Hey, Camp Folks!

With an exceptional understanding of what durable footlocker construction is and how to achieve it on every single one she touches, Teresa, our Production Supervisor, is one of the best trunk-makers in the country—maybe even the world. After almost 16 years of building them, we consider her the expert. With her exceptional know-how and efficient orchestration of construction, it’s no wonder that our Production Department puts out such solid products.

Given the opportunity to go to summer camp nowadays, as an adult, Teresa couldn’t make up her mind and settle on just a single activity. Check out the busy schedule she would make for herself with sports, Archery, Horseback Riding, and more!

Sports
Teresa kept spotting different sports that she enjoys playing with her current seven-year-old grandson who they call Chase, “because you got to chase after him,” she told me. They all enjoy playing games of Badminton, Soccer, Baseball, and more.

Archery
Shooting a bow and arrow was a clear pick for her as well. She loved it back in high school—she even strung her own bow! “When you’re a country girl you do a lot on your own,” she explained with a smile.

Horseback Riding
Of course, horseback riding had to go on her list as well. As a ‘country girl’, Teresa grew up with horses. At one point, her family had five horses altogether. One of them was like the wind, she told me.

Arts & Crafts
Partial to creativity (and working with her hands, of course), Teresa would also love to sign herself up for Arts & Crafts time, including Drawing and Painting. She reminisced of a painting she made in her high school days of her grandmother’s birdhouse.

Other…
A few other activities caught her eye that she tossed in like Gardening, Baking, and Fishing. She would go fishing all the time at her family’s cabin on a lake, she regularly gardens, and she’s been decorating cakes since she was ten!

Do you love any of the same camp activities as Teresa? Her picks are particular, but pretty essential summer camp experiences! As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Everything Summer Camp Fans!

We supply plenty of other products from a wide variety of excellent brand names of all kinds of camp gear and camping supplies such as The North Face, Nalgene, iScream, and so much more. But just for today, let’s look at some of the gear and supplies we create and provide here at Everything Summer Camp! We offer so much that we’ll just look at several categories our products fit into in order to give a general overview of what we have.   

Take a look…

Labels
From Clothing Stamps to Stick-On Everything Labels, Name Labels, and few other items in between, we certainly have you covered for all your labeling needs. We manufacture these labeling methods right here in our Graphics Department.

Stationery
We have Camp Greeting Cards, informational Call Me Cards to help keep in touch, easy Postcards—and don’t forget beautiful and camp-themed Stationery of our own production, created by the talented hand of Amy, our Graphic Artist. Browse through all the options we have available!

Bunk Products
We want you to be comfortable at summer camp! That means not just having the right kind of Bed Sheets, but a wonderful Pillow Case, fun and fashionable Floor Mats, a functional Bunk Organizer, as well as a snug Sweatshirt Blanket.

Travel
When you’re living the life on the road, away from home, you want certain things like Duffel Bags along with our Pop Up Soft Trunk—a great soft alternative to our wooden trunks with metal exterior, a stylin’ Laundry Bag of our own construction and designs, as well as a few Tees for the camp life!

We’re proud to produce such cool prints and products for your summer camp fun and always looking to add more designs to our options. Enjoy browsing all the products and options we have available just from our own brand name and shop the coolest camp gear around! Till next time, Camp Fans! And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Parents!

How can you know when your kid is ready to head off to summer camp? In the end, kids are their own best gauge of heading to camp at the right age. Kids naturally get wind of the summer camp idea from other kids talking about it or maybe a parent or grandparent who has shared some fond camp memories. My older sister went away during the summers and I was always curious where exactly she was going and what she was doing.

When kids start asking questions about camp it’s usually a good sign: your kid’s thinking about it and getting curious about camp. Check out this excerpt from Parker P. who wrote in to us back in 2015 to share how he discovered camp.

“When I was four, my mom read me a story called ‘The Berenstain Bears Go to Camp’. I was fascinated with the idea of going to camp and began asking when I could go. She was surprised that as such a young child I would express an interest in camp, but I loved the idea of the outdoors, the adventure, and the excitement.

Over the next couple of years, my mom became aware of Camp Ridgecrest for Boys and as soon as I entered first grade, she registered me to attend the next summer. I didn’t know anyone. She didn’t know anyone whose child had been.

