Billy Milligan is a social worker in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. A former camper and counselor, Billy is Camp Chippewa's Child Life Specialist.

Greetings from the Northwoods,

The great Philip Sanders once said that what makes Camp Chippewa special is not the two beautiful lakes, the forest, or the variety of the activities, but the people.

By the time this reaches you, we will be five days into staff orientation and well past the quiet of opening week. Alongside clearing cobwebs and putting docks in the lake, our staff are busy with a different kind of work.

This week, we are not only reviewing logistics and safety protocols, or how to teach riflery, climbing, and sailing, but we are also discussing brain development and adolescent behavior, sitting with material on how young people learn, regulate, and grow.

For us, tending to Camp Chippewa's culture is just as important as the activities and trips. That culture is urgently needed this year in a way that is hard to ignore.

The boys coming to us this summer are growing up inside a media environment that is selling them a very specific and very narrow idea of what it means to be a man. It is loud, angry, solitary, and alpha, and it does not leave much room for doubt, tenderness, or growth.

It is my position that this picture is doing real harm, contributing to the loneliness, disconnection, and discontent that is showing up in young men at alarming rates.

Chippewa has always offered something different.

The Chippewa man is multifaceted. He is responsible and prepared. He is a hard worker and a team player. He is joyous, known to put on a wig and dance his heart out during Battle of the Bands or skit night. He laughs. He tells his cabinmates he loves them. He talks about what excites him and what he might be afraid of. He is not performing toughness. He is actually becoming someone.

Our staff brings an extraordinary range of personalities and strengths. Every boy who comes through these gates, shy or loud, adventurous or cautious, an athlete or an artist, has the chance to look at one of our counselors and see a future version of himself.

Every summer, for boys and young men who need it, camp offers a fuller and richer picture of who they can be. We are proud of that work, and grateful to be doing it.

With love from the shores of Cass Lake,

Billy Milligan

True North is Camp Chippewa’s newsletter of stories from the North Woods.

There are countless voices competing for attention, and often clouding our sense of direction in life. We hope these stories inspire you to step off the beaten path, take a deep breath of fresh air, and follow your own True North.

Our authors come from all across the Camp Chippewa community. If you have a story to contribute, just reply “Sam, I have an idea to share.”