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Sanford Campgrounds

Hey guys.

I know I've mentioned this before, once or twice, but Yours Truly grew up at the Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS) Campgrounds on Sanford Lake.  Every summer, for a couple weeks, from my Pre-K years until I went off for the Peace Corps.

This entailed camping with my family and annual church reunions, but also attending summer camps, from my elementary school years until I had graduated high school (though I did miss out on my last year of Senior High Camp due to a trip to Mexico before my freshman year at WMU. . . but I did stop by to say hi to everyone.)

All Hail the D.

In college, I returned during my summers off from class to serve as a camp counselor, always with the stipulation that I got to run my old cabin from my Jr. High and Sr. High camps, the infamous Cabin D.  I counseled four times during college, and once I even served as an Assistant Director of a camp, right before I left for Africa.  It should go without saying that by the age of 23 I knew every square foot of these campgrounds like the back of my hand, could navigate throughout it completely blindfolded, and had a memory connected to every tree, bench, and building on the grounds.

Then, for the following 12 years or so, I didn't set foot on the grounds - aside from Alayna's blessing in 2009 -  and it underwent many changes.  New buildings were erected, old ones were torn down, etc.  Finally, in 2017, I returned to these hallowed grounds when my mom offered to take the girls up to the annual Reunion, which she did the following year as well.

The last three summers or so, I've had old camp friends - now directing their own youth camps - reach out to me and ask if I'd want to serve as a cabin counselor again.  Male counselors - good ones, at any rate - are hard to come by, and I like to think I'm somewhat of a legend up there.  The last three times they've asked, I've either a.) been working at Delta teaching illustration and animation, b.) traveling/vacationing with family, or c.) otherwise couldn't anyone to watch my kids, seeing how Kris works during the day.

Then this year, finally, everything clicked into place.

My old camp buddy, Angie, was serving as a co-director, and asked desperately for my help.  And this time, I agreed.  So long, said I, as I got to be the head counselor of my old cabin.

And it was so.

Here's a wrap-up from my week in the woods, wrangling a bunch of teenagers.  I didn't upload nearly as many as I could have (on account of kids being in photos, etc.) - but it should give you a pretty good idea as to what the camp was like.  I plan on doing it again next year, and already have childcare all lined up and ready for my next year's week in the woods.

Behold - Sanford Junior High Camp 2019. . .

Back in action for another tour of duty leading this Cabin of Awesome.  Since my old rivals, Cabin C, had its quonset hut ripped down a few years ago (it was built during World War II, and needed to go), it was rechristened 'Cabin D.'  While this was indeed upsetting, the old Cabin D was rechristened 'Cabin E,' which is also a legendary cabin.  In camps of the mid/late-90s, there used to be so many campers that there were three girl cabins (A - C) and two boy cabins (D and E.)  All that mattered was that you were in the last letter of boy cabin, so if there was ever an E, I was in it.  And now all you guys know that stupid trivial tidbit of information about which cabin I stayed at in the '90s.  You're welcome.

Even though it's been renamed Cabin E now, the old D is still emblazoned across the outside walls. . .

Some old man swung up to the campgrounds the first day of camp with a drone camera and took this picture of our assembled camp outside the Dining Hall.

One of the new changes that has emerged in Junior High Camps over recent years has been the introduction of color groups, which combine male and female campers.  This enables counselors to form more relationships with campers outside their own cabin.  Whereas you used to tackle bathroom/shower house cleanups, KP duty, and grounds clean-up by Cabin, now these are done by color groups.  I, personally, was a big fan of this change - there's more of a 'team spirit' that's built, especially that theme classes, camp-wide activities and competitions are all done in the same color group.  Mine placed second-place this year (a crock, really - point-wise we should've scored first, but whatever.) 

I took a lot of pictures throughout the campgrounds, if only to preserve them pictorially for my own self-interest.  God knows how this place is going to change over the next few years. . .

The Boys Bathroom.  I've cleaned this thing so many times it's practically ingrained in my DNA at this point.

Sanford Lake.  As you can see here, they cut back a bunch of the weeds and undergrowth back from the fence to make access to the lake easier from the fence.

Cabin D E, and the Junior Auditorium.

The Girls' Bathroom.  I've spent a fair time in this one as well. . . usually to trash it, sabotaging the girls' efforts at cleaning it for competitions.

See the two new cabins, the two at the right?  That's the new Cabin C and D.  Eventually they'll be tearing down the original Cabin B (second from left), as it's dilapidated and no longer usable as a living space.  Once that's torn down and a new cabin built, all the cabins will bump up a letter.

