Last Week of Summer Camp 2009

Each year, the last week of camp is always a little heartbreaking. Luckily, the last week is turning out beautiful and ends the summer on a good note. It is just day camp this week and their theme is music.

While the campers are still doing archery, canoeing, and arena rides, they are also participating in activities such making their own instruments. On Thursday they will have a dance party and on Friday we will be hosting Camp Abe Lincoln (CAL) Idol!

Camp Genesis Update

This week is our last week of resident camp, and we are lucky enough to have this week sponsored by Genesis Health Systems, and sponsored by the Gilda's Club of the Quad Cities. All of the camper's families have been affected somehow by cancer. It truly is a phenomenal week, and it's heartwarming to give these campers the chance to just be kids.

They started with the opening "Zany" campfire on Sunday night where they met all the counselors and saw some of our favorite skits, such as Boomer and Dr. Justice's "Princess and the Knight," and Tinkerbell, Nacho, TaDa, and Bubbles' "Little Girl Walking."

The other night activities that the campers have done are a night swim, capture the flag, and a cook out. Tonight, they will participate in "Wild and Crazy Kids." This will involve races and games that include eggs getting smashed onto counselor's heads, building fires, and filling a bucket with water, without the use of hands.

Some activities that campers have had the option of doing are arts and crafts, drama, dance, outdoor living skills, archery, and canoeing. In outdoor living skills, they are building a tree house/fort this week! In archery they used fruit and clay objects as their targets. For canoeing, they have applied teambuilding activities to learn how to canoe. In arts and crafts, they are making scrapbooks.

Day campers are taking advantage of the weather with the "Wet and Wild" theme this week. Currently, they are playing water games and are slip'n sliding!

7/30/09

On this gorgeous Thursday, all the campers are having a great time!

Resident campers are playing outside with Ga-Ga, Medieval battles, Arts & Crafts, water games, etc. Blackhawk, Wabsecon, and Young Bear all climbed the Alpine Tower today. Tonight, they will have a cook out and then the closing campfire where they will say goodbye to their new friends and counselors.

Day campers went caroling this morning! They sang beloved Christmas songs to all the resident campers, staff, and Hand in Hand. They later trimmed a Christmas tree with ornaments that they made.

Hand in Hand rode horses, and are currently doing facepainting and having a dance party!

7/29/09

Today was a beautiful day for camp! Cabin Pottawattamie is in the lead for White Tornado. One of the classes offered this week is "Medieval Times" and today they staged a battle! Tonight, the cabins joined together for a few games of Capture the Flag.

Day camp is getting ready for Christmas in July activities by listening to Christmas songs at lunch. Tomorrow they will be caroling to the resident campers!

Hand in Hand group rode horses, went canoeing, did archery, facepainting, and arts and crafts, and went swimming!

Welcome to Session 7!

Resident camp started off fantastic on Sunday night at the Zany campfire. Highlights from the campfire include a skit by Boomer and Dr. Justice about a Knight named Knight who wants to marry the princess and the infamous remix of "I'm a Little Teapot" by the Camp Director.

This week's classes that are offered for cabins are Canoeing, Dance, Arts & Crafts, Archery, Outdoor Living Skills, and Journalism. Each cabin will climb the Alpine Tower and go on a trail ride sometime this week. Poweshiek climbed the Alpine Tower today.

Pottawattamie is currently in the lead for White Tornado. White Tornado is a game between all the cabins on the cleanliness of their cabins. This helps teach campers about the 4 core values of the Y: caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility.

Day Camp started today as well. This week's theme is "Christmas in July." They will go caroling, decorate a tree, make ornaments, and possibly meet Santa!

Hand in Hand is out here again this week too! They participated in arena rides, archery, arts & crafts, and swimming today.

Tuesday 6/21/09

Today, resident camp started their day out playing "Ga-Ga." Ga-Ga is a new game at camp, that is a safer form of dodgeball, because you can only get people out from the knee and below. It has been very popular with the campers... and the staff too! Cabin Young Bear went to the Alpine Tower today to climb, but when it started raining, they had to leave early. Cabin Oneida is winning White Tornado currently. For those who don't know, White Tornado is a competition between the cabins on the cleanliness of their cabins. The reasoning behind this game is to teach campers about the four core values of the YMCA: caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. Tonight, the campers joined together for a rainy, muddy game of Capture the Flag, which the blue team won.

Day campers had a typical rainy day schedule, consisting of indoor activities like arts & crafts and teambuilding games.

Hand in Hand had lots of fun in the mud today. They also roasted smores inside and had a rocking dance party!

Session 6 Update

Sometimes, camp can be a difficult time for parents. Not knowing what exactly your child is doing at any moment can be quite stressful, but contact between the parents and campers can cause homesickness for the child. However, thanks to this blogging world, we can now update all you parents on what your child is doing everyday.

