Smooth Sailing into Summer '17

The ice is out on Whitefish and we can't contain our excitement for the fast approaching summer months! As we have watched the ice retreat and leave behind more and more open water, one specific addition to the waterfront comes to mind, the Hartley 12s.

Picture this, you and three of your besties are nervously walking across Foley Green to join 3-4 sailing. I say nervously because this will be your first time sailing in a boat larger than a Bic. When you arrive, you are instructed on the necessary skills required to sail before you even head down to the boats (which helped one friend who has never sailed, but of course you already learned in Sailing Bics). After hearing all this, your confidence is building and you head down the Marina steps and finally get a good look at the new, blue Hartley 12 sailboats, and woah are they beautiful.





As you and your besties begin rigging your boat, you realize these boats are nowhere near as intimidating as you thought. With the ample crew space, deep cockpit, and a high boom, you start thinking you don't need to be a pro to enjoy sailing these boats. One of your friends, who is an experienced sailor, also looks excited as she explains how smoothly a Hartley 12 sails through big waves and she points out that it is a very stable boat so capsizing is unlikely. You and your friends set sail and enjoy the next hour out on Whitefish learning how to maneuver this Hartley 12. By the end of the summer you know you will be confident and ready to teach new friends the exciting art of sailing in the summers to come!

Hartley 12's are a phenomenal sailboat to develop and enhance your skills and we cannot wait to see campers out sailing on Whitefish this summer!

TBT: Emilia and Windsurfing

2013 counselor, Emilia Kronschnabel, reflects on why she loves 

Emilia Windsurfing as a camper.

Windsurfing so much, and in my professional opinion, her love affair is completely valid. (As Windsurfing is absolutely the best activity offered at the Marina. But I, Krista, may be biased.)

So I love camp, who doesn't? One of the many reasons I have come to love camp over the years is the ability to learn new skills while at camp. I was a camper for 11 years, but it was my first year as a counselor that I realized how much fun it can be to teach new skills to campers. I teach Windsurfing, and though Courtney may say Sailing is better, I believe Windsurfing is the best activity to take down at the Marina. (So come take it if you haven’t yet!!) I learned to Windsurf at Foley, and every day I teach it, I love it more because I’m able to teach campers a skill they probably wouldn’t have learned anywhere else.

Teaching Windsurfing, like a pro, in 2012.

When a camper pulls up the sail successfully for the first time and begins to go, I think I get as much satisfaction out of just watching them as they do actually sailing.  My time learning to windsurf began while I was young and inexperienced, and Christine McGarvey (one of the AD’s this summer) taught me how using the old simulator on Foley green. I signed up for Windsurfing because I needed a water activity, I thought Christine was cool, and I had never tried it before. I ended up loving it and signed up for it every sign up for the next eight-or-so years. When I was finally able to successfully turn around and not have Christine tow me in it was a great day. I came to love the sport and developed some quality skills, and now I love to teach it. 

This is not a joke, in 2008 (Emilia's last year as a camper)
she took a pic of her last signup sheet. The picture is
captioned as: "Always fourth period, don't know
what I woulda done without it."

 Last summer, I was lucky enough to have some campers that reached that same goal. They would go out at the beginning of the class period, cruise far out into the lake, and then make their way back. Don’t get me wrong, I love towing windsurfers in too. I get an extra boat ride where I get to learn more about the campers in my class, but seeing the look of success on someone’s face when they've accomplished something for the first time is truly magical. Learning for myself as a camper was one thing, but watching others learn is much more satisfying. Foley gives campers the ability to make wonderful friends and to learn some amazing new skills. Signing up for something new can open up a new world for campers, as it did for me, and as I’ve seen it do for others. So this summer- try a new activity- it might just become your favorite!  

-Emilia Kronschnabel

Did you ever try an activity for the first time and have it become a new favorite? What activities are you excited to get back to, or to try, this summer? 

TBT: Camp Cousins - Courtney & Emilia

A Family Tradition

Kronschnabel camp clan in 2008!
Clockwise from left: Courtney, Emilia, Matt, Nick and Tory.

