Hey, Camp Fans!

Anywhere you look, it’s never difficult to find a former summer camper; they’re all over the place—which explains why there are so many famous celebrities who are former summer campers as well. Mr. Bill Paxton, is one of many Hollywood actors who spent some time at camp back in the day.

Long before he was ever known for his roles as the famed treasure hunter, Brock Lovett from ‘Titanic’ or the passion-driven storm chaser, Bill Harding from ‘Twister’, Bill was just a typical kid, born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas.

His father was a successful businessman, museum executive, occasional actor, and more, so money was never a concern growing up. His parents were able to build the house of their dreams along the country club golf course when Bill was only 8. Despite the wealth of money that Bill grew up with, he was raised to earn his money.

Resourcefully, Bill would spend his days collecting all the lost golf balls he could find. Then he’d set up lemonade stands and sell the golf balls back to the golfers.

In the same year, Bill went with his parents to join the crowds of people who waited for President John F. Kennedy from his hotel in Texas on the morning of his assassination. In a photograph that morning, 8-year-old Bill can be seen, being raised above the crowd!

He never actually attended summer camp AS a camper, but when he was a teenager he worked in the Carolinas at Mondamin Camp, near East Flat Rock. His town would put on an annual play of ‘Look Homeward, Angel’ by Thomas Wolfe at the Flat Rock Playhouse. “That’s when I first started thinking about acting and filmmaking,” Bill said in an interview with Southern Living magazine.

Summer camp has a tendency of delivering these transformative types of experiences that end up guiding us in our lives. It certainly did for Bill. What experiences will it offer you? You can look into Camp Mondamin right here if you’re interested in it for your own camp experience and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

We’re always thrilled here at Everything Summer Camp to work closely with somewhere around 250 summer camps from all across the country. And for that reason, we like to express just what wonderful camps they all are! Get ready now as we swing our spotlight to the beautiful and woodsy Wisconsin to take a look at a camp with whom we’ve worked for a very long time.

In fact, this camp was one of the earliest to work with yours truly. Carved out of the gorgeous wilderness of northern Wisconsin, Camp Deerhorn is situated on 100 acres of heavily wooded campground that provides its campers with a million opportunities to explore fun places and activities.

Get your fill of all the fun activities they offer like Archery, Basketball, Baseball , Soccer, Tennis, Ice Hockey, Football, Lacrosse, Ultimate Frisbee, Golf, Horseback Riding, Mountain Biking, Riflery, Canoeing, Sailing, Swimming, Arts & Crafts, and Quidditch (be sure to bring your broom).

Explore the attractive facilities around the campgrounds as well. The waterfront was the selling factor for the site they chose when Deerhorn was first born back in the 30’s. They built the Camp Deerhorn Lodge—built from the giant Norway pines that were chopped down and cut by hand. It gives off a woody and warm atmosphere with lofty rafters and a huge stone fireplace. Inside is the main recreational area, the camp’s kitchen, as well as two large dining rooms.

At Camp Deerhorn, they don’t call cabins ‘cabins’—they call them ‘koogees’. Facing North Pelican Lake, each and every one of them is surrounded by beautiful birch, oak, and pine trees. These sleeping quarters are designed to stay dry at all times with screened windows and awnings that operate from the outside. The bunk beds are all made from trees on Deerhorn grounds. They bring a great sense of charm and comfort to the campers and their cabin leaders.

Check out Camp Deerhorn’s website right here if it looks like a good match for your kid and get a taste of Deerhorn with their aerial tour below! As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Cyber Shoppers!

I’m sure you’re excited about all the great deals you found on Black Friday. Keeping with our tradition for the past several years, we’ve stretched our Black Friday deals to last all week long—through Black Friday, through Small Business Saturday, and through the rest of the weekend. Today, our sales rage on for Cyber Monday and will last through tomorrow.

Our sales have been going since early last week with more than 200 products discounted anywhere from 10 to 50%! If you happened to miss your shopping chances this Black Friday, it’s not too late at Everything Summer Camp! Let me run down some of the AWESOME DEALS we’ve have going on this week.

AWESOME DEALS:

MPOWERD Luci Aura Color Changing Inflatable Solar Lantern
You can get the awesome Luci Aura portable and inflatable lantern from MPOWERD for half of its original price! Safe to use in water and all conditions, the Luci Aura is, for all practical purposes, indestructible. Have light wherever you need it and pick it up today for just $12.50!

Wenzel Bags
Excellent selections for your sleeping satisfaction in summer weather—and perfect for sleepovers when it’s too chilly outdoors—our quality Wenzel brand bags, the Wenzel Moose and the Lakeside 40°. Quite comfortable and filled with a performance insulation called Insul-Therm, Wenzel Bags are a must-buy—especially with discounts like these! We took $10 off the Moose and even more off the Lakeside!