After the resident campers arrived yesterday afternoon, each cabin got settled in and acquainted with each other. Later, after dinner the campers attended the opening campfire. Since it's called the "Zany Campfire" each camper gets to dress as silly as their hearts desire. There they met all the counselors and staff, watch funny skits, and sing songs.

Today, they had what a typical day will be like. Each camper has the option of signing up for various classes, such as canoeing, archery, drama, arts & crafts, outdoor living skills, journalism, and more! Also throughout the week, each cabin will have the opportunity to climb the Alpine Tower and go a on trail ride. Currently, the resident campers are out at the pool for their evening activity.

Day camp just got started again today! This week's theme is Secret Agent so the kids will be be making "secret decoders" for arts & crafts and will be involved in various activities that will relate.

This week is extra amazing, as we also have the Hand in Hand group out at camp each day! They do all the same activities that the resident campers and day campers do, like archery, horseback riding, canoeing, arts & crafts, and swimming.

The World of Facebook

So I have attempted to move into the new technology world by creating a Camp Abe Lincoln facebook account.  I will have to say that I have no idea what I was doing.  The "Facebook" language which all of my counselors speak is hard enough to follow but now I have officially joined.  It is just listed under camp's email, camp@scottcountyfamilyy.org.  I have noticed that there are quite a few past counselors on Facebook which is pretty cool.  I would love to hear from any of you who are or are not. 

Challenge

I would also like to challenge any of you to send me some great camp memories.  I know that there are some pretty great ones since camp has been going since 1924 and I would love to hear some of the best.  Please email me any stories you have and I will see who has the best (best meaning best story to share with camper parents.)  Please send me the stories when you can and I will post some of the best.  

I look forward to hearing from you all.  Have a great day and a great time remembering.  

2009 Summer Camp

We have now officially started accepting registrations for our 2009 summer camp season.  We are only accepting them via our online registrations currently but they are now open.  We have instituted a few changes this year.  

First is a 3 tier pricing program.  The intent of this pricing program is to make camp affordable for all but at the same time offering the best program and facilities possible.  The program has been created because we have found that we have been charging campers less than it is costing us to run the programs themselves.  After looking at all of our costs, we needed to raise our prices.  However,  because we understand that the economy is not great right now, we created a tier structure so all can still attend.  The tiers work as follows:

Tier A:  Actual Cost of Camp

Based on the actual cost of camp for a child to participate.  Includes expenses for staff, maintenance, food, programs, supplies and wear and tear/depreciation of facilities.

Tier B:  Partial Subsidy

This is our partially subsidized rate for those who can afford a little more but still unable to afford the actual cost of camp.  Subsidy comes from the Partner with Youth Campaign.

Tier C:  Expanded Subsidy

This is our standard subsidized fee.  For most programs, this is a small increase over the previous summer fees.  It is subsidized through the Partner with Youth Campaign and community grants.

If you have any questions about the tier pricing program please contact us and we would be happy to discuss the program with you.  

We are also offering a special incentive this year for those campers who sign up before February 28.  It is a newly designed camp t-shirt.  Also, for any YMCA members who register for camp, you will receive a YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln ceramic mug.  As a coffee drinker myself, I am a big fan of good coffee mugs so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Register online now before all of the spots for your favorite program fill up.

Register Here

Pumpkin Patch Success

The 2008 YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln Pumpkin Patch has officially ended.  We would like to thank all of our participants for joining the camp family this fall.  We had over 700 people join us this fall and we had a great time sharing all of camp's activities.  

One particular group that really touched the hearts of our staff was a group of families with children who had Down Syndrome.  We had 40 people in attendance and the children of the group were amazing.  The innocence that they exude is something that makes me jealous.  They did not hide their emotions or thoughts in fear that they were going to say something that was politically incorrect. 

 They spoke what they thought and it was a joyous experience.  The look on their faces when they road the horses and the time around the campfire as they taught me how to play guitar is something I will forever cherish.  

Thank you to this group as well as all the groups and families that decided to bring camp into their lives.  We had a great time working with you and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Camp in the Fall

      As the seasons change, I am not sure if there is a more beautiful place than camp.  We see the signs of fall in the trees all around us.  We are very blessed this fall at                           Camp Abe Lincoln because we have a work group that has come in and is working forty hours a week helping with the flood and storm clean up.  I can not put into words how helpful this is going to be for us.            

Every now and then we have volunteer groups who come out and volunteer for a day which is great, but this group is helping for months.  It is a state run program where displaced workers come to camp every day and help clean up the debris and down trees from the summer.  Some of the work that they are accomplishing unfortunately would not been done had it not been for them.  

