First session around camp.

Evening fishing on Little Bass Lake.

1st Session Photos III

9:30 Lights Out. Time for the counselor to read to his boys.

Augie A gives me a quick flashlight show on the way back from brushing his teeth.

Jordan L mid flight on the Paul Bunyan swing.

Yance K and Nathaniel V kissing their first fish of the season.

1st Session Photos II

1st Session Photos I

Welcoming the boys.

TAPS Has Sounded...

...and the lights are off in the cabins. A perfect start to summer 75.

Bring on the Campers!

We're ready!

Alumni Cabin Nears Completion

In a word, spectacular!

Do you remember playing Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?

J.P. just finished leading us in a spirited game of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, a game for which my brain was clearly not created. The strain of trying to remember your number is compounded by the humor of watching your friends attempts at the same futile endeavor. Returning staff, kitchen staff, campers turned counselors and men entirely new to Chippewa sat in chairs around our now completely familiar and supremely adequate dining hall, with only the sounds of birds and forest enjoying their last few minutes of evening outside our windows, playing a game created in a time before time was created, and all of us laughing deep unencumbered laughter. Chippewa has an ability to bring one back to the roots of connection to nature and the good people around us, and to remind us why those roots need nurturing. Places like this have always had this affect, and may seem to more difficult to find. But in fact, unlike us, they do not move and are not at all hard to find if you remember where to look.

Travel Update - Luggage

With our first arrival date just around the corner, we have received good news regarding luggage handling in Minneapolis. Since our previous post, we have identified an agency that will handle our campers' baggage handling on all travel days.

What does this mean for you when preparing for camp? Not much really. Please plan to check any luggage as usual. The key, as always, is to make sure that the blue Camp Chippewa luggage tags are attached to your son's baggage. The agency personnel will be looking for these tags at the baggage carousels. In essence, travel days will work as they always have. We are pleased that this solution has been found.

On a final note, please do not ship your luggage to camp. We prefer that the camper's luggage travel with him on his way to camp. Please don't hesitate to call the camp office if you have any questions - 218-335-8807.

Get Excited! Summer 75 is Almost Here.

Website Goes Mobile

Grab your iPhone, iPad, iWhatever to see Chippewa's new mobile website . Over the weekend, we launched a new version of the Chippewa website that is compatible with mobile devices. This camp director's Palm Pre pulled up the website and it looks great. No flash, no fuss. It's not quite as awesome as our full website, but it definitely looks great and has relevant information (travel, map to camp, dates of camp, etc) at your fingertips.

Grab your phone and take a look - www.campchippewa.com.

New Canoes A-Comin'

Just ordered! Three new Old Town Tripper and two new Old Town Penobscot canoes. We've been paddling Old Town canoes from the very beginning and I'm excited to replace a few of our older boats. Voyageurs: start your paddles!

Tall Ship Tales

It looks like the guys headed out on the 8-day Isle Royale Sail Trip with Captain Crabb have stumbled into a bit of luck. The Great Lakes Tall Ship Challenge will be sailing through Lake Superior to the city of Duluth on the same dates that our guys will be crossing Lake Superior.

A quick stop in Duluth on the way out will certainly be in order, but check the horizon during your sail. How great it will be to see those giant masts growing taller.

Take a look at the Duluth Tall Ship page.

Luggage Update for Delta Passengers

As some of you may have heard, Delta Airlines recently decided that they would no longer help camps with their luggage handling in Minneapolis on camper arrival and departure days. I am disappointed in this decision by Delta, as are all of the camp directors.

What does this mean for you? Well, we're not quite sure yet. Some camps have opted to suggest that parents ship luggage directly to camp, while others are going to manage the luggage situation on the ground in Minneapolis. We have not yet made a determination on the course for Chippewa families. While we want to make sure that luggage collection in Minneapolis is as simple as possible on travel days, I am concerned that Delta's decision will create quite a mess at the baggage carousel. I also understand that shipping luggage might create some complications for you as parents in planning.

Please stay tuned to the blog and watch your email box. We have plenty of time before camp starts, but I hope to have a recommendation to you by June 1st. As always, please don't hesitate to call or email.

