Hi NAME, Welcome to May! We are officially on the home stretch before we kick off the Year of the Woodsman and our 91st summer. We are so excited to welcome your son to the Northwoods and the shores of Cass Lake. With summer around the corner, we thought it would be perfect timing to share a little bit about the travel ninja, Will Norris. He is the mastermind behind camper and staff travel coordination and all things program scheduling at camp. Without further delay, here is Will’s 5 Favorite...
9 days ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, Welcome back to our series on the Top 5 things we love about camp. If you missed our previous Top 5 lists, you can view Sam's and mine (Ryan). Up next is the incredible Jacob Endres. You may have heard from Jacob recently in one of his gentle reminders about completing your camp forms by April 30th. You are not alone- I just finished mine last week. 🙂 He is also the mastermind behind our tripping program and ensures all of our boys have an incredible time on the trail. We hope...
16 days ago • 2 min read
This summer, our campers are coming from 27 different states (and four different countries!). They’ve spent anywhere from zero to nine summers at Camp Chippewa. Their favorite hobbies range from hockey to video games to reading to theater to rock climbing. Their biggest fears about this summer include eating new foods, thunderstorms, being away from their parents, missing their girlfriends, touching weeds in the lake, or not watching Mexico play in the World Cup. On one hand, all our campers...
21 days ago • 3 min read
In the summer, I go canoeing with teenagers. During trips that last from ten days to three weeks, I see no one other than teenagers. We paddle. Get rained on. Make fires. Laugh until we cry. Sleep in tents. Paddle some more. Eat. Paddle. Fish. Paddle. Breathe in the clean air of the outdoors. I leave the trips tan, bug-bitten, and completely refreshed. And, whether I like it or not, I get fully up-to-date on teenage slang, which often takes me weeks to shake, much to the chagrin of my wife....
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, Welcome back to part two of our favorite things about Camp. If you missed part 1, check it out here. There are so many incredible things that happen at camp throughout the summer. These are the things that stick out the most. Without delay, let’s jump in… My (Ryan) Top 5 Things: Staff Training This may be an unexpected choice, but hear me out. Staff training is about 10 days long and is jam-packed with skill-building opportunities staff need to ensure a successful summer....
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Part-time, I teach for the National Outdoor Leadership School. At faculty meetings, we are often reminded that being an educator requires curiosity and humility. Falling into false mastery is a trap that educators need to avoid. False mastery is resting on your laurels. It is complacency. The opposite is reflective mastery. Educators who are lifelong learners. Who ask questions. Who know their stuff and seek out even better ways. This struggle between false and reflective mastery is relevant...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi there, I hope you're having a wonderful winter so far. I am in my home office in Asheville, and out of my window, the Smoky Mountains have a fresh layer of snow. I recently had a great catch-up conversation with a camp colleague who reminded me how great Seth Godin’s book Purple Cow is. In it, Godin argues that the only way to survive in business is to be "remarkable." The title comes from a simple metaphor: if you’re driving past a field of brown cows, you eventually stop looking. But if...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Summers at Camp Chippewa are about giving boys chances to find community, disconnect from technology, build relationships, and expand their comfort zones. After the always-too-short summer flies by, we yearn for more days in the Northwoods, surrounded by incredible people (and the best camp cookies). To celebrate and connect with you year-round, we are excited to launch a new bimonthly newsletter. We’ll share stories of all sizes, from Camp, the field of youth development and leadership, and...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Today, I (Sam) was texting with a staff member who recently moved to Los Angeles. His exact words: “LA is great, but it’s missing a Cass Lake.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. There really is no place like Cass Lake in the summer. After reading that text, I was daydreaming about all the things I have been missing—and am now looking forward to—at camp. With the “Year of the Woodsman” beginning in just a couple of months, I thought it would be fun to share some of my...
2 months ago • 1 min read