Campfire Fellowship

I have often wondered about the differences between a resident summer camp and the opportunity afforded to the various boys clubs on our property. That was even the topic of conversation with kids from the Salesian Boys Club of Columbus, Ohio, one summer night.

I shared with them about a resident camp I attended as a counselor called Camp Mishawaka in Minnesota that cost kids over $7,000 to attend for eight weeks!  Mike Myers expressed shock at that especially when I told him what the activities were.  He related they could find the same things in Columbus for far less. 

One of the boys noted that at resident camps you are fed but on our trips every boy takes some part in the preparation of a meal.  “It always tastes better when you make it yourself“, said one of the kids with a laugh.

Our kids always enjoyed the various duties they were given at our property except for latrine duty.  No one enjoyed that task!  That was made quite known at that evenings campfire.  However, when compared to the whole experience, the kids said even that was acceptable.  Our wooded beachfront didn’t allow for soccer or tennis to be played.  Instead the boys chopped wood for meals and campfires, cooked, cleaned out their tents daily, and participated in fishing, boating, and swimming.  Hiking was done in our forest area about a half mile from camp. 

The boys learned to work together for the common good of the camp and that was always the goal of each trip to our property.  Boys that chose to ignore teamwork were not invited back on future trips.  That evening there were lots of laughs and good fellowship around the campfire in retelling tales of how the boys viewed the chores and duties they were assigned.  Not a bad topic for campfire that evening!

Seth and His Inquisitive Nature

“What is life all about?” Seth wanted to know and I was NOT a walking encyclopedia! He asked more questions on this trip with the Salesian Boys Club than Carter has pills.  “Why does that spider carry its young on its back?”  Perhaps to avoid them having to face the dangers of hitch hiking? 

He even asked other kids questions.  “Why are you hanging your clothes on the line when its raining outside?”  It seemed on that trip that our clothesline was a combination washer and dryer.  It rained a great deal of the time.  Yet that did not hinder Seth from raining down continual questions on the whole group to the point of near insanity.

And, yes, he was the one that continually asked, “How much farther do we have to go?“, all the way up to our property from Columbus, Ohio.  The other boys wanted to leave him at a rest stop near Grand Rapids.  An inquisitive nature is one thing but Seth took it to extremes on this trip until one of the boys took him to task about it. 

But Seth seemed immune to the question put to him and brushed it off as if it were nothing.  On the next to the last day on the trip his questions ceased.  Why?  He lost his voice!  That lasted until we were halfway home and then the questions rolled out again.  One of the other boys asked the big question then-  “When do we get home, Dave?”

Brother Gerald Warner Recovering From Stroke

Brother Gerald Warner, the founding Director of the Salesian Inner City Boys Club in Columbus, Ohio,is recovering from a stroke he id suffered in December of 2011. He was serving at the Salesian New Rochelle, New York, complex. When he failed to attend breakfast they found him in his room suffering from a stroke.

Presently he is in a New Rochelle rehabilitation center getting the help he needs.  He is unable to talk but can hear things perfectly.  Please pray for his recovery.  I served on Brother Gerald’s staff in Columbus in the mid 1970′s.

A Morning at Orchard Market

On jaunts to the Lake Michigan Recreation Area, many boys clubs have stopped at this mid-way point on US 31 just outside of Free Soil. It is called The Orchard Market and within its walls are all manner of fruits and vegetables along with a fantastic bakery.   I usually purchase a jar of honey with the honeycomb still embedded inside.  It makes for  a great topping for oatmeal in the morning.

The boys like to walk the isles and see what their purchasing power might bring them.  On this trip with the Salesian Boys Club, the boys found Bear Claws to be their top item.  The ever so tasty pastry is topped with several sweet tasting components and some of the boys purchased more than one!

It seemed that the bakery outweighed all other options as a few boys bought a type of cream puff with a sweet marshmallow flavor.  On many trips this was our first stop en route to the Recreation Area.  However, on some of our trips there we stopped here on the way back to our property on Big Bass Lake. 

