Happy Birthday to Us (Our 90th Celebration)

This year we turn 90 as an organization. It is something worth celebrating – and we will. During the weekend of August 15th – 17th, various activities will take place around Manito-wish to honor this special occasion. To share more about this, we asked Ellie Orbison to jot down some words.

“Break Out the Oars, Course Set for Manito-wish ...”
Camp Manito-wish YMCA celebrates its 90th year of existence in 2008 … and you are a part of our amazing history.

Greetings!!! I’m Ellie Orbison and I’m the Director of Development and Alumni Relations (or DoDAR - the best job title acronym I’ve ever had in my entire career). I was invited to talk a bit about our 90 years and the celebration that will take place in August at Camp. There are so many wonderful stories to be shared with you, I found myself overwhelmed in trying to narrow it down … so I’ll just give you a quick history lesson (that won’t even scratch the surface) and say we’ll be hearing more historical facts every day during the summer during announcements. We want everyone to know as much as possible about the legacy we share.

Camp Manito-wish programming began in 1919. One hundred boys attended that first summer and paid $7 for their four-week session. By 1941, enrollment was dropping off due to the economy and the camp leaders decided to try an experiment and allow girls to come. They all assumed the girls would try it for a year and that would be it! Little did they know what this experiment would mean to the future of Camp Manito-wish.

As things started to change within the State YMCA, the Camp Manito-wish committee decided to take the step that would make Manito-wish an independent YMCA, separate from the State YMCA, with its own board of directors and the freedom to make its own decision about its future. In April 1970, Camp Manito-wish became an independent YMCA and has been ever since. We are governed by a board of forty-four, which includes four representatives from the seasonal staff - Dana Roberts, Kate Lindahl, Sarah Judkins and Anna Ficken.

Wilderness tripping has always been the core of our program experience (just as character and leadership development has been the underlying purpose of our programs). Though the Outpost program, as we know it today, didn’t exist when camp first started, we have been doing the Pioneer and Canuck canoe trips since the 1950s and 1930s, respectively.

In our 90 years of history, we have only had six Executive Directors (formerly known as Camp Director) – Walter “Daddy” Wones, Elmer Ott, Bob Telleen, John Stanley, Rolf Thompson, and Anne Derber. This consistency in leadership has been critical to our success.

In August, we will celebrate our 90th anniversary as a camp with a weekend celebration at Manito-wish. Starting on Friday, August 15th, alumni and friends can come together for golf in the afternoon and/or for the evening social gathering off property. Saturday, August 16th will be the day for everyone to come home to Manito-wish. A picnic lunch will kick off the celebration followed by tours and activities at Camp. The culmination of the weekend will be a banquet in Nash Lodge where we will not only reflect on our amazing history, but will also officially celebrate the completion of the Capital and Endowment Campaign which helped us undertake many projects, including the Nash Lodge renovations and expansion. The weekend will end with Sunday’s chapel service. We are hoping to have over three hundred alums in attendance at the banquet!

Whether 2008 will be your first or thirty-fifth year, you are a part of the rich history that is Camp Manito-wish YMCA. I look forward to celebrating throughout the summer with you both the history and the amazing people that are Camp Manito-wish YMCA.

Alumni Network Now Online

Camp now has an active alumni database online for you to access. What year did Johnny work on staff? What year was Suzie a camper?

This isn't just a database of the past few years either - this dates back for decades! Go ahead - check it out, look yourself up, look up your friends, your campers, past staff you lost touch with. It's pretty impressive!

Click here for the link, or better yet, just go to Camp's main page and there is a link there as well.

Ride-Share Group on Facebook

Gas prices got you down? Better start thinking of carpooling to Camp this summer!

Need a ride? Got room for one or two more in your car? Post it on the Ride-Share Group for Staff on Facebook.

While you're there you just might want to join the official Manito-wish Alumni group, as well as become a fan of Camp Manito-wish YMCA.

Wanted: Music Director

Wanted- someone who can:

· Rally the Dining Hall in song after dinner;
· Organize a Camp Show - or three;
· Lead songs at Chapel;
· Run a program area that gets kids excited about music;
· Play a mean acoustic guitar.

