When did you first ever come to camp?
My first time coming to camp was in 2013. I was 11 years old, and I was a blazer in Seneca Cabin. I went week nine my first year.
Did you come to camp more years than that?
Yeah, I did it through CILTs (Campers in Leadership Training) in 2018. That was probably my favorite camper experience, honestly, doing CILTs.
What did you like about it?
I just really liked being able to feel like I’ve grown, but also still have fun with the group – the other campers that I got to know throughout the week. I feel like it was the closest that I ever got to my cabin just because we were there for a little bit longer.
So you were in Seneca your first year. Where’d you go after that? Were you up here in Lake?
Yeah, I was in what is now known as Hidatsa cabin for three years in a row.
Wow. Okay, so you were in River village as a camper your first year, and then also as a staff member. As a camper, what did you like about River village?
Something I really liked about River village was the friendliness of just everyone. I feel like that it felt really easy to just talk to everyone, and I felt really supported by everyone. All the counselors were always really nice to me. And I had a lot of fun. There’s nothing quite like the river meals, especially when it was in River Lodge. It was always really close together and loud. There’s a lot of energy.
Yeah, you could feel the floor shake at lunch, which was fun, and also a big reason why we have a new dining hall.
Yeah, I feel like even in the new dining hall, the energy is definitely still there. I feel like there’s so many different River cheers that are just so fun to do. I think one of my favorite camp cheers is definitely the P-Town cheer.
What’s that sound like?
(As a song) Cause we’re P-Town in the OT, with Pima and Pawnee. We go to chapel and live third!
Here, the golf cart rounds the corner out of the main river village loop and passes the pool on our right. Some people are getting ready to do some swim lessons, and we’re headed to the Oregon Territory.
Any other favorite River Village cheers?
I really like the Peoria Prince of Peace chair.
Okay, how’s that sound?
They go around at lunch every day and they’ll crown someone – they usually give them a necklace. At least they did that when I was in River. And they’ll walk around the lunchroom and they’ll chant: Prince of Peace, I said Peoria! And then they’ll just walk around the lunchroom and crown someone the Peoria Prince of Peace for the day.
We find ourselves in the midst of Day Camp action in the back of the OT near Trader Jim’s. We do a quick loop and head towards the River Village stables, mini farm, behind the Kampen Dining Hall, and back up the hill to Lake Village.
As a camper, what were some of your favorite things about Lake Village?
I feel like when you get to Lake Village, there’s more of a sense of independence, and it definitely makes you feel more mature as a camper. I think when I was in Lake Village, I definitely valued the devotions that my counselors would give a lot more. And I still remember some of them to this day. And I feel like I bonded a lot more with my counselors and the other campers in general, just as I got older.
So, after CILTs, did you work Day Camp?
I did not. I did not come back until 2023.
Okay, and you were in River?
I was in Lake Village and then I was in River Village and back in Lake.
So as a counselor in River village, what were some of your favorite parts of being a counselor down in this village?
Some of my favorite parts are just the energy that the kids always bring. I feel like they were always really excited to do whatever. I think they really appreciate the activities where they get to be goofy and have fun. I think that, anything you plan out for them, they always really value it, and they’re always really excited to get into it.
I also feel like they really also appreciate the lunch cheers and stuff. They always were asking me to do flies (putting flies on other cabins is a lunch tradition).
What’s something that you feel like is unique to River that just doesn’t exist in Lake?
I feel like there’s a silliness to River that doesn’t exist in Lake, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think it’s just something that is unique to the kids that are younger. I think of things like the quacken and Brave Silly Fun Show.
Tell us about those two things.
The quacken is just a brave boys cheer. We raise the quacken flag on Monday. It is a duck flag that they will raise at one of the flag poles on Monday. And then they will go around the lunch hall from time to time and do a quack and cheer, where all the brave boys and the brave boy counselors will surround a table, and they will just start quacking away, and then they’ll make a big quack sound all together.
The Brave Silly Fun Show was one of my favorite things that I did as a counselor. It is essentially all the brave cabins. Boys and girls will gather at the closing campfire stage, usually, and they will put together just a little act. Sometimes it’s a skit, sometimes it’s just a performance in general. And they will all just have a little talent show for all the Braves to enjoy.
We have made our way back to Lake Village. We pass the fishing Newdl by the Lake and a number of other campers preparing to kayak or play beach volleyball.
What’s something that’s been really unique about Lake Village?
I think something that I really love about Lake Village are the village games. I think the campers really get into the village games. The Lake Village campers tend to get more competitive as they get older and I think they have the village games as an outlet for that.
As we try to avoid being hit by flying disc golf discs, we drive through the back part of Lake Village towards the TLC.
Anything else that sets each village apart in your mind at all?
I would say the culture of chapel. Each village is a little different. I feel like in River Village there are a lot more of the motions and a little bit of silliness to it, while still valuing the messages of the songs.
And then in Lake Village they really start to understand the meaning behind the songs that we sing more. Songfest really helps them grasp why we do things like chapel and also devotions at camp.
So can you talk a little bit about how it has felt the same going back and forth (between villages as a camper and staff member)?
I think something that is definitely similar about both villages is a general bonding that happens throughout the week inside the cabins. Campers who didn’t tend to know each other, didn’t really talk to each other at the beginning of the week, become best buds by the end of it, and they meet people who they wouldn’t really have the chance to meet outside of camp.
I feel like there’s definitely highs in both villages. I would say one of my favorite parts about River Village is probably just the level of fun that they always tend to have with every single activity. And I think something about the campers in Lake Village is that they really tend to value a lot of the stuff that we do, and I feel like they really dig deep into the meaning of the stuff that we do.
Awesome. Thanks, Mark.
Yeah, thank you, Sam.