I found that when a boy’s mouth is filled with sweet things they are less likely to ask, “Are we there yet?”

Spirit of the Wood’s Ghost Cloud

The boys from the Salesian Boys Club spotted this cloud while on a hike just off of our property near Beartrack. Mike Myers dubbed it “The Ghost Cloud” because it seemed to have a life all its own. At first it appeared like a fog bank but then lifted itself skyward.  It then hovered over these few trees for nearly a half hour.  But the way it did all this was so mysterious and spooky that the boys couldn’t take their eyes off it.

Even I was dumbstruck over this event.  I had never seen a cloud operate like that.  Perhaps Mike was right in calling it a ghost cloud.  And seen we were within the boundaries of the Manistee National Forest, which means Spirit of the Woods, perhaps we actually witnessed that “spirit” in operation.  It sure didn’t function like any cloud I had ever seen.

Then after thirty minutes or so the cloud just seemed to evaporate into nothingness.  All the way back to our property that was the subject of conversation by all the boys combined.  Perhaps we had all been present for that spirit of the woods to manifest itself to us?  And, I have never seen its like again on any other trip to our property. 

Bugle Calls Are Not For 6 A M

I’ve often mentioned of the continual rain we had with the Salesian Boys Club when they were at our property one summer but that was not the major concern on that trip. The boys dealt with the rain rather well as there was rarely any lightning associated with it. But the boys did object to being awakened every morning at 6 am by the bugle of Camp Martin Johnson. That bugle may have well served that camp as their kids were in bed by 10 pm every evening. Our boys often began their night time hiking activities at about that same time. Even our trip to the Haunted Island commenced at midnight.

Our bedtime usually ran from between 1 am to 2 am so the boys loved sleeping in. However that sleep was often interrupted by that bugle call from Camp Martin Johnson. Even though they were quite a distance from us, that bugle’s sound bounced off the waters of Big Bass Lake and came in loud and clear at our campsite. Our boys were impressed how well that wake-up call was played however they did not know until much later that what they heard was a recording. What? No real bugle call? Is nothing sacred anymore?

After a few days most of our boys did not even notice the call anymore and slept right through it. I did hear it each and every morning and wanted ever so badly to change that recording to “Go to Sleep” instead. I wonder what the rest of the residents around Big Bass Lake felt like being awakened every morning by that bugle.

Drive to Hike

There is one great thing about the Manistee National Forest and that is that it has hundreds of unpaved roads within it. On a boys club trip with the Salesian Boys Club of Columbus, Ohio, we took a side trip into the forest and took the fifth unpaved road that we found off the road into Freesoil.

It was a great road and I drove about five miles and then stopped the car. We unloaded lunches and then proceeded to hike into the forest for a few miles. We passed a very old cabin that was almost crumbling to the ground and near it a rather large pond. One of the boys, Whitey Meier, wanted to know if this was the first time anyone had been to this location but since it was so close in proximity to the old cabin, I told him I thought not. That was probably where whoever once lived there fished.

Yet probably not too many knew of this location. There was nothing more spectacular than what we found near the pond so we headed back to the car after about two hours of great hiking. We drove a little further down the road and hiked into the forest again for a couple of hours but this time all we saw were trees and ferns.

Our day was overcast with a sprinkle or two of rain coming down but that was the trip with rain happening nearly all the time so the kids were used to it. Beneath all those trees, the canopy of them kept most of the rain from reaching the ground. At least the kids had worked up a good appetite for the evening meal that day.

Jason the Collector

On our rainy trip with the Salesian Boys Club to Big Bass Lake there was Jason, as often as he could, armed with his little scoop net ready to grab minnows, frogs, tadpoles, and whatever else he could at least three times a day.  He walked around our main beach and at the Pointe beach searching for things to collect.  Most times after observing his catch of the day for a few minutes he released it back into the lake. 

He must have had the most wrinkles in his feet of any boy ever at our lake with all the time he spent in shallow water.  He did the same thing when we traveled toLake Michiganalthough he did manage time for swimming as well. 

