New Developments at the CLC Camp Office!

It is with enthusiasm that we’re announcing an exciting development in the year-round work of CLC. This past August, the CLC Board of Trustees voted to consolidate operations from various’ year-round staff members’ homes to the camp, to enable CLC to more fully utilize the camp facility and create a cohesive management team.
At the same time, the CLC Board voted to add 2 members to the full-time staff roster. Ian McLeland, a long-time camper and staff member originally from northern Virginia and more recently southern California, was hired as the new Assistant Director for Programming. He will be overseeing the facility’s programs and rentals during the fall, winter and spring, and will continue to provide a pivotal role during the summer.
Lille Thompson, originally from Long Island, and more recently southern Utah, also a long-time camper and staff member, has been hired as the Assistant Director for Marketing & Administration. She will be taking care of summer camp enrollment, office managerial duties, and marketing efforts, and will be the person who most camp families will correspond with as they develop their summer plans at Crystal Lake Camps.
Both Lille and Ian will work directly for Nathan Bowen, CLC’s Camp Director. Liz Hall will continue as Executive Director and will be focus her time on fundraising, development and CLC’s Capital Campaign, so that CLC can continue to occupy its current location and to offer a multicultural summer camp program that is accessible to campers from around the world and all over the US.
We are very excited about this development and these additions to CLC’s year-round staffing as it will support CLC in the achievement of our mission to “provide a world of adventure with spiritual growth” year round. This is a wonderful affirmation of CLC’s long-term commitment to serve the youth in the Christian Science movement, and we’re excited for the good this new team will bring!

2010 Dates Announced!

Crystal Lake Camps is excited to announce the dates for the 2010 summer as follows:
Youth Camp Dates
Session 1: Sat June 26 – Fri July 9 (2 weeks)
Session 2: Sat July 10 – Fri July 23 (2 weeks)
Session 3: Sat July 24 – Fri Aug 6 (2 weeks)
Session 3a: Sat July 24 – Fri July 30 (1 week)

For returning families, you’ll note we’ve rearranged dates a bit, and the one-week session is now concurrent with and happening as the first week of Session 3.

Family Camp
Memorial Weekend Family Camp: May 28-31
August Family Camp Week: Aug 8 – 14

Please be in contact with us to enroll your children!

Family camp, day 2

Another balmy day on Crystal Lake brought lots more fun. Families are getting into the swing of camp and now know the ropes pretty well. The usual activities started off the morning, including a morning lake swim for a few, lesson reading, flag raising, breakfast, and assembly.

This morning’s assembly was very creative, involving staff member Steve Bailey and one of the new full time Assistant Directors, Ian McLeland. Ian acted out talking very selfishly about his day and decided to look in the mirror, but it was covered in grime and he couldn’t see anything! But luckily Steve came along and talked about the passage from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Self-love is more opaque than a solid body. In patient obedience to a patient God, let us labor to dissolve with the universal solvent of Love the adamant of error – self-will, self-justification, and self-love  – which wars against true spirituality and is the law of sin and death.” (S&H p. 242:15) Steve brought out the “universal solvent of Love” in a spray bottle and together they fixed Ian’s thoughts and cleaned the mirror.

After assembly, morning classes began, including rock climbing, arts and crafts, waterfront, part singing, horseback riding, improv, and kids’ camp. Today’s kids’ camp theme was pirates! The pirates made eye patches, hooks, and a pirate flag and set off to collect “gold” and discover buried treasure (the pinata they made yesterday) by following the ancient treasure map.

In the afteroon, after lunch and yummy cupcakes, the afternoon commenced! The available activities were archery, pottery, mountain biking, and waterfront, with kids’ camp out on the water front making sandcastles and setting sail on their dread ship canoes. Unfortunately thunder rolled in during fifth period, so most families either played games in the lodge or rested in their cabins.

