YMCA Hayo-Went-Ha Camps

OPENING DAY

2009-06-21T16:40:00.000-04:00

June 20th 2009, As always a rip roaring good time on opening day! 155 campers came in and all of us here are looking forward to G-Swim, Hobbie Nights, and Super Saturdays galore! Yesterday, the swim tests came as a nice break from hot weather and the ceremonious opening campfire went well. This morning an all camp game of capture the flag was put into motion and the sun is out and shining down on all of us. Tonight, for the first time this summer, the camp store will open. Later, moon pendents will be given out to 1st, 5th, 10th, and even one 15th year campers and staff. What an awesomely exciting start to our 95th year of camping on Arbutus Lake.

Frank in Poland

2009-03-19T09:59:00.002-04:00

After 20 or so hours of airports, flights, and shuttles I arrived in Poland unscathed, but slightly pasty. I was received at the airport in Warsaw Poland by Camp America and whisked to the Janlll Sobieski Hotel (named after a famous king of Poland) and shown to my room. Being somewhat rusty on the international travel scene I was unaware that my key card activated the lights of the room by inserting it in the slot by the door. Of course my first thought was to have the staff check the fuses. That's when the maid politely showed me how the lights worked. Of course this was after a well deserved nap to clear the cobwebs from my brain.

I then went downstairs to introduce myself to some of the other camp directors and staff and to join them to dinner on Camp America. We departed by taxi (which I think they all got their licenses from Evil Knevil) to an authentic Polish restaurant in the middle of Warsaw. It was an old mansion that housed diplomats from a bygone era. We started off with appetizers of steak tar-tar (raw beef and pesto with capers), salmon mixed with various greens, and sliced tomatoes with pesto and shredded Parmesan cheese. The main course I chose was the pork loin Dijon, cubed potatoes, and broccoli with cauliflower. A spring salad was also served. I noticed that the portions were large like the States. Dinner conversation was captivating from Camp America employees and their experiences on the hiring expectations from both sides of the desk. Experiences were shared, pointers were given on the upcoming hiring fair and, and the evening in general was enjoyable and memorable.

By 11:30 it was time to go back to the hotel for a great nights sleep. My roommate was not to show until the next day so I had the room to myself. I awoke Thursday around 7:00a.m awaiting the arrival of Monika (GC staff employee from summer of 07') to spend the day walking around Warsaw being tourists. Monika was not very familiar with Warsaw, so we ventured together. She was aware of the bus schedules and maps and so we could choose our own tourist destinations. We chose to go to old town where there was an old palace that housed the kings and queens from the past. The palace was destroyed by the Nazi's in 1943, and then rebuilt after the war. I could not believe all the gold and old art work that filled the rooms of the palace. It was overwhelming and hard to absorb it all, but I have pictures! After the tour of the palace we walked miles and miles and got a real feel for the mood of the city and the many sites to behold. Wonderful cathedrals and old buildings which were mostly made of marble and granite, offset by cobblestone streets. We stopped at a small cafe for a dinner of what I think was a fish cake, potatoes and salad. This was served with a strong cup of coffee that Monika was used to and loved, but my taste was for something milder, like water.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel. Monika wanted to say hi to Doug Gillespie, so we went to his room. We knocked on his door waking him to discover he was recovering from an emergency root canal. He explained the ordeal and was glad to be free from pain as he was going to stay and travel for a week or so with his daughter and Remik, a Polish Boys Camp staff employee from 2002.

The next day was hiring date and over 500 students showed up for the fair. The caliber of students that applied was impressive and they were all eager to work at a summer camp in the US. I was able to hire four great girls to work in the kitchen this summer.

I would like to thank the staff at Camp America for their wonderful guidance and support throughout this whole trip, and also to Camp Hayo-Went-Ha for the opportunity they gave me to experience Poland and be part of the international hiring of some top notch Polish students.

Dzhehnkooyeh!

Winter Fun

2009-03-06T11:38:00.009-05:00

Believe it or not, camp stays busy all year! Living at camp in the winter was always a dream of mine as a little camper, and now here I am! It's beautiful, and filled with fun winter activities. This winter has been much colder than last winter, and the lake froze much faster. Simon and I would have been disappointed if we hadn't been able to experience a real Northern Michigan winter. Some highlights of this winter have included a "prehistoric man" camp with the Children's House Montessori School, a few dips in the lake, and the second Frozen Torch Snowshoe Race!