At Big Bass Lake he moved ever so slowly so as not to stir the sand as he walked.  This made him the obvious choice for washing our camp dishes in the lake after every meal.  Even at those times his little net was tucked under his arm ready for action.  He was somewhat of a loner on this particular trip except at meal times when he fit right in with the other boys.  But apart from that he spent nearly all his free time searching the shallow water ofBigBassLakefor his trophies.  Yet he never kept any of them but for a few minutes.  I think he lived for the moment of the catch and there is nothing at all wrong with that.

The Irons Cafe

The Irons Café is located just inside Irons,Michigan, and some of the best breakfast food that will ever pass through your mouth.  The bacon is tender and the pancakes divine and their oatmeal hard to beat.  Once, with a few of the Salesian Boys Club kids, we visited their establishment while waiting for St. Bernard’s to let out  Several parents insisted their kids attend Mass and that was one long Mass, far longer than they ever had at Columbus, Ohio. 

To pass the time, I treated the three boys I had with me to lunch and the sandwich selection was good.  The hamburgers and fries were great according to the boys and who better than to taste test those two foods.  The service was excellent and friendly. 

A few years later I again visited the Irons Café when I was by myself at our property onBigBassLakeand most remember a bowl of potato soup that I had there.  It was the best bowl of potato soup that I had ever had or will have.  The people of Irons can bear that out plus the myriad of tourists that pass through this café’s door each and every summer.  A lot of people that attend Irons Union Church are from the southernUnited Statesvisiting the area and I’m sure many of them frequent the Irons Café after services.

Food can taste good nearly anywhere but the thing that sets the Irons Café apart from others are their friendly service and great prices.  If in the area, give them a try as you won’t be disappointed!

Myers and The Bonepickers

On a trip to the Haunted Island with the Salesian Boys Club, after we visited the Haunted House, we came upon the area where the Bonepickers were buried.  Mike Myers went a little away from the rest of the group and all of a sudden we heard him scream.  We ran to him and found him badly shaken.  He said that he saw an actual Bonepicker. 

 Immediately we fanned out in all directions but could not locate anything even close to resembling what Mike told us.  The other kids thought he was putting us on to add even more to the scared affect they were already feeling about the Haunted House.  But then Mike pointed to the ground and we beheld what you see below.  It was almost as if Mike’s image was burned into the ground after seeing what he thought he had.  Even though none of us saw a Bonepicker that night we couldn’t dismiss that image. 

 So what DID Mike really see that night?  Needless to say, the kids didn’t need any prompting to return to our wooded beachfront that night.  Perhaps what Mike saw was a figment of his own imagination.  Or perhaps not??

Larry, Larry, Hardly Contrary

Larry didn’t do much swimming at Big Bass Lake with the Salesian Boys Club. Instead he opted to lie down in shallow water and catch and observe passing minnows. He did this both at the main beach as well as at the Pointe. This was probably his favorite pose when in the water. While everyone else was either swimming, fishing, or boating, Larry was in water deep enough to just cover his back.

He could be in that position for up to a half-hour before choosing another location to lie down on his stomach.  He also enjoyed making sand castles on ou thin area of sandy beach.  He got pretty good at catching minnows but to what end?  Those we never even thought of eating but he did make some older boys happy by providing them with some live bait. 

He was a pleasant boy to work with and he always did his chores with a whistle.  After hiking he always enjoyed his unique form of a dip in Big Bass Lake.  It takes all kinds to make up te world to be sure.

Salesian Boys Club Travels to Hoffman Estates Boys Club

My old Salesian Boys Club of Columbus, Ohio, made their way to my new club, The Hoffman Estates Boys Club in suburban Chicago for a basketball tournament that also included the Cicero and Bellwood Boys Clubs of Chicagoland. Our club in Hoffman Estates hosted the Salesian team for an overnight at our facility.

The game was played at a local grade school as our gym was not a full sized basketball court. A trumpeter from a local high school played the National Anthem and then Bellwood Boys Club defeated us while Salesian trounced the Cicero Boys Club in the second game. Salesian went on to defeat Bellwood by a large margin in the championship game.

