May Tales

Rescued from the pigs.

Baby turtles were discovered hatching-out yesterday at camp.  The nest hole was only a few inches away from the pig pen at the mini farm up by the lake.

Newly hatched

Several Outdoor Education staff were watching over the event and even rescued one turtle that wondered in with the pigs.   There might have been more turtles still down in the nest. but we counted five of them and watched as they headed for the lake.  You can watch a video of the event at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDtqwqzfZy8 and ^{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmHZaIAySkM} 

Slider Turtle

A special thanks for all those that gave of their time to help make camp a little better.

Projects included:  flower planting, pea gravel around Team’s Course elements, clearing weeds and sticks at Day Camp area, moving lumber, and beginning “The Claw”.

Mother/daughter flower planting crew at River Lodge.

We had one family drive over 2 hours from out of state.

Flower planting at River Village stop sign.

There will be another Partner’s Service Day scheduled for this fall posted later.

Most of the crew standing on one of their many piles of pulled Garlic Mustard.

They completed many projects including pulling 4 dump truck loads of Garlic Mustard.

The last of 4 dump truck loads.

You can see the drastic difference as they attacked the wall of Garlic Mustard

John, proving that he isn't too young to cut the Mustard!

The Garlic Mustard has become a major threat to camp’s wildflowers and other native plants.  They built a 100ft section of board walk down on the wet section of the Ghost Creek Trail.

Board Walk on the Ghost Creek trail. Yes, they carried all that lumber down.

They also framed in several low ropes elements and filled them with pea gravel.

The Mohawk Walk low ropes element getting a make-over.

Part of the group spent time assisting the office staff with preparing approximately 4000 confirmation packets.  The “Servant Safari” crew conquered many very helpful projects for camp.  As a full time Camp T staff member, I found it unique in that we usually serve those that come to camp and the King’s Academy students came to serve us.

A big “Thanks!” to King’s Academy for being a great witness and blessing to Camp Tecumseh.

What part of the poem makes you want to get back to Camp the most?

“i wanna go back.
to where there’s no flies on us, but we still fly.
to where there’s no air conditioning, but fans instead.
to where the devil don’t want no finger snappin, but i snap em anyway.
to where you get applauded for failure.
to where your hair gets thrown up.
to where your sweaty and you dont care.
to where being covered in mud is never frowned upon.
to where there are no phones, instead you bake a cake.
to where there are no malls, instead you buy day old donuts for $1.99.
to where Purple is God’s least favorite color.
to where there is no fast food, only dinner like hobos.
to where everyone is their own eagle, and no one is turkeyerized.
to where you don’t gossip about stuff, you just throw it out the window.
to where you can sing songs in the name of Jesus and feel his overwhelming presence upon you.
to where life long friendships are made.
to where you shake hands with someone like a salmon.
to where the stars shine bright, where the leaves are green, and where i am third.
tecumseh.” 

By Kerri Carlquist

Don't you "Turkeyerize" me!

Which three states claim the robin as their state bird?  Get eggcited!

Giant Stump

The stump was strategically located so that you would encounter it on your way to the Suspension Bridge.  The idea was to have it about the size of the largest tree in Indiana (American Sycamore) which was  approximately 12ft in diameter.  We couldn’t make the entire tree so we settled on a stump.

Giant Stump

An entire cabin group could fit inside it at one time.  It worked out well until that area was needed for the construction of the new Lake Village.

Come join us April 21st as we gather to help make improvements around camp.  It’s a great way to model volunteering with your family and an opportunity to introduce your friends to camp.  Come for the day or for as much as your schedule will allow.

Lunch Break

We meet at 9am in the Lake Village parking where we learn about the different projects and then divide and conquer.  Lunch is served picnic style off the grill around noon and then we re-group and complete the unfinished projects.

Wood Splitting Crew

Please send Vince an email vincep@camptecumseh.org and let him know how many people your are bringing.  We look forward to seeing you!

Thanks to contributions from former campers and staff from all over the country, Camp Tecumseh prevailed in the championship round of the first-ever Brackets for Good social media fundraising event. (www.bracketsforgood.org)

Cabin Unity

As the final seconds ticked down to the midnight buzzer on Sunday night, scores of Tecumseh faithful were online watching the contest and making Facebook and Twitter comments (and making contributions!) in support of helping more kids have great Camp Tecumseh experiences, as they had in their youth. It was a really exciting finish and the camp supporters pushed Camp far enough ahead that Indiana Uploaded never made their typical final blitz of buzzer beating donations!

facebook interactions

Camp has been participating in the “Brackets For Good” competition.  We are in the final game!  All the money raised goes towards camp scholarships for families in financial need.  This final round is VERY important because if we win this bracket, camp will be given an additional $5000.  The competition ends “Midnight” on Sunday.  Your gift can potentially be multiplied if we win this final bracket.

"Experiences that last a lifetime!"

You can donate at www.bracketsforgood.org (“google/gmail” is an easy way to connect when prompted to log-in)