Camp Nebagamon

Updates

Congratulations to our February Birthdays!

Congratulations to our February Birthdays! This month’s Birthdays include…

February 2nd – HJ Walberg

4th – Oliver Fox

5th – Jared Micah Greaves, Jason Hirschhorn, Diego Santa Cruz

6th – Myles Rontal, Eli Zelvy

birthday camping trip isle royale8th – Eli Terman, Jack Tierney

11th – Jude Alderman

13th – Mark Gingiss, matthew Grosman

14th – Jordan Liebich

16th – Gabe Colman, Nachi Santa Cruz, Aaron Zelvy

17th – Nassir Jones, Oren Korczak

18th – Matthew Carter, Felipe Chaladovsky, Qincy Hirt

19th – Arthur Brook Young

21st – Jacob Greenwald, Henry Quinn-Pasin

22nd – Eugenio Caballero, Levi Gell, Sam More

23rd – Zach Bell, Elijah Gold, Ben Huston, Sebastian Klein

24th – Jackson Goldblatt

26th – Julian Saddleton

27th – Josh Abraham, Liam Hdez. C. Haack, Ari Held

28th – Wilson Heeringa

Mailgabber – A New Song “O Nebagamon”

In honor of Camp’s 90th reunion in 2018, Reed Maidenberg wrote and performed a new song about camp – “O Nebagamon”. He recently had the song professionally produced and made it available for everyone to listen to! You can find it here on Spotify and on other major music streaming services!

Reed Maidenberg performing at the 90th Reunion

Can you identify the snowy camp location?

By Louis Levin

I spent a few nights up at camp last week, and thought of a fun challenge for you all who know camp so well during the summer… Can you identify some camp locations once they’re covered in 18″ of snow? Some are a little trickier than you think… Try the quiz here!

Congratulations to our January Birthdays!

Congratulations to our January Birthdays!

January 2nd – Ethan Blatt, Judah Callen

3rd – Cole Secrest

4th – Will Grant

6th – Oliver Tannahill

8th – Justin Blumberg, Henry Sohn

9th – Alexander Averbuch, Jonah Docter-Loeb

Happy Birthday, New Year’s Babies!

10th – Ethan Berman

11th – Sophia Gatzionis, Namon Jones, Nathan Susser

14th – Sebastian Alderman, Sam Cohen, Gush Karsh, Amy Mack

16th – Gabe Heller

17th – Eli Fromm, Seth Lambert

18th – John Bermudez, Jake Lescher, Chase Ward

19th – Micah Rosenbloom

20th – Sam Apple, Collin de la Garza

21st – Daisy Mack

22nd – Davo Hayden-Davenport, Nelson Mendels, Asher Mendelson

23rd – trent Flegel

24th – Sam Whitman

26th – Jacob Carlin, Cindy Rolfe

27th – Adrew Guest

29th – Tiana Hursh, Noah Penson, Milo Peterson, Eric Portillo

Congrats to our December Birthdays!

December 1st – Jack Rivkin

2nd – AJ Filley Brown, Asher Corndorf, Will Livers

3rd – Noah Lambert

4th – Santi Lozano, Alerto Martinez Trevino, Ron Gaare

5th – Raymond Tolentino Santana, Hank Pulitzer

7th – Ollie Gray

8th – Max Kenedy

10th – Ori Radwin

11th – Ivan Becerra, Carlos Ramirez-Deida

13th – Zack Troeller, Ben Platt

16th – Ben Hanson-Kaplan, Landon Denker

17th – Anthony Gutierrez

18th – Sam de la Garza, Pierre Chevalier

19th – Charlie Cohen

21st – Steven Weeldreyer

23rd – Kase Atkinson, Nathan Massel, Lucy Stephenson

28th – Billy Galpern

29th – Henry Freilich, Mickey Silins, Lawson Weeldreyer

30th – Fowowe Onigbanjo, Jake Finkelstein, Alex Fuller

31st – Corrado Mosconi

All That We Send Into the Lives of Others

By Adam Kaplan

Camp Nebagamon has many traditions that are worthy of recognition and pride: spaghetti on the first night of camp, Paul Bunyan Day, Wednesday afternoon trips to the Dairy Queen, our always moving and poignant Keylog Ceremony every Sunday night at Council Fire, and many more. We Nebagamites (not sure that is the appropriate term!) are creatures of habit.

