Joining out staff for this summer in the area of Nature fun is a new member of the team. His or her name is Monty and he/she is a baby Ball Python. Get it? Monty Python (: Monty will join Rex, our 4 and 1/2 foot elder Corn Snake as assistants to the Snake Man, James Powers, for nature fun this summer. These two, along with the 25 or 30 additional, non-poisonous snakes that James will find over the course of the summer, will join him in teaching many interesting lessons.
Lakeshore hopes to be able to acquire and maintain several other exotic and natural reptilian pets for service in our growing nature program. Our Organic garden continues to grow with the introduction of Peach and Cherry Trees for 2009. We added Apple trees in 2008. The garden will feature tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cucumbers for our salad bar this summer season.
Welcome to the staff Monty the Python!!!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Funeral Arrangements for Patsy
Funeral arrangements for Patsy McKinney are complete. Visitation will be Thursday, April 9 from 2:00 - 8:00 PM and the funeral at 2:00 PM on Friday, April 10 at Stockdale Malin Funeral Home in Camden. Stockdale Malin Funeral Home is located at 133 Forrest Avenue N. in Camden. When you get to court square in Camden, turn left at First Bank. Continue straight at the four way stop by the Post Office. The funeral home is located on the left at the top of the hill.
Monday, April 6, 2009
In Memoriam Patsy McKinney 1952-2009
Lakeshore lost a very good friend and treasured employee today. Patsy McKinney who was kitchen supervisor during retreat season and evening shift supervisor during summer camp died at Jackson Madison County General Hospital this morning. She was being prepped for a procedure to repair an opening in one of her lungs and died before the surgery could be completed. Patsy began working at Lakeshore in 1998 and worked until the October of 2008 when health problems became so bad that she could not continue. Everyone was touched by Patsy's funloving ways, her sweet spirit and her servant heart. You couldn't be around her and not be impressed by her strong Christian faith and her love for all God's children. She would do anything within her power to make each person feel special and shared this gift until her final days. Vickie and I went to see her last Sunday at the hospital and took her the card that everyone had signed at the reunion. She was so touched and mentioned several times how much it meant to her. I will be sharing more details regarding the funeral arrangements when they are completed. Please remember Patsy's family - Sabrina, Benny and Benjamin; her brothers, Johnny and Larry Dale; Lora, Robert , Daniel and Peggy.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Announcing Ingrid!!!!
I am excited to announce the hiring of the lovely Miss Ingrid Harper for the 2009 summer camp season. Ingrid will be doing an important internship in her degree field related to childhood education. She will be a full part of the Lakeshore Summer Staff and will teach a weekly bible study. In addition, she will work with each of our camp program teams to offer support, wisdom and energy. She will lead the program for this years "Mom and ME - Dad and ME" Overnight camp program.
Ingrid served on the staff previously as a Resident Counselor and was a finalist for the prestigious Mark Wiggins Scholarship Award given annually to a member of the staff who exemplified Mark's generous spirit and committment to the camper. She brings a bright smile, positive energy, and a committment to children into our summer. We are more than delighted to have her with us this year.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Christmas is coming
Yes, as soon as Halloween is over, and the bags of candy and costumes are moved to the discount rack to make room for Christmas decorations, we'll be reminded by every retailer with any marketing experience that Christmas is less than two months away. Usually people talk about all the Santa paraphernalia in a negative way when it appears on November 1st, and that's probably justified. Here, we have Christmas shoved down our throats from all angles. It doesn't sneak in to a stable in a small town under all of our noses. If we're not careful, we can go through the whole season with no mystery at all, and that is a shame to me.
It is the mystery of the season that keeps me in love with Christmas. The mystery of a new year upon us. The mystery of the gifts we give and receive. The mystery of a new born baby and how he will keep all his promises. I love how Christmas can change people, specifically how it changes me. I think that probably half of what's out there promoting Christmas has an ulterior motive, but, just the same, I think they enjoy what they are doing. Still, there is so much to wade through. So much to prepare, so little time, so much expectation.
This year, I want to give people a chance to experience Christmas, pure and simple. No pressure to buy things. No pressure to cook something just right. I want people, no matter how many Christmases they've seen, to find something new this Christmas. Something that will bring out a true spirit, holding off the consumer side that makes us wish it was already over.
So, I thought it would be a great idea to see how other people around the world do Christmas. If you could go to a different country for Christmas and celebrate as they do, there would be all kinds of newness. So, the first Saturday of this December, we are going to transform Lakeshore to a different place and celebrate Christmas like they do there. This year, we will have a German Christmas. I chose Germany, because it began many Christmas traditions, including the Christmas Tree and Silent Night. There a lot of other traditions, though, and I am excited about bringing them to Lakeshore.
So, come out December 6th. We will have German food, crafts, songs, and Christmas characters. We will end the day with the lighting of a Christmas Tree and traditional German carols. You can get a registration flyer on our website: www.lakeshoreuma.com. The cost is $15 to cover your meals. I hope that you'll come out or spread the word to your families and churches. I hope that this can surpass those first Christmas commercials as the spring board to our Christmas spirits. Frohliche Weihnachten!
It is the mystery of the season that keeps me in love with Christmas. The mystery of a new year upon us. The mystery of the gifts we give and receive. The mystery of a new born baby and how he will keep all his promises. I love how Christmas can change people, specifically how it changes me. I think that probably half of what's out there promoting Christmas has an ulterior motive, but, just the same, I think they enjoy what they are doing. Still, there is so much to wade through. So much to prepare, so little time, so much expectation.