The whole reason I got involved with Camp Foley was because of my dad, Peter Kronschnabel. In 1967, at the age of seven, he went to camp for his very first summer. He probably didn't realize the tradition he was starting with our family when he walked into Mic Mac on arrival day. Since he was a camper, there have been 18 family members that have either been a camper, counselor or nurse at Camp Foley. I have had the pleasure of going to camp with my brothers, Matt and Nick, as well as my cousins, Sara, Emilia and Tory.  

While going to camp with my brothers was always a treat, being at camp with Emilia has been an experience I’ll never forget. Ever since our first year together in 1999 we have shared more than just a last name. During our 10 years as campers we shared three cabins, one bunk and countless memories together.

Emilia and Courtney getting on the camp bus in 1999!

One of my favorite camper memories with Emilia has to be when she helped me write my Bridge Crossing Essay. She had written hers a year earlier than me, and I thought hers was the greatest, so I just HAD to get her advice on what to write about. She sat with me for a whole rest period and helped me write what seemed like the longest, most important essay I would ever write. At the age of 11, Emilia helped me realize camp is about more than just learning how to sail or knit a scarf. It’s learning about myself and what kind of qualities I want to carry with me. While this essay definitely wasn't the longest I've written...it still may be the most important.

Our shenanigans didn't stop when our camper days were over. Last summer we spent our first summer as counselors together. It was the first year in our Camp Foley history that we weren't in the same age group doing the same activities. She being a Fox counselor and myself a Wolf counselor, we had different schedules and events to plan/go to. We learned to cherish our time together at the Marina. 

Emilia and Courtney, part of the 2012 Marina staff.

Ever since we were little, our favorite activities took place at the waterfront. I loved sailing and she (for reasons that are still a mystery to me...) loved windsurfing. Our love for the marina did not come out of nowhere. The rich tradition that my dad and uncles laid down started way before Emilia and my camper days had even begun. Hearing their stories about the good ‘ol days at the Marina is what really sparked our interest and kept us wanting more. While their stories are pretty top notch, I’d say Emilia and I have created some quality ones of our own in 2012. The site of Emilia hundreds of feet from shore stranded in a safety boat that she was unable to start will always make me chuckle.

I can honestly say that with out my cousin Emilia, camp for me would not be the same. We share so many wonderful memories at the one place we can both call home. I am truly looking forward to spending another glorious summer with her at Camp Foley. 

Written by Courtney Kronschnabel. 

Throwback Thursday: 1961 & 1962

We are proud to bring you the first Throwback Thursday request - 1961 and 1962. Per usual, we got our information from the old newsletters. I must say, as I go further back in time the newsletters get very silly. Back in the day, there was a lot of mocking of returning staff and poking fun at the campers from the past summer. I found a lot of inside jokes and letters in jest (if you're ever bored, I strongly suggest reading some of the old Bugles! Read below for some of the 1961 and 1962 highlights!

Cabin time in the 60s.

In 1955 when Cabins Kadikomeg-Shignwako for the oldest campers were opened they were outfitted with new 6 foot beds, the standard length, which was considered quite ample six years ago. This year Kadikomeg-Shingwako will be equipped with 6 ½ foot beds. A sign of the times? It sure is! The average camper is getting taller thanks to the research in nutrition and the field of vitamins. Mingo-Wahtassa will benefit from the Sioux cabins’ beds. Before our oldest boys lived in Mingo/Wahtassa, it seems that they lived in Kad/Shing way down on the end of the boys' side. It also appeared that boys went through a collective growth spurt in the late 50s early 60s. 

60s ski boat.

A new waterski boat will be in order for ’62 as fiberglass fatigue has afflicted our old boat after six years of hard use. No boat gets more use, running five to six hours a day consuming about 600 gallons of gas a summer. Surprisingly, we think that our three boats use about the same amount of gas that one boat used in 1961! Snaps for technology forever improving gas mileage in ski boats!

60s meal time. 

Prepare yourself for the hilarity of the following joke found in a 1961 newsletter: Letter Home – Dear Mom: Please send food. Lots of food. All the give us here is breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Your loving son.

The American Camping Association says that over five million boys and girls will attend summer camps this summer. It is estimated that 11.5 million children will attend summer camp in 2013.

Two docks: so close yet so far...

