A sad yet proud hello from Camp Timberlane. It was our last full day of camping, and although the boys shed some tears for the memories made and friendships formed, there was still plenty of fun throughout the day. We started the day as usual: an 8:00 wake-up followed by an 8:30 breakfast. Today we dined on french toast and bacon. After satisfying our sweet and salty cravings, the boys headed back to their cabins for a big cabin clean-up.
After getting their spaces clean, the boys began packing their bags. Although some campers needed some extra lessons in folding, most of the boys exemplified their tidy skills gained throughout the summer in their packing. It wasn’t the most fun, but with help from music, counselors helping pack, and cabin conversation/reminiscing time, it was a gratifying morning.
Once everyone’s bags were packed and taken to the rec hall, the cabins played cabin games up until lunch. Lunch today was mac n’ cheese and smokey links, a tasty yet hardy meal. This was followed up by a delicious apple crisp, a favorite camp dessert. After lunch, we had departure health screenings and then headed into our all-camp special program: all-camp tushball!
Tushball is a common free period game, and from 3:00-5:00, the entire camp lined up to find out who was the best player in the Northwoods! It was such a fun time: there was music, announcers, and an amazing crowd that grew every time someone got out. If the boys got out, they had a free period with trampball and more! It was a lot of fun and a great way to bring in the camp magic. By the time we ended, flagpole and dinner were about to start. For dinner, we had steak, potatoes, and corn.
We ended the summer with a campfire, singing traditional songs and telling a story. We heard great music. At the last campfire of the summer, a camper said farewell and thank you to the staff on behalf of all the campers. Will Schwebach spoke wonderfully about the impact that the staff had on the campers. We also have a staff member say farewell to the campers on behalf of the staff. This year Eli Mitchell spoke about the joy that campers give the staff and make the long hours and hard work worth it. We ended the fire with our key log ceremony.
At the end of the campfire, the whole camp walks down to the swim area and places candles in cups in the water. It is a very special time with a lot of tears and being grateful for an amazing summer.
I hope you enjoyed reading the blog this summer We, as an admin team, have loved writing it and giving you an insight into the summer.
On a personal note, thank you from the bottom of my heart for sending your campers to camp during this summer. I look forward to welcoming all of your campers back to the shores of Lake Towanda next summer.
Benches Up,
Sam