The Arrowhead

Camp Nebagamon's Monthly Newsletter

Volume XCI

Number 5

May 2019

When boys come to camp, we ask them to leave many things at home. We ask them to leave their televisions, their computers, their video games… and oh yes, I think there may be some sort of prohibition relating to candy! When the boys question us about these cruel denials, we tell them that we don’t Campers arriving at camp getting off bus believe these things are in and of themselves bad things, rather we just believe that it is a healthy practice to take a break from them for a month or two during the summer. Truth is, at least one of the camp directors has a legitimate fondness for some video games, and goodness knows that the very same camp director cannot remember a single day in recent memory when he was completely away from a computer. Indeed, the break from electronics that camp affords us is a welcome abstention.

In addition to the break from electronics every summer, we also take a break from… well… reality! Every summer, those of us that are lucky enough to head up to the North Woods during the summer take a virtually complete break from the real world out there. While admittedly we do read the baseball scores every morning at camp, that is the extent to which the news of the world outside of Camp Nebagamon ventures into camp. This decision has to do with the fact that at camp each summer we try to create our own perfect community free from many of the restrictions of the world outside of camp. We create a community where people are more free to express themselves, less inhibited by the social expectations of “coolness,” less fearful about the world around them, and generally more cohesive.

There can also be little doubt that a big part of the reason that we choose to keep world and national news out of camp during the summer is because typically the news is a big bummer! In 2019, perhaps more than ever, this seems to be the case. It seems that one cannot open a newspaper or watch a television news show without being bombarded by terrible news about environmental disasters, governmental corruption, and acts of violence and hatred… It is hard to bear. I really do believe that one of the best things about a summer spent at camp is the opportunity to take a break from the news… a break with reality.

campers cooking dinner in woods cabin cookout Now to be clear, just like our attitude towards electronics, we are not suggesting that following the news of the nation and the world is a bad thing. Quite to the contrary, we believe that in order to be good members of the community, outside of camp, it is important that people stay informed about the goings on of the world. Keeping abreast of the news is important. Still…with all of the bad news out there, it can be downright scary and even depressing. A break from all of that, just like a break from our electronics, can be very restorative for our psyches.

And so it will be, just as it has been for so many summers, that in just over a month many of us will be abandoning the computer screens in favor of our tennis rackets, ditching our televisions in order to focus on our J-strokes, packing away our Playstations so that we can pack our Duluth packs for a trek into the Boundary Waters, and losing touch with world news so that we can lose ourselves in nature for a month. In leaving all of these things behind for a month or two, we afford ourselves the time, focus, and energy to connect with each other in a way that the outside world sometimes doesn’t leave us the time to do. Anyone that has ever been to camp knows that the friendships and connections that are forged up there, away from our toys and away from reality, are significantly different and more substantive than virtually all of those that exist in the outside world.

Indeed, the summer is almost upon us. I for one could not be more excited about my upcoming break with reality!

Please Remember to Return Camp Forms by May 15th!

With the 2019 camp season quickly approaching, we’d like to issue a few reminders that will help to answer questions and make the transition into camp run as smoothly as possible.

All families should have received our packet containing the Parent Handbook and instructions for completing your camper forms. All the forms need to be submitted by May 15. If your doctor can’t schedule the physical exam until after May 15, that’s OK, but please shoot us an e-mail at briggs@campnebagamon.com to let us know. We read every form in its entirety, and the information helps us provide a fun and healthy summer for each camper. Please be diligent in filling them out.
If your son will be using any daily medication in pill form, please note the due dates for CampMeds, a prepackaged medication service. (May 18 for first session and eight-week campers, and June 16 for second session campers.) This information was mailed to you in April and can also be found in the Parent Handbook.
The camp office is moving to Lake Nebagamon on May 3this year, and we expect to be up and running by May 7. After May 7, we can be reached at 715-374-2275.
Please make travel arrangements as early as possible. If you are using the Official Travel Agency of Camp Nebagamon, Travel One, contact them at 1-800-245-1111 and work with Liz Egge or Sonni Banks. If you are not using Travel One, we need to know your plans by the May 15 deadline.

