Shopping Cart

Log Blog

Posted on

Hey, Camp Fans!

Today is National Log Cabin Day—a reminder of a simpler time when life wasn’t so media-saturated or web-centric. This is a day that encourages people to get away from the incessant beeps and boops of our household appliances and electronic devices and embrace a simpler existence. People have been promoting a simpler lifestyle since our cities grew tall and heavily populated. Here are a few examples of historical figures who sought out a quieter life.
Lincoln grew up in a log cabin much like this.
Abraham Lincoln
Our nation’s 16th president was born and raised in a log cabin. Though his family moved around a lot, they went from log cabin to log cabin for nearly the first two decades of Abe’s life. You can get a much more detailed account of Lincoln’s travel from home to home with his family right here.

Henry David ThoreauThoreau built his own cabin for himself.
His most famous and celebrated essay, ‘Walden’ begins, “When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond…” This ‘house’ that he speaks of was a tiny log cabin that even the humble Ralph Waldo Emerson—a friend of Thoreau’s whose land he used to build the cabin—commented on it that it looked “too small to eat in!”

Aldo Leopold
Abraham Lincoln and Henry David Thoreau lived around the same time—born within the same eight years, their lives spanAldo Leopold made a cabin for himself and his family of 5 kids and his wife.ned decades and decades of the 1800s. Born a few years after the death of Thoreau, Aldo Leopold carried on the conservationist torch. As cities grew bigger and denser, Leopold recognized that it was not the lifestyle for him. Instead of accepting societal life, he took his wife and five children to the wilderness of Madison, WI and built a cabin.

Log cabins that Lincoln or Thoreau ever lived in are no longer standing, but you can still visit the cabin that squeezed a family of seven in the 1930s. I’ve been inside Mr. Leopold’s cabin which is an unforgettable experience. Set up your own visit with the Aldo Leopold Foundation and check out his famous writings in ‘A Sand County Almanac’ which covers humankind and our relationship with nature.

Maybe you’ll get to enjoy life in a log cabin throughout your stay at summer camp! And as always, thanks for reading.

 

- John


Water you waiting for?

Posted on

Hey, Swimmers!

Who doesn’t love a refreshing and exhilarating splash into the wet world of WATER?! You’re sure to get lots of time in the water during your summer camp stay. Swimming is the most popular activity at summer camp and since most boys and girls are like magnets to pools, I thought we’d celebrate National Swim a Lap Day on our Blog.

Obvious advocates of camp, we here at Everything Summer Camp recognize and understand the importance of swimming for summer campers all across the board. More than just a, invigorating, cool treat on a hot day—swimming is fun, it’s developmental, it’s social, and it certainly is EXERCISE!
Get into the water with Speedo this summer.
That’s right! Swimming is just as physically taxing as it is fun—especially if you’re trying to improve upon your skills. A couple months ago, I posted a tips and advice series about proper fitness exercises in preparation for the rigors of summer camp. The final installment of the series gave great exercises to try for swimming.

lAnother way to spot our understanding of your love to swim is by the slew of swimwear and other accessories that we offer on our site. Dominated by Speedo, we’re proud to order such a quality selection for all your swimming needs.

Speedo uses advanced materials and designs which have been exclusively developed by themselves, giving their customers—and ours too—the freedom and speed that they need. It doesn’t matter if you’re just learning to swim or training for the Olympics, our selection of Speedo products can help you! We’ve got everything from swimming trunks and swimsuits to watershoes and goggles, and so much more.

Shop our site and exercise with our fitness tips to maximize your fun in the water this summer and, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

 

- John


She must be an angel…

Posted on

Hey, Summer Campers!

The world is chock-full of former summer campers! They’re all over. And some are even famous celebrities now. They’re in the music business, professional sports leagues, movies, and television shows. Speaking of former summer campers/television stars, did you know that Farrah Fawcett was once a summer camper like yourselves? She went to Camp Arrowhead in Cleburne, Texas.

Situated alongside the Brazos River which runs between Glen Rose and Cleburne, Camp Arrowhead provided Farrah with 650 gorgeous acres among the rugged hills of Texas. Founded in 1934, Arrowhead is proud to have been the camp for a famous celebrity like Farrah, but camp director Sandra Schmitt has also noted, “They’re all famous to us,” in an article for D Magazine.

Born and raised in Corpus Christi Texas, Farrah had the usual family life with her parents and her one sister who was nine years older than her. Her beauty, however, was anything but usual. Attending high school at W.B. Ray High School, Farrah was voted ‘most beautiful’ by her classmates in all four years.

After high school she went on to study art at the University of Texas in Austin. In her freshman year, she was named one of ‘the ten most beautiful coeds on campus’—the first that a freshman had ever made the list. Photos of these ten, most beautiful coeds were sent to a number of Hollywood agencies where Farrah was shown great interest.

She turned down nearly immediate offers from a Hollywood agent named David Mirisch. Undeterred by her hesitation, though, David continued to call her for the following two years. After Farrah’s junior year, she finally thought she’d give Hollywood a chance.

