Crafts has a new home...

Shop class - before the move.

If you follow the blog and remember what I blogged about the last time I signed in, well this is Part 2!

Okay, so now that the shop class is moved into its new building we now can start the revamping process to give Crafts their own home! Crafts will never have to move, well maybe at least not for a while. I am sure I was not as excited as the campers, but I was excited...

So the first step was to, BOOM, get rid of everything in there. Okay, we did not get rid of everything, but most things. We took out both old-school counter tops/work benches running along the sides of the building. We also took out the old sink that was in there to make way for a new one! Whoop.

Out with the old - working on the new.

The supplies for this revamp showed Foley’s true recycling capabilities. The new Counter tops we used for the project came from Alli’s house, Marie’s house, and pieces from an old cabin. The frames for the counter tops were made specifically for the room itself, making storage and use of mediums easier.

New counter top in Crafts.

Another major contribution to this new crafts building was the use of the cabinet frames for the main center island and the sink vanity. They fit perfectly and made the transition very smooth, and gave the crafts room its’ own personality. It took some time and elbow grease but it came out awesome! The set up/arrangement of the Crafts building works perfectly for the activity. It became a place not only the campers liked to do Crafts it became the head quarters for the staff to create the fun and entertaining props for end of session banquets and grand central name tag station as well.

I know that this newly updated will bring the Crafts program a much needed ‘home’ for a long time to come. I had a fun throwing on the old tool belt for this build, and I am glad that it is enjoyed by all!

The result: Crafts fit for a KING!

Until next time…
 
- Chris Mathiowetz, Director

In The Woods...

“In the woods, a man casts off his years, as a snake its skin, and is always a child. In the woods is perpetual youth. In the woods we return to reason and faith. There I feel like nothing can befall me in life, no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes) which nature cannot repair. I am part or particle of God. In the wilderness I find something more dear than in streets or villages.” -Henry David Thoreau

Spring has showed her face at Foley this week and if you are like me, that means digging out some boxes with lighter clothes in it, finding your rain jacket, and casting away your snow boots until next winter. After a few days of warm weather, it is easy to forget that it is only March, but the sun keeps coming and the temps keep rising. Obviously everyone here at Foley has started to shift their work from a desk to some days spent getting activity areas prepped and windows clean.

Geocaching during Spring 2010.

Since I am a new Assistant Director, I have a lot of learning to do, and one of my tasks was to head up to Upper Mosquito and locate all the Geocaches (there are 26) and walk all the routes and trails that are tucked away back up there in the hills behind Foley (approximately 8 miles worth). If ya’ll don’t know what Geocaching is, think of it as a real-life treasure hunt! You use a GPS device to locate different items, called caches, in the outdoors. You never know where the cache might be or what it might look like, but the GPS gives you the area to search in!. So, if you can imagine that, you can see that this day of learning for me would require a lot of hiking, a lot of leg muscle and plenty of tick checks!

One of many Foley Geocaching trails.

As I got started on my trail hiking and started up the steep hill towards upper mosquito the sweat beads broke out on my forehead. My mind was filling with thoughts of how my body had gotten out of shape this winter, that my feet were already hurting and that I wasn’t a spring chicken anymore....I am turning 29 next month (eek)! But as I relaxed a little bit and let the bird noises and the sound of the wind suck me in, I felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and contentment. I was able to work on my Geocaching with energy and optimism (some are very hard to find) and had some undisturbed “me time” to be alone with my thoughts and process everything that had been rolling around in my head the last few months. And that’s when I realized, I have the woods to thank for this. There is no other place on Earth- no coffee shop, no cubicle, no library, that I can feel this clear-minded and youthful and just learn and grow more naturally.

So, my advice to you is, next time you’re feeling not quite like yourself, and your thoughts are running a bit on the self-loathing side, just get outside! Take that walk, sit in the sun for 10 minutes or pack up your tent for the weekend and get out there. Your mind and body will thank you, as mine did.

If you are looking to have some fun with Geocaching then why not join over 5 million active geocachers worldwide! www.geocaching.com offers the choice of over 1.6 million geocaching locations, including all the coordinates you need to find their treasure. This website allows you to connect with other geocachers and share stories. Who knows... you may even make new friends along the way. Give it a shot!

- Carrie Stageman, Assistant Director.