Caretaker Joe Welcomes Spring

By Joe Crain

April 1st – The snow beings to recede

With the snow almost completely melted away with the exception of a few plow piles, with the lake ice free since April 24^th, and with the spring peepers singing in the ponds, I feel confident that I can declare that spring has finally arrived at camp. Though I make that declaration with a bit of trepidation, because today’s forecast calls for a high in the mid 30s and a rain snow mix with accumulation of an inch or more. And with temps not predicted to get out of the 40s all week, we probably won’t be enjoying much singing from the peepers again until the temps rise back into the upper 50s. I am confident though that the lake will remain ice free until the start of next winter and that the Wisconsin fishing opener this weekend, May 4^th, will see many bundled up fishermen out on the lake.

mid-april snow storm at camp office big house

April 11th – Psyche!

The ice came off the lake only a week or so later than average which was a big surprise to me. With the late season snows and ridiculous snow depths we had at the start of April, I thought for sure the fishing opener would see the lake still frozen over, as it has been on several occasions in the current decade. I was so confident that I submitted a date of May 8^thfor Camp Nebagamon’s annual Ice Breaker contest, but alas no camp swag for me this year. I hope your submission to the contest was more accurate than mine! The copious amounts of late season snow we received did raise the lake level quite a bit but not nearly as high as the 2002 flood. The melt runoff has submerged about a quarter of Lorber Point and the lake is almost up to the Buddy (Herzog) Board. Near the Lumberjack Village and out on the range, the waterline is four or so feet past the shore berm, During the ’02 flood the lake level nearly covered Lorber Point and was almost to the steps of the LJ Village cabins.

April 21st – Just a bit of snow left!

With the snow gone and the temperatures back to a more comfortable, if not yet seasonable level, we Caretakers are able to get out of the shop, tackle some projects and start others around the grounds of camp. The staff residents in the Horvath House this season will appreciate Caretaker Andy’s efforts of this month. The upstairs bedrooms now are all separated with actual walls and doors! The space now has three distinct bedrooms instead of only one, and you no longer walk directly into a bedroom when you ascend the stairs from the first floor. The renovation will not only bring privacy to the occupants but will also add a bit of flexibility to the assignment of quarters as the building will no longer have to be single gender. Caretaker Jack came back from his winter layoff for another season in mid-April and has been hard at work in Cabin Elm trimming out the new windows that Andy installed last fall. For my part, I was able to get the windows I had pulled and rehabbed from Range cabins Apple, Birch, and Cedar reinstalled. I have also spent several days cutting up and hauling off eight or so truckloads of tree limbs that had been brought down by the numerous heavy wet snows we had this winter. We will be under the gun a bit in the next few weeks due to the unusual need to split CNOC wood this spring. That chore was buried in ten inches of snow early last November when it usually happens. We need to get the grounds cleaned up with the leaf blowers as well, a chore that has been set back a few weeks due to the late arrival of spring. But have no fear — we will be ready for you all to arrive mid-June, a little out of breath perhaps, but ready none the less.

Hoping May will be more seasonable than March and April were, it’s Caretaker Joe At Camp.

new walls bedrooms horvath house construction

A peek into the new Horvath House second floor

News of the Camp Family

Compiled by Adam Fornear

fishing duluth lake superior lift bridge

The big bridge overlooks the big lake!

This past weekend marked the start of the summer for me. It wasn’t because the ice is off of Nebagamon or the bike trails in Duluth are now dried out and rideable… Nope, it’s because I was able to put the big boat in Lake Superior for the summer. Boondoggle (which I think is appropriately named) is officially tied up at the dock in one of the harbor marinas in Duluth. In under five minutes I can be out motoring around out on the big lake catching some salmon for dinner or just taking in all of Lake Superiors awesomeness! Funny thing though, we took the boat out trolling this weekend and it didn’t remotely feel like summer. Water temperature was 37 degrees, the shoreline is covered in ice and snow, and the air temp was 41 degrees. We wressed like it was winter but mentally I was in full on summer. Boated a couple salmon that were delicious pan fried in butter with some Caribbean jerk seasoning. If you haven’t tried that before, then get to the store and buy the thinnest fillet of salmon and give it a shot…you won’t regret it.

Outside of boating/fishing it’s all camp all the time. Trip permits, staff hiring, enrolling campers, purchasing food, fixing camp buildings… and the list goes on. There’s about 48 days till campers arrive and as in years past we’ll get every thing dialed in for a wicked sweet 91^stsummer .One last random thought… Wilderness Trip essentials for the summer! Remember to pack a rain jacket, rain pants, 30-liter dry bag, and two pairs of hiking socks. If you have questions on what to buy please feel free to email me.

