From the end of May to mid-August, the summer is action-packed with fun activities. Come November, when camp and events are over for the year, the facility team jumps into action on projects that will help us improve camp for the next summer. Each year the list grows. Past projects have included the Arts and Crafts building, bike trails, water zipline, waterslide, rope swing, lily pads, and the ever-popular lognasium.
This year, we set our sights on several more projects that will enhance our campers’ experiences across the board. We’ve continued updating and refurbishing the girls’ side of camp and are putting new wood floors, porches, and lighting in the remaining cabins as well as adding another Hammockland. The boys’ cabins are being worked on as well with a fresh coat of paint and new wood flooring. (Hopefully this will be incentive to keep those floors clean and swept all summer long!)
Other projects include updating the boys’ bathhouse with additional showers, more outdoor lighting around camp, new water fountains, two new mini-golf holes, and more features on our already-awesome bike trails.
The headlining project this winter is the new dining hall! It’s a project we have discussed for a few years, and we decided this was the year to make it happen. It’s been exciting to work through the plans and revisions (and more revisions!) and now be able to see it coming together. It was certainly bittersweet to see the old dining hall come down, but we are so eager to see this new space become an integral part of the fabric of daily life at camp.
The new dining hall includes a larger porch and deck for campers dining outside. The ceiling (rather than regular plywood) will have beautiful tongue and groove yellow pine—which was under the plywood of the old building. The steps leading to the lawn will be more expansive, providing more space for campers to hang out—and even reuse some of the stone from before.
As the iconic structure came down, we strove to keep the new structure true to the style and feel of camp and honor what it is replacing. Our architect worked hard to capture some of the old design elements of the previous dining hall and integrate them into the new building. We’re very excited to have all of our campers help carry on traditions, and be a part of new traditions!
As we watch the last ceiling boards get nailed up, the locust posts supporting the porch rafters put into place, and the new steps framed, we’ll keep you updated on the progress. We can’t wait for mid-April when everything is finished!