60 Years in the Making

Greetings all!

Another summer is roaring towards us! Every summer brings with it new excitement and it’s own uniqueness, but this year marks a very special place in our history.  This summer, we are celebrating our 60th anniversary!!  60 years is an accomplishment, but for CJ it feels like an even bigger accomplishment because it involves so many.  In the camping world, we say “we’re in the relationship business,” and it’s true.  Our history is only important because of all the connections and relationships we’ve made with the people that have crossed our path.  Not only would we not be in existence without you, but we wouldn’t have had such a rich and fulfilling past and an even brighter future to look forward to, without you.  For that, we thank you!

This August 16 through 19, we’ll be wrapping up our summer with a 60th anniversary weekend celebration, and we hope you can join us!  Friday evening, August 16, will kick off the weekend with a group dinner and performance from Bret & Frisk.  Saturday will host many of your favorite camp activities like canoeing on Rest Lake, horseback riding, water skiing, archery, etc.  We’ll also have a special celebration Saturday night.  Sunday, we’ll host our Up-North community pancake breakfast and leave you to your leisure to enjoy CJ.  To register, please check out our 60th anniversary page on our website or call the camp office at 715-543-8808.

We’re also in the process of creating a Camp Jorn History book, with help of author “Buckshot” Anderson.  Buckhot, is gathering stories from alumni to add to the book and get a feel of what the last 60 years at camp have been like.  If you’d like to share your CJ story to be considered for the book, please go to our online questionnaire.  The book will also feature photos from over the last 60 years.  If you’d like to see our historical photos you can view them at SmugMug or on our Camp Jorn YMCA Facebook page.

Although things have changed in many ways over the last 60 years at Camp Jorn, many things remain the same.  Children still sing the same songs, take the same bus ride up to camp, swim & play in Rest Lake, have camp outs at Fox Island, and come to camp for new adventures and leave as better people than when they arrived.  That is what CJ is at it’s heart, and something that will stand the test of time.

CJ Love

Then and Now

Trips – then and now

Flagpole

1953 CJ Staff

Campers, what do you do in the winter?

Campers!  You’re what Camp Jorn is all about!!  We love to hear from YOU, our CJ campers, and your friends about what you’re up to when you’re not at camp!  Since it’s definitely winter in the north woods of Wisconsin, and summer seems so far away, we thought we might as well talk about what winter is like for all of us.

At CJ, the temperatures get down to 20, 15, 10, or even 0 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter!

Snow usually blankets everything you see at camp- the field, the cabins, the KYBO, the dining hall, and even the lake!

Rest Lake freezes over so that you can WALK to Fox Island, or snowshoe or cross-country ski all the way over to Manitowish Waters!!

The birds you hear all summer are nowhere to be seen (or heard), and different sounds take their place:  the sound of snow falling softly, or the wind blowing through the bare tree branches, or ice crunching under our boots.

Winter at Camp Jorn means quiet, productive days in the main office for Emir, Dennis, and Kim; busy child care days for Dawn and Mary and crew; steady days of maintenance and facility work for Paul, Mark and John; hospitality days of hosting groups for Amy.  But mostly, it means missing the wonderful sights and sounds of CJ summer campers!!!

Now send us your photos of “Winter, by Camper (your name)” to caroline@campjornymca.org and anything you want to write about what winter is like for you, wherever you live or travel to!  We can’t wait to see your photos!

In our next blog post, we’ll show everyone your photos!!  THEN we’ll start thinking WARM and talk again about EVERYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH SUMMER!!!

Below are a few shots of Camp Jorn in the winter time.  The photos were taken from our new Winter Camp Snow Days program, which you may have heard about.  We had 20 campers and 7 staff in this inaugural winter camp group which lasted from Dec. 29th, 2011 thru Jan. 2nd, 2012.  It was such a blast with a mix of indoor and outdoor activities including snow shoeing, toboggan building, winter crafts, skiing, and even a New Year’s Eve Sock Hop!  While we were there, it even snowed 8 inches!  Few of us get a chance to see CJ in the winter, let alone play at camp when it becomes a winter wonderland.