The best part of the show was driving home when a car next to me signaled for me to roll down my window. This very nice lady pointed at the Skylake Logo on the side of the van and said with great pride, she had attended Skylake for 7 years. She went on to say “Those were the best years of my life.” The light turned green, she smiled and waved, and we both drove off happy.

Samantha Carter, Lauren Entner, Emily Flaxman, Colleen Fredericks, Samanatha Furst, Caroline Gilson, Emily Gilson, Natalie Goldstein, Jill Hoffart, Joanna Hoffman, Marie Johnston, Rachel Keene, Elyse Lipman, Katie Mara, Ashlyn Oprescu, Sally Rosen, Alex Zobel, Aaron Beck, Michael Blaustein, Glenn Cagen, Mitchell Levy, David Ortenberg, Matt Plocky, Brian Tannenbaum, Justin Teer, Kylor Williams, Arthur Wren, and James Wren. If, I missed you, be sure to let me know and I will include you next month. Our five year list is really long and will be included next month.

The Jstaff applications have been received. Skylake is limited in the number of Jstaff that can be hired. The standard number is four males and four females for each four week session. We have received considerably more applications than spaces available. We are now looking to see first semester grades as the last factor in making the hiring decisions. Within in the next few weeks those hiring decisions should be announced.

The questions for this month are:

"What clothing item would you like to see in the Trading Post?"

"What was your favorite campfire activity?"

The new ventilation hood in the kitchen was completed last week. Campers may not actually see the hood in the kitchen, but no one will be able to miss the enormous cooling unit and evaporator on the roof. It almost looks like we built a third story on top of the office. I know this isn’t a project that sounds exciting, but it will give us a much more productive kitchen.

Each year we try a few new things. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don’t. Three years ago we introduced “Halloween in August.” Two years ago we brought the John Muir story teller into camp and had our first Ball Park day. Last year we added the Kareoke machine and the new piano along with a performance by a traveling minstrel show. This year we will also try a few new additions to camp and bring back one old activity. We will bring back what Dave Somers started a few years ago by attending some of the minor league Grizzlie’s games in Fresno. This activity is very popular, but somewhat of a logistical nightmare. Last summer even though we hadn’t been to a game in years, occasionaly the Grizzly cheer would spread through the dining hall, indicating enough campers still remembered a great night at the park from years past.

Skylake offers Family Camp weekends and two full week-long camps. These camps occur both before the Children’s Camp program begins, and again in the late summer and early Fall after all of our young campers have returned home.

Family Camp at Skylake is very relaxed. The biggest difference is that instead of having 65 counselors we have only 6 or 7. Skylake takes care of the horses, water skiing, nightly campfires and of course the meals. Instead of a camp population of 275 we usually only have around 130 in camp. Needless to say, the dining room is much quieter.

Family Camp has been a great way for some families to become acquainted with and comfortable with the camp before sending young campers. Oftentimes, first year campers will come with their parents to a weekend before the summer starts to get over any pre-camp anxiety. Family Camp has also served a great place for annual family gatherings without anyone being stressed over accommodations or food preparation. If you think this is something that might interest you, give Norma a call.