Alright, time to wrap up the rest of my sections in this month’s Arrowhead as there are more phone calls to make and emails to send out! Please keep the news coming as we have one more Arrowhead before the summer. So if you win a marathon, build a sweet fort, or act in your first play, please be sure to send the news to fornear@campnebagamon.com. Hope everyone is excited for the summer to begin.See you soon!

IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW that Ace Burvall (San Diego) is playing soccer and recently scored three goals with his left foot! William Schwarz (Woodbury, MN) is playing baseball this spring.

Tom Elson (right) enjoying some time outside

IN THE WHERE-ARE-THEY-NOW DEPARTMENT: Max Wise (Chicago/Vancouver ’98-’02,’04,’08-’10,’12,’14-‘15) is a 7^thgrade math teacher at Gaiser Middle School in Vancouver, WA. Max is also the 8^thgrade girl’s JV basketball coach, co leader of math club and operates the school chess club. Hugh Broder (Detroit/NYC ’66-’69,’74-’75,’16-‘19) is an Executive Producer/Managing Director for The Underground, a production and post production company, that works with multiple advertising agencies. Hugh is also Camp Nebagamon’ s Waterskiing Director for the summer of 2019. Tom Elson (Chicago/D.C. ’93-’99,’01-’04,’09,’13,’17) is launching a campaign to get more Americans outside and connected to the health benefits of nature! While at camp we spend almost all of our time outside, currently Americans on average are spending a whopping 93% of their entire lives indoors–that equates to just one half of one day per week outdoors! The campaign is called Outside I Can, this is a storytelling campaign partnering with national companies to inspire people across the country to see themselves in the outdoors and to appreciate their value on society, no matter where they live or how much money they have. To learn more, click here, or reach Tom directly at tomelson@gmail.com

IN THE BIBS AND DIAPERS DEPARTMENT… It’s a boy, George Albert, for Charlie Dan (Evanston ’93-’99,’02) and Abby Dan (Evanston). It’s twin boys, Asher and Hawk Trager-Kusman, for Michael Trager-Kusman (Louisville ’93-’97) and Erin Trager-Kusman.

Special Trip Opportunities for Summer 2019!

Climb Above Lake Superior!

Back by popular demand, Camp Nebagamon is offering a rock climbing trip on the North Shore of Lake Superior this summer!

We will be offering one trip during first session, June 29 – July 1. Campers will set up a base camp at a Minnesota State Park and then climb during the day at multiple climbing locations. We will have spots for eight campers who will be guided by one our Nebagamon trip staff and two instructors from the University of Minnesota-Duluth Climbing Center. The trip is open to grades 7-9, although older campers will have first preference. The cost of the climbing trip will be $350.

campers swimming isle royale national parak

Sea Kayaking on Lake Superior!

Camp Nebagamon is offering an awesome sea kayaking trip on Lake Superior. Sitting in a 17-foot sea kayak on the world’s largest freshwater lake is an experience that you’ll never forget. On this trip you will paddle and camp on the Apostle Islands near Bayfield, WI for three days. The first day of the trip will be spent training on Lake Nebagamon.

We will be offering one trip during first session, June 21 – June 24. We will have spots for five campers who will be guided by one Nebagamon trip staff and one instructor from the University of Minnesota-Duluth Kayak & Canoe Center. The trip is open to grades 7-9, although older campers will have first preference. The cost of the sea kayaking trip will be $425.

^{— — — — — — — — — —}

If you have questions regarding either of these exciting trips, please contact Adam Fornear. All 7^{th –}9^thgrade parents will receive an email this week with further details on registration. Fornear can be reached at fornear@campnebagamon.com, 208-318-3962 or 715-374-2275 (after May 12).

campers canoeing peace canoe

More Campers Enroll for 2019 Season

We’d like to welcome some more campers who have enrolled for the 2019 season in the past few weeks. We are VERY excited to see this at camp this summer.

