Hey, Happy Feet—I mean, ‘Folks’!

We carry lots of different footwear from a number of brand names like Chaco, Northside, and Kamik. Merrell has made a name for themselves in the footwear industry and it’s not hard to understand why. But, in case you’re unaware of their splendor, we’re fixing the Everything Summer Camp spotlight on this deserving brand name to investigate into their history, passion, and purpose in the business that they’re in.

The business has been boasting some of the best footwear since 1981—six years prior to the birth of us here at Everything Summer Camp. They were immediately interested in creating a product that their customers could feel confident in no matter what the conditions are like outside. As their slogan states, “We make outside moments happen.”

With a passion for hiking in the outdoors, Randy Merrell always had it in the back of his head that he should put his expert craftsmanship toward making hiking boots. So, one day, he tried. Meanwhile, two former ski company executives Clark Matis and John Schweizer were looking to start up their own business. Randy presented his talents, Matis brought his athletic instincts and Schweizer contributed his marketing know-how.

The three came from three different backgrounds and therefore communicated in different ways. But despite challenges in teamwork, this little crew knew with 100% assuredness that they would become a leading brand name in the hiking boot industry. And more than just boots now, this team of three has built their business from the ground up.

“We wanted to make the best in the world. And…the rest is history,” says Matis. Get Merrell’s support for your every step and take a look at our excellent selection from this leading brand right here at Everything Summer Camp. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Hygienic Hikers!

The folks that founded Clean Trek are fans of the outdoors themselves. They loved spending entire days outside, but recognized that they didn’t need to smell as though they had. They devised a solution for taking care of your body and camping gear odor when you’re roughin’ it with no water available.

We’re excited to offer our own selection of Clean Trek’s sprays, cleansers, towels, wipes, and more. With a line-up of eco-friendly and very efficient odor control products, we’re happy to support and offer this environmentally responsible and extremely innovative brand.

Gear Spray
We Gear Spray in a 12oz bottle to keep your gear from getting too stinky after continuous use in the gritty, natural world of roughin’ it at summer camp. Keep your gear smelling clean throughout your camp stay.

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Foaming Cleansers
We also offer Clean Trek’s Foaming Cleansers in an 8oz containers. This cleanser will keep you smelling brand new no matter how deep into the wilderness your camp adventures take you.

Body Wash

We all start feeling sweaty and gross when we’re out in the wilderness for too long without any way to wash up. Clean yourself up with Clean Trek’s Odor Control 3oz container of Body Wash. Keep yourself smelling fresh when you’re out roughin’ it this summer!

Body Towels and Wipes
Lastly, we brought the Body Wipes and Towels on board from Clean Trek’s Odor Control products. These packs of pre-moistened towels or wipes are an easy way to stay clean during an otherwise inopportune time—no water needed! Removing odors, these wipes and towels are soothing with Aloe Vera and Vitamin E.

We’re proud to represent the Clean Trek brand, offering their awesome and innovative camp hygiene products. Feast your eyes on our squeaky-clean selection right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Funny Fans!

You know who’s a funny guy?—Steve Martin! This is a name that might not be so familiar to a number of the younger generations, but likely anyone in their 20’s has at least heard the name and if you’re my age, then you understand this name is interchangeable with comedy genius! 

Defunct in the modern day, Steve spent some beautiful summer weeks of his youth soaking in the sun at Camp Osceola on the West Coast. Though he was born in Waco, Texas, 1945, his family moved when he was young and he grew up in Inglewood, California where he didn’t travel far for his trip to camp.

He got his first job when he was 10. He worked sold guidebooks at Disneyland where he would work during his summer breaks from school as well as weekends. While working one day, he was captured on film in the background of somebody’s home movie which went on to be made into a short film called ‘Disneyland Dream’. This happily accounts for Steve’s first film appearance!

He attended Garden Grove High School and after graduating high school he went on to study at the Santa Ana College where he focused on theater and poetry. With a girlfriend’s helpful networking, Steve got a job quickly after college as a writer for ‘The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour’.

