Camper Blogs! Part 1

Journalism campers hard at work!

This summer, we had some ROCKING Journalism classes. For one the signups, some Foley campers had the opportunity to blog for and about camp! For the next few weeks we'll be sharing the camper-blogs with the Foley community a few at a time.

Camp Food by Alejandro R.

I love Mexican Lasagna because it is delicious. The cheese is mouthwatering. The meat build up muscle strength, and the pasta is amazing. If I could eat Mexican Lasagna everyday, I would eat it. 

One day I had Mexican Lasagna, and it was the best day of my life. It was so fun eating a few plates of the lasagna. I knew it was my favorite food and it changed my life. One day I was tired, and when I ate Camp Foley Mexican Lasagna I started to be awake. 

Trees and Nature by Vivan B. 

Camp Foley has a lot of nature that we need to take care of, for example, trees. They are so important in camp and we always try not to throw trash at them. They are like the herat of Camp Foley; they are so important to people and animals. We also need them to breathe. They are so important you don't even notice. Now every time you see a tree, or any other plant, remember that you need to take care of it. 

Crying of Happiness by Paloma C.

Girls Friendship Campfire 3rd Session 2013.
The legendary hug circle.

Here at Camp Foley, there is a lot of happiness. Friendship makes everyone so happy that everyone cries! One time, I was at a goodbye Friendship Campfire, and everyone got to thank their friends and counselors. It was a beautiful night with friendship and nature all around us. Campers sang songs, and everyone was really sad to leave Camp Foley. Everyone ate s'mores, and there were lots of hugs! I experienced what friendships was all about and what love is all about.

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.

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

The Trees Are Our Best Antiques

A few weeks ago, Adam and I took a weekend trip down to Minneapolis to visit some friends. Since moving to Camp Foley in January, this was our first trip out of the area and we were excited to be in a city again with all the bustle and convenience. As we headed home, inching further north, Adam said out of the blue, “It is really good to see the trees again.”

It is amazing how that simple, tiny observation got me to really take a look around, not only in center camp, but in woods across the road and toward the lake to where Father Foley’s fireplace still sits, 80 plus years later. These trees, in all their towering glory, have seen it all.
There are many species of trees around Camp Foley with many of them falling into the coniferous category. Red Pine, White Pine, and Jack Pine are all coniferous trees and can be seen around camp. You can tell this by looking closely at what they are covered in, because a coniferous tree will always have needles, which are a type of leaf! This allows the trees to always look green, even in winter because there are always needles waiting to replace the old ones. That is how they got their name-evergreen!

What got me more about these trees was their enormous size! They seem to hover, watch and protect camp from above. You can get dizzy trying to look up at the tops of them and it makes you wonder just how old they are. And that’s when it dawned on me - they are as old, if not older than Camp Foley. These trees are equally as pristine as the Chapel and as statuesque and mighty as the old fireplace. They have been here since the beginning and have seen Camp Foley become what it is today and admired by thousands of campers over the years.





The first picture ( left) was taken during the 1950's, and the second picture (below) was taken in 2011. The trees surrounding have grown taller, but they're still the same trees!

These tall pine trees are truly a gift to all who visit Camp Foley. So, next time you visit, take a moment to really look at the trees and appreciate the strength and stability that they hold. They truly are a treasured piece of the Camp Foley history.

- Carrie Stageman, Assistant Director