P.S. - Letters Home

I ran across this book on Amazon the other day and thought it looked funny, both from a parent's perspective and from the camp director's perspective. The editors have published actual letters home from different camps. It might be worth a quick look...and laugh.

Take a look on Amazon : P. S. - I Hate It Here

PS - I love it here at Chippewa!

Only 10 Days Left...

....to claim the Early Bird special discount rates for Chippewa's 75th Anniversary Celebration over Labor Day weekend. So what are you waiting for? Your friends will be there, you want to be there, so don't wait another day. Everyone's invited; alumni, current families, friends, wives, kids, future campers...come on and join the crowd. Register today!

Here's a link :

75th Anniversary Labor Day Weekend Celebration

A long, long time ago in a place you know very, very well.

Mary and Ada's Cookbook

After all of these years and many, many requests, a Chippewa cookbook with all of Mary's (and Ada's) recipes will be ready for publication this summer. While preparing it for the printer this week, I ran across one of my favorites...their breakfast coffee cake. This coffee cake is always the final meal for the campers at camp, a quick breakfast before they jump on the bus to head home. Enjoy!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
1 stick plus 2 TBS margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teasp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
2 cups flour
1 teasp soda
1 teasp baking powder
1/2 teasp salt

Cream the sugar and margarine. Add eggs, vanilla, sour cream and water. Mix in all dry ingredients. Put 1/2 of batter in a 9”x12” baking pan. Sprinkle half of the crumb topping (below). Add remaining batter. Top with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350O for 30 minutes or until done.

Crumb topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teasp cinnamon
3T. butter or margarine

Southwest Airlines UM Change

A quick travel update for those campers who will be flying on Southwest. Southwest Airlines will now charge a $50 Unaccompanied Minor fee. It will be helpful, as with those flying on Delta, if parents pay for the UM fee for the complete round trip prior to leaving for camp. Thanks!

More info can be found on their website.

Labor Day Weekend Bash

As you know, we are hosting our official 75th Anniversary Chippewa alumni celebration over Labor Day weekend this year. The big news is that the number of alumni and families who have already registered for the event has exceeded our expectations. Former (and current) campers from just about every decade are planning to descend on Cass Lake. It's shaping up to be quite an event.

More importantly, the early bird registration date is coming up. So if you plan to make the trip north to camp, as we hope you do, make sure to grab the best rates by registering by May 15th to receive the special discounted rate.

You can find all of the details on our 75th Anniversary registration page. Join us!

New Fleet for Sailors and the CCYC

The Camp Chippewa Yacht Club will be adding four new boats to the fleet. Check out the Open Bic Sports in the video below.

These new boats are a thrill and will provide a chance for any camper, regardless of rank, to begin to learn to skipper their own boat. So jump aboard...it's going to be a blast!

"Ice Out" Winner Announced!

Congratulations to Ken H. who won our Ice Out contest. More grilled cheese are on the way, my friend!

The 'ice out' throughout Minnesota set records for the earliest ice free lakes on record. Cass Lake was among them, with the ice out officially recorded as April 5th. Amazing since it is typically around April 21st.

We had a ton of entries, but only one guessed the correct date. In fact only two entries were listed before April 10th. So nice work, Ken, in that crazy guess....it paid off big. Dip time?

A block of Cass Lake in 2004.

First Peek at the Alumni Cabin

A Chippewa Story - Character

The fourth and final segment of our A Chippewa Story DVD.

Grilled Cheese and Cass Lake?

Yes, they have something in common.

Campers, check you mailbox this week for the answer....and good luck. Chippewa staff and alumni, are you confused? Well, it might just have to stay that way for a few days.

The New Parent Resources Page

The Chippewa website has just become a bit easier for parents. Gone is the Parent Handbook and all of the paper that we used to send by mail. Even the dreaded green Health Form has been replaced! What's new is our Parent Resources page, a great guide for preparing for the summer.

What you'll find is travel information, our new online health form with partner CampDoc, equipment list and all of the information needed to plan for a great summer.

Check out the Parent Resources page.

Salt Lake City Rendezvous Photos

We were climbing in Salt Lake City...the final Rendezvous of 2010. Now only 89 days until camp starts...see you soon!

Two generations of Chippewa campers as dad Tony H. belays son Sam H.