An often overlooked yet absolutely defining tradition within the Nebagamon community is the tradition of giving that the camp family has nurtured for many years. Nebagamon and the camp family have a remarkable track record for generosity. The most obvious example of this is the fact that we actually pay our staff a salary to get to come up to camp and play with kids for an entire summer! What could possibly be more generous than to actually give someone money to spend a summer in paradise!?!? (Ok….a bit of a stretch I know….but, after all, this is the summer staff recruiting season!).

This tradition of giving also manifests itself in the two charitable organizations most prominent in our community, The Camp Nebagamon Scholarship Fund and Camperships for Nebagamon. Occasionally, there is some confusion about the two organizations so I thought I would take some time this month to talk about both of them.

In 1948, Muggs and Janet Lorber founded the Camp Nebagamon Scholarship Fund (CNSF). The fund is intended to provide money and scholarships to agency camps around the country. Whether it be a camp for families in financial need, a camp for children with emotional struggles, or a camp for kids with physical challenges, the Camp Nebagamon Scholarship Fund has been doing this great work for over nearly three quarters of a century! Historically speaking, one of the more special facets of CNSF is the focus that has been placed on inviting current campers to participate. Every summer, just outside the Big House, we erect and tarp a big board that explains not only what CNSF does, but different ways in which our campers can contribute to make a difference in the lives of other children. Whether by earning money raking leaves, contributing some of their allowance, or creating their own fund drives, campers are shown that THEY can participate in Nebagamon’s culture of giving.

The second charitable organization that is important to the camp family is called Camperships for Nebagamon (CFN). Founded in 1995, CFN has raised well a tremendous amount of money with the sole purpose of sending kids to Nebagamon, and other independent camps like Nebagamon, who would not otherwise be able to attend. To date, over two hundred kids have received some sort of scholarship from CFN. There are several great aspects of this scholarship fund. Most obviously, the boys that come to camp on a scholarship benefit tremendously from their experience. Children who normally would never have gotten a chance to experience the growth and magic of Nebagamon (or Nebagamon-esque) summers are given that opportunity. Secondly, the first-year scholarship comes with an assurance that, if everything goes well, the scholarship dollars will follow the boy through the entirety of his years at camp. It allows for a complete experience. Third, this continued support of a camper also makes it more likely that he will then return and share more of himself as a staff member in the future. This completes the giving cycle.

Finally, let us not overlook the positive impact the CFN scholarship program has on the rest of the camp community. The scholarship is not intended simply to improve the life of the individual recipient of the scholarship. The scholarship is intended to improve the camp experience for everyone at camp. I cannot tell you how much I believe camp as a whole has benefited from the addition of scholarship campers throughout the years. These campers enrich, broaden, and add to our family in so many ways. There can be little doubt that Camp Nebagamon is a better place because of Camperships for Nebagamon and the kids that CFN has helped send to us since 1995.

Oftentimes folks don’t give camps enough credit for the lessons they teach and the gifts that they deliver. In this month of giving, I think it is appropriate to acknowledge, appreciate, and even consider giving to one (or both!) of these truly special organizations that are genuinely making a difference in the lives of children through camping….

Happy Holidays all…

Looking to Give Back? Give a Virtual Keylog!

CAMPERSHIPS FOR NEBAGAMON

Truly Making Camp A Place of Welcome For All

Founded in 1995, Camperships For Nebagamon (CFN) supports children who otherwise would not be able to enjoy a private camping experience. These children, from a diversity of backgrounds, enjoy life-changing experiences and enrich the camp community with their diverse cultural perspectives. CFN aims to support campers for multiple years, giving them sustained access to a summer community in which to build friendships and identity.

Leveraging income from the Muggs and Janet Lorber Endowment Fund and individual donations, CFN currently provides partial tuition for nearly 50 boys attending Camp Nebagamon each year. Since 2002, CFN has also funded partial tuition for girls attending Camp WeHaKee, located in the Chequamegon National Forest of northern Wisconsin. As funds allow, CFN plans to identify other “partner” camps to fulfill its charitable goals.

Utilizing an annual evaluation process, CFN’s board has been heartened by the positive impact of its funding on individual campers and the broader camp communities.

CFN depends upon continued contributions to sustain current campership levels and to be able to increase the aid available each year (both to keep up with the rising costs of private camps and to increase, as possible, the number of camperships provided each summer).

CAMP NEBAGAMON SCHOLARSHIP FUND

A Path Toward Success for Disadvantaged Children

The Camp Nebagamon Scholarship Fund provides life-changing camping experiences for children who live with poverty in their homes and communities, and/or physical, cognitive or psychological disabilities. Contributions to the CN Scholarship Fund support tuition scholarships at non-profit camps uniquely qualified to change the lives of such children through recreation, friendship and experiences that cultivate skills and values needed for success in life.

