A Busy Time of Year!

By Bernie Sulzer, Facilities Director 

Hello, a lot’s been happening around the camp this fall, a lot of groups have come and gone and will come again no doubt. We’ve begun construction of the Dining Hall bathroom addition and it’s progressing nicely despite the late time of year…we’ve been very fortunate with the weather so far and it seems to be holding steady. Good thing too since the squirrels seem to still be gathering their winter stores. There’s is a picture above of an albino gray squirrel that lives close to the Maintenance Shop.

I’d like to thank everyone who came out for the Fall Volunteer weekend. It was structured a bit differently this time, being combined with the Alumni Reunion. I feel it went very smoothly, everyone took the changes in stride. We got some good projects finished and folks seemed satisfied with their contributions. Here’s a quick recap of the finished projects:

• the shiny new pile of firewood at the maintenance shop
• the frosting of cabin bathroom windows to improve camper privacy
• winterizing the Dining Hall and Algonquin village windows to conserve fuel
• a new set of big triangle benches across the lake from the Dining Hall
• a nice paintjob on Lake Mason’s boathouse.

Everything our volunteers do for Camp really matters; to the campers, the staff and even to the people just driving down Birch Ridge Rd.

I’d like to introduce a project that my department has been working on this past summer and fall. We’ve re-purposed an old, unused water tank into a clubhouse/overnight site for our campers and guests. It still has a ways to go, I’m expecting to see it finished this coming spring. It will be one of a series of remodels to add some unique destinations/hangout spots around camp. I have the next project picked out and some initial ideas planned. Here is a photo of the Tank at present and a photo of the Silo that will have to go thru a safety check and then a remodel for 2016.

I’ve received a lot of great feedback already on the Tank and I hope to keep that enthusiasm up for the Silo next year.

Take care and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Bernie Sulzer