Apologies for being a day late on this update…If I am being completely honest, I really have been procrastinating sitting down to write this one.
I think I will procrastinate the hard part of the update as well. Let’s talk about the past couple of days…
The truth is that the brilliant people who established the schedule for the last week of camp knew just how to do it. During these last few days, we are taken on journeys of hilarity, reflection, camaraderie, melancholy, and jubilance. The camp experience in a nutshell.
It all began Thursday night, when we were visited by the royal head of state of the Yo-Yo Islands, A.K. Agikamik. A.K. was a roommate of Muggs Lorber at Indiana University in the 1920s, and he has magnanimously maintained ties with Nebagamon ever since. It is always quite a treat when legitimate (or illegitimate) royalty comes to grace us. A.K. always likes to hear about the outrageous happenings at camp throughout the summer. There were some great stories and the eccentric nature of the over 115 year-old monarch is always side-splitting.
Our grand wrap up tour continued Friday morning with our final Sunday Service. (Yes, I know Friday was a Friday and not a Sunday, but, as I have written, sometimes camp is about the suspension of disbelief!) The final Sunday Service is a group effort in which we all view our summers as a book that has been written throughout the summer. As a camp family, we explored the many chapters of this book: the moments during the summer that made us laugh hardest, our favorite meals, our favorite special events, and the moments that made each of us most proud. Everyone was eager to share their thoughts. It was a great hour of reflection for all of us, and really crystallized each of our summers as we prepared to write the final few pages of our books.
Last night was an event that we call the Follies. It is another really special journey through all of the emotions and experiences of Camp. It began with The Countdown, when we recognize folks for their tenure at camp. It started when Noah asked everyone that was at camp during the summer of 2024 to stand up. Standing as a unified camp family, he reminded all of us about the special summer we have been sharing and that the summer simply would not have been as special if ANY of us were not there. He then asked that those who were here in the summer of 2023 remain standing. At this point, all of the folks for whom 2024 was their first summer sit down. It is a moment for all of us to recognize that camp, while a place steeped in tradition and reverence for its legacies, continues to grow and thrive because every single year a group of brand new folks decide to venture to the North Woods for the very first time. Simply put, Nebagamon would not exist unless new people came every year to bring us their new energy, new ideas, and fresh perspectives. The Countdown continued year by year with Noah recognizing folks from every year. Folks from different eras told stories from their time at camp. They spoke of the traditions born during their time…and those cherished traditions that they have nurtured throughout their time at camp. Last night, Sally Stein joined us for the countdown. Her parents, Muggs and Janet Lorber, started Nebagamon in 1929, and Sally has literally spent her entire life at camp, including a 31-year stint when she and husband, Nardie, served as Nebagamon’s directors. Sally and Nardie were my directors as a child and young staff member, so it was indescribably meaningful for me to have Sally at that very special Countdown. All told…we had 90 of Nebagamon’s 95 years represented in the Rec Hall last night.
After the Countdown we sung all of our loud and raucous favorite songs in an all-out sing-along. While our sing-alongs are always really fun, last night was different. The Rec Hall was louder, more intense, and even more alive than it normally is during our singing. If you have read my descriptions about the post talent show singing in the past, you may be wondering if it is even possible to have the singing be more intense than usual…but…well…you just had to be there. There was an urgency and almost reckless quality to our singing. EVERYONE put all of their energy into the songs. You certainly got the sense that, for some of the folks out there, there was an understanding that this was indeed the last time that they will be singing these songs together for quite some time. For our oldest campers, it was clear that they understood that this might be the last time that they ever get a chance to put aside their inhibitions and sing profoundly childish songs with their best friends on the planet. They made the most of it.
The silly singing was followed up by a slideshow featuring photos from the summer. The slides were set to music that has meaning from earlier events in the summer. I have to say, there are few things as effective as photographs set to music to create nostalgic feelings and cause one to reflect. Great stuff. The Follies were wrapped up by singing three special camp songs that have been sung at the conclusion of the Follies for years. The boys stood up, removed their hats, threw their arms over each others’ shoulders, and sang beautifully. Dry eyes were the exception in the Rec Hall after those songs…
Today is packing day…YUCK! The boys are currently throwing together all of their belongings (well…hopefully all of them) for their trips home. It is always a tough day. Emotion will run high and we are all kind of miserable.