Thousands of children who face such challenges have attended camps near their homes—near many cities where Nebagamon campers live—thanks to the generosity of Nebagamon alumni and friends. Founded in 1947 by Muggs and Janet Lorber, the CN Scholarship Fund was administered by Nardie and Sally Lorber Stein for over 50 years.

Contributions will benefit both organizations and are tax deductible.

For more information visit https://cncharities.org/virtual-keylog/  

Mailgabber — A 9th Grader Reflects

Mailgabber features writing by members of the Camp Family. This month, we present an excerpt from a school paper written by graduated 9th-grade camper Gabe Sloan-Garcia, as reflects on a poignant moment from his last summer as a camper. Interested in submitting for Mailgabber? Send submissions to Louis.

By Gabe Sloan-Garcia

Every summer since I was in 5th grade, I’ve gone to a summer camp in the North Woods called Nebagamon. It’s an all-boys camp in Wisconsin that specializes in making your summer the best parent-free summer possible. When I’m there, I forget Albuquerque and school and all the hardships that I face every year. I just live, every moment recognized and appreciated, in total and utter ecstasy. I love it there. It is my safe haven. It is the place where I can be myself.

Gabe (far right) returns from his Quetico Big Trip

Every grade, 2nd through 9th, gets its own arsenal of camping trips that they can go on. For 8th graders, a trip called Isle Royale is offered, a 14-day trek around an island in the middle of Lake Supperior. It was the best two weeks of my life, until I came back to camp as a 9th grader. As 9th graders, there is a kind of graduation ceremony in the form of a trip. It’s a 14-day canoeing trip in Canada called Quetico. It is the mark of becoming a man and I loved every second of it. My best memories, hardest challenges, and the proudest I’ve ever been of myself have all happened there. Every day is at least 20 miles of canoeing and portaging. It was hard for the first few days because our packs had over 10 days’ worth of food for seven fifteen-year-old boys stuffed inside of them. Each pack was at least 80 pounds not counting the weight of a canoe when we had to take a canoe and a pack (A.K.A double-packing) at the same time. We had some easier days and some harder days but on the 8th day, we came to our longest portage of the trip, a 1.5-mile beast filled with waist-deep mud, overgrown trees, and perilous descents and climbs. It was called “Eat em’ up” after a 150-foot-long mud pit that put you belly button deep in mud. Halfway through the mud pit, I felt like I was going to die. It was sweltering hot, my clothes were dirty beyond recognition, and my body was exhausted. The mud was taxing, physically and mentally. I would press forward for a couple of feet and then stop, breathing heavily and barely holding up the 80-pound canoe above my head. When it became almost unbearable, I heard laughing from behind me. My friend Nate had taken his pack off and was jumping into the mud from a vine on the bank of the mud river. He looked like he was having a blast as he swung and jumped into the mud. Soon enough, my friend Ben dropped his gear and joined him, their laughter drowning out the voice in the back of my head telling me to quit, to just fall so I put my pack down, rolling the canoe off my shoulders. I climbed slowly out of the mud and got in line to jump and, after Ben went, it was my turn. I grabbed the vine, stepped back, and sprinted, jumping without hesitation. I flew through the air, a few glorious seconds of freedom, before slamming into the mud. I immediately sank up to my thighs and slowly kept sinking. But I didn’t care. I was laughing too much, having completely forgotten my morose thoughts only moments before. The feeling of hitting the mud was jarring at first but then was like nothing I had ever felt before. I can only describe it as the feeling of pushing your hand into Oobleck but with your whole body. For about thirty minutes, we just played in the mud and then we pushed through the rest of the portage in under twenty minutes. We killed it just because of a little break with some fun and laughter.

Congratulations to our October Birthdays!

October 3rd – Jacob Laytin, Patrick Pierce

4th – William Slaguero

5th – Ben Laytin

7th Jonathan Burbul

8th – Luis Gonzalez-Xochihua

9th – Kai Ruwitch

15th – Jack Connelly, Elliott Egan

16th – Tyler Gray, JT Hornick, Sam Owens

18th – Ryder Meisel

20th – Sam Montag

21st – Jonathan Schiff-Lewin

22nd – Tony Bogolub

23rd – Charlie Steinbaum

25th – Bradley Rittenberg, Noah Swanson

26th – Noah Meltzer, Jake Powers, William Wyden

27th – Jasper Braunschweiger, Peter Kallos, Jonah Rontal, Josh Wells

28th – Patrick Meehan

29th – Evan Friedman, Ben Lindy, Charlie Peters

30th – Ben Bakal

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