Camp Chickagami

A storm of activity and interest that is…

Camp Chickagami has served the youth and adults of Michigan for 80-odd years now, and seldom has there been such a buzz.

Camp Chickagami proudly announces our scintillating summer camping opportunities.  Below, you can find several ways to become involved with Camp Chickagami, for the first time, for the twentieth time, or even for the first time in forty years.    We hope you are as excited as we are to offer the following:

Work Weekend-Memorial Day Weekend!

Please consider joining us for fun, fellowship, and lots of hard work!  More than 60 volunteers from all over Michigan and the United States come together to help open camp and we’d love to have you there with us.  Our Camp Chickagami simply could not exist without the tireless efforts of our volunteers!  The work is hard, but the meals are excellent, the camaraderie is priceless, and the camp programs that can take place because of the volunteers cannot be valued.    Information can be found by clicking on the link to the right.  Keep reading, though, because there is HUGE NEWS about the Camp Chickagami Alumni Reunion found below…

Episcopal Youth Camps-

Senior Camp, ages 12-17

Sunday, July 17-Saturday, July 23

Junior Camp, ages 8-12 and Counselor-in-Training Program, ages 16 and up

Sunday, July 24-Saturday, July 30

Young people aged 8-17 are enthusiastically invited to join us for a week of sublime north-Michigan camping.  Accolades for last year’s camps are still arriving daily and we are planning even greater things for this summer.  Returning staff members, the trip to Ocqueoc Falls, Christian Formation time, cabin activities, music, arts/crafts, games, swimming;  Camp Chickagami has it all!

Employment Opportunities!

Have you ever thought of spending a week or two in the deep woods of northern Michigan, serving God and a fantastic group of young people?  The Episcopal Youth Camps are seeking energetic, dynamic Christians 18 or older who seek to serve our campers.  Those with special skills in music, art, and life guarding are especially encouraged to apply.  Please click on the Pre-Application interest form on the right to begin the application process.  Any specific questions about employment can be addressed to Brian Ouellette, Youth Camp Director, at bouellette@campchickagami.org.

And finally-

2011 Camp Chickagami Alumni Reunion!!!

Sunday, May 29   4:00 pm-?

Camp Chickagami is reaching out, back through the years, to cordially invite her family home.  Do you have a connection with camp?   Are you a former staff member?  A former camper?  Have you enjoyed Chick as a rental camp for you and your family?  One and all are invited to come and help us celebrate the unbelievable history of the camp. I’m not at liberty to tell you about some of the people who may be coming, but their history with camp dates back to the ’40s in some cases.  Others who will be dragged from their homes include, ahem, members of the Chickagami “leadership” team all the way back to the ’60s.  Check back to this website or our Facebook page (I Heart Camp Chickagami) soon for more information as it becomes available.  Meanwhile, dig out that Camp Chick stuff that your family has wondered about for years: the photos, the rocks, the sticks, the pieces of birch bark, the gimp, and that weird thing that you can’t remember now why you ever kept it.  Campy overnight accommodations are available.  Please take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; join us for the Alumni Reunion!

St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, in Roscommon, Michigan has been an overachiever for years but last year they set a new record.  They sent a record number of campers to camp, (14!), from a single congregation.

How did they do it?

Most of the young people who attend camp from St. Elizabeth’s participate in Sunday School. Bob Southworth and Marilyn Ferguson lead a weekly, multiage, (the youngest is two, the oldest is seventeen), class involving a Bible Story and crafts. Marilyn shares the Bible Story for the day. Bob is “the craft guy”. Also, despite the broad age range, Bob takes the group on a hayride each year and on an occasional canoe trip.

Bob also comes up for a week or two of camp and leads crafts. In fact, many of the items that hang from the ceiling or decorate the walls in Fletcher Hall have come from Bob’s craft shop.

St. Elizabeth’s has had multiple adults participating in Youth Camps as volunteers and campers tend to follow staff.

The other reason St. Elizabeth’s is successful in getting campers to camp is that parishioners help them to come. Members of the congregation provide funds to help cover registration fees.

Bob reports that generous donations roll in once he announces a need. People even stop by Sunday School class to drop off checks. Parishioners have also provided transportation to and from camp and even a meal on the way home.

Additional camp funds are raised through a pancake breakfast and sale of items made by the young people during Sunday School. Examples of items the group has made include bird houses and wind chimes.

Congratulations to St. Elizabeth’s! Anyone care to challenge their record?

Work Weekend Voluteers

Thank you for all the hard workers who attended this year’s Work Weekend over Memorial Day.  Camp has never looked better!

It’s amazing how much can be accomplished in one weekend!  We had some 65+ volunteers participate, all in all, in this year’s Work Week.

A bunch of folks from Northern Convocation came out pre-work weekend to clean the kitchen and power wash the bathhouses so that those spaces were ready for the arrival of the bulk of the volunteers.  Many of the remaining workers came early on Thursday eve to settle in including the folks who were involved with the camp back in the boys camp era.  We were just thrilled to have former camp staffers Lee & Bette Alden, Mike and Deborah English, Matt and Grant Uren, Steve Maunder, plus Tom and Patrick Mooney in our midst.  They came from the Detroit area and all the way from Arizona, Colorado, California and Minnesota.  We were also so glad to have workers from both Diocese of Eastern Michigan (all four convocations) and Diocese of Michigan.

