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| There’s a multi-purpose area at Camp Gray that has provided and displayed many memories. The walls are decorated with handprints, some of them created by campers almost 20 years ago. Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash |
REEDSBURG — For the 62nd summer, campers of all ages from all over the Diocese of Madison and beyond will be heading to camp.
They’re heading to Camp Gray — the Catholic summer camp and year-round retreat center of the diocese.
The kids, and all involved grown-ups, are going to learn many stories, which they are sure to share with everyone.
For those who aren’t heading to camp, or those who’d like a sneak preview, here’s a look at just a few of the stories and treasures tucked away on a “beautiful 225 acres of God’s beauty.”
Lake Jake
Once known to campers as the “swimming hole,” a widening project almost three decades ago expanded the 16-foot deep Lake Jake into the body of water seen today.
It is named after Jake Czarnik-Neimeyer, who was the camp director, and first lay director, in the 1990s.
It has a natural flow into a nearby creek, making it a lake, as opposed to a pond.
Due to safety concerns, swimming isn’t allowed in Lake Jake anymore, but it’s still home to many canoe and kayak adventures and the grand finale of the weekly Cassidy Games.
There is also a rope swing that campers can use to fly into the water from a dock on the lake.
Lake Jake is also home to “Walter” the fish — one of Camp Gray’s most beloved fictional characters.
“He’s a gargantuan fish,” said Camp Gray Assistant Director Chris Aderhold. “He’s on shirts. He’s on merchandise. He does not get any commission for that. He’s just happy to have his likeness out there in the world.”
Harrison Creek
Connected to Lake Jake is Harrison Creek.
Through tributaries and other bodies of water, the creek’s water eventually flows into the Wisconsin River and then the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico — a fact readily pointed out to campers.
“It’s a cool way to talk to kids about taking care of our waterways,” said Aderhold. “[We tell them] if you dump trash in here, then the folks down river will get it.”
The creek plays a role in the activities of older campers who go on hikes through the woods. They sometimes have to find ways to either cross over the creek or simply walk through the water to get to the other side.
Cassidy Athletic Field
Cassidy Athletic Field is named for the late Fr. Kevin Cassidy, director of Camp Gray in the 1970s.
It was one of the first features built on camp after founder Msgr. Francis Gray purchased the land in 1953.
Tree stumps had to be blasted away to make way for the field.
Madison Bishop William P. O’Connor was touring the camp the day the dynamite was being used and was reportedly very shaken when he experienced the blasts.
Over the past 60 years, there have been countless games of kickball, softball, soccer, football, and others — including capture the flag or “C.T.F. on the A.F.” — every Tuesday during summer camp.
“This is a favorite spot on camp,” said Aderhold.
Main campfire area
The main campfire area is home to “one of the best parts of the week,” according to Aderhold.
There’s a big campfire on the first night of camp every week.
While the above photo shows the spot at its most empty, Aderhold said to imagine a “little space filled with about 180 people singing and laughing” as the staff puts on skits, leads everyone in songs, and gives everyone a chance to “set the tone” for the week and “have a great time.”
“It’s a cool way for kids that first night, especially the younger kids who are a little nervous, to just sit back and enjoy.”
The heart of the campfire experience is provided by the staff members, who Aderhold called “zany, funny, talented folks” that the camp is “blessed” to have every summer.
Climbing wall
Built in 2003, the 45-foot climbing wall is a favorite spot for kids during afternoons at camp.
Campers used to hop on a bus and climb rocks at nearby Devil’s Lake State Park. Now they don’t even have to leave camp.
During the summer, middle school and older aged campers challenge themselves, sometimes with multiple climbs in an afternoon.
“It’s a cool, easy way to see kids progress, overcome fear, get better, and improve at this skill,” said Aderhold.
Waiting at the top of the wall is a sense of accomplishment and a bell to ring.
Aderhold added that a future plan is to put a zipline on top of the wall for campers to ride down after they climb to the top.
“It’s a great spot even now,” he said.
Original cabins
Built in the late 1950s, three of the original cabins — nicknamed St. Clare, St. Patrick, and St. William — are still in use by campers today.
The cabins were built from lumber from old ammunition crates from what was the Badger Army Ammunition Plant near Baraboo.
Two of them — St. William and St. Patrick — are a “tip of the hat” to then Bishop William Patrick O’Connor.
The insides of the cabins include bunk beds and information about that cabin’s particular saint.
All of the sleeping cabins at Camp Gray are named after a saint.
Pool-heating stove
When the Camp Gray pool opened in 2012, the occasional cool Wisconsin summer day necessitated a need for a pool heater.
Lucky for the camp, it’s loaded with its own heating fuel — wood.
“We’re in the woods. We have a lot of wood,” said Aderhold.
The camp installed a wood-burning stove to heat the pool using wood from the numerous trees on the grounds. It’s a cheaper alternative that typically-used gas-powered heaters.
Most of the wood isn’t from trees that have to be harvested. It’s from fallen or dying trees.
The collected wood is also used in cabins and for large campfires.
As Camp Gray begins efforts to build a new gym on the grounds, the stove will also heat that new building during the colder months of the year.
Shelter with memories
There’s a multi-purpose area at Camp Gray that has provided and displayed many memories over the past 15-plus years.
Some campers know it as the arts and crafts building. Some know it as one of the shelters when severe weather strikes.
When the heavy rains fall outside, the campers are escorted to the shelter, and the staff goes into action, ready with skits, games, and songs to keep everyone entertained and feeling safe.
The walls are decorated with handprints, some of them created by campers almost 20 years ago.
Aderhold said adults who come to the camp for various events and family activities have found their old handprints among those from all their fellow campers since then.
More information
The 2015 Summer Camp sessions start Sunday, June 7.
For more information on these programs, and others at Camp Gray, go to www.campgray.com