Camp Foley Camper Speaks Out

Ellie Mahoney

Ellie Mahoney, an 8th grader at Our Lady of Grace in Edina, MN shares some of her highlights at Camp Foley. This will be her 6th year at Foley!

Ellie resounds what many campers say about their happiest Foley memories, “It is meeting new people from everywhere.” She describes the people at Foley as “nice and fun”. She recalled her first sailing experience with her friends as being “windy”. She “felt free, felt excitement and happiness.” She continues to sail as it has become one of her favorite activities. Waterskiing also tops the list and she was very proud of dropping a ski and making it completely around the circle. In 2012, she is looking forward to “getting out on the lake and having my lake time”.

Camp has changed Ellie in that it “made me realize that there is a lot to do out-of-doors instead of being inside.” She mentioned that Camp Foley “means a lot to me because I get to do a bunch of things that I can’t do in Edina.” She is looking forward to returning to camp and said, “Everybody should come to Foley because it is fun and you meet cool people.”

On a side note her U12A Hockey Team was the Minnesota state championships on March 16th! Congratulations to Ellie and her team! Also pictured from Camp Foley are Coach Dave Horan and Leah Gresham. Click here to see more pictures.

U12A Edina Hornets

BEST. CAMP. EVER.

A few months ago, we heard from Claire Benton; a Foley camper from 1987-1992. Claire is currently the Assistant Director at Cornell University’s Engineering Co-op & Career Services Office, working as a Career Counselor. She lives in Ithaca, New York with her husband, Sam Simkin, who is busy finishing up his PhD, and future Foley camper, daughter Lydia, 2 ½. In the process of updating her information with us, she mentioned she couldn’t wait until her daughter is able to attend Camp Foley “as attending Camp Foley is the best thing I’ve ever done!” I thought, who better to feature on our next alumni blog! Here are Claire’s thoughts about the “BEST. CAMP. EVER”:

Claire Benton.

Camp Foley, ra ra ra! Often I am asked what experience has had a big impact and influence in my life. Without hesitation, my answer is always Camp Foley! Honestly, I can’t think of any other experience I have had that has impacted me as much as my years at Foley. I have always felt that there are “camp people” and “non-camp people.” Then one day, when listening to NPR’s “This American Life,” I hear an entire episode decided to this very topic! I understood then that it isn’t just me; lots people out there GET IT! They fully understand what I am talking about. But THEN, there is the whole idea of what makes “MY” camp the “BEST” camp. Where to start!!! What about Foley comes to mind off the top of my head?? Just watch this…

• Amazing friendships that I still have today 
• Friendship campfire and the giving and receiving of the Anchor Award. The year I got it and the year I gave it away especially…and the tears that came along with it 
• The annual talent show 
• Capture the Flag 
• Awards/merit badges 
• Soda bread 
• Cabin time and the bonds made with the people in my cabin 
• Singing songs at meal time, camp fires (filled with joy and tears and various times) and throughout the day…ones I STILL know all the words to 
• Being carried and thrown into the water for my birthday... "Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. We hate to do it but we must, we must!"
• Canteen time (and having a hard time deciding if I should get candy or soda) 
• Mail time and water on my head when my folks would purposely send a large number of letters on the same day 
• Care packages 
• Lake Superior sail trip 
• ALL the amazing activities including my favorites: 
• Sail racing, riflery, windsurfing, archery, tennis and swimming 
• Families! 
• My cool brothers and all my friends’ brothers and sisters who attended. 
• LOVED the generations Chapel time 
• The counselors getting dressed up and dancing around like fools and LOVING it!
• Cute boys and all the juicy conversations that were had late at night in the cabins about them 
• The buddy system 
• Washing up in the lake 
• Canoe trips to who knows where but were they fun 
• The wonderful counselors that were SOO old and wise; who are now friends and aren’t really that much older at all 
• Meeting people from all over the US and the world and being able to visit them when outside of camp
• Learning all about cool new clothing trends…Birkenstocks, GAP, Polo, etc. and shopping with my buddies who lived in Minneapolis since northern WI didn’t have that much to offer 
• Conversations about “soda” vs “pop” 
• Learning “lifelong” skills from an early age: respect, encouragement, perseverance, how to have fun!
• Learning how to live away from home at an early age and learned how to live with others 
• ALL the laughs, energy and cheering that occurred daily 

And the list could go on and on!