Dinner/evening activity tonight was a cookout at the lodge and a luau! Frank Stewart in the kitchen made some delicious ribs that we feasted on and peanut butter pie for dessert. The luau was a relaxing affair, with a fire and guitar playing on the beach, the waterfront open after the rain cleared up. Families played games and talked in the lodge, with everyone mingling until dark. It was a pleasant evening for all, and we look forward to tomorrow!

Family camp, first full day

Today was our first full day of family camp, and it was a great day. The day started off with an inspiring lesson reading and then breakfast, followed by assembly. After this, different morning classes were offered that families could sign up for, or if they wanted some family time, they could go and take a hike together or just relax. But being the first day of camp, naturally everyone signed up for an activity. Pottery, archery, waterfront, arts and crafts, and kids’ camp were offered. Kids’ camp is a program for kids ages 2 to 7 and has a different theme every day. Today was carnival day and included activities like pinata making, coloring, and a fashion show at lunch.

After lunch and a much needed rest hour, afternoon activities began. Today was the hottest day of the summer to date, so many opted for waterfront time, especially during fifth period. Arts and crafts and drawing was also offered during third and fourth periods respectively. And of course, riding up at the barn was offered, both a kids class and an adult class.

The evening activity tonight was the barn dance! Folks showed up in their cowboy/cowgirl finest and danced the night away to the hokey pokey, bunny hop, mouse trap game, macarena, YMCA, and Cotton-Eyed Joe. Everyone played a round of “The Big Wind Blows,” and many liked it so much they requested to play again sometime. After the barn dance the little ones were tuckered out and ready for bed. Every night a nine-spot activity is offered for the parents, which tonight was games in the lodge. After lots of laughter during a great Catchphrase game, everyone headed to bed, ready for tomorrow.

First Day of Family Camp!

All the campers went home on Friday, after many tearful and loving goodbyes. Camp this summer was superlative, with countless memories and new friends made. We were sad to see them all go, but knew they were off to take all the good they’d discovered at camp and share it with the rest of the world in their schools, churches, and homes.

After a few days of downtime for the staff, we set about getting ready for Family camp to begin! All the staff moved up to boys’ camp and girls’ camp cabins were cleaned and made homey for our five familes staying with us this summer. This morning, three of them arrived and got settled in. After unpacking, blueberry picking, puzzle doing, and trail exploring, everyone gathered at dinner. The traditional homemade pizza and sundaes were served for dinner as everyone talked and got to know one another.

After dinner everyone took a chair and sat in a large circle in the middle of the dining room. The staff briefly introduced themselves, followed by each family. Families said their names, where they were from, and did an action that best described what they most wanted to do at camp. (Horseback riding, rock climbing, and pottery were the three chosen activities.) The chairs were then pushed aside and everyone sat on the floor for the shaker game! Two people are blindfolded and put in the middle of the circle, one with a noise-making shaker in hand. The person with the shaker gives it a shake and then tries to avoid the other person who is trying to catch them. There are many tricks to divert the searcher, and we were all in stitches as players ducked under each other, narrowly missed each other, and ran right into each other. Following many rounds where just about everyone got a turn, everyone headed to bed to finish unpacking and get a good night’s sleep.

Clan competition winner!

The summer would not be complete without announcing the winner of the clan competition! Little Olympics altered the standing of a few clans – the point spread between the top three clans was very close, and one clan did so well during Little Olympics that they nudged ahead.

So, drumroll please… The winners are:

1. Bears
2. Turtles
3. Turkeys
4. Wolves

The results were announced this morning, and all the Bears embraced each other and cheered. (There was a one point difference between the Bears and the Turtles, by the way). Congratulations Bears!

Last day of camp and banquet

Today was the final full day of fourth session! Our campers and staff certainly ended the final session of the summer with a bang – today saw a final round of class activities, lots of fun and games, and a breathtaking formal banquet to remember.

Since today was the final chance for cabins to break out ahead in the quest for cabin excellence, the morning was filled with extra-special gestures in both Boys’ and Girls’ camp. Both head counselors were impressed with sparkling cabins, staff tables promptly set, and heartwarming smiles from all quarters. All the cabins in both camps strove hard to earn the Cabin Excellence award, but the winners would not be revealed until the final banquet!

