Camp Ohiyesa

Many years ago I answered an ad placed in the school paper for a job as a summer camp counselor. What I didn't know at the time was that I would end up spending three of the most rewarding summers of my life working there.  Since I was up in the area a while ago, I stopped by and asked if I could wander around.  The camp was not in use so they allowed it.

I first started here.  This was where I spent the first two years.  The boys were divided into 6 buildings.  Each building was split into two cabins.  I was in Winnebago which was the furthest building from the lodge.

This is the chapel.  When I was there, this was little more than a brushy area.  There were some poor benches there, but in the three summers I was there, I don't recall ever using it except in scavenger hunts.  I recall it being a mosquito haven.

As I headed back towards the lodge, I came to this area.  During my time there, this was a secondary swim area.  There was a dock or two and there was a crude beach.  It looks like that has been abandoned now.

The lodge was the center of activities and where we ate.  The huge deck was gone and was being rebuilt.  There used to be the top of a large ramp at the end of the lodge.  The bottom part of it was stored under the porch.  It was a toboggan run that ran down onto the lake.  I never saw it in action, but I think it would have been a lot of fun.

This is one of the girls cabin.  I believe that their use has changed since I was there.

This is the swim area.  It has changed from when I was there and for some reason it seems to be a bit down the beach from where I remember it.  The huge water slide is an addition from when I was there and I think I'd like to give it a try sometime.

The pavilion was the center of activities during my third year when I worked as a day camp counselor.

We had campfires in the evening here.  I always looked for this time of day.

You can see the chapel across the lake from the evening activity area.

The lodge from the evening activity area.

Orange Hawkweed.

Along the trail to the bog.

The bog was my favorite place to go at camp.  

I'd just finished a course in groundwater and wetlands and I found the area fascinating.

A boardwalk had been established into the wetland area so you could get a good view of the bog.

The bog was home to a number of carnivorous plants like sundew and pitcher plants.  The mat seems to have extended a bit since I was there.

Some of the plants growing along boardwalk.

A fern along the wooded portion of the bog trail. 

This was another activities area.  A lot of events were held here.  For such a nondescript looking area, we sure had a lot of fun there. 

I sometimes think about my time there and wonder how the people I met there are doing.  Without question, this was probably the was one of the most rewarding jobs I ever had.  It was also one of the hardest.  But I would go back in a heartbeat and do it again.