 

Want a tour of the Boy's Bathroom?  Of course you do. . .

Hasn't changed much in the twenty-some years since I was a camper here.  Which is both cool, and disgusting.

The carvings and graffiti from previous years has sadly been removed when they put up fresher walls.  My name was all over the place in here.

These old concrete floors are a complete pain in the ass to sweep and mop.  Still.

The Tabernacle.  They opened up the windows of this place a lot, as we had ourselves a pretty hot week up at camp this year.  Every bit of ventilation helps.

The Dining Hall

The Bell

Dinner KP with Red Group

This year I was put in charge of a Drawing class - which ended up being a glorified sit, chill and sketch class, nothing too instructional for a camp - and Canoeing class.  Unfortunately, the campgrounds only had two canoes still in serviceable condition (pretty sure they've been at Sanford since the '60s.  We made the mistake of putting a rowboat in the lake the first day of class, but it was next to impossible for campers to use.  We ended up booting four campers for class until there were only four left for Canoe class.  Unless they get more canoes before next summer - which is highly unlikely - I'm gonna refrain from teaching this one again.

There were two golf carts up there for staff to use throughout the week, so Yours Truly logged in a lot of time driving these bad boys around the grounds.  The experience has only reinforced my desire to someday end up in a senior retirement community where I get to drive one around wherever I go.

Sunset over Sanford Lake. . .

The Tabernacle, with the windows shuttered.

This amount of lakeside real estate has to be worth a pretty penny indeed. . .

Staff gets to step in and handle kitchen duties on a regular basis.  I'm basically a pro at this point.

The Waterfront.  See the Paddle Boat down to the right, there?  It was water-logged and unusable all week, but one night it broke free from its rope tether and drifted across the entirety of Sanford Lake, where it beached.  Upon discovering its new location the next day, my Canoe class and I rowed across the whole lake, dodging speed boats and jet skis, and were able to partially drain it of water.  I then, SINGLE-HANDEDLY - pulled that 300-lb boat behind my canoe (tied with a rope), carrying two kids in it and everything, back across the entirety of Sanford Lake.  It took two hours.  An epic heroir feat.

It took me and another adult, and a few male campers, to haul a water-logged row boat out of the water and back onto land.  I'm never dealing with that bullshit again.

The state of boating affairs at Sanford Campgrounds.

Master of the Not-So-High Seas.

Inside Cabin E - that's my bunk to the left of the door, right where I can monitor campers coming and going in the night.

New bunk beds, though - they finally threw out the old, prison-style bunks a year or two ago.  About damn time, if you ask me.

I always liked having an empty bunk above me to house all my crap.

The staff this year.

They gave all the campers either a 'costume' or a random kitchen utensil (a whisker, a plastic straw, a set of tongs, a can opener, etc.) with which to eat a spaghetti dinner for their 'Sloppy Dinner' of the week.  I lucked out, getting the 'baby costume' - I got a bib, a bottle, and a baby fork/spoon set.  Rock and roll.

This air conditioner serves no real purpose except for supplying white noise to the cabin.  It doesn't cool the air for shit.

We had some volunteers come in at one point in time during the week with dozens of fishing poles so the kids could learn to fish - that was a pretty popular activity with the kids, being able to fish right in Sanford Lake.

For one particular field day activity, they bought a bunch of balloons for the kids.  Of course, whomever did this, didn't bother to give a second thought to the color of the balloons - whatever's cheapest works, right?  Well, having taught middle schoolers for nearly 14 years now, I can assure you that condom-colored balloons aren't going to go over very well. . .

The last campfire of the week.  I freaked out more than one camper by telling them they were sitting on the ashes of my dead grandparents (whose ashes were spread throughout this area.)

Some artiness during the last campfire. . .

Another bitchin' sunset over Sanford Lake. . .

Some new prayer/meditation spot that was built at a past camp or reunion or something.

The morning we broke camp for the week, I found a pair of underwear lying on the walkway.  When you come across something like that, you really have no choice but to run them up a flagpole.

The old quonset huts, for the moment still standing.

Cabin B.  Back in the day, all the hot girls at camp used to stay in Cabin B.

It's days are numbered, though.  No longer habitable.

They use it for storage nowadays, and it smells like it.

One last shot of Cabin E, my home away from home, shortly before I left Sanford for the civilization of Midland.  I already plan on counseling next year, as this week was a rewarding experience and reminded me of a part of my life that I hadn't given much thought to in the last fifteen years or so.  Tradition must be upheld.

A celebratory beer-and-pipe session on my back patio, after a week of dealing with teenage bullshit in the woods.

- Brian