This year, I want to give people a chance to experience Christmas, pure and simple. No pressure to buy things. No pressure to cook something just right. I want people, no matter how many Christmases they've seen, to find something new this Christmas. Something that will bring out a true spirit, holding off the consumer side that makes us wish it was already over.
So, I thought it would be a great idea to see how other people around the world do Christmas. If you could go to a different country for Christmas and celebrate as they do, there would be all kinds of newness. So, the first Saturday of this December, we are going to transform Lakeshore to a different place and celebrate Christmas like they do there. This year, we will have a German Christmas. I chose Germany, because it began many Christmas traditions, including the Christmas Tree and Silent Night. There a lot of other traditions, though, and I am excited about bringing them to Lakeshore.
So, come out December 6th. We will have German food, crafts, songs, and Christmas characters. We will end the day with the lighting of a Christmas Tree and traditional German carols. You can get a registration flyer on our website: www.lakeshoreuma.com. The cost is $15 to cover your meals. I hope that you'll come out or spread the word to your families and churches. I hope that this can surpass those first Christmas commercials as the spring board to our Christmas spirits. Frohliche Weihnachten!
Monday, September 29, 2008
What's hatching at Lakeshore
Animals abound here at camp, but there are times that you get a chance to have a little more intimate look than just passing them on the highway or hearing them far off in the distance. Allyson and I have had lots of interesting animal experiences over the years. I have helped rear possums, a rabbit and a snake. I've rescued birds and rats and frogs and grasshoppers and even spiders, and now, I can add turtle incubator to my list of zoological accomplishments here at camp.
During the summer, some of our staffers witnessed a mother turtle laying her eggs in a part of camp that would've been pretty dangerous, so they took the eggs and placed them in a plastic container with some dirt. The summer went on, and the eggs just sat. Summer ended, and our staff left, so Allyson and I were entrusted with finishing the job that had been passed from momma turtle to summer staff onto us. Our Nature Director, James, told us that if the eggs hadn't hatched by September, they probably wouldn't hatch at all. And with this past weekend being the last one in September, we had both lost hope of one day passing the plastic container and seeing a turtle starring back at us.
But, sure enough, Allyson was doing a little cleaning around the house and noticed a turtle trying to climb its way out of its little plastic maternity ward. Allyson called me, excited that she had some new playmates (nothing brings out such adorable excitement in my wife quite like baby animals). She brought them down to camp, and, as instructed, we set them down next to the river to begin their turtle lives independently in earnest. Later that day, a third turtle hatched, and, after keeping me company while typing a devotion, I set him down in the river.
I'm not sure what will happen to our three young turtles down by the river. Maybe I'll pass them on the highway in the years to come or maybe they'll make their way to the buffalo river to establish themselves among the hundreds of others we count on logs as we canoe. Who really knows--It's not like I'll be able to recognize them anyway. I do know that experiences like this really make me appreciate my time here. I feel more a part of all the things around me. Getting to see these turtles first experience with water. Being one of the ones to set them down in their natural habitat and watch them burrow into the mud. I don't know what they'll do next. But I do know they've got a chance to do it, and to be part of that is both exciting and humbling.
During the summer, some of our staffers witnessed a mother turtle laying her eggs in a part of camp that would've been pretty dangerous, so they took the eggs and placed them in a plastic container with some dirt. The summer went on, and the eggs just sat. Summer ended, and our staff left, so Allyson and I were entrusted with finishing the job that had been passed from momma turtle to summer staff onto us. Our Nature Director, James, told us that if the eggs hadn't hatched by September, they probably wouldn't hatch at all. And with this past weekend being the last one in September, we had both lost hope of one day passing the plastic container and seeing a turtle starring back at us.
But, sure enough, Allyson was doing a little cleaning around the house and noticed a turtle trying to climb its way out of its little plastic maternity ward. Allyson called me, excited that she had some new playmates (nothing brings out such adorable excitement in my wife quite like baby animals). She brought them down to camp, and, as instructed, we set them down next to the river to begin their turtle lives independently in earnest. Later that day, a third turtle hatched, and, after keeping me company while typing a devotion, I set him down in the river.
I'm not sure what will happen to our three young turtles down by the river. Maybe I'll pass them on the highway in the years to come or maybe they'll make their way to the buffalo river to establish themselves among the hundreds of others we count on logs as we canoe. Who really knows--It's not like I'll be able to recognize them anyway. I do know that experiences like this really make me appreciate my time here. I feel more a part of all the things around me. Getting to see these turtles first experience with water. Being one of the ones to set them down in their natural habitat and watch them burrow into the mud. I don't know what they'll do next. But I do know they've got a chance to do it, and to be part of that is both exciting and humbling.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Another Crop of Certified Counselors
Last weekend, I had another chance to work with the future of Lakehsore's summers. We had a diverse group at Counselor Certification for the April session. There were several of our staff along with long time campers ready to take the next step. We had a few who were at Lakeshore for their first time too. We had a great time sharing and learning in a very busy and tiring weekend. I hope that each one of you got a great deal out of the weekend. It was a good time for me, and makes me excited for the summer where many of you will get to put these lessons into practice. Hope to see you all soon.
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