Lots of Fun Still to Come!

Hello Chippies!

The week is off to a great start. Today was Camper Counselor Switch Day. I always love this day because it tends to bring out the best in both our campers and staff. On this day each staff member trades places with an older camper. That camper and staff member exchange some clothing with one another, and for all intents and purposes, become one another for a day! The camper-counselor will (help) teach the activity that her new self teaches and will even share a cabin of campers to “look after”. The staff has a great time too because they actually get to be campers for a day, and participate on activities. I, for example, became Lakeview camper Claire S. She took on my role for the day and I got to do some of the activities on HER schedule. She helped book the baggage truck for next week, organized marketing material, and even led an admin meeting before lunch. I got to stand on her chair in the lodge and sing camp songs, and she got to quiet the lodge down and lead announcements (who do you think got the better end of that deal?!). This kind of silliness happened all over camp today, but it was also neat to see some of the older campers stepping up and taking the day to new heights. It was pretty cool!

 

Tonight is Song Fest! This is one of Chippewa's older Tan & White traditions. The girls have been working so hard to put this unique program together, and we know it will be a hit! Each team develops a theme and creates a cheer which reflects that theme. Hand motions choreographed in alignment with the cheer, as well as LOTS of glitter and makeup create an amazing sight to see! The winning team 's cheer will forever be sung in the lodge and passed down from generation to generation. We still sing some songfest cheers from three decades ago around here!

 

Tomorrow is Kahuna Day! Sister program to our first session UN Day event, Kahuna day is full of healthy competition and amazing spirit! The camp will be split up into four teams (colleges) and they will compete all day long in all sorts of fun activities. The energy is great and the girls have a blast. When you see the colorful photos you will know that its Kahuna Day that you are looking at!

The week ahead is going to be action packed. From Tan & White to amazing evening programs and special events this could be the best week 7 in Chippewa history! Stay tuned for photos and Tweets!

All best

Cliff

Order up!

Hello Chippies!

Time for another Cliff Notes! Camp is a blast and the girls are having a great time. The weather has been perfect and tomorrow we are about to get a nice cool break from the heat!

For the first time in Chippewa’s history (at least in MY Chippewa history) we hosted a real live wedding. James Stapleton and Loren Hannaford were married on the volleyball court and witnessed by the entire camp! There was music, flowers, a bridal party and even a beautiful Vera Wang wedding dress! I actually became ordained to officiate the wedding (yes… online. I had to pay $12.99 and provide my email address), but technically I can now officiate weddings, absolve people of their sins and heal the sick (not getting far with that one…). The wedding was very moving though. There was a lot of laughter and just the right amount of tears (at times the former led to the latter). Anyway, we were very happy for our bride and groom! (Wedding party pictured below)

Sunday night was big and little sister night. It was of course as cute as ever! That morning we did our weekly eggs and pancakes to order! I handle the omelets, Lisa is on pancakes, Ruth does fried eggs and Sari is the scramble queen! Julie oversees the line and keeps the occasional impatient camper calm :) Saturday evening was the ever famous Capture the Flag. It was also Jenny Day! There were all sorts of activities and a phenomenal open waterfront! We also took some time to honor the memory of our own Jenny Snyder. Friday night was all about Sari Hirsch! It was her 20 year celebration. Yes you read that correctly… 20 YEARS!  We are so lucky to have Sari with us.  With her dedication and loyalty to camp, she has set the gold standard! Last week was also our annual Tom Pease concert! A camper favorite around here (Photo below)! 

There is much in store for the week ahead. I can’t say too much, but please take some time to check the photos and follow the tweets! Camp starts to fly by now, so it is important to enjoy the ride! Stay tuned... 

All best

Cliff

Second Session!

Hello Chippies! 