We were lucky enough to have another beautiful sunny day for the race this year, and had about 45 people participate. The course was 5K (or 3.1 miles), and wove through Camp Hayo-Went-Ha, and across the road up along the ridge to the fire tower, and then down Sunset Hill Road. At the highest point of the trail you could see frozen Torch Lake in all its glory! Everyone seemed to enjoy the challenging course- some people enjoyed it so much they raced around the loop twice to compete in out 10K division! Many familiar HWH faces came out for the event including Kevin Farron, John and Kelly Sporer, Brian Tremblay, Liz Ulrich (our 10K Women's champ!), Kim Tremblay, Phil Pickard, and Zach Goldstein. We sincerely thank everyone for the support and participation!

The Frozen Torch Snowshoe Race started last year, with the idea behind it being to get people outside and enjoying the beauty that camp and the outdoors has to offer. Hadley Robinson, Jodi Hamilton, and Jeremy Dicks, who created and worked hard to get the event off to a great start last year were missed! Hopefully the event will continue to grow and provide a great opportunity for winter fun to those surviving the winter here in Michigan!

New Floor in the T G Macdonald Lodge

2009-03-06T10:12:00.003-05:00

The Dining hall at the Girls Camp was "finished" last week with the completion of an epoxy floor coating. This heavy duty flooring adds a special touch of grandeur! The Lodge now has a very manageable and easier to clean floor. It was a great job and that you to all those who made this finishing touch possible.

Animal life at HWH

2009-01-25T22:56:00.009-05:00

The Gillespie Family - Doug Gillespie is the HWH Camps Maintenance Director and his family lives at the Farm House located at the meadow. They have been observing a pair of Bald Eagles this winter also calling teh Meadow their home. Thank you to Johanna who took these pictures after school, January 19th in a tree by the Caboose. (There are two bald eagles but she could only capture one on film!)

Also this hunting season Doug successfully shot a buck that he skillfully hunted near the cedar swamp at the south end of Camp. The buck would not come out of the deep woods, so Doug circled around down wind to get in front of him without him seeing or spooking the doe he was following. He had about a 150 yard shot and was successful. The meat was a lean meat and very tasty.

Baked Alaska!

2008-12-15T12:13:00.004-05:00

This is a traditional final banquet dessert at HWH every year! Try it at home!

Baked Alaska serves 40 this is the smallest amount for this recipe! Here is an easy recipe for a Holiday desert to wow your guests.

5# fudge brownie mix
1qt van ice cream
1qt peppermint stick ice cream
1qt chocolate ice cream
25 egg whites
1 cup sugar
151 proof rum - “to provide a flaming Alaska!”

Prepare brownies according to box directions. You need 4-8 1/2"x11" pans aluminum or glass. Then line with wax parchment, even up the sides. Bake according to directions on box. When brownies are done let cool for 5 minutes then place in freezer leaving in pans. Let brownies freeze hard, this may take several hours. Once brownies are frozen, remove from pan and peel off parchment. On a small sheet pan (which you may line with foil, shiny side up) place one brownie. Working quickly so ice cream does not melt; take vanilla ice cream and peel away container and slice ice cream in 3/4" thickness and place on brownie. Then place another brownie on top. Follow the same steps - You will end up with brownie, vanilla, brownie, peppermint stick, brownie, chocolate, brownie Place in freezer to freeze hard.
Prepare meringue by whipping egg whites on high speed until creamy but not yet peeking. Add sugar and whip until peeks form when touching a rubber spatula to the meringue, do not over whip!

Remove brownie, ice cream from freezer and cover completely with meringue forming peeks by lifting spatula. Place in freezer until ready to serve.

When ready to serve have your oven pre-heated to 450*. Put in baked Alaska for 3-4 minutes just to brown the peeks of meringue.

Remove from oven then pour about two shots of 151 rum over top of Alaska and light. A nice blue flame will top off the baked Alaska. Slice and serve.

Hayo-Went-Ha Campers across the years.

2008-12-11T22:13:00.005-05:00

Here is a photo of Jeff Kurnick who is a current camper and his grandfather Jim Krohn- who was a camper during the 1930's.

"Who once were strangers."

2008-11-26T22:49:00.003-05:00

I had never met a Swedish person before coming to camp HWH. To me they were all blonde and terrifying; destined to arrive upon our English soil in Dragon boats, bristling with axes and spears and ready to loot and pillage. I believed that each Swede (or Dane or Norse man) would look a little bit like Kirk Douglas in 'The Vikings'. How wrong I turned out to be.
This last weekend, my family and I were visited by our friend, Michael Soderlund. We first met in the summer of 1997. I had arrived from teaching school in the UK to work second session at HWH, and I soon learned about the hard-working and likeable Swede who ran the waterfront. Mike was everything that is best about a waterfront director; fun, vigilant, VERY qualified and knowledgeable and mostly VERY safe. No child would ever come near harms way under Mikey's watch. He joined in the fun as well. Mike exemplified another group of people to which I belong in the many guises my time at HWH produced: namely the 'Year round staff' or 18 monthers. In addition to the marvelous staff at both camps during the summer, these staff took school groups during the fall/winter/spring programs. Each of us learned every job at camp; we all cooked, cleaned, sang, snowshoed and a million other things. We loved it, but most of all we loved and still love camp.