She drove me to camp. Helped me set up my bed and trunk area, and headed to her car to depart. I was a little overwhelmed and so was she. Neither of us anticipated how hard it would be to separate that first summer, but I am so glad that she trusted the plan and the camp staff…I had immediately fallen in love with camp. Now after seven years at camp, I continue to look forward to camp as it’s the highlight of my summer.”

Maybe your kid hasn’t shown any interest in camp but you think they would enjoy the experience. A good approach might start something like this: “Did you know Grandpa was your age when he first went to camp? What do you think of going for a couple weeks?” Your child’s response ought to help you figure out where your kid stands with camp.

There’s an entire chapter dedicated to the subject in ‘The Summer Camp Handbook’, an amazing guidebook put together by two camp experts—Chris Thurber and Jon Malinowski. The chapter discusses other things to consider about your kid’s readiness for a camp stay such as their age, the length of the camp stay, their previous experience away from home, and more.

Check out this invaluable guidebook, ‘The Summer Camp Handbook’ when you click right here, published by and made available here at Everything Summer Camp! Till next time, Camp Folks. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

Meet Mark. He’s the President of Everything Summer Camp. I sat down to talk with him about what he would do if he was given the chance to return to the summer camp experience right now in his adulthood—what activity would he be most excited about.

Without hesitating, he told me mountaineering would be his top choice. Back in 2019, Mark’s interest in climbing was first sparked when he traveled Wisconsin to Arizona. There he hiked through the rugged White Tank Mountains, conquering a challenging 4,500 feet climb.

Later that year, Mark headed to Denver for the Outdoor Retailer Show, a bustling convention for scouting new camp gear.

Eager to challenge himself further, he arrived in Denver a couple days in advance before the show, looking to make it to the top of the tenth-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains. he set his sights on Gray's Peak, a beginner-friendly mountain towering just over 14,000 feet.

Mark encountered an unexpected hurdle—an avalanche had scattered debris across the road to the trailhead, forcing him to park further down and navigate through the debris field in the dark with his trusty headlamp.

Although he began his ascent solo, Mark soon teamed up with another climber he met along the way. Together, they provided moral support, encouraging each other through the daunting journey. Each step became a victory as they pushed through fatigue, dizziness, headaches, and cramps caused by the high altitude.

Going hand-in-hand with Mountain Climbing, Mark would be interested in trying his hand at Rappelling someday. Additionally, he would like to test out his Outdoor Survival Skills like building a shelter, starting a fire, filtering water, etc.—skills that would test his resilience and enhance his outdoor experiences.

For Mark, the thrill of climbing mountains isn't just about reaching new heights; it's about pushing his limits, forming connections with fellow adventurers, and embracing the challenges of the great outdoors. If he could relive the summer camp spirit today, Mark's passion for mountaineering would undoubtedly take center stage, inspiring others to embark on their own exhilarating journeys in nature.

Till next time, Camp Folks! Thanks for reading and, as always, Happy Camping!

- John

Hey, Foodless Faces!

Today I have another interesting old adage to look into. The term adage may be better known to you as a common saying or turn of phrase. We’re talking about idioms that are so interwoven into our everyday speech, we hardly even know we’re using them when we do. Some examples that we covered last year are ‘Keep it Up’ and ‘Don’t Lose your Head’.

The one I have for us today has always sounded a little strange to me: ‘Caught with Egg on your Face’. It means that you’ve been proven wrong and made to look foolish. If your friend at summer camp said archery was the easiest sport in the world and then proceeded to miss the target entirely, you could say they really had egg on their face.  

While the exact origin is somewhat of a mystery, it’s likely to come from unfavorable receptions of criminals as well as poorly-produced shows on the stage. Back in the Middle Ages, English theater was a coarse and sometimes violent scene. If the play or show was particularly bad or a criminal was especially reviled, rotten eggs along with spoiled fruit and produce—the common trash of the time—were often hurled from the audience and directed at the faces of these criminals and bad actors.

It was a pretty harsh reaction. Stage performers these days are made to feel scorned by way of some simple booing through cupped hands and maybe a bad review. But rotten food projectile straight for someone’s face really drove the message home that they were unappreciated. Good thing for actors today that we’ve departed from this horrible way to show our disfavor.

Enjoy any live shows you may attend and be sure you leave the spoiled food and rotten eggs behind! As always, thanks for reading, Camp Folks! Till next time.

- John