Some accomplishments of the work week include remodeling of the bathroom in Huron, clearing a road to the beach (so to provide access to folks with limited mobility), new laminate floor in Eve, repair of the altar in St. Andrew’s Chapel, removal of all the broken concrete around the boat docks, (back breaking work!), new benches, newly repaired firewood sheds,  installation of both the boat and swim docks, exterior painting of Grand Lake, new lighting in Grand Lake, interior painting of Martha and Esau, a new handrail for Johnson and new curtains for some cabins.  Of course, there was also considerable work accomplished in deep cleaning cabins and program spaces and much more.  We also assembled new the Camp Chick newsletter (watch for it coming to you!). All thru the weekend, workers were provided delicious, hot meals by our cheerful, hardworking cooks!

We still have one project that we are working on accomplishing over the course of the summer.  We intend to dismantle the old wood and scrap pile and cabin full of scrap wood that sits near the craft cabin and labyrinth.   Those items worth saving will be relocated.  The rest will be carted away for good.  Our goal is to make that area of the camp look more aesthetically pleasing and more natural.

Camp Chick’s new Core staff also started work during the weekend.  They worked on projects too (including the very chilly job of installing the docks) but also provided helpful program support in leading Campfires, Compline and putting together a dramatic presentation for Eucharist.  They also had some time to meet with Youth Camp Director, Tom Smith about their roles and beginning preparation for this summer’s Diocesan Youth Camps.

All in all it was a terrific weekend.  So much was accomplished work-wise but even more important was a spirit of fellowship and “pride of ownership” that the group seemed to have for the camp.  It was so nice to see the camp so lovingly cared for by all.  Thanks be to God for all that was accomplished.  Thanks be to God for all the ways that our experience at Work Weekend nourished our hearts and spirits too.

God’s Peace!

For more work weekend pictures: CLICK HERE!

Somewhat recently we started a group on facebook for Camp Chick and about forty friends of Camp Chick have already found their way there.  Some of the “friends” who “joined” the group have recently been involved in Camp Chick in one way or another.  Others were involved during the boys camp days and have just stumbled across the group.  Some of the wall posts have been fun to read as some folks didn’t know Camp Chick was still operating.  Anyway, if you’re on facebook come check us out.  We’ll be using that medium more and more to supplement other promotional and communications efforts for our Camp Chick community.  The name of the group is I Heart Camp Chickagami.

At the recent Diocese of Eastern Michigan Convention, one clergy person approached the microphone to ask, “How is Camp Chick?”  She expressed concern over communications and specifically mentioned the late mailing of Camp Brochures.

In retrospect, we’re glad for the question.  We’re pleased for the concern for the youth of the diocese and interest in camp’s well being.

So…  How is Camp Chick?  Actually, in many ways, we are having a banner year!

Some celebrations…

• We put out our first newsletter, last winter, in years.
• We had strong attendance at Spring Work Week.
• Our Youth Camps were fully staffed.
• We had critical mass in attendance.
• The quality of our youth camps, in terms of program, staffing and strengthened health and safety practices, continues get even better.
• Our board met in late August for a Visioning Retreat too.

The board retreat deserves special mention.  During our retreat time, we considered, what it is that we celebrate about Camp Chick and what do we see as obstacles or challenges to overcome.  We also asked ourselves these questions…  “What do we/ what does God dream for Camp Chickagami?  How can we be a stronger resource for the Diocese of Eastern Michigan?”

Hopes and dreams came pouring out!  The possibilities are exciting!  Our efforts in this area will continue this spring, in consultation with the diocesan office, as we move from visioning to strategic planning to implementation.
Some of our more immediate plans for improvement include:

• Resurfacing the tennis court.
• Remodeling the “Head”.
• Hiring a seasonal Waterfront Director/ Assistant Caretaker
• Contracting a graphic artist to design our camp brochure.

So, how is Camp Chick?  Truthfully, we’re in a stronger place than we’ve been in years.  We’re hopeful about the future.  New energy is emerging.   Thanks for asking!

By Kris Forsyth

A great feature of Camp Chickagami is, of course, the outdoor environment. Situated between Lake Esau and Lake Huron on 87 acres, it contains a wide spectrum of ecological microcosms. The marl pond, great lake bay, fresh water lake and northern mixed forest give favorable habitat to many species of flora and fauna.

Camp Chickagami’s property was formed by the glaciers erosion leaving a deposit of sand and stone over the Alpena shelf of calcite. Our Q hut is built on an outcrop of calcite and a close look at the stones around it will reveal Petoskey stone. A rock hound will find, on the lake shores, a plethora of transports including jasper, basalt, pudding stones, feldspar and mica left by the glacier.

The land has an outdoor history. Q Hut was the machine shed of the old Fletcher lumber camp and the land was donated by the family after the last regional log off and beginning of the Great Depression. The camp served as one of the first state program boys work camps that evolved into the federal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

The sandy soil is a natural niche for red and white pine with a large stand of aspen. The mature pines are now 80 years old. The hardwoods tend have a life of about 40 years and we are seeing the fall of the second generation and rise of the third. One year during the spring migration, fourteen different species of warbler were seen. Many nest on the camp property. The woods serve as home to an abundance of American Redstarts, Red eyed vireos, Chestnut sided warblers. Some prefer the pines, others the hardwoods and some the cedar swamp abutting Lake Huron. Loons, red breasted mergansers and great blue herons work the waters seeking aquatic snacks.

Freddie’s Pond is a small but rare feature. It is nearly dead with a marl bottom caused by the acid from the cedar swamp reacting with the limestone base. This acidic water trickles into Lake Huron but on the way makes a sand flat serving as a haven for the endangered pitcher plants, In an effort to accentuate the natural setting and an appreciation of the same, binoculars and field guides are being purchased and will be made available in Fletcher dining hall. Please bring your own fishing pole.
By Dana Howard