Hello camp families!
It was another great day today here at camp. Mondays get a bad rap, usually due to them signalling the end of a weekend, and the return to a workplace. Maybe it’s a good thing that for us, here at camp, that within about 3 days of the kids arriving the concept of “work days” and “weekends” is lost to the way time passes here at camp. Often times, Sundays are known to the campers and staff only as the day we don’t have mail call.
With that said, Mondays here are generally pretty great. No one ever complains about having “a case of the Mondays.” We had a hot day yesterday, and today was milder but still a very warm one. A brief (but torrential!) rain shower dumped its payload on us about 10 minutes into our first activity period, but as we do around here, we played on in the rain. The cool rain was refreshing, and when it stopped 20 minutes later, the campers continued with renewed vigor as they enjoyed their last day of activities of the first series.
Our kitchen staff this summer is quite remarkable, and we are quite fortunate to have a team that has worked together for a few years now, led by our kitchen manager and 20+ year Timberlane veteran, Brian Strain. Brian and his team have pretty challenging days on an “easy” kitchen day, but today really taxed them, and we were incredibly fortunate to have such a veteran team to work with.
Brian’s day starts between 5:30 and 6:30 most days. Brian came in this morning to start preparing breakfast for us, but discovered shortly upon getting to the kitchen that our built-in walk-in refrigerator was not its usual frigid self. Still cold, but something wasn’t right. Within an hour, it was apparent the compressor had given up the fight against our recent 85+ degree days. While preparing breakfast for the campers (pancakes and sausage), the kitchen team moved food to our milk and ancillary refrigerators, avoiding any spoilage, while our office team located a repairman. In the midst of all this, our food order for the week was delivered. (Mondays, am I right?) Then the repairman couldn’t get the replacement parts he needed until tomorrow, so we were able to find a new standalone commercial refrigerator unit and have it installed within 5 hours. For Woodruff, WI, that is impressive! All that happened without the campers having any idea what was going on behind the scenes. It was truly an impressive day for our kitchen team, and when we let the campers know just before dinner what kind of day the kitchen staff had leading up to making their pasta bake dinner… Well, let’s just say that the gratitude the kids showed was truly heartwarming, and the kitchen staff appreciated it. Camp is a truly amazing place.
Tomorrow, our village directors take the lead, and our junior village cabins will be heading out in vans for our first cruiser day of the summer. The intermediates will stay in camp and enjoy the run of the facilities, and the seniors will explore the area by bus. It’s sure to be another day full of adventure and we’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.
Until then, have a great day, and I hope your Monday was a good one too.
Benches up!
Jeff Melrose
Program Director