If you know, or have seen this person, please report them immediately to Brandt Christopherson.

You will know this person because you've seen them:

· Playing in coffee shops and venues in your town;
· Constantly asking if you've seen their guitar pick;
· Singing and humming songs during their free time;
· Going everywhere and anywhere to see live music;
· Reminds you a lot of Pete Seeger, or at least The Seeger Sessions, by Bruce Springsteen.

A reward is set for the first person to find a quality Music Director. No foolin'.

Coming to a Twin City Near You

We will be in the Twin Cities (those of Minneapolis and St. Paul) this weekend recruiting. Midwest Mountaineering is hosting its Spring Outdoor Adventure Expo this weekend and we will be one of the exhibitors. A Manito-wish booth will be staffed throughout the duration of the Expo and we would love to see you there. Stop by and say hello, check out the gear and learn from pros in the industry. Admission to the Expo is free, so you can’t lose. We hope to see you there.

Reading Material

Are you looking for a book to put on your nightstand? We have a recommendation. If you want to understand the power of what you do for the lives of our participants, read Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv.  It affirms what Manito-wish is all about.

Many here in the office have read it and have found it inspirational and informative. It describes how younger generations are now spending more time indoors playing with electronics and how that is perhaps detrimental to their development. Louv covers other trends like the media's coverage of the 'frightening' outdoors and parental fear are covered.  He also highlights and quantifies the benefits of environmental education.  The book addresses how to pull kids outdoors and help them reform a connection to their natural surroundings.  It is a good read.

Pick it up if you have the spare time. Or, if you have a paper to write in the coming days/weeks, consider the topic of Nature-Deficit Disorder and use Last Child in the Woods as your reference/source material.

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Play and the Manito-wish approach have also been covered in a few recent stories. If you don’t want to read the book, you can explore these links.

“Taking Play Seriously” from the NY Times Magazine
“Old Fashion Play Builds Serious Skills” from National Public Radio (note you can listen to this story and also note the links at the bottom of the page under the Related NPR Stories section – “Creative Play Makes for Kids in Control” is the second part of the above story)

Feeling Spring

The Program Crew (left-right): 

Jay, Meghan, Brandt, Mark, Drew, Andy, Craig, Mary

Happy Tax Day everyone, from the Program Group! Spring is springing at Manito-wish. It is 57 degrees out, the warmest since October of last year. The snow is melting and some of us are going floating down the Manitowish River later (though we also were XC skiing and snowshoing just yesterday - life in the Northwoods).

Even though it is warm and spring has arrived, we still have snow. Here are some photos taken today of all of us enjoying what we hope is the last of the snow. It is visual proof that we have not been lying about the amount we received this year. It is April 15th and we still have a lot of the white stuff around.  Oh well.

Happy Spring from all of us at Camp. We hope to see all of you soon. Think spring!

So warm that Drew can wear short sleeves.  Also warm enough 

to make snowballs and throw them at an unsuspecting photographer.  

More of Mike's Moments

Mike has some more photos and thoughts he wanted to share, we were happy to oblige.

Big signs and big resorts.  You can just see this 

establishment's waterpark  - they would not let me ride, though.

“Being a Wisconsin resident I felt it was my duty to visit the Dells. I was not sure what to expect. What I found was a giant tourist trap/playground. There are tons of shops, chain restaurants and hotels – plenty of ways to separate you from your money. But as I knew from TV commercials, the big draw in the Dells are the waterparks. I tried to go down one of the inter-tube rides (indoor of course, since it was March and the snow was neck deep), but they did not let me because I did not meet the height requirement. There was also some risk that I might not be able to swim, since I was traveling without my arms.  Whatever, I went, I saw, I had an Orange Julius.”

Me, entrance gate E and the steps up to the Green Monster.

“I have always been a sports fan. Form my various vantage points around property I have witnessed numerous games of roofball, Wells Fargo and finger-fencing. All are staples in the Manito-wish sporting culture. I am, however, a bit of a traditionalist. I enjoy the classics as well, those of bocce ball, Tiddlywinks and baseball.

