By Adam Kaplan
The last page of our brochure poses a question that we are often asked. “How has camp changed over the years?” The written response is, “Not much…what’s truly important…the traditions and values of Nebagamon remain the same.” (Full disclosure: those words were written by our predecessors, the Wallensteins, so I guess even in our brochure not much changes!)
I love the constancy of this place. I love that when we sit in the Rec Hall, we are sitting on the same chairs and at the same tables as literally thousands of others before us at Nebagamon. I love that the songs that we sing at the end of our meals are the same ones that have been sung for decades after breakfast. (I love that multiple camp directors before me butchered those songs with the same cacophonic aplomb as I do every morning!) I love that, at the Council Fire Ring, we sit on the same wooden planks that thousands of campers before us have sat on Sunday nights, throwing our arms around each other, fighting back tears during poignant Keylogs, and singing the same beautiful songs that have concluded every Council Fire. I love that the words, that I have the true honor of speaking every Sunday night, are the exact same words that have been spoken by each of the three sets of camp directors that have preceded us over these past 90 (90!) years at Nebagamon. There can be little doubt that the traditions and “sameness” of the place over the years are a large part of its strength, richness, and character.
Maintaining this continuity is an important part of our job as stewards of Camp Nebagamon. We take our roles, as guardians of this tradition, very seriously. Protecting the history and legacy of Nebagamon is part of virtually every decision we make as directors.
And there is little doubt that we have help in protecting camp’s traditions. Our camper, staff, and alumni base are a fiendishly loyal and committed group. They zealously work to maintain Camp Nebagamon as the special place that it has been for so long. As is the role of groups like these, when changes are posed, they are met with a wary eye. One of my favorite stories relating to this comes from our very first summer as directors. For those of you that did not know, despite my having grown up as a camper and staff member at Nebagamon, just prior to becoming the director of Nebagamon, I had been directing a camp in the San Juan Islands of Washington. While there, admittedly, I worked pretty hard to make them more Nebagamon-y, but I also learned some things there too. One of the things I learned was the Ping Pong Ball song, a totally silly song that is a ton of fun to sing. So, in my first year at Nebagamon, I started to sprinkle that Ping Pong Ball song into the morning routine sometimes. The boys eventually took to the song and recognized how much fun it was. But, in the offseason, I received several scathing notes from alumni warning me not to ruin Nebagamon by trying to change things…..like bringing in ANY new songs! By their reckoning, there were to be no Ping Pong Ball songs belted out in the Rec Hall. No way…no how!
Eventually though, as our credibility as camp directors grew and people began to trust that we had no intentions of destroying camp (even if we had a fondness for songs about tiny white balls that clearly endangered young minds), people became much more accepting of new ideas that we brought to the table in an effort to keep camp current. When we built the climbing wall over a decade ago, we were really pleased with the reaction of our camp family. By and large they got behind it and realized that this could become a logical and wonderful part of camp moving forward. The same was (mostly) true when we introduced waterskiing in 2014. People get it…the place, while its roots and values will never change, does need to grow and even CHANGE sometimes.
It is with this in mind that we are so excited to share with you this new Arrowhead format. The truth is that this is not the first significant change we have introduced to our monthly newsletter. Several years ago, in an effort to reduce our paper use, we went to an online PDF format for the Arrowhead. This change was welcomed by all but a few of you who still insisted on a printed Arrowhead, declaring that the Arrowhead was a special piece of correspondence that could only be enjoyed in a special room of the house where computers were not handy (aka the JOP!). After using this format for quite a few years, we are upgrading again since an online version allows us to incorporate fun elements that are not possible with a PDF. This new format will allow for more photos, games, and general richness. We are psyched and hope you are too. (Plus, the non-PDF format will work great for those “special room” readers who can now enjoy the Arrowhead on their smartphones. But, did you folks ever stop to think about the incongruity of washing your hands fastidiously after spending time in that room….but not the phone? Hmmmmmm…..)
The same portion of the brochure that I referred to at the beginning of this missive concludes by saying, “The Camp Nebagamon experience still strengthens character, engenders compassion, inspires self-discovery, creates lifelong friendships, and provides boundless fun.” We could not be more excited than to introduce our brand new Arrowhead format that will allow us to connect easier, have more fun, and strengthen our camp family.
ENJOY!
Hope to see you at a reunion this winter!