Today we were visited by our friends at Birch Trail, a camp for girls about 45 minutes away from us, for our annual social. We’ve been having socials with Birch Trail for many years, and prior to last summer, they were only for our oldest campers. Last summer, our two leadership teams hatched a plan to expand the social to our whole camp, all ages included, and we headed to their camp for a day of fun. This year, it was our turn to host their entire camp at Nebagamon, for the very first time, for a day of activities and socializing! Our Program Coordinator Nora planned an action packed spy-themed day, with different espionage themed stations that the campers rotated through.
In the morning the oldest campers from each camp worked together on a massive puzzle on the Upper Diamond. Each camper started with a square card featuring a unique symbol and had to find another camper with a complementary symbol. Then those pairs linked up with other pairs gradually piecing the puzzle together. When they completed the puzzle they moved on to some fun ice-breaker type games to continue getting to know one another.
Down on the Lower Diamond, our younger campers traveled in small groups, rotating through spy-themed stations. Some highlights included “catch the projectile” (a grape toss), “password” (a charades-esque game), a “spy knowledge quiz” (trivia about one another’s camp), “dismantle the trap” (standing on a tarp and flipping it over without stepping off of it), and many more.
The games were a blast, and served as ways to break the ice, giving the campers a chance to get to know one another (and for our campers with siblings at Birch Trail to hang out together)! We enjoyed a BBQ lunch together on the lower diamond before we kicked off the afternoon portion of our day together. Each of our four villages hosted classic Nebagamon games typical for their respective age groups: four square and box hockey in the Swamper village, Gaga in the Logger Village, Rinde Ball (what we call roof ball) in the Axeman Village, and pickleball in the Lumberjack Village. Campers were free to roam through Camp and check out all of the different games. It felt like a typical day’s free time at Nebagamon… just with some new friends!
While all of the activities were hits, my favorite part of the day was watching our extraordinary Nebaga-hosts show their new Birch Trail friends around the place. I saw campers wearing looks of pride on their faces as they showed off the project board and described how our waterfront works. When some of Birch Trail’s oldest girls noticed that many of our oldest boys were absent from camp, I listened as some Axemen eagerly described our wilderness tripping program, explaining that many of our eighth and ninth graders are on Big Trip for two or three weeks. Inside the Rec Hall, Nebagamon campers spent a considerable amount of time showing off our Big Trip plaques and awards. I overheard one Birch Trail girl comment “there’s so much history here,” and she couldn’t have been more right!
Beneath that pride, our campers seemed to carry a sense of ownership of the place. This morning before Birch Trail arrived when we all worked together for a full-camp cleanup. There was no need for counselor encouragement. Our campers of all ages acted as stewards of the place and made Nebagamon shine. When our visitors arrived they showed off Camp as if it were their home–and it is! From that place of confidence came curiosity about Birch Trail: “how do you choose projects?” “What are your trips like?” “What does the inside of your dining hall look like?” Campers compared their favorite activities and camp menus, and figured out who they knew in common from one another’s hometowns. They spent the day connecting through the shared experience of summer camp, and ultimately found that they had a lot in common: our Hobie Catamarans look the same, we also give Keylogs, and both camps adventure to Isle Royale. As some astute campers noticed at our BBQ, we even enjoy burgers from the exact same supplier!
While the idea of a camp “social” may carry connotations of awkwardness or boundary pushing, today was the exact opposite. Our campers took our sign in front of the Big House which reads “This Shall Be A Place Of Welcome For All” and sent it into action. We can’t wait for next year’s social and our next opportunity to put our values in practice as welcoming hosts and the “nice Nebagamon Boys.”