One thing that continues to keep me connected to Camp Foley is that the same dedicated people, year after year, continue to make Foley what it is…the BEST CAMP EVER! I love that the next generation is involved as well. I very much enjoy hearing from all my camp friends, seeing what they have become as “adults” and seeing their children grow up. I hope that one day my daughter Lydia will be able to experience Foley and have a similar, most amazing, experience. I can only hope that she will be so lucky. Thanks to everyone at Foley, Foley attenders and mostly to my mother and father who allowed me to have this experience!

- Claire Benton, Alumni

Stand Back, I'm a Professional

I recently interviewed a Foley vet named Spencer W. from St. Louis, MO. We talked about his experience of the past 7 years at Camp Foley, what he has gained, and where it will take him.

Spencer pictured with some of his camp friends

Spencer first heard about Foley from his Aunt and Uncle. They had a great experience and encouraged him to attend. “I was a little nervous at first.” This was the first time that he would have to adapt to a new environment. When he first arrived what he noticed is that everyone around him had high energy and was having a great time. A little shy at first, it took only a short time for him to just let loose and have fun. “You can just act silly, be yourself, and nobody judges you.” We talked about the friendships Spencer has made at Camp Foley. “It’s sad to say but I feel like I have a closer relationship to the people I see for two weeks in the summer than with my friends back home.” In fact, he and his friends hate going a whole year without seeing each other so they try to plan reunions to get by until summer!

I asked Spencer if there was anything that he hasn’t tried in the past seven years, and that was probably the hardest question. After a brief pause, he said bare foot skiing. “I really want to try that, but I think when I do it will have to be at camp.” Spencer and I discussed his plan for the future, I wanted to know what his thoughts were on college. “I think college will be just like the first day of camp, I’ll have to adapt to a whole new environment, only this time it will come naturally and easy.” In the next few years Spencer is excited to possibly continue his journey with Foley as a counselor. I think it’s great that his experience has changed him in a positive way and he wants to return what he has gained back to the next group of campers.

So in closing I asked Spencer what his words of advice would be to someone first coming to camp, and to think back to seven years ago. “Be open to new things, step out of your comfort zone and just have fun, act silly, act goofy, just be yourself cause nobody is going to judge you.”

If you would like to be interviewed for "The Rattlin' Blog" email us!

- Adam Ashley, Assistant Director

Foley Encourages Wellness and Healthy Living

There’s no denying that childhood obesity is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. An alarming study by Olshansky et al., 2005 reports that the current generation of children may have shorter life expectancies than their parents for the first time in over two centuries. The rapid rise in childhood obesity in America may shorten children’s lifespan by two to five years. Almost one-third of children between the ages of two and nineteen years are overweight and 17% of those are classified as obese!

Being overweight or obese can be a serious health concern for both adults and children. Overweight and obesity is generally defined as having excess body weight for a particular height measured by Body Mass Index (BMI). Children who are 10-20% over the appropriate weight for their height are considered to be overweight, and children who are more than 20% over their ideal weight are classified as obese.

With this problem in mind I was urged to find out what exactly are the best steps in order to reverse this problem. I was pleasantly surprised by how closely Foley's daily schedule mirrors those recommended steps. www.livestrong.com states providing nutritious meals with fruits and vegetables as the number one recommendation. Ensuring children get at least 60 minutes of exercise, limit TV viewing and setting a good example from adult role models are the following three recommendations for curbing obesity.

There are plenty of opportunities for exercise.

Let's put that into the perspective of camp. Fresh fruit and vegetables are served in our kitchen every day and our campers are encouraged to eat at least one portion at every meal. With over 30 activities to choose from, kids get their 60 minutes per day of exercise in abundance! Adult role models in the form of Counselors, Directors and Assistant Directors who offer support, and also eat the same healthy menu that is served to our campers! This positive role modelling goes a long way to influence children to make healthy eating and exercise choices.

- Ricky Searson, Assistant Director

Back in the day...

Alli here, reporting in about reunions and gatherings with campers, staff and alums. This month we have a great example of how camp friendships hover around like that last beam of sunlight when you are trying to sneak in a final ski run before the sun goes down. When I added up the approximate years that this group of people attended, worked or otherwise helped out around camp it equaled more than 85 years! That doesn't even count the years that their kids have attended. Needless to say this is a very dedicated group of friends who we are happy to call part of the Foley Family.