He also started to make a name for himself in stand-up. Continuing to grind away, his work eventually landed him appearances on ‘Saturday Night Live’. And it didn’t take long for him to hit the big screen. Steve can be seen in the hit film, ‘The Muppet Movie’ and made it real big when he landed his own feature film—the 1979 comedy classic, ‘The Jerk’.

Well known for his role in the ‘Father of the Bride’ movies as well, Steve made a big name for himself. Other talents of his always found their way into his comedy like his great musical inclination and proficiency. An accomplished author, playwright, pianist, and banjo player as well, Steve has actually gone on to embrace his musical passion these days.

Check him out singing with the great Bernadette Peters in this great scene from ‘The Jerk’ below and, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Folks!

- John

Hey, Camp Preppers!

As we end the month of May and embark on what’s obviously our busiest season here at Everything Summer Camp, it’s imperative that we keep our Call Center packed with competent and helpful representatives who we like to think of as our gear counselors. With the proper management, our Call Center operates like a well-oiled machine: taking calls, placing orders, answering questions, and handling the occasional ‘problem order’.

This department requires a knowledgeable, dedicated head that can keep things running smoothly on a day-to-day basis and that’s where our Call Center Supervisor Anita comes in. Hired on for our seasonal help last year in the Call Center, Anita showed exceptional skills in customer service and it wasn’t long until we could see her in the supervisor position for our Call Center.

With technology taking over, the Call Center has seen a considerable decrease of in-bound calls. While they still receive a decent amount throughout the day, Anita estimates that 75% of customers contact us by either email or LiveChat as opposed to talking to us on the phone. But no matter what mode of communication our customers choose, “Nobody treats their customers as well as we do here,” comments Anita.

A mother herself as well as her own in-home daycare previous to her employment at Everything Summer Camp, it’s nothing short of fitting that she should have found a place for herself here at Everything Summer Camp where she continues to play a role of encouraging children as they grow up.

Bailing hay in the summers on the farm, Anita had no time for summer camp, but she and her husband of 24 years, John, have given their children a different upbringing, sending their younger daughter, Rachel to the Girl Scouts for a number of different summers in the Chippewa Valley and going for family camping trips with Rachel and their older son Robert.

Their children are older now, but back in the day Anita and John had a nice camper that the family and their yellow lab, Tubby Jo Semanko, would stay in during weekend camping trips where they would enjoy campfire pizzas and scrambled eggs in the morning with orange peel muffins.

Everything Summer Camp is more than happy to have such a diligent, warm employee as Anita. I love talking to Anita. Give us a call and maybe you can talk to her too! Enjoy your summer experience and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

We work with more than 270 summer camps here at Everything Summer Camp and Camp Hayo-Went-Ha is one of them. Happy to feature them on the Blog today, we’re fixing our summer camp spotlight a rough 400 miles to the east of our own hometown in Boyd, Wisconsin, over to the state next to us across the beautiful Great Lake Michigan.

The YMCA Camp Hayo-Went-Ha hosts a girls camp and a boys camp that are located in two different, but nearby locations. The boys camp sits on 600 acres 35 miles northeast of Traverse City while their sister camp, Camp Arbutus, boasts 80 acres 10 miles southeast of Traverse City. Both locations offer a breathtaking landscapes and the feeling of isolation from the rest of the hustle-bustle world.

The boys camp site at Hayo-Went-Ha is the oldest camp to stay on the same site as it’s done so for 110 years! In that time, boys have had fun participating in such activities as all sorts of sports canoeing, hiking, and biking. They have a 50’ climbing tower as well as a two-story 36’ ropes course and zipline. SCUBA lessons are offered as well as fun of all sorts in the water, plus many other fun things!

The girls at Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha have lots of similar activities like sports such as basketball, soccer, and tennis. They offer a 38’ ropes course and a 38’ climbing tower. They offer a prided Equestrian program in which campers can ride the lengthy trails of the campgrounds. With a plethora of water activities such as sailing, canoeing, and kayaking along with indoor activities like drama, dance, arts and crafts, and much, much more.

Both brother and sister camps offer accommodating cabins for a good night’s sleep where cabin leaders sleep at night as well so that, even at night, campers have some kind of supervision. You can look into Camp Hayo-Went-Ha for your son or daughter right here and, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Folks!

- John