.
Weekly Campfire
Singing is also a big part of Wednesday night campfire. Half of the cabins lead a familiar or new song when the emcees call them up to the “stage,” while the others contribute with a skit. Sometimes our musicians will play an instrument that is accompanied by someone singing vocals. CIT’s also present the week’s happenings by reading entries from the CIT log that is introduced by singing, “Log, log, log, log.” JoAnne starts the traditional friendship “squeeze” that is passed along to campers whose hands are joined right over left as we sing (and sway) to “Each campfire lights anew” and “Linger.” When we gather for one last time at the waterfront after banquet, “One Little Candle…” is the song that guides us down the dock to make a wish until we can be together again.
Coed Show
During this time of the summer, the CIT’s from both camps are hard at work putting together the highly anticipated “Coed Show.” Multiple numbers undergo a transformation of words to fit each year’s selected theme. It takes a good two and a half weeks to get the full production (songs, choreography, lines, props, coordinated t-shirts) audience ready.
The first week involves learning the line-up of songs by singing through them repetitively in the Woodland Rec Hall. The group then gathers at the TP Rec Hall to learn dance moves and staging (meanwhile the gals and guys are separately finding any free chance they have to perfect their own individual numbers) during the second week. The final week is putting it all together for two productions (campers, then parents). Coed Show alumni are always invited to join in the traditional slideshow songs including, “At the Beginning…”
While singing may not be a preferred activity at home, at camp it provides an automatic social group with an end goal for our oldest teenagers. The beauty is that no one is left out or wondering what their friends are doing because they are all together and bonding over having the important role of telling the story of the summer. Coed Show provides an opportunity for the CIT’s to belong to something special and unique. They earn “celebrity” status and the “cool factor” youth crave at this age in the healthiest of ways.
Camp Songs at Home
Of all of the grand take-aways of camp, we don’t expect your camper to come home and teach you all of the words and nuanced delivery of “Kitchen, kitchen listen while we sing to you” (though you undoubtedly deserve it!). We like to periodically sing a special song to the cooks/kitchen staff at camp as it makes their day. We know your kids most likely won’t make you run around your dining room table on your birthday, but it will be hard to sing “happy birthday” to anyone without thinking about following it up with, “Round the circle you must go, you must go, you must go ‘round the circle you must go on your birthday…” It will only be in that moment you are listening to music in the car as a family, and your camper/s will say, “OHHHHHH, that’s a song we sing at camp…but we don’t sing it THAT way.”
Belonging and More Singing Ahead
The feeling of belonging created by weaving together the opportunities to sing throughout the day is what helps your campers overcome missing home moments, the uncertainty of knowing what comes next, and wondering about being part of something bigger than themselves.
We are SOOOOOOOO excited for more days of singing ahead! And, when it is finally time to make the trip home, don’t be surprised if you hear some humming from the backseat or at random times throughout the school year. It’s one way the spirit of camp and the feeling of belonging never go away.
“And come September, we will remember, our camping days and friendships true…”
p.s. Any CW alums out there who sang your way through this blog?! We sure hope so!
Reference: SWC