Hey, Camp Folks! 

Staying hard at work with an assortment of responsibilities, Amy is our Graphic Artist—a role that keeps her very busy with creating graphics and managing them on our website, photography requests to show off our great products in clear detail, laying out emails as well as our brochure, and a laundry list more. But we’re not talking about work today! 

Today we’re going to find out what Amy would do if she got to go to summer camp right now as an adult. Amy couldn’t settle on any one camp activity so she gave me a laundry list of fun stuff. Check out the busy schedule she would make for herself: 

Archery
At the top of the list, Amy gave me Archery. “I’ve had archery experience though other camps/activities (girl scouts and high school gym class),” she told me. “I really enjoyed that.”  

Softball
A very close second was Softball. “I played in high school and bar leagues and miss it so much!” she said. “My dad spent many hours in the backyard teaching me all of the basic skills before joining the high school team.” 

Pottery
Pottery was one that Amy’s always had interest in and wanted to try. She’s simply never had the chance before. It would definitely be on her list of camp fun. 

Fishing and Canoeing
“I’ve always loved to fish” Amy told me. “It’s always been a family activity – starting when I was about two years old! Every year our family vacation was spent fishing on a lake in Northern WI. We are hoping our kids enjoy it as well. We recently bought a canoe and I have found it very relaxing.” 

Knitting, Sewing, and Woodworking
“These are all skills my parents have and I’d like to learn more so I can pass those skills onto my own kids,” said Amy. “My mom taught me to sew but I really expanded my skills when I started at my first job in 2007 (at Nancy’s Notions). I’ve since taught my husband some basic sewing machine skills! I can do basic woodworking that I learned from my dad, but I have no knitting skills.” 

She’s off to learn and have a bunch of fun! Do you love any of the same camp activities as Amy? Will you be enjoying any of these essential summer camp experiences this coming summer! Comment below to let us know. As always, thanks for reading and happy camping! 

- John

Hey, Art Fans!

Art is our Handyman and Maintenance guy at Everything Summer Camp. His position is a little difficult to hang a name on as his jobs range from repairing and maintaining equipment around the factory to electrical work to mowing the grass on company property.

I’ve previously posted on the Blog about how Art has enjoyed providing Everything Summer Camp with his services for the last ten years. Today we’re talking about what Art enjoys outside of work—specifically what kind of camp activities he’d like to participate in nowadays.

Without much hesitation, Art gave me two activities that he still loves and tries to get out for with some regularity: Trapshooting and Hunting/Hunter Safety.

Talkin’ Trap
Art’s been shooting trap since he was a strapping 19-year-old. All these years, he’s been developing his skills involved in the sport: patience, watchfulness, readiness, focus, leading accuracy, and more. Click here to read a post I wrote a while back about Trapshooting. You can read another post about a couple of the best Trap Shooters in Trapshooting history when you click right here.

Happy Hunting
Art’s father was a hunter and he taught Art from a young age how to practice Hunter Safety. If you know Art, you know he’s a ‘safety first’ kind of guy, so you know his dad did a good job! Art’s a good teacher himself and has assuredly taught the basics of hunter safety to his son. Art’s hunted a little bit of everything…ducks and quail and other poultry are his go-to game choices. Check out yet another previously written Blog post that covers Hunter Safety—click right here.

Art is sure to continue having fun with these activities. Do you enjoy learning hunter safety, going trapshooting, and going hunting? Let us know in the comments. As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans. And happy camping!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

While we’re pleased to offer all the summer camp gear and other camping supplies on your packing list here at Everything Summer Camp, our camp trunks are truly our pride and joy. We’re the Maker of C&N Footlockers—the best footlockers around. Melanie (or Mel as she goes by) is one of our esteemed Production workers, crafting our high quality camp trunks.

Given the opportunity to go to summer camp nowadays, as an adult, Mel could think of several ways she would spend her time. Check out her favorite activities she would sign herself up for…

Kayaking
Easily making the top of the list, Mel went kayaking three times just last summer. Her favorite places to go are on the nearby Yellow River in Stanley as well as the Namekagon River in Hayward. She can still recall her first trip out with her mom, her brother, and her best friend back when she was 11. She was a little nervous her first time, but it can be a very soothing experience she told me. “It’s beautiful out there in the morning!”

