Compiled by Adam Fornear
First, I just want to give a Lake Superior size THANK YOU to our camp family for being there for not only us but for everyone that has been fortunate to call Camp Nebagamon home for any amount of time. The Camp Nebagamon family is simply amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you…
A young Fornear, reflecting…
These past couple days, I found myself looking back over my 21 summers at camp. To that first summer as a silent 17-year-old junior counselor in Logger-6 with Randy Needlman (who I still get to go to the BWCA with every fall). To early morning fishing trips for the fishing project. To shakedown trips of the early 90’s with alumni that now have campers at camp. To the five pound blocks of Velveeta packed out for snacking… And of course, there was the bike trip that Dan Rontal and I packed out couscous for every breakfast and dinner. Breakfasts were couscous egg glop, pan fried couscous with butter and brown sugar, and couscous pudding with blueberries (or maybe that was dessert… it was a really long time ago). Not sure what we were going for there but it didn’t work. Then there was a trip to the Quetico were we cooked up fresh walleye for breakfast at the base of Chatterton Falls on Russell Lake. Or seeing the first trips out at the beginning of the summer returning back to the Big House after a great time out on trail. Paddling the Brule River during counselor training week with my trippers for training and some good laughs. The list goes on and on. Memories that will last a lifetime with people that to this day I can call good friends, friends that I am thankfully stuck with for the rest of my life.
Sure, I won’t get to see the first round of trips roll into the turnaround behind the Big House this summer, I won’t get to fillet fish with campers down at the fishing dock or sit in silence at the beginning of a Sunday Service. Thankfully though, I will have the memories of all my summers at Camp Nebagamon to carry me through this off season. Thank you camp family for those memories and I look forward to creating many more with you all in the summer of 2021!
I would love to make you famous in the next Arrowhead so please send me news…any news of you! For example, if you cooked a meal from the MOCA cookbook, went paddling on local river or lake or even played some fortnight with your camp buddies please send it my way! I’ll get you in the next publishing. Just send to fornear@campnebagamon.com Enjoy the day and I hope you are all able to get outside for some exploring and fresh air!
IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW that Jonah Rontal (Detroit) has been tearing up the single- track mountain bike trails in Northern Michigan with his dad Matt Rontal. Ari Weiss (Memphis) will be coaching lacrosse this summer for the Backyard Sports Lacrosse Experience in Memphis this summer for 5th-8th graders. Griffin Scissors (St. Louis) has really gotten into biking and is logging a ton of miles. Judah Callen (San Francisco) and Ori Radwin (San Francisco) have been hitting up a local dirt bike track. Milo Solomon (Chicago) has been doing basketball practices via zoom. While different, it is kind of working. Eli Terman (Chicago) is currently staying active with dry land training for swim team and Zach Riven (Peoria Heights, IL) is playing basketball to stay active. Jacob Rolfe (Chicago) recently adopted a very cute puppy.