I thought I would take a few minutes to catch up with all of you. It's been a while since my last Cliff Notes and there is quite a bit going on around here! I will warn you, however,  that it is midnight and I am literally falling asleep at the keyboard. Therefore,  if my sentences trail off into LaLa land you will know why. I also tend to use an excessive amount of exclamation marks when I am tired... so there is that too. This is actually a tendency that drives Lisa nuts. She feels that if a sentence is properly written you wont need to "tell" the person how to interpret it with the excessive use of descriptive punctuation (i/e "!" or worse "!!").  I like my exclamation marks though and I use them often! In my dreamy state you may ALSO see the increased use of dot dot dot. I admit that this is my lazy way out of having to make comma decisions. I will say, however,  that my predecessor (Tom Adler) was notorious for this too... so I feel like this liberty is an inherited right bestowed upon all Chippewa Ranch Camp directors. LASTLY, I will unnecessarily capitalize all of the letters in a word as a means of emphasizing it's importance (as seen in the word "lastly" above)... 

So now that you understand my midnight writing... we can move on to BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS!! 

We have been busy as ever kicking off the second session! Visiting weekend was a HUGE success! We had a great time showing off camp and the dance show was outstanding. Special thanks to Casey Richter and Emily Jaksich for putting on a great production. After the show everyone enjoyed Jen the baker's phenomenal desserts and on Saturday the real action began! Parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, pets and friends came pouring into camp at 9:30am. The ski boats were burnin' up Dam Lake while the climbing wall and ropes course challenged hundreds of eager adventurers! We hope you all had a great time visiting with us and we look forward to having you back here in 2013...Unless of course you would rather a virtual visiting weekend where parents all get together in Chicago somewhere and campers observe THEM through daily photos and twitter updates :) Hmm...Nah... 

For the Love of Technology! 

Parents please make sure that you are following us on Twitter for regular updates and fun photos! If you have never done the Tweet thing... don't panic. Simply visit twitter.com and click on the yellow button that says SIGN UP FOR TWITTER. Once you have an account and are logged in simply type @chippewacliff OR @chippewasari into the search box. Then select FOLLOW! We try to tweet as often as possible. This is just one more way for you to get your daily "Chippewa fix!" 

On another note, second session is off to a great start! We have had wonderful weather and the girls are already having a fantastic time. Sunday night was our traditional Friendship fire and it was a blast! We sang songs, played campfire games and went through a host of introductions. Monday we did our beginning rotations. Girls took swim tests, signed up for activities, and had physicals. In the evening we played the ever famous Tan & White game called Sand Storm. It was very intense and the girls had a blast! Today began the first day of activities and tonight was the Unity Carnival. The event offered a bouncy castle, snow cones, donut eating contests, games, and tons of dancing! The pictures from tonight are loading as I am writing this. 

There is SO much more to come! Stay tuned and we will keep you posted as we go. Enjoy the week and I look forward to talking soon! 

All best,

Cliff

My Cell- 312-593-0246

Enough About the Weather...

Hello Chippies,

Just me again with another CliffNotes update for you. I am sitting at my desk trying to decide where to begin this week. I feel like I have exhausted the subject of weather. We all know how hot it has been. Temps reached over 100 degrees here last week, we did all sorts of things to keep the girls cool and hydrated, tons of sunscreen was worn, it was even hotter in Chicago, the humidity was rough, and yada yada …

Enough about the weather J

I suppose I could go off into a discussion about how the first four weeks of camp have flown by, or that I cant believe there is only one week left in the first session, or that before we know it many of the girls will be loading the buses and on their way home. You have seen all of that in tweets and heard all of that during chats.

So new subject…

I would like to take a moment to discuss our staff here at Chippewa. I rave about them in emails and other forms of communication, but there really is something to be said for a group of people who have truly made the commitment to devote two months out of their year to be here and to work hard. They don’t just belay the climbing wall and ropes course, but rather teach the girls to be confident and to trust the people who care about them. They don’t just drive ski boats, but rather teach them fundamental skills that they will be able to pass on to their own children. They don’t just give the girls pony rides, but rather teach them discipline, care for animals and the importance of safety. They don’t just put the girls to bed at night and make sure that they are brushing their teeth, but rather teach them to coexist a community where they facilitate the building of friendships that will last a lifetime. We put a lot of time and effort into finding, hiring and training our staff here at Chippewa, but this bunch has really gone the extra mile. I cannot wait to show them off over visiting weekend!

