We are gearing up for another Partner’s Service Day on October 17, 2009.  For those that have helped before, you already know that it is a great opportunity to meet new people, re-unite with friends, model volunteering to your family, and reconnect with Camp in a very helpful way.

Thanks to a generous contribution, one of our goals is to build another “Ga Ga Pit” for Lake Village.  Many of the boards will be pre-cut for this project but it will take most of the day for a crew to screw it all together.  You are more than welcome to bring your own heavy duty cordless drill.

Another goal is to clear much of the growth that prevents us from seeing the beautiful Tippecanoe River from both the River Lodge deck and the Chapel.  Camp will provide many of the tools but you are more than welcome to bring your own long handle pruning loppers and small hand saws.  Please don’t bring chainsaws.

Other projects will be considered as we determine the number of volunteers planning to participate and their areas of expertise.

The day begins at 9:00 am in the Lake Village parking lot and usually ends around 3:00 pm.  We take a break at noon for grilled hamburgers and brats.  We would love to have you join us even if it is only for part of the day.

Please email Vince at vincep@camptecumseh.org to let us know you’ll be coming and how many folks are attending.  If you have any questions feel to write as well.  We ask that anyone under 18 years old be accompanied by a responsible adult.

The first of the new cabins is well underway in the Oregon Territory section of camp beyond the swimming pools. Sponsored by a special camp friend, it is scheduled to be ready for next summer. This new set of cabins will replace the Oneida and Onondaga cabins built in the 1950s. The design of the building is very similar to those in Lake Village but with extended porch entries with additional seating. It will make a nice area for campers to just sit and talk. Oregon Center has always been a unique part of camp so our new cabins were designed to include some special touches to make them distinctive. We will post pictures as the construction progresses and the features take shape.

Wow! What a weekend!

Homecoming 2009 exceeded our expectations! As more than 700 people gathered at camp there were more hugs than you can imagine. Families, campers, former staff, and camp friends of many types came from Vermont, Florida, Washington, Colorado, Michigan, Oregon, Minnesota, Georgia, Kansas and many other states. Laughter and tears mingled as old friends saw each other after years of separation. There were hundreds of stories told and relived with great emotion!

Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana sent a special ‘85th Birthday’ greeting that was presented to Dave Wright by former Tecumseh Director Tom Chandler. The Governor thanked all involved with Camp Tecumseh for making such a powerful impact on Indiana children for all of these years. He stressed that Camp is helping to positively shape the future of this state!

Saturday night campfire was amazing. Great counselors from across the years did songs and skits which they were famous for in their time at camp….and the full closing campfire arena cheered its approval. Sunday chapel was an amazing version of ‘Camp Soup’ with a great message to keep putting God first in all we do. There was even an epic meeting of Desert Pete and Bo the Hobo!

Galleries of the weekend can be accessed at here. Enjoy!

Activities Galore!

Singing the Fun Old Songs

Family Time at the Pool

Classic Chapel Moments

Registration for Camp Tecumseh Homecoming 2009 is here!  This Labor Day weekend we are going to celebrate 85 years of friends and fun at Camp Tecumseh.  If you can’t come the entire weekend, that’s okay too: you can come and join us on Saturday only!

As we have been mentioning here on the Camp Tecumseh News page for a while, a new book and a new video about Camp Tecumseh history will premiere as part of this weekend.  We are also going to play some classic camp games and have a great Hoe Down dinner.  Most importantly, we are going to re-connect with some camp friends we might have not seen in years.   This event will be for you whether you went to a camp session 75 years ago, you attended an Indiana Guides weekend with your Dad, you came with your school in 5th grade, or your first summer as a camper was in 2009, if you love Camp Tecumseh this event is going to be for you.

There is a Facebook event set up for Homecoming 2009, and don’t forget while you are there to become a fan of YMCA Camp Tecumseh.  If you want to contribute a story to the book, please don’t forget to visit our Camp Tecumseh Stories page and send it to us!