She found work straight away in commercials and didn’t take long to start making appearances in television shows like ‘I Dream of Jeannie’, ‘The Partridge Family’, ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’, ‘The Dating Game’, and more. Possibly her biggest claim to fame came when she took the part of Jill Munroe in the television series, ‘Charlie’s Angels’.

Battling cancer for the last three years of her life, the world was saddened to see her life end at 62. But despite her hardships, “Farrah showed immense courage and grace throughout her illness and was an inspiration to those around her,” said Kate Jackson—good friend of Farrah’s and co-star on ‘Charlie’s Angels’.

Summer camp set Farrah on a journey that took her to the peak of popularity back in the 70’s. What track will you discover at summer camp? You can check out Camp Arrowhead for yourself right here and, as always, thanks for reading.

 

- John


Mr. Postman, do you have an email for me?

Posted on

Hey, Camp Parents!

Last week I posted tips for writing letters to your camper—the best option for communicating with your kid during their time away at camp. Today’s post focuses in on email. Lots of camps out there offer a one-way email service to provide a speedier way to communicateA wealth of knowledge lies within the pages of this excellent guidebook. with your camper. Speedier messaging methods may be handy, but they also sacrifice the personal touch that a handwritten letter delivers.

As camp experts Chris Thurber and Jon Malinowski put it in their helpful guidebook, ‘The Summer Camp Handbook’, “Sending your child an e-mail may make her feel more like a business colleague than your own flesh and blood. There is no substitute for a handwritten letter.”

Is it ever okay to email?
Sometimes it might be your best option. If you have an urgent message or you don’t have time to write a letter, email may be the way to go. It’s smart to confirm the camp’s policy when it comes to email. All camps are different. Some allow kids to receive emails but not to send them. Some camps will send parents a PDF image of their child’s handwritten reply.

If you find yourself in a situation where email is the best route, keep in mind that it should represent a letter as much as possible. That means including a salutation, proper punctuation, paragraph breaks, and a warm closing. Mr. Postmaster, do you have an email for me?You’re sending your kid word from home, not typing out a careless office memo.

Check out CampMinder.com, a service parents can use to communicate with their camper. Parents log into their account, type out an email, and CampMinder sends your word to your kid’s camp where it’s then printed out and delivered to your child along with stationery and a pre-addressed, stamped envelope to reply.

Another similar place to visit is Bunk1.com, offering the same service as well as a fun photo platform so that parents can sneak a peek into the camp life and maybe even see the permanent smile that their kid is wearing. These sites take privacy very seriously and have taken measures to solidify the security of their sites.Check out the easy steps of how Bunk1's camp correspondence service works.

Your kid is likely out playing, having fun, and making the most of every day! They aren’t sitting in front of a computer, so don’t expect an immediate response to an email. In fact, some camps have their computers whole miles away from the cabins and, consequentially, emails are checked just once a day. In that case, email isn’t necessarily any faster form of communication than a mailed letter.

Tune in again next Monday to get a closer look at making phone calls and sending care packages to your camper. And, as always, thanks for reading!

 

- JohnGet a sneak peek at camp life with CampMinder.com.


On the Docket for Dad’s Day…

Posted on

Happy Fathers’ Day!

Fathers across the world are honored on this day for their dedication, unconditional love, and undying support. We certainly love our fathers here at Everything Summer Camp and are eager for the plans we have prepared. Bound to be a good time, I surveyed the office asking about people’s fun Fathers’ Day plans to share on the Blog. Check out what Peggy, Anita, and Lydia are up to today.

Peggy—Call Center RepThe most delicous time sounds like it's happening at Peggy's place.resentative
Peggy is hosting a get-together today, inviting fathers and family over for a backyard barbecue. Celebrating the day with a big family, Peggy’s three daughters will be in attendance to show their appreciation of their father and grandfather. With a dozen family members coming, get-togethers with Peggy’s family sound like a blast!

Anita—Call Center Supervisor
Anita is planning on grilling with her family as well, but it’ll be a little more intimate with a smaller family. Anita’s only brother will be there with his two sons and she was recently reunited with her daughter who’s been away with the Air Force Reserve until Friday night. Racheal wasn’t reunited with her father, John, until just last night when he got bHave a wonderful day together to Anita's family.ack home from a work trip in West Salem. Happy to rendezvous back home for Father’s Day weekend, Anita has been looking forward to this weekend for a while.

Lydia—Graphic Artist
I thought I’d introduce you all to our new Graphic Artist, Lydia. Leaving the homestead entirely, Lydia is spending her weekend with her family in Spooner, Wisconsin where they have been enjoying the lKayaking on father's day weekend, what more could a dad ask for?aidback environment of their family cabin. The middle child between her older brother and younger sister, Lydia has a blast going kayaking and paddle boarding with her parents and siblings. Who could hope for more on Father’s Day than fun, quality time with your family?!

A Happy Father’s Day to the fathers in Peggy, Anita, and Lydia’s lives and fathers everywhere. Thank you for pouring your love and support into the people you’ve brought to the world! And, as always, thanks for reading!

 

- JohnHappy fathers day to all and to all a good night.