End of Summer Farewell 2012

Five years ago, during a day off from Camp Olson, former director Tommy Rodengen and I visited a friend’s cabin on the north shore of Cass Lake, near Camp Chippewa.  It was about 7:30 pm, and the sun was sinking in the July sky.  Ambitious as we were at the time, we decided we wanted to see this mysterious “lake within a lake” on distant Star Island, a.k.a. lake Windigo, that the locals uniquely described.  We shoved off in a small paddle boat in our swimming suits, lifejackets, and cycling our feet to turn the paddle as fast as we could.  As anyone who has been to Camp UniStar is aware, Cass Lake is bigger than the novice might expect and we got nowhere fast in that man powered craft.  At the time, neither of us expected we would call that distant island home for two and three summers respectively.  Needless to say, I not only encountered an opportunity to see Lake Windigo on a later date, but found myself welcomed into a unique island community of camp folks that also valued simplicity, spiritual and emotional rejuvenation, music, social justice, relationships, wholesomeness, and natural beauty.  

There’s that old saying that if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life.  I feel that way about my experience as director at UniStar.  The ultimate responsibility of the staff is to make certain that Camp functions as smoothly as possible so that each camper could find themselves able to fully appreciate and enjoy the natural setting, the unique company, and then rejuvenating food and activities.  Things don’t always go as perfectly as planned (i.e. power outage), but if you found yourself boarding the Northstar at week’s end with a smile on your face, tear in your eye, or a restless itch to return again next summer, then we did our job.

Though the hours are long, the jobs sometimes hot and dirty, and the living conditions less than ideal, I think I speak for the entire staff when I say it is worth it all for the end-of-the-week hugs, grateful goodbyes, leftover box wine, and the chance to witness the personal growth and rejuvenation of our 700+ campers each summer.  

Before I conclude, I take this final opportunity to attempt to return the gratitude.  Thanks to everyone I met the past three years for supporting myself, the rest of the staff, and camp in ways too numerous to mention.  As I’ve said before, camp relies on many hours of volunteer labor, extra financial donations, and most importantly, a revolving door of campers each week to remain successful.  Thanks for helping us meet those needs and thank you for making Camp UniStar an important priority in the life of your family.

As a farm kid from Southeastern, Minnesota, I was an unlikely candidate to ever earn the title “camp director.”  To this day, I have never attended camp as a camper, but instead have more than made up for all of the missed opportunities over my six years of camping experience as camp staff.  I’ve often wondered (and have frequently been asked) if I would one day send my kids to camp, or perhaps even attend as a family.  Where only a few years ago there was hesitation in my answer, there is now a resounding yes.  When that day finally comes, I’ll look forward to seeing you on the Northstar.

Until then, happy trails,

Greg