Mike and I (and my wife Jane) hadn't seen each other in over eight years, but the time fell away and friendships were renewed without question. Every camper, staff member and alumnus that has ever been part of this magical place will know what I mean. The buildings echo with every name, and the memories we carry with us to every part of the planet are a coat of many hues and shades; we are each 'Ghosts' of HWH. Mike loved meeting my family, and was thrilled to learn that our sons Samuel and Elijah had already visited camp in the summer of 2007. I told Mike about camping at the point on a beautiful night with my eldest son Sam and one of my oldest friends Dave Brott. Mike was a bit emotional as we talked about our times, people we had known, some still with us some (sadly) not. He asked "Will you ever go back to HWH, Rob?".

I smiled, remembered the feeling of the trails beneath my feet and the smell of wood smoke accompanying the strains of "This little light of mine", and answered, "I have never left."

Rob Wilkinson November 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-25T12:19:00.004-05:00

After weeks of planning and three days of preparation, another successful Thanksgiving dinner was served to over 220 guests and 25 staff and volunteers on Sunday at Kresge Lodge. A total of 388 pounds of turkey (14 whole turkeys) were slow roasted to perfection. We save all the drippings to prepare our 7 gallons of gravy and flavor the 130+ pounds of stuffing. Over 100 pounds of red potatoes were boiled and mashed. A total of 60+ pounds of green beans were used for the casserole. Oh no! It seems we ran out of cranberries (almost). I've always made 60 pounds of cranberry sauce but in the past it was too much. So this year I made 30 pounds and it was close, this will of course be adjusted for next year! Then to the PIES PIES PIES! We decided to make them this year and it was well received, but Chad and I both agree, we are glad we don't work in a bakery. Of course we had all the fixings to go with the meal like pickles, fresh rolls and butter, and even apple cider. Coffee was even a hit and always nice to have with your pie. We served over 300 cups of coffee - I had two.

This is a lot of food, but just think if we could accommodate everyone that wanted to come. It seems we ran out of room and had to turn down over 50 people. The main topic of discussion for next year will be how to make sure everyone can participate in the dinner. There are several ideas floating around from having two dinners on different days and others. If you have any ideas on how this can be done, let’s talk!

I must thank all the guests that attended and for your wonderful fellowship. To me it shows such a manifestation of the true Hayo-Went-Ha spirit. This is evident too of the all the excellent staff and volunteers as they focus on their tasks at hand in serving our friends around the community. We all know how important community is and especially on Sunday when we gather as one big family. It re-energizes me and assures me that our mission at camp is doing positive things and the support from our friends is making it all possible. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart and I wish you all the best Blessings for your Holidays.

Sincerely, Frank Rushlow
Food Service Director – YMCA Hayo-Went-Ha Camps

Registrar Kathy Peterson leaves after nine years.....

2008-11-14T13:16:00.006-05:00

Our Registrar person, Kathy Peterson left for warmer temperatures last week. We had a fun going away party and we will all miss her outgoing personality around the office. Thank you Kathy for all your hard work. If you had every called our main office, most likely Kathy was the one happily answered all your questions.

The search is now on for a replacement!

Summer Camp Thoughts

2008-11-10T21:12:00.003-05:00

It's no small feat for a parent to send their child to summer camp for four weeks. In fact it is reminiscent of tribal times when mothers pushed their young sons into the world at puberty while feigning disgust with them. Shielding their tears, the mothers would turn their backs and walk away. Back then it was a very important right of passage...and signalled the ascension to adulthood. Now they leave them with a big hug, an email address and the expectation that they will stay in touch. But it's definitely still a right of passage, whether it's a son or a daughter. Only at Hayo-Went-Ha Camps do children become young people -- not through stringent discipline and rigorous academics, but by catching frogs knee-deep in mud, or by lugging a heavy back pack on the paths of Isle Royale. Mostly it's the friendships that bond them together and keep them in touch even as adults. I've had the privilege of watching them get together after years of being completely apart, even on opposite sides of the country. Hayo-Went-Ha is sticky and stays with them through life...the stories never leave, the songs are still sung...and the places they grew to love as campers are still cherished and cared for as we move through the Second Century of Camping.