Quite possibly the most entertaining tidbits from the 1962 newsletters is the first mention of a Swimdock/Marina rivalry at Foley. It's no secret that every summer the Swimdock and Marina staff have a healthy rivalry in good fun, let's hear how it all began...

Rivals Clash on the Waterfront

The staff of Camp Foley has suffered occasionally from dissension in the ranks. This year proved no exception to that state of affairs, John Dinges’ ‘Happy Boat Dock’ and Jack McCoy’s ‘Friendly Swim Dock’ had some times of rivalry… 

(As explained by the Swimdock:) I can’t say what motivated those men to break the treaty. In a flash their heads swelled with a superiority complex and they attempted to show how much better they were (ha-ha)… They even invented some story about their owning the Waterfront and how they have generously leased the swim dock area to us. Everyone knows that when Father Foley first came to the north woods he went swimming as soon as he could get his suit on. Then he marked off the swim dock area and after that the boat dock area. Since we are a friendly group, we aren't going to say any more about the rivalry. We know you know who your real friends are and we hope the men of the boat dock realize it soon.

(As explained by the Marina:) It is common knowledge that the stalwart men of the boat dock are not only your friends, but are also the happiest and most efficient unit of your Camp Foley staff… The Happy Boat Dock rang with the continual peals of laughter of the campers whereas the Swim Dock gave forth mainly with the groans of campers undergoing the tortures inflicted by their instructors – that is, when the swim dock was still standing… You campers can attest to the wonderful treatment accorded to you at the boat dock...  Compare the range of activities you between the boat dock and the swim dock? … It doesn't seem necessary to say any more.

Throwback Thursday: Top 12 in '12

As 2012 comes to a close, Camp Foley is counting down the Top 12 in 2012!

12. Norm came to Camp Foley!

11. The LIT morning and evening programs of relays, races and large-field games were fun for all! The LIT 2 campers from First and Second Session even prepared the evening activity for the 4th of July!

10. CIT Opening Campfires were creative and entertaining! Themes were Despicable Me: Camp Foley and The Bachelor: Lower Mosquit/Disney Princesses.

 9. Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl Final Banquets were a success! The Dr. Seuss banquet featured a rousing game of Sneetchball and a visit from The Grinch and Cindy Lou Who while Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory was set up in the Wabi for the Roald Dahl Banquet.

8. Flick n’ Float made its return to Foley! Campers enjoyed watching "The Little Giants" or "The Sandlot" down at the Marina, under the stars!

 7. According to campers, Waterskiing is Camp Foley’s favorite activity! Sailing and Riflery came in second and third, respectively.

6. Camp got a new wakeboard boat, which made it easier for 27 campers to earn their Closet Junkie Award!

5. 96.5% of campers achieved a Foley First in 2012! Our goal for 2013: Have 100% of campers say they achieved a Foley First!

4. In its first year, Club Paradise brought 68 new families and 101 new campers to Foley! A special shout out do Second Session's Martin Dieck who had so many referrals sign up for camp that he already has all four of his official Camp Foley Root Beer Mugs and set of spoons!

Claire receiving her Silver Paddle.

3. Nine very deserving Anchor Awards were handed out to Jack Cunningham, Erin Foley, Nick Goldman, Paige Harrington, Ari Hechter, Maddie Lorentzen, Thomas Schroeder, Mary Grace Schuler and Parker Stevens. 

2. Claire Hickey earned her Silver Paddle! She is the 44th overall camper and 13th female to receive this award. Way to go, Clarie! 

From left: Thomas, Toby, Jack, Regina, Loic, Nick and Sarah.

1. Campers earned some of camp’s hardest activity awards: American Archer in Archery (Toby Glover), Force Four in Windsurfing (Loic DeRichecour), Expert in Riflery (Nick Goldman, Thomas Schroeder), Skipper in Sailing (Jack Cunningham, Regina Flores, Sarah Kruemplestaedter)!

If you think we left something off of our "Top 12" be sure to let us know! It's pretty clear that 2012 was an AMAZING summer at Camp Foley. We can only hope that 2013 will be just as fun, just as exciting, and just as memorable! If you haven't registered for summer 2013 yet, you better get on it. If you're already registered, what are you looking forward to next summer?