Gardening
Years before her Kayaking days, Mel discovered a love for Gardening. She loved spending time in the big garden her grandma and grandpa’s house where they offered her money for working out there. They’d give her a dollar for each plant she planted and a dollar per item she harvested. Pretty good incentive!

Baking
Mel discovered a love for Baking at a fairly young age. Her mom had her Baking at just six years old. Folks will attest here around the office that Mel’s Baking skills are next level! “Homemade feels so warm,” she noted.

Softball
Just two years after Baking came Baseball (or Softball anyway). Mel started playing little league as an eight-year-old and she loved it so much that she continued to play throughout her school years and played for her high school team. She missed playing it after graduation and she eventually coached in order to get it back in her life!

Do you love any of the same camp activities as Mel? Her picks are particular, but pretty essential summer camp experiences! Maybe you’ll enjoy one or more of these come your summer camp stay. As always, thanks for reading and happy camping!

- John

Hey, Sports Fans!

Especially those of the home team—Give me an ‘E’! Give me an ‘S’! Give me a ‘C’! What does that stand for? EVERYTHING SUMMER CAMP!!! Cheering for the home team has been a time-honored tradition for more than a hundred years. Chanting mottos and catchy slogans to show loyalty and encouragement from the sidelines is an essential part of spectating sporting events.

This activity offered at many camps can be anything from a chant or rhyme to incredibly skilled and choreographed physical activities or even stunts. Cheer performances are there not just to motivate the team but to entertain the audience as well or for discouragement to the competition.

That’s how it all got started. British students started cheering and chanting in unison for their favorite athletes and team—an activity that only males engaged in. This support from the sidelines slowly made its way overseas and landed in America. And by the 1920s, women started participating in cheers.

It took a little time, but popularity steadily grew among women interested in cheerleading until women in Cheerleading exploded in the 1940s when plenty of the university student men were drafted for the second World War. This gave way for women to begin their takeover of sideline cheers and start developing the idea of cheering into a sport of its own including elements of dance, tumbling, jumping, and stunts.

A 1955 overview for cheerleading explained that in a bigger school, "occasionally boys as well as girls are included". However, by the 1960’s women had completely taken over the activity. Of course, guys are still allowed to join a squad, but nowadays Cheerleading remains a predominantly female activity.

There are currently 116 nations that take membership in the International Cheer Union and more than 7 million individuals the world over who cheer. Cheerleading has really grown in popularity in places like Australia, Canada, Mexico, China, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and plenty more.

If you have an interest in embodying team spirit and positive attitude, be sure to look for Cheerleading on the activity lists of the summer camps you check out. Get into the spirit with our Color War Spirit Pack including pom-poms, bandana, whistle, and more. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

We all get great enjoyment out of a hard day’s work here at Everything Summer Camp but, just like all you, we want to have our fun in the sun as well. I’ve been asking people all around the workplace to see what kind of summer camp activities people would be most interested in returning to or trying out for the first time! I stopped by in our Shipping Department recently to talk to one of our star-shippers, Madisen to see what her pick would be for her favorite camp activity!

Without any hesitation, Maddy came back with her automatic and singular answer: Horseback Riding. Like our Call Center supervisor, Diane (who talked about her love of riding in her Blog post), Maddy has had a soft spot for horses and has loved to ride since she can recall. Horse riding was her favorite thing during her days back in summer camp, finding it both peaceful and freeing.

Maddy expressed to me what a stress-relieving activity horse riding has been for her. “I’ll go out there and she takes it all away,” she told me referring to her horse. “She makes me feel free. When I’m on her back riding it’s like no one can touch me.”

I’m sure Maddy isn’t the only one who has made the connection between riding and peace of mind that riders tend to feel. After all, riding becomes the only thing you’re thinking about when doing it. Riding and balancing. It induces a level of mindfulness that requires constant focus on the proper posture for riding. It makes sense that it quiets the mind.

Maddy loves horses and horse riding so much that she moved to Wyoming a couple years back to work for Buffalo Mountain Outfitters—a horse ranch  where she fed hay bales to horses, took them out to water, got them saddled up for guests, and would help with safety procedures during tours.

Are you passionate about horseback riding like Maddy is? If it’s something you love, hopefully you’ll be enjoying horse riding come the summer season. Happy trails. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans! Till next time.

- John