Camp Nebagamon

By Adam Kaplan

Without a doubt this has been a tough couple of weeks for the Camp family.  As most of you know by now, we lost Nardie Stein earlier this month. Nardie, and his wife Sally, were the directors of Camp Nebagamon for thirty years and so much of what camp is today is a direct result of their efforts, creativity, and absolute commitment to children. Nebagamon is Nebagamon because of what Nardie and Sally poured into the place.

Nardie was truly one of the central figures of my youth, adolescence, and adulthood. I credit a great deal of the man that I am today to Nardie Stein. I will always remember his unflinchingly high standards, his resolute commitment to ethical behavior, his unrelenting dedication to hard work, and his incredible sense of humor.

Truth be told, I have been off my game quite a bit since his passing. There is a sadness and void that I have been dealing with that has affected me in very real ways. It’s been a struggle…until late last week…Thanksgiving. You see, its part of the job description of a Camp Director to engage in the campiest and hokiest of activities whenever possible. So despite my sadness, I spent some time on my drive to Chicago for the holiday taking stock of my life and thinking through all of the things I am thankful for. Some I won’t share with you here (yes…even Camp Directors have private lives!), but I thought I would share some of them.

I am thankful for Paul Bunyan. That simple statue that stands so powerfully just inside the front gate to camp. Paul has welcomed thousands of boys to camp over the years. Paul has re-welcomed thousands of alumni as they make a pilgrimage back to camp after many years away. Paul is always a wonderful symbol to all of us that we are home.

I am thankful for the smell of camp, the one that hits you the moment that you arrive at Nebagamon after some time away. It is hard to put one’s finger on exactly what that smell is. It might be the pine trees. It might be the fresh unpolluted air of the North Woods. It might be the smells that waft off of beautiful Lake Nebagamon. Most likely it is a combination of all of these things. Impossible to define…yet we all know it and recognize it the moment that we arrive at camp.

I am thankful for camp Big Brothers, those older boys who take it upon themselves to make camp a more comfortable and welcoming place for new campers every year. In an era when folks often talk of the self-absorption of 13-16 year olds, we are all thankful for the special ones that come to camp and unselfishly focus so much of their attention on creating a true camp family.

I am thankful for the camp staff, those men and women that forgo the siren call (and occasional parental command) of the “real job” to spend the summer providing for the safety, health, happiness, fun and growth of the boys that venture into the North Woods every summer. While there can be little doubt that our staff takes a huge amount out of their own summer experiences (and that is just in salary!!), ultimately camp’s success every summer boils down to the quality and commitment of those special people. They have positively impacted and improved the lives of literally tens of thousands of boys over camp’s 93 years.

I am thankful for pizza nights, those raucous meals every Sunday night when we all let loose a bit. (A return to that beautiful museum known as the Rec Hall is in the works for this coming summer!) We eat (way too much), we sing (way too loud), we dance like nobody is watching us…and we laugh…and laugh…and laugh.

I am thankful for Cruiser Days, those wonderful Wednesdays when we all get a chance to break up the routine and engage in Dinosaur Days, Harry Potter Days, Iron Chef Days, and other silliness that reminds us all about how much fun it is to play and be a kid. On that note, I cannot forget to be thankful for Dairy Queen Blizzards…chock-full of all things chocolaty, sugary, and sweet that I know I should not be eating!

I am thankful for Council Fires, those hours that we all spend together as a camp family gathered around that huge roaring fire laughing together, learning together, sometimes crying together. No matter from what era they hail, anyone that has ever been to camp will tell you that it is the Council Fire that helps us to understand what friendship is…what kindness is…what Nebagamon is.

I am thankful for camp friends and camp family, those folks with whom we love to play, with whom we love to debate, with whom we love to lie on our bunks after taps and swap stories, with whom we love to joke around, and with whom we just love to spend time. They are the people that help us when we are struggling and support us when we need a shoulder to lean on. Certainly we all have friends that exist outside the camp world…but there is something different about our camp friends, something more enduring, more accepting, more understanding, and more unconditional.

I am extraordinarily thankful for the campers and camp parents that put so much trust and faith in me. I am profoundly grateful for the mere act of either deciding to come to camp, or to send one’s child to camp. It is a message of great faith and one that both humbles me and warms me. I am profoundly grateful for their messages of support and trust in challenging times as well. The power of those messages cannot be overstated.

Finally, I am thankful for Nardie Stein. Since the 1950s, Nardie has served, in many ways, as a second father (and in some cases a first father) for literally thousands of boys. I am without a doubt one of those guys. I am indescribably thankful that he was such a central part of my life since I was ten years old. He taught me to be kinder. He taught me to work harder. He taught me how to lead songs. He taught me how to forgive. He taught me how to hold myself and others accountable. He taught me how to dress uncool and still come off as cool. He taught me that coming off as cool was unimportant. He taught me how to be a Camp Director, father, and friend.

Thank you Nardie.