Then the Salesian club traveled back to our club in Hoffman Estates for an overnight of pizza and fun. They were treated to Roof Ball which our members won handily and paddleball along with the Tire Endurance which were all foreign to the Salesian kids. Brother Emile Dube and “Judghead” Jones were the supervisors for the Salesian kids. I enjoyed talking old times with each. Judhead had even managed to go to Michigan on one of our camping trips to our property.

Before returning home to Columbus the following morning they attended a Catholic service at St. Hubert’s Parish which was next door to our facility. I think the Salesian kids went home not only with the basketball trophy but a greater appreciation for the other games we had at our club.

Oh, Those Pine River Hot Dogs

On each camping trip to our property we never had hot dogs at our main campsite.  They were largely reserved for our outing to the Pine River at Wellston which had an area where the boys could walk down a wooden staircase with water coming from a natural source cascading down beneath them. 

Once at the bottom a sandy trail led under M-55 to a campsite with grills and picnic tables.  The Pine River was in full view of this area and many canonists and kayakers would pass by often.  It is here where we broke out the hotdogs and condiments and grilled them up for the boys.  On this particular trip with the Salesian Boys Club you can observe young Ken munching down on one of our efforts. 

After lunch we had a rest and relaxation period as most of the boys draped themselves over the picnic tables and watched  those that passed them by on the river.  After their lunch had settled we set off on a brief hike along the shoreline of the Pine River for about a mile before coming back on an alternate trail. 

The boys always liked our outing to the Pine River for they knew hot dogs would be the order of the day.  And they never spared the ketchup or mustard!

Night of the Thunderstorm at Big Bass Lake

On a camping trip permeated by rainfall you’d think a thunderstorm would not have unnerved the boys from the Salesian Boys Club one night. The storm swept over the Big Bass Lake area after 2am and the wind was howling. All of us stayed in the tents as the rain just poured down from the sky. Yet all we felt was drips and drabs as the canopy of trees overhead took away the majority of the heavy rainfall.

Some of the boys slept right through that storm even though the thundering was ferocious at times. I looked out my tent flap and could observe white caps on the lake. It was a good thing that we brought our two rowboats well onto land that night as the signs of a storm were telling late in the day by the cumulous clouds overhead.

One of the boys in my tent drew in close to me with every passing thunderclap. As I tucked him back into his sleeping bag I told him that storms make for great sleeping but he said, “How, with all that noise?” I replied that they must be bowling in heaven that night and there were a great many strikes to be had. I don’t think that convinced him that all was well.

After about a grueling hour, the storm passed by and all we heard till morning was the dripping from the trees that consumed most of that water. In the morning one boy groaned that our clotheslines had not done their job as all the clothes were wet. I reassured him that they would be dry by the end of the day which they were. All bad things do pass you know. All in all it was an interesting night at Big Bass Lake. By the way that day after the storm was our only completely dry day of our trip.

Dark Skies Coming on Big Bass Lake

I always find it interesting after a hard first days work in setting up camp how any boys club group took to their first evening. As darkness set itself over Big Bass Lake, the Haunted Island in the distance took on a whole new identity for the boys. During the daylight hours it appeared rather tame but now it looked most foreboding to te kids.

The Salesian Boys Club kids had set up camp in a drizzle that day.  The rain had ceased about 7pm that night and the boys found themselves huddled around their first campfire.  With the fire making their vision even less tha before it made that first campfire almost unreal.  Even the commode, perched some fifty yards from camp, seemed to be a most perilous walk.

What the boys would realize is that once they left the campfire area to ready themselves for bed, their vision would be better suited to see much better.  Timmy still said that the island looked spooky and that the commode walk would be somewhat difficult for him at night.  Jughead thought it was more peaceable at night without all the boats roaring about the lake. 