Baseball - America’s past-time, America’s game.  Now, I am not sure I would go so far as to classify any one activity or leisure pursuit as ‘America’s.’ We are a land of many different stripes (or plaids as I prefer). Though, I cannot dispute that we have a long-standing history with baseball.

To understand the passion and mania that can consume fans of the diamond, I went to one of baseball’s Meccas, Fenway Park in Boston. It is neatly tucked into a neighborhood right off the Mass-pike. As you approach, you have no idea that you are anywhere near a ballpark. Unlike the modern stadiums with their acres of parking lots and blacktop, I discovered that Fenway is hidden amongst the urban landscape. I liked that. I poked around and saw the Green Monster, the odd shape of the outfield and all the popcorn vendors counting their money. It had a different and historic feel, for sure. For this sports fan, it was a good visit.”

Nicely tucked into the surrounding neighborhood.

Physicals! Get your Physicals!

This is news to me, so I'm sure it's going to be news to you. Everyone, yes EVERYONE now needs a physical 12 months prior to the date you begin working at Camp! (It used to be 24.)

Physical Forms are now online. Click here to get yours today!

Now call your doc and set up an appointment.

Mike's Marvelous (Mis)Adventures

Mike Manito-wish, our beloved and unofficial mascot, is not just a 'flat' guy. He is a traveler. He enjoys getting out of the Northwoods. Thanks to the addition of the Lost Pine, there has been a reduction in his duties as the Lost and Found Guy which allows him to visit some of your nation's finest treasures. Whenever Mike returns, he delights in sharing his stories as well as his pictures. Here is a sample (with more to follow):

"I am a big fan of breakfast. It is also the most important meal of the day. Hence its derivation: to break the evening/sleeping fast. Break – fast. One of my favorite breakfast meals is cereal. Specifically, I love Malt-O-Meal cereals. I had an urge to see how the sausage is made and decided to take a sojourn to the factory in Northfield, MN. I was very impressed with the operation. One can frequently smell the aromas of the baking cereals around town. It was great.”

Anyone for a factory tour?

"Michigan fancies itself the 'Great Lake State,' something that I had to verify. It touches lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron and Ontario. With so many from which to choose, I decided I would visit the spot where two of them collide at the Straits of Mackinac. This is the meeting point of lakes Huron and Michigan as well as the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The lakes stretch on in both directions. Lake Huron sprawls out to the east toward Canada, while Lake Michigan is to the west and plunges down toward Chicago and all the industry in Gary. It is a spot where you can watch tankers pass, sail boats cruise and the water flow – it has the feel of a giant meeting place. Though of course I did not meet anyone while I was there, just a bunch of sea gulls and the guy who took my money at the toll both. The Mackinac Bridge (the connection between the two Peninsulas) is billed as the largest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere and is equally as striking as the lakes and surroundings. It's pretty cool."

The Mackinac Bridge: it’s big. And costs $3 to cross.

727 and 176

Happy April!

There are 28 inches of snow outside my window in the PO. The weather is trying to warm up, but the 10 inches of new snow last night did not help matters. Though summer seems far off, it is approaching quickly and a number of kids and families are eagerly looking forward to the moment when the gates are flung open.

At the end of every week, we look at the figures and data for enrollment in all our programs. As of today, we have 727 Summer campers enrolled and 176 Outpost campers. These numbers put us slightly behind where we were this time last year, but we are ahead of the figures for ’06 and ’05.

727 and 176 - these are the lives over which you will have direct influence. You will be taking these kids on trail, living with them in cabins and tents, and you are the people - the staff - they will remember for years to come.

To put this into perspective, 727 Summer campers translates into 73 full cabins and 176 Outpost participants equates to 36 trip groups. We are doing well, but consider that last year we had 898 Summer campers and 188 in Outpost.

What's this all mean? There are still spots open for campers to come to Camp and have amazing, life changing experiences. If you know of any young people that would benefit from a 'Manito-wish Experience', refer them to Manito-wish. We would be happy to send them recruitment materials or have a phone conversation about our program.