The rest of the morning was devoted to the final two class periods of the session. As usual, the enthusiastic staff and campers kept the fun and the energy coming through these last classes. The waterfront reverberated with splashes and giggles as campers perfected their strokes and showed off their fancy dives, and the game field was host to several climactic games of Ultimate Frisbee. The mountain biking class got a chance to explore new trails, while RAFT class completed a lake swim while singing the telephone song to one another.

The afternoon was spent packing and preparing for that evening’s final banquet. The theme was the Roaring Twenties, and campers and staff arrived in fine form. Flappers and newsboys filled Alford Hall, mingling with the odd vagabond or Charlie Chaplin lookalike. Jazz records crowded the walls, and as the sounds of Benny Goodman’s Orchestra poured out of the stage speakers, campers and staff enjoyed a multi-course meal of pork tenderloin, cream of asparagus soup, fancy cheeses, potatoes hollandaise, and strawberry cake for dessert.

After dinner was done, the improv class entertained everyone with hilarious games of “Freeze” and “The Dating Game.” Campers and staff then gathered around the stage to applaud those receiving awards in archery, horseback riding, swimming, and Trailblazers. The campers also showed their gratitude to the CITs and the staff with many hearty rounds of applause. After much anticipation, Ian and Jasmine also revealed the winners of the Cabin Excellence award: Atira in the girls’ camp and Norman Lodge in the boys’ camp! The banquet concluded, as always, with a slideshow of pictures from the past two weeks. This slideshow was particularly poignant as it included not only astounding pictures from the session taken by Emily and Nathan W., but also some extraordinary nature photography courtesy of Sue Holzberlein.

As the evening wound to a close, campers and staff walked two-by-two down to Laughlin Lodge, each carrying their own candle. When the candles were lit and placed on the porch of the lodge, the glow illuminated everyone’s faces as they sang “One Little Candle” and the Crystal Lake song, “Symbol of Serenity.”

Last day of classes, silent council fire

Though it’s hard to believe, today was the last day of classes for the whole summer. Everyone worked had to finish on a great note, and everyone definitely brought their awesome today.

Awards-based classes like swimming, archery, and riding finished up what everyone needed to achieve their next levels. Boating took the sunfish sailboats out on the lake. Arts and crafts and pottery finished their projects to be able to bring them home the day after tomorrow. Rocks and ropes class was out on the rock wall one last time. Sports classes including soccer, ultimate frisbee, tennis, basketball, and jr. and sr. sports played their last games. Improv played their last rounds of improv games. Mountain biking went on a last good trail ride. Fitness class combined with 4th period senior sports to do pilates together. The Trailblazers went on their traditional tubing trip off the mountain. After drinking more of the tea they made earlier in the week, wilderness class went on another bear hunt walk in the woods to hopefully spot a bear, but the bears remain elusive. CLC news worked hard to finish their video, which will be shown at the banquet tomorrow night.

Fifth periods were mostly taught by the CITs today, and included photography, mountain biking, slacklining, running photography (taking pictures while running!), fishing with 4th session camp nurse Andy Aupperle, free swim, and book making. Each was an overwhelming success and a good end to classes for the summer.

After picnic supper came the event many have been waiting all summer for: silent council fire. It included all the normal elements of council fire, including songs, several poigniant Native American stories told by CITs, and two games, tug of war on stumps and till-e-come. The fire-lighting tonight was outstanding – it involved a double-sided torchbearer coming from across the lake in a catamaran canoe, swinging torches on chains, and fire breathing. An almost full yellow moon rose over the trees on the other side of the lake behind the fire dancers, creating a chilling and beautiful work of art. After the fire was lit and the final songs were sung, all departed from the council fire in silence, reflecting on the summer and all the lessons learned, the love shared, and the fun had. Tomorrow is packing day and banquet, so tonight’s council fire was an emotional wrap up of sorts. It has truly been a blessed and fun-filled summer.

Little Olympics!