 

This past week has been great. Tuesday night was the Camper Counselor Hunt. During this Tan & White event all of the staff hide and the campers have to find them for points. Even I hide! Audry and I have a tradition of hiding together deep in the woods. We always get caught, but it usually takes the kids a while to find us! Wednesday was July 4^th and Lisa and I are so proud of our eldest campers from the cabin of Lakeview. They put the program on, and it was one of the best 4^th of Julys we have seen in a long time. The kids had a great time in the water, enjoying a carnival, eating lots of good food and of course viewing the fireworks in Three Lakes, Wisconsin. The show there is always spectacular! Thursday night was a fun dance type program called Night Club Night and Friday evening Blackfoot and Silverspurs hosted our traditional campfire (the weather made it a tiny bit untraditional). Saturday was a social at Camp Menominee and Sunday was a very special day for me as it was my 10-Year celebration! The BBQ that evening was amazing (photo above). Plus the Lissner family also does a big eggs and pancakes to order breakfast Sunday mornings (photo above)! Yesterday was United Nations Day. The camp was split into four countries and they competed in various sports and events all day and into the early evening. The winning team (Andora) got to go to Cathy’s Ice cream shop as their reward! It was a great day.

There is still plenty of 1^st session left and we will keep you posted throughout the week. We are looking forward to seeing many of you over visiting weekend! Have a great week and I look forward to talking soon.

All best,

Cliff

Hello Chippies!

We hope you are all staying cool at home! Believe it or not we’re all enjoying the heat wave that has come our way! The girls are staying cool and hydrated, while enjoying LOTS of lake time. Temps have risen into the mid 90s this week, resulting in several open waterfronts and the daily application of gallons of sunscreen!

There is so much to discuss this week. I want to begin by talking about tradition & history. Many of you already know that we held a special program to honor Chippewa’s founding family (The Golds). Jerry Gold opened camp in 1946, and two sets of owners later we still carry on many of the same traditions, songs and even routines. The event was well attended by alumni and Nancy Gold joined us personally along with her family. The day was absolutely magical, and we were so thrilled to see our young campers asking her questions, telling her stories and even comparing notes! We held a campfire in the evening and our second generation campers got up and spoke about their love for camp and how much they appreciate what the Gold family has done to impact their lives. Toward the end we presented Nancy and family with a recreation of a very special lost artifact called the Thunderbird. The symbol sits on the mantle of the Adler Lodge fireplace where it will stay forever.

It is my true belief that camp thrives thanks to tradition, history and the fond memories that are formed summer after summer.

Last week was packed with excitement. Tuesday was the Camper/staff Olympics, which was an absolute riot. Wednesday evening brought the camper talent show! I have never seen so many campers get up on stage for the first time to perform solos and independent dance routines. Lisa and I were so proud of their confidence and courage. Thursday was Tan & White Sports Night followed by our late night Stalk the Lantern game! Friday was the Gold event previously mentioned, Saturday brought a social with Horseshoe and Sunday was the Kind Campaign. Monday night was Lip Sync and tonight was the Tan & White counselor hunt!

The Kind Campaign

On Sunday we played a movie for the older campers as part of a nation wide initiative to stop bullying among girls once and for all. The concept was developed by several women who believe that girls should embrace one another, and treat each other with respect and compassion. After the movie the girls broke up into groups and shared stories, experiences and ideas. I was so pleased with the staff and camper participation during this program. We will continue to implement its core concepts, values and fundamental ideas with hopes that we can have a strong impact on this important issue. 

Tomorrow is July 4^th, and we are so excited to see what great programming the cabin of Lakeview has in store for us. There will be great food, carnival stations, live music and of course- FIRE WORKS!

That’s about it for tonight. I need to get some sleep J Have a great 4^th of July and I look forward to talking soon!

All best,

Cliff