The afternoon will be dedicated to our final awards ceremony. Boys will be recognized for all sorts of accomplishments. Some awards will go to athletes, some to artists, some to wilderness tripping aficionados, some to excellent naturalists, some to accomplished sailors…and the list goes on…and on…and on. (Yes, it is a LONG Awards Ceremony!) This event has a terrific message about what really matters at camp. That message is that everyone matters. It does not matter who you are, what your interests are, or what your previously acquired talents are, we appreciate you and what you add to the camp community.
Tonight will be the final Council Fire…the Ninth Grade Council Fire. Without a doubt, it is a night that has been lurking in the backs of the minds of our oldest boys throughout the summer. No, in truth, I think that most campers that have ever been at camp for one of these Ninth Grade Council Fires have been, at least in some ways, thinking about the night that looms for them in their final few hours of camperhood. For the ninth graders, their keen understanding of the fact that their camper years are over fills them with a need to communicate their feelings to the rest of camp. To make SOME attempt to share with the rest of the camp family what this experience has meant to them and how the younger campers should relish their time here. The resounding message every year is that it goes too quickly…way too quickly. They are right. Year in and year out, they are right…it goes way too quickly.
Undoubtedly, tonight will be rife with emotion. Once again, tears will flow freely, no doubt about it. I always make a point of telling everyone on this night that if they are feeling sad and struggling with the fact that they are leaving tomorrow, they have done it right. They are to be congratulated for their sadness. It means they came to camp and gave themselves to the experience and let people in, found new brothers, and connected. They should be sad. We all should be. Because we do it right here.
Truth be told, it is a huge deal for Steph and I as well. Among these young men are boys that we met when they were nine years old and came into camp as completely clueless Swampers. We have watched, no that is not the right word, we have shared in their trials and tribulations, and successes and failures as they have matured. We watched these boys take their very first swim tests. We watched as they ventured off onto their very first trips. We worked with them when they made the all too predictable errors in judgment that all boys make. We worked with them as they found ways to be accountable for these errors and come back into the fold wiser, more responsible, and ready to make their next errors! We admired them as they matured into the leaders of camp. They are leaders full of humor, role modeling expertise, love for camp, and love for each other.
Ok…time to address it…all cards on the table. Tonight will be a significant moment not just for our 9th graders, but for Camp Nebagamon as well. While we made the decision to, for the most part, avoid discussing it during the summer, tonight will mark the official moment when the directorship of Nebagamon will transfer from Stephanie and me to Noah Stein and his team. Stephanie, Noah, Louis, Briggs and I have worked really hard this summer to make this transition as seamless as we possibly can. Noah and the other full-time staff have spent most of the summer more and more frequently stepping into roles that folks had, for the most part, only seen Stephanie and I take on. It has gone incredibly smoothly, and, at this point, having different folks running announcements, leading songs, introducing Sunday Services, and running Council Fires feels right. In fact, it actually feels really good.
As I mentioned earlier, Nebagamon is what it is because of its absolute and unflinching conviction that in order for Camp to continue to thrive, it must grow and embrace new things, while still respecting and preserving its most important values and traditions. It is time for Stephanie and I to move on…and it is time for new leadership to take over. Camp Nebagamon is set up to optimistically look towards the future with energy and freshness while embracing all that Nebagamon represents, and nurturing Nebagamon’s values.
This will be the final update from Steph and I. For those of you that have been readers of these updates this summer and in previous summers…thank you. Writing these every other day notes to parents and alumni has been an incredibly valuable way for us to frame what we do here, even to ourselves. I know that these updates are theoretically about helping the readers understand Camp but they have also been invaluable in helping us crystallize our thinking about so many things that we do. Thank you for having the patience to read through the wordy missives and finding the time to stay connected to camp. Thanks to camp’s alumni who have been the wind at our backs, and who have had the grace to give us the benefit of the doubt with this institution that is beloved by them all. And, most of all, to all the parents of campers out there, thanks for having the faith, trust and selflessness to share your children with Steph and I this summer and for the past two decades. We understand the enormity of entrusting your child into the care of others and we have always been humbled by that trust. Having the opportunity to watch a generation of boys grow from 9 year-olds into adults has been an indescribable privilege. To have had parents trust us enough to play even a small role in the development of these boys throughout their childhoods, adolescence and young adulthood has been the honor of a lifetime.
Now it is time for the next generation to shepherd Camp Nebagamon into the future.
It has been an amazing run for us here thanks to each of the campers…and thanks to all of you.
All is well in the North Woods…
