Take a Little Teka-with-ya

Written by: Rachel 'Cricket' Pischke

I have done a lot of profound, life-changing, and exuberant things in my life. There are many things that I am proud of: special events that brought immense joy and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. However, nothing has tugged at my heart strings, given me hope or brought more comfort and joy to my life than Camp Tekakwitha has. Camp has carried my most treasured moments for more than a decade of my life.

I spent long summers on Loon Lake that felt far too short. We spent nights stargazing with Treble on the waterfront. Days preparing for campers by building an observatory. Long nights by the fire making nickel s’mores and telling recycled scary stories. Afternoons that were so hot we swam all day. 

I watched kids struggle with archery on Monday and saw them hit the target by Friday. I lingered over the smell of the cabin the first night of the summer after a long winter of vacancy. I perfected my pancake-making skills during our Polka Pancake tradition where sprinkles in your pancakes were a novelty. I have memories of berry picking with my very best friends at 6 AM, saving baby bunnies from a wild storm, kayaking until our arms hurt, ducking through the spider tunnel, and eating dinner in the pouring rain.

 

Camp Tekakwitha isn’t just a physical place that I left back in 2016, it’s forever with me. I carry it wherever I go. The memories and lessons I learned there have guided me. As I’ve found myself now in a role with youth programs, I continue to encounter many children every week who have also fallen in love with Camp Tekakwitha, and I get the honor of sharing such a special commonality.

I have brought songs from Camp Tek meals with me all the way to South America. I played the same games that I once played with campers, with orphans in Africa - and I attempted the same crafts I once made at camp, in South America. As I look forward to my future, Camp Tekakwitha and what I learned in its presence will guide my choices for the rest of my life.

I hope that as you continue to experience the powerful joy and peace that dwells within the midst of Camp for the coming summers, that you always remember to take a little teka-with-ya and leave a little of yourself behind.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Written by Shelby 'Buttercup' Zwintscher

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

This is a quote everyone has probably heard or said at some point in their lifetime. While I do agree that a picture is worth a thousand words, I can think of one instance in particular where a picture is worth so much more than just a thousand words…

In the summer of 2019 it was part of my job as the Social Media Specialist to flit around the grounds of camp with a camera and capture all the joyous moments that were constantly occurring. I took pictures of campers flashing a smile with their new camp friends, of campers playing an intense game of hexagon soccer, and of campers simply taking in the beauty of God’s creation.

Pictures of Camp Tek in action are worth so much more than a thousand words because those pictures are like little time capsules that allow anyone whose life has been touched by camp to relive the bliss of camp over and over again throughout their life. One look at a camp photo can send you on a trip down memory lane. When I look back on photos of Camp Tek there is so much more to the image than meets the eye. Behind every Camp Tek photo there is a vast history, full of traditions, silly songs, and crazy games, there are memories of cabin mates and counselor’s bizarre names, campfires and Loon Lake sunsets. 

Let me walk you through how I relive camp through photos. Go ahead and take a good look at any picture that was taken at Camp Tekakwitha (there are lots on our Facebook page). Do you know where this photo was taken? Do you remember how to get to that spot? Visualize yourself walking there from somewhere else on the grounds of camp like the Lodge, the archery range, or a cabin you stayed in. What do you see along the way? Do you have any memories associated with the things you pass? Will you stop inside another building? Perhaps you pass the stage and recall your favorite camp skit. Or maybe you pass the Trading Post and buy a snack. As you walk to the location, imagine the friends you made at camp walking alongside you, what were their names? What kind of games did you play with those friends? Did you ever play gaga ball with them or come up with a cool cabin clean up theme with them? As you make your way to the location in the photo, recall the smells you would smell there; if you’re near the lodge you might smell your favorite camp meal cooking or if you’re near the beach you’ll smell the lake water. What does it sound like there? If you’re imagining the location while it’s busy, there’s probably a lot of laughter! Now look at the photo again, and even if you are not in it imagine yourself in that spot participating in the activity that is occurring. Perhaps you are crafting in the rec hall, or sliding across a slip’n’slide in Tekakwitha field on Lily Games day. Let even the littlest of memories of Camp Tek come back to you.

Whenever I look back at a Camp Tek photo, all these questions and so many more come to mind and before I know it I’m smiling as I recall the unphotographed moments and memories. I encourage you to try this activity out for yourself and when you’re done leave a comment of a memory that was sparked by the image you looked at or what you envisioned outside of the photo!

One single image could spark a handful of different memories for any person who has experienced Camp Tek. So while “a picture is worth a thousand words”, a Camp Tek picture is worth thousands of lifelong memories of summers gone and summers to come; of friendships, of sticky s’mores fingers, of songs echoing through the lodge, of prayer, and of the Camp Tekakwitha community.