Camp Trunk Discounts
As the home of C&N Footlockers, of course you can find some deals in our Trunk Department! Get great deals for our Traditional Steel Camp Trunks in the Happy Camper, UnderGrad, and Graduate sizes. Our trunks are the best of the best and make for perfect presents as we enter the holiday season. Pick them up for $25 less than their regular price today!

Now hop on over to our main site and shop like it’s the day after Thanksgiving!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Do you ever find yourself wondering about the origin of some inventions? When it was invented. And why? We do here at Everything Summer Camp. We offer a number of items that have interesting back stories, which is why I like to take a day here and there on this Blog to investigate the origins of specific gear and other camp supplies.

Today: the toothbrush.

People have been doing the best to their abilities for about as long as history can tell us to make some attempt at dental hygiene. Artifacts that date back well over 5000 years ago have been found and recorded as ‘chew sticks’. People would use pretty much whatever was around. A twig or branch was typical to chew on and work around in the mouth.

Roughly 1400 years ago, the first bristle brush came around. Invented in China, Tiny holes were bored into a hard-handled object—likely bone or bamboo—and then coarse horse tail or hog hair was inserted into the holes. Yep. You read that right. People actually brushed their teeth with animal hair! Hogs in Northern China grew very coarse hair to protect themselves against the cold climate which made for sturdy brushing material.  

This may seem pretty primitive compared to our modern methods, but, if you ask me, I’d rather brush my teeth with animal hair than do what they were doing in Europe at the time!

These guys rolled rags in salt or soot and then proceeded to rub their teeth with these rags! In the year 1780, an Englishman by the name of William Addis is credited as the inventor of the modern toothbrush. Jailed over a dispute that grew out of hand, Mr. Addis found himself in a dim-lit and dirty jail cell where he sat with horrible breath. Inspiration struck him along with the recognition of his breath problem.

He pried up a bone that was embedded in his jail cell floor, somehow managed to drill holes into it and was able to get bristles from one of his jailers that recognized Addis’ invention as something to benefit mankind. The material of the bristles is unknown, but it certainly wasn’t animal hair. Eventually nylon became the choice material to use and this allowed for cheap, mass-production.

Even so, daily dental hygiene wasn’t practiced as a popular habit until after World War II when soldiers brought the required dental regimen back home with them. Can you imagine the breath they had before then? Remember to brush your teeth, kids! It brightens your smile, cleans up your mouth’s odor, and you don’t have to do it with animal hair anymore!

Everything Summer Camp is proud to promote the habit by providing the very awesome and very first portable, battery-operated toothbrush from VIOlife. Vibrating at more than three times the speed of the fastest electric toothbrush, the Slim Sonic brush is fun to use and habit-forming! Check it out right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Happy Thanksgiving!

We love holidays here at Everything Summer Camp! You won’t catch any of us without a full plate of food at our Thanksgiving celebrations for this holiday. How could we go without the traditional turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, and other delicious assorted dishes? And, of course, we stick to these warm, fun traditions because they bring us together.

Always thankful for our families, we take time out of our busy, bustling lives to get together with those who are closest to us. So I thought it would be nice to go around the office and see what people are up to for their Thanksgiving plans. Let’s hear from Art, Missy, and Mellina on what fun festivities they have planned for their Thanksgiving celebrations!

General Maintenance
Art and his wife, Pat, ventured out for the day-long trip to Texas yesterday so they could be with their son, also named Art, today. This family of three keeps it a tradition to spend Thanksgiving together in Texas.

When I asked about how he handled the long drive from northern Wisconsin, Art didn’t even bat an eye—“My son’s culinary skills are worth every mile,” he told me. They’re feasting well today!

Reception
Missy, our receptionist, isn’t actually doing Thanksgiving today. She’s holding off for the weekend so she can do it up right. Life on the farm is demanding for Missy, her husband Mike, and their three kids, Chelsea, Morgan, and Luke. “It’ll make life a lot easier to hold off till Saturday when the farm schedule isn’t as hectic,” Missy said.

The rest of the family then has the option on Saturday to either help in the kitchen or pitch in with the weekend chores. “They always pick the chores,” Missy offered. They’re sure to take care of the dishes afterward, though.

Printshop Production
Mellina’s Thanksgiving celebration is being delayed as well. “I wouldn’t dream of skipping our traditions, though!” she followed up quickly. Her family is waiting till Saturday when Mellina’s mother-in-law returns home. She and her husband Jeremy are very eager to have her around for the holidays.

Coming back on her third deployment from the marines, she is no doubt ecstatic to be heading home soon to celebrate and feast with her family. This family is thankful simply to be together this year.

We hope your Thanksgiving brings happiness, togetherness, and—of course—a big, fat feast for the whole family to enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers and, as always, I’m thankful for all of you. Thanks for reading!

- John