Hey, Play-Doh People!

Today is National Play-Doh Day. Kids of all ages love to play with Play-Doh. The fact that 2 billion cans of the stuff have been sold since its beginnings in 1933 just goes to show what a great toy it is! Funny thing is, back then, Play-Doh wasn’t made to be a toy at all! It was actually meant to be a wallpaper cleaner. 

A man named Cleo McVicker had just saved a company called Kutol from going under. His next move was telling representatives of Kroger grocery stores that he could make a wallpaper cleaner despite the fact that neither he nor anyone at Kutol knew anything about wallpaper cleaners. It was a bold, risky move, but it would eventually lead to amazing success.

At the time, coal was pretty much the only means of home heating. Therefore, wallpaper cleaner was in high demand. You couldn’t simply wash wallpaper with water the way you can today’s vinyl wallpaper. So people needed a putty-like substance that could dryly clean coal residue from their wallpaper. Cleo hired his brother Noah to help concoct the substance that would become Play-Doh.

When easy-to-wash, vinyl-based wallpaper came along, it seemed, once again, that Kutol would have to close its doors. To make matters worse, Cleo passed away. Around this time, Joe McVicker, Noah’s nephew was brought on to help fill Cleo’s role at Kutol. This move proved beneficial to the company as it was Joe’s sister-in-law, Kay Zufall who became Play-Doh’s unrecognized heroine.

It was Kay who, running a nursery school, discovered that wallpaper cleaner could be used to make cheap Christmas decorations! Aware of Kutol’s tough position, she called her brother-in-law immediately to order a bunch of wallpaper cleaner. Not only did the cleaner work great, but the kids had a great time playing with it. By 1955, Play-Doh was sold on the market, the same concoction as before but without the detergent. Play-Doh is easy to alter and easy to make. In fact, you can easily make your own Play-Doh. Check out these easy recipes here and thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Lovers!

True, it can be difficult to watch the summer season go by, but it’s important to remember that, for the time, it’s still here. I know, it’s not really the same with school back in session and the days getting shorter, but it’s not technically fall until September 23. So make the best of the rest and go enjoy the beautiful weather of the great outdoors.

Last week I talked about what a fun activity apple-picking can be. It’s always been one of my personal favorite end-of-summer activities. But that’s not the only fun activity you can do that marks the end of summer…

Idea #2: Sitting around a campfire. This time of the season provides perfect temperatures for campfires! Who doesn’t love keeping warm in a circle of friends sitting, hypnotized, around a fire? Enjoying some hot chocolate or some tasty s’mores makes a fire even better and keeps the chills away.

Most people who live in northern Wisconsin revere the Fall season as their favorite of the four. It’s mine. The temperature’s typically in the Goldilock’s Zone of being JUUUST right! That’s what makes it so nice to sit around a campfire in the late evening and warm your bones.

As perfect as they are, campfires can suddenly become dangerous if they aren’t properly controlled. Here are some helpful tips from Everything Summer Camp to stay safe around a fire:

• Keep a shovel and bucket of water nearby.

• Keep extra wood away from the fire. 
  
  

• Keep a safe distance away from the fire and watch for flying sparks when the wind picks up.

• Always assume that the firewood, fire pit, or anything else involved in the fire is HOT!!!

• Don’t leave a campfire unattended—not even for a minute.

• And, of course, make sure you have the help and supervision of an adult when dealing with fire.

Stay safe and thanks for reading, Summer Fans!

- John

Proud Americans,

Today, we remember the loved ones we lost on that horribly tragic morning 13 years ago. If you’re old enough, then you most-likely recall exactly where you were and what you were doing the moment you found out what had happened on September 11, 2001. When a wound leaves such a nasty scar, you don’t forget about it.

I still remember where I was when I first heard about what was happening. The majority of Americans didn’t necessarily know the people who died that day, but it still hurts because it happened to our country.

Whether you knew them or not, today is a day to remember those who were killed. There are many ways that communities and individuals can demonstrate their remembrance. Here are a few ideas on how you can play a role in memorializing the victims of 9/11:

•  Take Time to Observe a moment of silence. Setting a little time aside during the school day or even just alone in your room can be very helpful to all participants. With silence comes peace. The official 9/11 anniversary ceremony at the Ground Zero site where the Twin Towers once stood observes moments of silence at the times of the attacks.