Thank you very much to all of our volunteers who come out to camp and make it what it is today.  For over 90 years camp has been growing because of volunteers.  If you would like to find out how to get involved please contact camp at camp@scottcountyfamilyy.org.

Alumni

This past weekend while I was working at the Pumpkin Patch, I had the pleasure of a visit from some Camp Abe Lincoln alumni.  A past Camp Director and a past Spirit of Camp Abe Lincoln award winner, this is the award given to the counselor which best exemplifies the Abe Lincoln spirit.  

The past Camp Director lives on the East coast now and the past counselor lives in the area.  They stopped by just to see how we were doing at camp.  We walked the grounds together and talked about the storm and flooding that we had here at camp and how we have been doing since.  It was truly great to talk to these people as they have a genuine love for Camp Abe Lincoln.  

Earlier this year some of the staff and I found some old camp photos dated back to the 1930's and I showed our alumni members these pictures which are on display and they were going through picking out who the people were in some of the photos.  It was a great experience actually putting some names to the faces of the people that have shaped Camp Abe Lincoln into the camp it is today.  

One of the major topics of discussion was the annual Alumni Social we are planning to organize here at Camp Abe Lincoln.  Our new Director of Program Operations will be inviting all past staff to join us here at camp on the first Saturday of August of every year for a chance to say hello to our current counselors as well as catch up with counselors from the past.  We are really hoping this event will take off so please mark it on your calendars if you are a past staff member.  

Thank you again to the alumni that stopped by this weekend to see us.  I truly enjoyed the conversation and look forward to seeing you again.  I invite any other alumni who would like to visit to call and stop by.  You are always welcome.  Thank you for your support of Camp Abe Lincoln then and now.  We would not be who we are without you.  

Did You Know?

The economy is a topic of conversation that is being brought up quite a bit with the struggling market and the presidential debates and it has caused a lot of people to compare the costs of things now versus five years ago, twenty years ago and even back to the great depression of 1929.

Did you know that before any of that, YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln officially opened its gates in 1918 in Maquoketa, Iowa? It moved to its current location in Blue Grass, Iowa in 1924. I thought it would be interesting to see what was going on in the world when YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln first started.

Woodrow Wilson was the President of the United States.

World War I was happening.

A soldier at Camp Fuston, Kansas falls sick with the first confirmed case of Spanish Flu.
March 4th

Soviet Russia moves its capital from Petrograd to Moscow.
March 5th

The U.S. Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight savings time.
March 19th

General Motors acquires Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
May 2nd

"Spanish Flu" influenza becomes a pandemic; over 25 million people die
in the following six months (almost twice as many as died in the war).
August

Boston Red Sox defeat the Chicago Cubs in the World Series.
September 11th

World War I ends.
November 11th

Woodrow Wilson becomes the first president to travel to Europe while in office.
December 4th

Babe Ruth leads the American League in home runs for the first time with 11.


Not too long ago we found a box of old camp pictures dating back to the 1930's. We have hung up many of the photos to show campers they are part of a rich history at Camp Abe Lincoln. Scattered throughout the blog are a few of the pictures we found. If you are a past camper in the area, stop by our main lodge and maybe you can see a picture with you as a child.

The pictures really make you realize the history and impact Camp Abe Lincoln has had on the community over the years. We would love to hear from any of you who attended camp when you were a child. We are working to put together a reunion activity where past campers and past counselors can come out to camp for a day and walk around the grounds. We are looking for volunteers to help us organize this event. Please let us know if you are interested. If you know of anyone who may be interested in reading more about the ongoing activity at Camp Abe Lincoln, please forward them this website as well as Camp's Website. We would love to hear from any alumni so please do not hesitate to call or email us at camp@scottcountyfamilyy.org. We look forward to hearing from you.

Pumpkin Patch

The big activity for the month of October going on at Camp Abe Lincoln is the Pumpkin Patch.  The pumpkin patch has been going on for many years at Camp Abe Lincoln.  It is our way to bring families together for nature activities but it does more than that.  The money that is made at the pumpkin patch helps support our Kids to Camp campaign which helps kids attend camp who financially may not be able to do so.  Join us for a good time and help a great cause.  Groups and families can pick out a pumpkin as well as ride horses, shoot bows and arrows, take a hay rack ride, roast smores and much more.  The event runs every weekend in October from 12:00 - 5:00 on Saturday and Sunday.  It is also available during the week for groups with a reservation.  Join us for some family fun in the outdoors.  

Camp Abe Lincoln Blog

The purpose of this blog is to give campers, parents, family, friends, alumni and all others who may be interested a chance to see what is going on at Camp year-round.  It is written from the Director's perspective and will be giving readers the opportunity to stay up to date with everything going on at camp.  Thank you for joining us.