Some of the boys took a brief night swim before retiring to bed.  But you could feel fear in all of them as darkness covered the area.  At the same time, the longer they embraced their circumstances the better it got.  Those that went to bed right after the campfire never gave their eyes time to adjust to the darkness.  The plain fact is that those boys couldn’t wait to get to the safety of their tents. 

Half the boys, though, spent some time away from the campfire either by swimming or walking about the area getting used to their new environment.  The longer they did that the more comfortable the night became to them.  I’ve always found that first night a most enjoyable character study of the boys.  And these kids would help the more fearful adjust during the second night of darkness. 

For me, evening was always most pleasant as it was the only time I had to myself once the kids were all in their tents.  Yes, night-time was a great time at Big Bass Lake.

The Hikers Dress Code

These two boys would NEVER have been dressed like this on a hike had they been with any of my boys clubs. You’d never see any boys from the Marion, Hoffman Estates, or Salesian Boys Clubs look like that on a hike. Prior to going on any trip to our property I sent out a dress code to all parents of the kids that would be going with me to Michigan.

On that list were jeans or sweatpants, tennis shoes (one leather), two pullover long sleeved sweatshirts, three T-shirts, underwear, swimming suit, shorts, and work gloves, which were optional. On the Salesian trip boys also brought their dress shoes since they were going to church as I had a large group of Catholic boys. But it should be noted that just as those boys would not have worn their dress shoes without socks, the same would be true on hikes yet with their tennis shoes. Without socks parts of the shoes tend to wear on bare feet producing painful calluses. And, the same can be said in regard to hands when rowing a boat. Just as socks with shoes, bare hands are safer in gloves especially going down hill. One boy without them grabbed a tree and the bark of that tree tore the boys skin on his hands badly. The next time he was at the store he opted for work gloves over snacks.

Long pants or sweatsuits also protect the skin from poison ivy, nettles, or underbrush and bushes that can stretch the skin. Sweatshirts also protected the skin from those very things. Even around camp some boys wore their full sets of clothing for chopping wood, collecting it, or for cooking. If you’ve ever had an hot ember strike your bare skin near a fire you’ll have a whole new appreciation for sweatpants and shirts.

Close in to our campsite the boys either walked around in bare feet or in their canvas shoes with bare feet. Short walks were not likely to produce calluses. Even when rowing some boys wore shoes to project their feet from the hot metal rowboats. Those that opted for just bare feet were often denied entrance at the Big Bass Lake store so they learned from that experience fast.

At the end of each trip the boys had a whole new attitude about my dress code.

 

Inner Tube Fun at Lake Michigan

The last two days I have been talking about the Lookout Tower at the Lake Michigan Recreation Area. Today the focus is on what the kids from the Salesian Boys Club observed to the west, that being Lake Michigan itself. From the bottom of those stairs we hung a right and up one sand dune and down the very same and we were on the shores of that Great Lake. However this Area has unsupervised swimming. And, it is one of the few places where the Manistee National Forest hugs the shoreline of Lake Michigan.

The boys jumped into the lake with their inner tubes and spent an hour bobbing up and down in the waves. Then I tossed out a beach ball to them and they spent another hour either playing catch or trying to ride that large beach ball. A few of the boys spread out their towels to catch a few rays of the sun. I got a kick out of Mike Jones trying his best to force that beach ball underwater with little success.

After our swimming time, the boys enjoyed a grilled hot dog lunch at the picnic area before taking a short hike on one of the Recreation Area trails before heading home to Big Bass Lake. The Recreation Area was always a favorite off-site trip for any boys club group of boys. It provided them with almost a full afternoon of fun and exploration.

235 Steps Up to the Lookout Tower- Part Two

The Salesian Boys Club kids had themselves an hour once atop this lookout tower. For half that time they played king of the hill down the shaded dune to the east and had a blast. The sand was so cool there. Then for the rest of that hour, they just talked about what a great view they were taking in while snapping some great pictures with their cameras.

Then we all climbed back down those 235 steps and hung a right at the bottom.  We went up and down a singular dune and had all of Lake Michigan before us.  We spend about two hours swimming in that unsupervised area as well as getting a tan while sun-bathing. 