American Airlines and Camping

I had just settled into my seat on an American Airlines flight, flipped open the latest issue of American Way Magazine and found an article about camps. Perfect....10 minutes of reading about summer!

Check out the article.

PS- I'll take Minnesota over Texas for the summer!

Milwaukee Curling Rendezvous Photos

Chippewa Featured in Magazine

Exclusively Yours magazine of Milwaukee is running a short feature on Chippewa in the March 2010 issue, available now. Pick up a copy around Milwaukee or contact me and I'll send a copy out to you.

Thanks to Andy at Exclusively Yours for the article which showcases camp and our 75th anniversary summer. Don't miss our ad in the issue as well...it looks great!

Update : Just added the article to the camp website.

2009 Photo Album 2 for 1!

Picaboo is once again offering a "buy 1 get 1 one free" option on this years photo album. If you've been to a Rendezvous and seen the album you know you want one. This is a great chance to split the cost with another camp family and get a really fantastic keepsake for you and your son. It is available in two sizes.

Just click on the photo album link to see it and order yours.

Registration is Open

Hey Chippewa alumni! Registration is now open for our special 75th Anniversary event over Labor Day. Check the website for more details then click the 'Register Now' button. Isn't it about time you returned home to Cass Lake?

The response so far has been unbelievable. So talk to your old camp friends and plot your return....and bring the fam too. It's going to be a blast!

Phoenix Rendezvous Photos

Conference Reflections

Last week I attended the American Camp Association (ACA) National Conference in Denver. It's always great to meet with other camp directors and staff to exchange ideas and share experiences. In fact, I was selected as a presenter at the conference, speaking on the conversion from a for-profit to a not-for-profit camp, as Chippewa did in 1999.

In preparing for the presentation, I reflected a bit more about the series of events that led to the creation of Camp Chippewa Foundation. It is a remarkable testimony to the Chippewa philosophy that we have inherited from the Endres family. The sons and daughters of Cap and Mom provided us with foresight, gifting the entirety of camp without any compensation or tangible benefit in 1999. Instead, what they have created is a legacy that we will all honor into perpetuity. We have been left with a boy's camp unlike most any other camp and a philosophy that is as relevant now as it was 75 years ago.

So on behalf of the future generations of campers, thank you to the Endres family and to all of the alumni and families who continue to strengthen Camp Chippewa. As JP often says, the best years are indeed ahead!

Congrats to a Chippewa Partner

Since the 1970's, Chippewa has welcomed international counselors from countries as diverse as England, the Netherlands and New Zealand. Here at the American Camp Association (ACA) National Conference in Denver, one of our partners in placing international staff at Chippewa, Camp Leaders, has been presented an award from the ACA for their commitment, promotion and expertise in the placement of international staff. Camps like ours benefit by welcoming a diverse group of men to lead our campers. Longtime counselors like Peter Evans and Simon Taylor are examples of how Chippewa has benefited from Camp Leaders.

Congratulation to Chris Arnold and the folks at Camp Leaders! I am proud of our relationship with Camp Leaders over the last nine years.

Chippewa Winter Olympics

While it will be great to watch the US curling team take the Olympic ice on Tuesday, the real action for the Chippewa crowd is only a couple of weeks away in Milwaukee.

We are just about halfway through our Chippewa Rendezvous tour with several great events in cities like former winter Olympic host Salt Lake City and the always wintry Minneapolis. One of my favorites has to be our curling rendezvous hosted by the Milwaukee Curling Club. If you haven't had a chance to curl, make time by joining us in Milwaukee! Next best thing? Watch the Olympics on Tuesday.

Jerry Malloy, Snoel, Jonah and Adam Loeb will be joining the fray at the Chippewa curling event. Let's see who the next great Chippewa curler will be....see you guys in less than two weeks. More great events still to come.....

Set to curl last year at our Chippewa Rendezvous

Chippewa's Safety Record Recognized

Camp Chippewa was recently named a recipient of the the prestigious Safety 1st designation from Markel Insurance Company for 2009. We were selected based on our proven safety record and are proud to announce this designation. Thanks to Markel Insurance and to the Chippewa staff for your dedication to a safe and happy camp.