Today was an epic day. A day of Olympic proportions – literally! Little Olympics is a fourth session Crystal Lake tradition, and after breakfast in cabins and an excellent assembly from the CITs, the proceedings began with the lighting of the torch and the Olympic fire. Everyone was split into four teams, with their clan, and as the torch was lit, the whole camp followed the torch around the game field in a big circle. It was an absolutely gorgeous day – all sunshine and warmth – perfect for Little Olympics.

After the torch was lit, clans flew like the wind for the first contest: All Clan Blueberry Competition (ACBC). The blueberries are just ripening at Crystal Lake, and there are several areas around camp where they abound; on the lower lake trail, behind the outdoor stage, and by old Dunwoody to name a few. Though the results of today’s game’s cannot be published yet, it was clear who the winners of the ACBC were: the Turkeys trounced everyone, picking a full pitcher of blueberries and a little bit more. The Bears came in second with almost a full pitcher themselves, and the Wolves and Turtles were in a close battle for third and fourth.

After everyone returned to the game field, morning game stations were set up and everyone set forth. Five games went on at the same time, with each clan sending team members to each game. The games included a slow bike race, where bikers must go as slow as the possibly can without putting feet on the ground, an obstacle course involving running, jumping, balancing, throwing, and crawling, a cracker eating contest where campers ate crackers and tried to whistle with a dry mouthful (but dry oatmeal was used this time instead of crackers), 5 on 5 basketball games, and 3 on 3 on 3 on 3 mud gaga (with all the rain lately, the gaga pit has turned into a true mud pit, and all players got very dirty). All the games finished at roughly the same time, and once again, everyone gathered in the middle of the game field for all-camp water balloon toss. Clans partnered up and tossed a water balloon back and forth, trying not to break it was they took a step further apart after each toss.

After lunch and a relaxing rest hour, the second half of the games commenced on the waterfront. Four competition sessions broken up into three games shuttled everyone through a variety of games, including the t-shirt relay, swim relay, and blind canoe race (with two blindfolded paddlers and one seeing steerer); the sponge bucket relay, crazy news day relay (where campers read a newspaper aloud while swimming), and the watermelon eating contest; the kickboard race, the high jump, and the dragon’s tail game (where three inner tubes were tied together with a “tail” on the end the other teams were trying to steal while paddling their own three-sectioned inner tube); and the triathlon (swimming, biking, running). And just as this morning’s session ended with a raucous game all together, the afternoon ended with an all camp canoe splash.

Dinner and flag lowering followed per usual, succeeded by separate testimony meetings in camps, with many wonderful and heartfelt testimonies shared on both sides.

Check in in a few days to find out the results of Little Olympics and the clan competition as a whole!

August 3rd: regular classes and International night

Classes came along as usual today, starting to finish off skills and lessons. Of particular note today were the Trailblazers, seen all afternoon in crazy costumes doing crazy things. They put together a list of things they wanted to do, so they got all gussied up and rolled across the game field, balanced water on their heads, and played mud gaga (all the rain created a large mud pit in the gaga area, and many campers have embraced the mud joyfully!). During fifth period, Gina Lindquist, the National Field Director of Discovery Bound gave a presentation, showing an awesome video and getting everyone pumped to participate in future Discovery Bound events in their areas.

Tonight was an extra special evening in the dining room: International night. The legs on all the tables were folded down so everyone ate their meal sitting on the floor, Japanese style. Food from countries were Crystal Lake campers have come from was served, including beef stew from Kenya, chicken and rice from Mexico, a salad from Russia, felafel and tzaziki sauce from Greece, a special recipe chicken from Program Director Patrick Bonsei of Botswana, lassis from India, and mint tea made from mint growing behind the Long House. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal, going back from seconds and thirds. After dessert, cultural presentations from 5 countries were given: Russia, France, Mexico, Greece, and Kenya. Campers from those countries told about their food, culture, and customs, fielded questions from domestic campers, showed powerpoints, and even sang national anthems. Joy and goodwill encompassed the whole evening, and it was an extraordinary opportunity for our international campers to share with the rest of camp.