After that we grilled some hot dogs and had them with soda pop before heading back to Big Bass Lake.  This location was always a favorite with the boys even more so than at Ludington.  And, I had about a year before I would again be climbing those 235 steps with the next group of kids coming up to our property. 

235 Steps Up to the Lookout Tower- Part One

Wow! This brings back those memories with the Salesian Boys Club of Columbus, Ohio, when we came to the Lake Michigan Recreation Area. I recall that even in my late 20′s, I was tired by the time I got to the top of this lookout tower. To the east all you could see was the Manistee National Forest and to the west Lake Michigan.

Just to the east of the tower was a steep downhill run on a sand dune that was shaded by trees.  At the very bottom of the dune was all forest as the sand ended right at the bottom.  The sun rarely had any impact on that sun so the boys could go both ways without their feet getting scorched. 

The kids enjoyed the view and were more amazed at the forest side as all they could see were trees.  But they should have known that for ever since they left US 31, the last seven miles were all forest.  Yet once we got to the parking lot of the Recreation Area, there was one sand dune to climb and then Lake Michigan was before them for all the swimming fun they could ask for.

The question remains as to whether or not there were really 235 steps up to the top of that tower.  Each step was a hot one, though, as the sun did have access to those wooden stairs.  Thus it kept you moving fast all the way to the top. 

Tomorrow I will have some more on our trip to this lookout tower.

Birch Bark

On our wooded beach, there were many dead birch trees. Now, why is that significant? Well, on our boys club trips, such as the near rainout with the boys from Columbus, Ohio, it was a godsend. Birch tree bark has a unique substance within it that can burn quickly in near any weather, including rain. The kids peeled off large sections of bark, from the dead trees only and used them as great firestarters to get the rest of the wood burning, even if it was wet.

For some reason, that area of our property had an abundance of dead birch trees, some still standing while many on the ground near the pointe. There must have been some sort of birch disease that was inflicting all of those trees. Yet there were still many unaffected trees as well near the big swamp that bordered our wooded beach.

The oily substance found within the birch bark was the trick and so on the days when it was raining at meal time birch bark was used. When torn from the tree it almost appears as thick newspaper. The one good thing about our campsite was that it was covered by a canopy of trees so even when it was raining fairly well the leaves of all those trees sheltered the campsite fairly well. It was still wet but not like it would have been if we were camping out on the family fields.

The meals were cooked outside and then eaten inside the mess tent which was a tent that was largely mesh with a large screen porch that was primarily used for those kinds of days. I never encouraged the boys to take bark off the live birch trees but showed them the ones that could be used in incliment weather

Safety First at Big Bass Lake

On every Boys Club of America trip to our property on Big Bass Lake one thing was certain.  Every time the boys got into our two rowboats they were decked out in life preservers.  The lone exception was when we turned over our metallic boats to convert them temporarily into bathtubs.  On those days the constant companion of the boys was soap and shampoo.

This is Jesse from the Salesian Boys Club waiting by a van for a return trip to our wooded beach front after getting a few snacks.  He had just been to the Big Bass Lake Store.  Life preservers were needed due to the many large boats on the lake who took no pity with small rowboats.  Many of their wakes were enormous.  After getting by the bridge to the Big Island, the safest, albeit the longest, way to get back was to hug the shoreline all the way.

That mean for longer rowing excursions.  Yet at the same time, I could better instruct the boys how to row the boats and give several the opportunity to do so.  Jesse did quite well on his turn as his came as we neared the Public Landing and his task was to get us to my family dock on our northward jaunt back to our wooded beach front.

A mismatched rowing maneuver with the oars often sent water pouring into the boat to the amusement of all except for the ones most getting wet.  Best of all was that the boys didn’t mind using these vests to keep them safe. 

Noreika Field and Road

The Salesian Boys Club was one of the few clubs that used our farming field for some of their activities.  Being that their trip to our property was largely in a light rain we often came to this main field for some sort of sporting activity.  Soccer was a favorite as was tag with a plastic ball.  Our field was used at least three times during their time in Michigan and they released a lot of energy in those games.