Second Grade: Henry Kramer and Solomon Wasserman

Third Grade: Alexander Aronoff and Maddox Sohn

Fourth Grade: Eliott Bigelow, Ben Hesser, Daniel Plancarte, Bokai Portis, Kai Ruwitch, and Daniel Schottenstein

Fifth Grade: Samuel de la Garza, Evan Friedman, Gavin Gray, Simon Kessler, Stanley Klein, Stafford Klein, Myles Rontal, Sebastian Rorsted, Raymond Tolentino Santana, William Wyden

Sixth Grade: Felipe Chaladovsky, Adam Cohen, Leo Friedman, Benjamin Harrington, Fowowe Onigbanjo, Noah Penson, Theo Schiff, Tyler Shaw, Rush Slivjanovski, Henry Sohn, Winslow Wood Prince

Seventh Grade: Ethan Blatt, Collin de la Garza, Landon Denker, William Dupont, Tristan Hall, Will Needlman, Ethan Pearson, Guillermo Plancarte, Zachary Ruwitch, William Schwarz

Eight Grade: Asher Friedman, Kosten Goldberg, Asher Mendelson

Ninth Grade: Michael Bayer, Charles Davis, Jose de la Pena Zabia, Billy Galpern, Danton Hou, Justin Pagan, James Wimmer

Just a Sample of Our Amazing Staff!

Less than two months from now, camp will be filled with roughly 350 incredible individuals. I have been talking to campers, parents, and staff, and they all share one thing in common: enthusiasm for the upcoming summer! Our hiring is 99.9% complete, and between the returning staff and new staff, we have a great lineup! Meet a sampling of our outstanding staff below. We’ll publish a complete list in next month’s Arrowhead.

Jack Falcon (Carbondale, IL) joins Team Nebagamon for his first summer. Jack will be our Climbing Wall Specialist for the 2019 summer and were excited to have him down at the wall! Jack’s climbing resume is extensive both on real rock and down at the local sport gym. Jack is graduating this spring from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale with a degree in Recreation. When not in the classroom Jack can be found down at the climbing gym on campus teaching climbing or out at a local crag bouldering and sport climbing. Currently he’s bouldering at a V7 level and sport climbing 5.11d…impressive for those that are not in the know. Jack’s excited to head north for the summer. He’s planning on pursuing the climbing field professionly and he sees the camp experience very valuable for future work. While the summer camp world is new to him, but the thought of cookouts, campfires, and hundreds of new friends are all very exciting. When not climbing (which isn’t often) Jack enjoys hiking, camping, kayaking, science fiction movies and playing D&D. He has been climbing for 2 years, started as a sport climber but mostly boulders now. Southern Illinois is known for its sandbagged ratings, however — Many climbers from other parts of the country struggle to maintain their grade when climbing in So Ill. When asked why Jack loves climbing he said, “Climbing is such a personal journey! The work, focus, and tenacity cannot come from anyone else…even with the best spotter or belayer, YOU have to make the crux move.”

Noah Stein (Glencoe/Utah ’05-’10,’12,’14-‘18) returns for his 13^thsummer at Nebagamon. In the past Noah has been a camper, cabin counselor, wilderness trip leader and now for the summer of 2019 he will be Co-Director of the Lumberjack Village. For the past two years Noah has been putting his love for the outdoors to work as a Field Instructor for Evoke Therapy Programs in southern Utah. Noah’s favorite place at camp is defentily our waterfront. Between the awesome beach and all of the projects to try out it can’t be beat in his mind. Looking forward to the summer, Noah is stoked for epic cruiser days, evening basketball games on the LJ courts, signing up campers for wilderness trips, and pizza night singing on the porch. More than anything though, he’s excited to spend quality time hanging out with campers and staff in the LJ village. Lastly, we’re always curious to ask these “old timers” what keeps them coming back summer after summer. Noah responded with, “What keeps me coming back year after year is the opportunity to help create a space where campers can be the best version of themselves. That means

campers paul bunyan day rendezvous color wars

Andy and Noah rendezvousing on Paul Bunyan Day, 2010

supporting campers in taking safe risks and helping to bring every summer to a previously unimaginable level of fun.” I think our Lumberjack village is in good hands this summer!

Andy Cohen (St.Louis/D.C. ’04-’10, ’12-’15, ’17) is returning to camp for his 14^thsummer on our sweet 77 acres. Andy has been a camper, counselor, Sailing Director and now he will be Co-Lumberjack Push for the summer of 2019. For the past two years Andy has been working in hotel management in D.C., Austin, and New York as he majored in Hospitality Management/Business Management at The College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. In his free time Andy loves to read, travel (he’s been to 49/50 states) and of course sail. I’m sure we’ll find him on our c-scow a couple times this summer. Looking ahead to the summer, Andy is excited to help create a fun, exciting and memorable summer for our LJ’s. We asked Andy what keeps him coming back to camp (we’re lucky he does!) and he immediately responded with, “ the community…I love the community that camp creates and I want to try to bring that togetherness, sense of family into my day job during the camp off season.” Obviously we’re lucky to have Andy back this summer and our LJ village is going to be solid with Andy on our leadership team!

