Summer Camp
One day in the Spring of 1974, when I was nine, I came home from Girl Scouts begging to go to camp with the Girl Scouts for two weeks during the summer. My mom informed me that I could not go, but she wanted to send me to church camp with two other girls from my church. It was only for one week and I did not really like the girls who were going to go with me. They were a year older and had never been very nice to me, so I cried and begged and begged and cried over this decision.
After a summer of swimming and sunshine, the second week of August had finally arrived. By then, I was looking forward to my new adventure. My mom had been a camp cook at Camp Minwanna, a Lutheran Camp in Ohio and assured me that I would have a lot of fun. Now that I have a nine-year old, I can't believe she sent me off so far away for so long!
The first day was horrible, but by day two, I was in love: with Jesus, with the out doors, with the cute guy counselors...I spent one week every summer from 1974-1979 and can't remember anything bad after that first day when I accidently kicked my friend-from-my-home-church-that-never-liked-me and gave her a bloody nose.
During those five weeks, there were many, many highlights...praising God with song morning, noon, and night..."I am the Resurrection-Hey-and the Life!"; sleeping out on the shores of Lake Michigan, hiking the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, "levitating" our pastor on a confirmation camp overnight; a sunset kiss on the 89 (?) steps down to Stony Lake proper (I know, I know, it was Church Camp...and ninth grade!)...
The funniest Stony Lake Lutheran Camp memory of all however, happened in the fall of 2001. The man who would become my husband had called to arrange a time for the two of us to get together and practice music for our Sunday School's music team. We met at a Presbyterian church and I was telling him that I was really Lutheran. He said that he was too. The Lutheran Church he attended was a "mission church" of my childhood church home. When I mentioned where I went to church growing up, I also mentioned that I had met a lot of kids from his church at Stony Lake and the Bass Lake Music Festival. To this, my husband-to-be excitedly replied, "you went to Stony Lake and Bass Lake??? I went to Stony Lake for two weeks of Confirmation Camp, one week Sail Camp, and one of Leadership Training. Then I worked at the (former) Tecumseh Woods Lutheran Camp as the maintenance guy for two summers, when I was 16 and 17." He was part of the camp ministry a few years before I started going there, but he still has the same songbook we used and knew a lot of the same people. One of his closests friends, whom he met at Tecumseh Woods Lutheran Camp, went to high school with my first camp counselor at Stony. This shared background turned out to be our initial bond as friends.
Stony Lake Lutheran Camp is still an active part of "Living Water Ministries", a mission shared with Lower Michigan Synods and the ELCA. Tecumseh Woods was sold when the ALC merged with the LCA and acquired Michi-Lu-Ca Conference Center and Camp (where my ex-husband went to church retreats). The Bass Lake Music Festival, originally held at Pleasant Hill, another ALC camp, is now held at Michi-Lu-Ca each August.
This spring, our confirmation kids were scheduled to attend Michi-Lu-Ca for camp, but plans had to be changed. They are now attending Stony Lake Lutheran Camp this summer, just as we did many years ago. My husband volunteered us as adult leaders for the trip, but we needed some special considerations and I don't think we will be going. However, it was sure fun to dream of a return!
As for the Girl Scout camp...I did get there for a weekend winter camp and as a strange twist, we now live a short distance from that very same camp!
After a summer of swimming and sunshine, the second week of August had finally arrived. By then, I was looking forward to my new adventure. My mom had been a camp cook at Camp Minwanna, a Lutheran Camp in Ohio and assured me that I would have a lot of fun. Now that I have a nine-year old, I can't believe she sent me off so far away for so long!
The first day was horrible, but by day two, I was in love: with Jesus, with the out doors, with the cute guy counselors...I spent one week every summer from 1974-1979 and can't remember anything bad after that first day when I accidently kicked my friend-from-my-home-church-that-never-liked-me and gave her a bloody nose.
During those five weeks, there were many, many highlights...praising God with song morning, noon, and night..."I am the Resurrection-Hey-and the Life!"; sleeping out on the shores of Lake Michigan, hiking the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, "levitating" our pastor on a confirmation camp overnight; a sunset kiss on the 89 (?) steps down to Stony Lake proper (I know, I know, it was Church Camp...and ninth grade!)...