The following all-star Foleyites got together for, as Beth put it, a "super fun afternoon/evening of ice skating, snow shoeing, snowmobiling and a bonfire at the Hughes'."

Future Foleyites (The Kids of all the Alums)

I have bolded the Foley Alums
Mary (Burnett) & Chad Jurgens
Pat & Chrisy (Barnett) Hughes
Brad & Jen Yerhot
Beth (Berger) & Andy Foster
Mollie (Juelich) & Drew Wulff
Nancy (Hughes) & Peter Kotovic Peter and Kym Kronschnabel (technically Kym is now an Alum, too, as she attended the 2010 Triathlon - welcome to the crew, Kym (you are in trouble now)!

Beth continued to say, " It was a lot of fun having our kids enjoying playing together outside on the lake." We hope that this enthusiasm for the outdoors and dedication to each other continues on long enough to see your grand kids play together in much the same way. I know from a personal level that many of these people have enhanced my own Foley experience and I hope all the readers out there take a minute to think about those great Foley campers and staff that created lasting memories and allowed for irreplaceable friendships.

Thanks to Mary Jurgens for the photo and giving us the heads up about the reunion. As always, let me know about your Foley get-togethers and hopefully you will see your name on the next "Rattlin' Blog".


Alli Faricy, Director

A Life Changing Experience

Imagine me as an extremely shy seven year old spending my summers at Camp Foley which in the 60’s was all boys. I was also sandwiched between two brothers. So down the lakeshore I went for 4 weeks to Camp Wabigoniss, for girls only!

So what does a seven year old remember about this first camping experience almost 50 years later?

• Being the shortest and youngest camper in camp.
• Wearing my camp uniform proudly – white T-shirts, baggy white or blue shorts, navy crew neck sweatshirt, blue jeans, and my blue bucket hat.
• Riding the white, fat mare – “Dusty”. She was so round that my legs went straight out like I was doing the splits and she had one slow speed taking us around and around that ring.
• Engraving a wooden plate and making a leather belt (found years later tucked as treasures within my mom’s things).

• Being totally embarrassed with the 8 Camp Foley sisters, in full habits, arriving in the “big green buffalo” – a bright, one of a kind green car, probably a prelude to what is now the van, to visit me!
• Muffling my face at night and crying into my pillow for the first 4 nights of camp and then crying my little eyes out when it was time to go home.
• Sitting on my bed and having girl time with my new, best friend.
• Being horrified with my fellow campers and counselors when told to eat this square of green Jell-O, nicely displayed a leaf of lettuce and seeing the leftover vegetables suspended in this creation – lima beans, carrots, green beans, corn, etc. And the dab of mayonnaise on top!
• The hand bell that would ring frequently during the meal to remind us that we were too noisy. (It was very quiet on that Jell-O day.)
• The older campers turning us “youngers” into these hideous reindeer complete with red noses, sticks as antlers on our bucket hats and singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer at skit night.
• Being hungry at night and hiding under my covers eating toothpaste – a skill passed down from an experienced camper.
• Being a “celebrity” with the older girls who had brothers at Camp Foley and wanted to know all about the cute, male counselors and older boys at Foley. I wanted to evaporate and just be a Wabi camper!
• Kneeling on the wooden floor for the daily, Catholic Mass.
• The kindness of the director, Booty in making me feel welcome and wondering how the other director,” Insky” ever got her name.
• Knowing that I wanted to return to my rustic cabin at the point next year to be with my friends and the sadness that camp closed forever that winter with the death of Booty.

I wish now that I could thank my parents (both deceased) for this first camping experience. The seeds were planted in me to be independent, to be victorious in dealing with homesickness or embarrassing situations, and to overcome my shyness. I thrived in the camp environment as a seven year old! I may not have eloquent memories or life changing experiences, but a foundation was started. I also have “camp” within my memories to return to, on those not so happy days.

At Camp Foley, when passing by our building called the Wabi, where one of the original signs of Wabigoniss is proudly displayed, I have wonderful flashbacks. Even the Jell-O is a fabulous memory! Thank you Mom and Dad! And from the younger Foley campers, thank you to their moms and dads also!

- Marie Schmid, Executive Director