Camp Nebagamon

By Troika Brodsky

After a one-year hiatus, The Keylog, Camp Nebagamon’s alumni newsletter, is making a comeback! But here’s the deal—we can’t do it without you.

A little history for those who may not know: Shortly after Nardie and Sally retired in 1990 they launched the Camp Nebagamon Alumni Association (CNAA) with the help of a handful of dedicated alumni. Through countless hours of detective work, outreach, and data entry, they built Nebagamon’s first alumni database and shaped the CNAA’s purpose—to foster and enhance the bonds of friendship we all shared at Nebagamon. In 1992, the first issue of The Keylog alumni newsletter was published and mailed out as an additional way to keep the Camp Family connected.

For the next decade, Nardie and Sally poured their hearts into running the CNAA, maintaining the database, and publishing The Keylog before passing the torch to Roger and Judy Wallenstein. In 2003, Jane Stein took the reins, and the newsletter continued in print until 2011, when it transitioned to a digital format. 

When The Keylog moved over to an all-digital format, the costs of printing and mailing were no longer a factor, and the ongoing responsibilities of the CNAA to keep our database current and publish the alumni newsletter were folded into Camp Nebagamon’s year-round operations. Today, you can browse Keylog issues from 2016 to 2023 on the Camp website, and plans are underway to make every past issue available online for our community later this year.

Now, let’s talk about the present. We’re putting together a new issue this spring, and the most important part of The Keylog has always been YOU—our alumni community. We need your updates!

We’d love to hear from you:

• Where are you living?
• What are you doing for work?
• Any major life updates—career changes, big moves, marriages, kids?
• Have you published a book? Been featured in the news? Working on something interesting? Send us a link!
• We also honor and remember members of our community who have passed away since our last publication.

If we don’t hear from you, we likely have no other way to get this info! So, please take a moment to help us keep the Camp Family connected. This is also a great opportunity to confirm your current contact information with us!

To submit your update, fill out this Google form or email Troika Brodsky at [email protected].

One of the best parts of a digital Keylog? We can include links! So if there’s an article about your work, a project you’re involved in, or anything else you think our community would love to see, send it our way.

With Camp’s 100th anniversary on the horizon, now is the perfect time to reconnect. We hope you’ll take a moment to share your news—we can’t wait to hear from you!

For a more thorough history of the CNAA and The Keylog, please read Nardie Stein’s write up on the topic from Keeping The Fires Burning – A History and Memoir of Camp Nebagamon by Nardie and Sally Lorber Stein.

It’s time for the annual Icebreaker contest! We’re hoping spring will soon be upon us, so when exactly will the ice on Lake Nebagmon break? That’s the question facing us as we begin this year’s contest.

Here’s nearly 70 years of data… hope it helps!

In 2012 Lake Nebagamon experienced its earliest icebreak on record, falling on March 21^st. The latest ice breakup was on May 14^th in 2013. Right now, there are approx. 22″ of ice on the lake! The Official Lake Nebagamon Ice Recorder is none other than our own Andy Mack. He is already monitoring the lake for the village and will let us know as soon as the ice disappears, whether it happens mid-afternoon or at 3 a.m. Yes folks, Andy spends every waking moment (eating, sleeping, and working!) on the very shores of Lake Nebagamon to let us know EXACTLY when the ice breaks up (correct up to the second)!

To enter, simply fill out the form below. All entries must be received by April 1st. Of course, it would be wise to read the fine print below before making your guess. Winners could be contacted by Bravo TV, HBO, Hulu, Netflix, and other major networks and will receive prominent mention in The Arrowhead. So, don’t wait until the last minute. Send us your guess right away!

The Following Applies to the Sweepstakes Above:

Sweepstakes begins on the day you receive this Arrowhead and all entries must be received by April 1st. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, illegible or postage-due mail. Entries become the property of Camp Nebagamon and will not be returned or acknowledged. Any prize notice that results from a printing, production, typographical, mechanical or other error will be void. If due to an error, more than one prize notice is issued, the prize will be awarded in a random drawing among all such notices issued and received. Sweepstakes open to the residents of the United States and Canada and to residents in selected parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Mexico, North America and South America, where made available and where permitted by law. Employees (full-time) of Camp Nebagamon and members of those employees’ immediate families are not eligible. Select camp dogs permitted to submit entries; cats prohibited. This offer is subject to all applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations and is void whenever prohibited or restricted by law. Winner selection and random drawings are under the supervision of Ostrow Reisin Berk and Abrams Ltd., an independent accounting firm whose decisions are final. Random drawings will be held within 5 days of the ice breaking, no later than 5:00 p.m. Winners will be notified within 10 days of the selection/drawing. Any prize or prize notification returned to the sponsor as undeliverable will result in the awarding of that prize to an alternate winner in a random drawing. Prize is not transferable except to a surviving spouse. Substitution for the prize may be necessary due to unavailability, in which case a comparable prize of equal or lesser value will be awarded. In countries where cash prizes are prohibited, substitute merchandise of comparable value will be awarded. Taxes (and any expenses not specified herein) are the responsibility of the winners. Entry and acceptance of the prize constitute permission (except where prohibited by law) to use the winner’s name, hometown and likeness for purpose of advertising and promotion on behalf of the contest sponsor without further compensation. If you’ve read this far, congratulations! The fine print is a joke, but the contest is for real!

Each year, Camp Nebagamon hosts bracket pools for the NCAA March Madness Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments! Info for each bracket pool is below:

The Camp Nebagamon Scholarship Fund is proud to announce for its third consecutive year: March Madness for Summer Gladness! CNSF will again be putting the fun in fundraising with its 50/50 March Madness charity pool. New this year, there are brackets available for both the Men’s pool and the Women’s pool – the total prize money raised combined goes 50% to supporting the CNSF mission, 25% to the Women’s pool winner and 25% to the Men’s pool winner.  Bracket submissions are $10 per bracket, and individuals are limited to five bracket entries per pool. Last year, over $1500 was collected, meaning a big nebaga-check to the winner! Just ask last year’s winner Max Settineri!

The link to make a donation and join either or both pools is here, and if you sign up today, you will get instructions on how to participate and fill out a bracket closer to tournament time. Note: this pool is open to anyone 18 years of age and older. If you’re under 18 and still want to participate, ask a parent or trusted adult to make an entry, help then fill it out, and cheer on your teams together!

We have two bracket pools that are completely free to enter, and have been played for many years now – Bunyan Bracketology! This year, we have a Men’s pool and a Women’s pool. You can join the Men’s pool here and the Women’s pool here. Enter a bracket and cheer on your teams!

And remember, win or lose, be a good sport!

Photos by Joe Crain and Andy Mack

Caretaker Joe had a sew-a-thon this month! He’s working on new flags for each team on The Grand Pursuit, repairing holes in tents, and making diddy bags and nesting kit bags for the trip program out of the left-over material.