Our farm field ran from Noreika Road almost to the public landing but our main area of play was just near Noreika Road which also provided the boys about a half mile hike to and from our camping site each time we opted to use the field.  Our field ran by Big Bass Lake Road and the lake itself was not visible until one was nearly to the turn east on that road. 

Eight boys made the trip from Columbus, Ohio, to our property from that boys club for a ten-day stay and it rained all but two days.  Still, since their was little lightning with that rain, the drizzle did nt dampen the kids fun one bit.

Tyler at Big Bass Lake

I think that Tyler spent 80% of his time during the Salesian Boys Club camping trip to our property in his swimming suit. Perhaps one of the reasons why is that it rained nearly every day and he had the foresight to dress appropriately. He always said that he wanted to be ready for any swimming activity as that was his favorite time of the day be it at Big Bass Lake or on off-property trips to either Lake Michigan or the Little Manistee River.

He also wore his suit for any boating activity at Big Bass Lake.  He had brought along two sets of swimming trunks and some of the boys said he even slept in them.  One of the boys thought he was always dressed this way was to get a good tan but since the sun only came out a few times on that trip, that put that idea to rest.

Tyler even moved around the campsite in his swimming suit.  Now he did change to jeans and tennis shoes for hiking but that is about the only time we observed him fully dressed.  Around our wooded beachfront he always looked like he does here.  He must have been born in either California or Florida?  The two colors he always wore were red and blue making me think that he was very patriotic. 

Salesian Boys Club Camping Adventure

The Salesian Center, which housed the Salesian Boys Club in Columbus, Ohio, owned property just east of Columbus and some of the boys and I used that camp once for an outing. We stayed in a primitive cabin, complete with an outhouse, for two nights. On the first night, we played a game of Hound and the Hare where the kids hid and the two counselors, myself and an older boy called Jughead, searched for them in the woods.

Within minutes we heard a boy cry out for he had run into a electrical fence that we had not been told about on the property.  I found Scott Karasek badly shaken up and carried him back to the cabin.  He had two puncture wounds, so leaving the other boys in Jughead’s care,I headed back toward Columbus to get Scott some medical care.

I took him to Grant’s Hospital, which just happened to be right across the street from our boys club.  We had to wait for about an hour as just as we came in a gunshot victim took first priority.  Later, a nurse and doctor checked Scott out and gave him a tetanus shot. 

We then returned to camp for the completion of our two-day stay after notifying Scott’s mother.  The boys had a great time with a variety of events and so the rest of the trip went well without incident.  I’m sure that Scott will never forget that camping trip and his shocking” incident in the forest.

Drivng M-37

On all our boys club and YMCA trips to our property at Big Bass Lake, Michigan, one thing was clear.  The real journey began just north of Grand Rapids where my vehicle turned onto M-37 for he trip north through the Manistee National Forest.  Up to that point, the kids longest journey through a forest was at the Salamonie State Forest where we trained for these trips and that full ride through that forest was about four miles. 

Our journey through this national forest began at Newyago and never stopped until we reached our destination at Big Bass Lake some seventy miles later.  Up to Grand Rapids the journey was like the ones through Illinois, Ohio, or Indiana, where all the boys saw was farm lands and small towns.  Now that was about to change!  What the boys were now to observe was one LARGE forest, lakes, and rivers all the way to their destination!  And, that sam forest goes about forty miles further from the end of our trip!

Towns like White Cloud and Baldwin interrupted that forest but only for a few minutes and several smaller places like Bitley, Wolf Lake, and finally Peacock were mere blurs to the boys.  But scenery as you see here was the boys constant traveling companion.  They were amazed as to just how large that forest was and even on all their side trips, that forest would always be just outside the car.

Their awe was something to see as they were not truly prepared for just how large a forest they were going to be going through only they never got through it all.  And, the Manistee National Forest was going to be the full total of their camping experience untll we exited it on our way home some ten days or so away.