The funniest Stony Lake Lutheran Camp memory of all however, happened in the fall of 2001. The man who would become my husband had called to arrange a time for the two of us to get together and practice music for our Sunday School's music team. We met at a Presbyterian church and I was telling him that I was really Lutheran. He said that he was too. The Lutheran Church he attended was a "mission church" of my childhood church home. When I mentioned where I went to church growing up, I also mentioned that I had met a lot of kids from his church at Stony Lake and the Bass Lake Music Festival. To this, my husband-to-be excitedly replied, "you went to Stony Lake and Bass Lake??? I went to Stony Lake for two weeks of Confirmation Camp, one week Sail Camp, and one of Leadership Training. Then I worked at the (former) Tecumseh Woods Lutheran Camp as the maintenance guy for two summers, when I was 16 and 17." He was part of the camp ministry a few years before I started going there, but he still has the same songbook we used and knew a lot of the same people. One of his closests friends, whom he met at Tecumseh Woods Lutheran Camp, went to high school with my first camp counselor at Stony. This shared background turned out to be our initial bond as friends.
Stony Lake Lutheran Camp is still an active part of "Living Water Ministries", a mission shared with Lower Michigan Synods and the ELCA. Tecumseh Woods was sold when the ALC merged with the LCA and acquired Michi-Lu-Ca Conference Center and Camp (where my ex-husband went to church retreats). The Bass Lake Music Festival, originally held at Pleasant Hill, another ALC camp, is now held at Michi-Lu-Ca each August.
This spring, our confirmation kids were scheduled to attend Michi-Lu-Ca for camp, but plans had to be changed. They are now attending Stony Lake Lutheran Camp this summer, just as we did many years ago. My husband volunteered us as adult leaders for the trip, but we needed some special considerations and I don't think we will be going. However, it was sure fun to dream of a return!
As for the Girl Scout camp...I did get there for a weekend winter camp and as a strange twist, we now live a short distance from that very same camp!
posted by Susan at 10:34 AM
6 Comments:
We sent our 10 year old daughter to Walcamp (Kingston, IL) for a week last summer. It was the first time she'd been away from home and not staying with relatives. I could tell she was a little nervous when we dropped her off, but she LOVED it. I hated the one week I spent at camp IO-DE-SE-CA, but my daughter is outgoing (not like me) and she loves large group activities so she took to camp like a fish to water.
But it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I can't believe how much I missed her!!
In two short weeks we'll be taking her and her 8-year old sister to Walcamp. I'm sure I'll be in tears all the way home, but I know it will ultimately be good for them -- and me!
Thanks for sharing! I'm glad that people have such fond memories of summer camp!
Wonderful camp memories. I saw someone at church last week signing people up for Camp Miwanna.
Funny about Camp Miwanna...my mom was Brethren (The Ashland [College]University kind), but her new brother-in-law was an Lutheran Church of America pastor and he got mom the job. I guess Camp Miwanna survived the ELCA merge like Stony Lake did!
wow! I went to Tecumseh woods (CAMP! with GUSTO!) in 1980.... so sad it isnt there any more!!!
I was at Stony Lake and Tecumseh Woods during the 70's, up to '80, on staff and directing. I was maintenance at TW '73. Great years. John Birkhimer
Julie-
I'm not sure I could send my kids off...I hope I can. This are so different now and in hind sight, I'm not sure how my mom did it. One is old enough now, but she spends so much summer with her Dad, I hate to give her up. The other one is still young enough not to send. I guess I'll take it one year at a time. This year we have a morning day camp for two weeks...
Techumseh Woods Alumni
It drove me nuts when people would talk about MI CHI LU CA and Stony Lake instead of TW. I never went to TW, but I'm said it closed too. I knew it had a swimming pool and SL didn't. My husband loved both camps.
John..I mentioned you were at TW in '73 doing maintenance. My husband remembers you. He said you drove the truck and did maintenance in '73 and counseled in Cabin #1 in '74. He was there in '73 and '74 and worked with Mitch. He and Mitch called themselves "Mitch and Tom Techumseh". His buddy Mike was a counselor in cabin 3 in '74. We just saw Mike a couple weeks ago.
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