•  Toll the Bells. Ringing bells in your community at 8:46 a.m. (the time of the first attack) is a simple reminder to everyone in your local area.

•  Fly the Flag at Half-Staff. Flags are flown at half-staff to commemorate the deaths of ranking officers and national crises.

•  Speak the Names of the Victims. You can download a list of the names of those who were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The length of this list is horrifying and daunting, but it’s important that these names are remembered.

•  Honoring the Heroes. The most positive light we can take from the anniversary of this national tragedy is the response we had, the unity that arose from out of the aftermath, and the bravery of those first responders! Thank you.

Whatever way you decide to remember this unfortunate anniversary, all of us at Everything Summer Camp are proud to commemorate and honor with the rest of our country.

- John

Hey, School kids!

So school has started. You went into the first day with a positive mood and a smile on your face. You were as prepared as you could be with your nice new notebooks, folders, and other school supplies. But despite your optimism and preparedness, you somehow STILL ended up with the back-to-school blues!

Every day starts out at your dark, drab school locker where you stuff your belongings and pull the books you need. It’s boring, colorless, and depressing.

Sick of it?

Well, it’s not too late to beat those back-to-school blues away—not with a stick, but with fun and cool Lockers 101 school locker accessories! You’ve still got time to deck your locker out just the way you want it and you can do it all for 10% off too! Browse the collection of Lockers 101 accessories and decorations at Everything Summer Camp.

Decorating your locker makes the little world inside more fun, more functional, and, of course, more you. It adds some spice and pep to an otherwise gray, monotone landscape. Every glammed out locker starts with the Lockers 101 Wallpaper Set—but certainly doesn’t end there!

Keep accessorizing with shag carpet, some flower power magnets, and a glittery locker curtain. Then you can get even glitterier with the Something to Say Glitter Word Set.

Add space in your locker with the Stack it Up shelf and other easy means…like magnets! Go with the Hang it Up Magnet Hook Set or create your own little mini-office with the Curving Pencil Cup.

The magnet madness doesn’t end there. You’ll have the coolest locker at school this year with a ceiling fan inside! The Light Up & Cool Down Ceiling Fan mounts to the top of your locker with a magnet.

These items are VERY hot and flying off our shelves so be sure to pick up your Lockers 101 accessories TODAY!

- John

Hey, Campers!

Every summer camp fan knows that they aren’t the only one who loves the summer camp experience! After all, what would camp be if you spent the entire thing alone? It’s a good thing so many people love it. Did you know that most famous actors, athletes, musicians, and other big-name celebrities were once summer campers too? I’ve talked about 32 of them on this Blog so far and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

With no shortage of former summer camper celebrities, today I’d like to talk about an awesome athlete, NFL quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, Mr. Drew Brees. Since he joined the New Orleans Saints in 2006, Drew has seen much success. He led the team to the championship of Super Bowl XLIV and was named MVP that year.

But before Drew saw all this success, before his college career, before he graduated from high school, he was a summer camper. As a matter of fact, he went to the same one as Lisa Loeb at Camp Champions in Marble Falls. Camp Champions is a coed camp just outside of Austin, Texas with which Everything Summer Camp has the pleasure of working.

An old camp counselor of his, Nick Fole, recalls back when Drew was only 12 years old. Fole spoke about how Drew would wake him up way earlier before any other camper was awake, and they would play basketball on the courts outside until everybody else woke up. “He was pretty hard to beat. I was a college football player, and I had to work pretty hard. It’s a true test of how competitive he was, even when he was 12.”

Drew went to Camp Champions for eight summers! He REALLY liked camp!

In fact, this guy loves summer camp so much that he’s turned himself into a summer camp benefactor when he’s off the field. Having donated to the summer camp program at Purdue University, PALS, you can see why Everything Summer Camp is happy to shine the spotlight on him in gratefulness and recognition.

Thanks, Drew.

- John