— — — — — — — — — —

While not complete as of yet, our staff for the summer of 2019 is solid! With plenty of returners and new staff there is no doubt that projects, cabins and everything magic that our staff do every summer will be awesome! Now I’m still on the hunt for just a couple more senior counselors, trip leaders, food service assistants and another climbing wall specialist. If you know of anyone please feel free to connect them with Fornear at fornear@campnebagamon.com.

We are pleased to say that our counselor positions are quickly being filled. Our first year junior counselors are Drew Sklar, Nate Susser, Charlie Steinbaum, Jack Auer, Coby Keren, Ben Sklar, Jesse Herzog, Ben Dubinsky, Ben Lindy, Micah Franzel, Ari Krupnick, Ari Weiss, Tommy Bellaire, Elliot Heldman, Dylan Fox, Jacob Greene, Jack Rogen, Henry Lokken, Sebastian Klein, Jamin Eisenberg, Ben Platt, Ben Serwer, Sam Reichert, Ethan Rosenberg, and Camden Blumberg. Returning Junior Counselors are Bryce Endrizzi, Isaac Weiss, Eric Portillo, Matthew Grosman, Joey Rivkin, Alex Buring, Will McCreary, Andrew Guest, Michael Berler, and Mauricio Zambrano. Our senior counselors are Fergal Spencer, Isaac Murray Stark, Matthew Wilhelm, Josh Levitas, Sam Branstad Phillips, Charlie Fromm, Eli Striker, Jake Lescher, Jake Beren, Tony Bogolub, Ben Huston, Zach Pearson, Nachi Santa Cruz, Jake Miller, Eli Fromm, and Joey Apter. New senior counselors for the 2019 summer are Henry Quinn Pasin, Josh Sheridan, Josh Abraham, Max Krupnick, Pierre Chevelrie, Laurie Eastburn, Carlos Beaujean, Arthur Brook Young, Eugenio Caballero, and Luke Herzog.

Our Village Director lineup is now complete! Andy Cohen and Noah Stein will be our LJ Village Directors, Andy Rolfe is the Axeman Village Director with Jason Hirschhorn taking over 2^ndSession, Alex Gordon is the Logger Village Director, and David Sachs and Jake Miller will be sharing the Swamper Village. Returning to the office is Elana Scharff and Jaye Hensel. Joining them in the office and new to camp, is Jordan Liebich. There are some awesome additions to our specialist crew as well. Jack Falcon joins camp for his first year as a climbing wall specialist. Heading up M.O.C.A is Sophia Gatzionis while Hugh Broder returns to camp for another summer as our Waterskiing Specialist. Our rad waterfront directors this summer are Henry Pulitzer and Walter Fromm. CNOC once again is directed by Grant Rosskamm and Cynthia Rolfe returns for her second summer as our Nature Specialist. Down at the Art Shop you’ll find Heather Kennedy back for her second summer and joining Heather down there will be Audrey Hurt. Ralph Greil also returns for his 10^thyear. Our photo specialist this summer will be Lucy Stephenson from the United Kingdom. In the infirmary you’ll find Amber Burvall back for her 9th summer, Melissa Moy for her second and Molly Buring for her first. Our kitchen is once again directed by Anne Rowe. Joining Anne this summer is Cody Keys, Alex Fuller, Katie Lundeen, Ben Hanson Kaplan, Oliver Held and Asher Burvall. Trip staff is shaping up with Jonah Domsky, Kate Bennett, Trenton Flegel, Ethan Strull, Ethan Berman, Max Fleischer, Quincy Hirt, Grayson Nolan, Liam Janson, Liam Casey, Zach Muzik, Atish Batalavia, Holly Geurts, and Diego Santa Cruz. Trip drivers are Ron Gaare, Amy Mack and Bill Hensel, while our Quartermaster is Allen Bennett. Lastly, our assistant trip director is Andrew Meyer. With a steady hand, caretakers are Andy Mack, Joe Crain, Jack Raatz and Cathy Fries.

We’ll have a full publishing of our staff in the next Arrowhead. We have a great looking staff for 2019!