Lots Done in a Short Time: Camp Daniel Style

So, we haven’t blogged in quite some time.  We, at Camp Daniel, have been so busy working on the grounds in preparations for a wedding that was held here on Saturday.  When we finished our camp season, which feels like 6 months ago, but, the barn had insulation on the walls and rough electric.  We have been working hard since then to get as much done as possible.  We had two very successful workdays in September.  Thanks again, to everyone who participated in the work days.  Each day we had a crew on exterior staining.  We had a fast crew both weeks and they got almost all the exterior staining done.

 On the second workday, they also sanded and painted all 32 of our outdoor benches.  The wedding was held by the lake and the freshly painted benches looked great.

 During the work days, and most every day between, Tony and Marceaux worked on electric.  Here, Tony is installing a light fixture that we made from a rusty trough from a barn.  It has 5 bare old fashioned bulbs hanging from it.  The fixture is partially recessed into the ceiling.  They also wired dozens of outlets and switches.

 The guys insulated the ceiling of the barn, and during the work days, volunteers insulated the rest of the ceiling in the 55'x96’ building.   Let me tell you....that’s ALOT of insulation.

 Then it was time to drywall.  Nick, Steve and the guys did the barn ceiling.  It took multiple days to get all that up.  During the first work day, the walls were drywalled and all of it was taped.  During the follow day or two, we mudded all the joints and screw heads.  Finally, Molly, Trish and Karol were able to paint the walls with a tinted primer.  All of this work we knew, was to be covered with salvaged barn pieces, but we needed to meet fire codes.

 Tony got started on some of the details of the barn.  Here, he’s adding giant beams that will create a hayloft for the barn.

 We installed 14’ beams on the ceiling to give the barn a post and beam look; then it was time to start installing the tin panels that we salvaged from the roof of a barn this spring.  Rusty side down, of course.  By putting in many long hours, we were able to finish the ceiling in just two days.

 Although the exterior of the building wouldn’t be finished, we worked on landscaping for the wedding.  The parents of the groom donated money for the sod, which looked great.  Oh, I almost forgot, we formed and poured a concrete sidewalk too.

 Once the ceiling was done, we started putting barn boards on the walls.  The side walls have regular barn boards, but the wall by the stage area is covered in the white painted boards. We worked up until the last minute with the details.  We even took time to put up some decorations.

 This was what it looked like for the reception.

 Where Jesse and Cera’s name is, will be a projection screen, but for this event we made it special by painting it just for the wedding.

The ceremony was by the lake.  The 135 people in attendance all had a good view of the beautiful bride and her groom.  The wedding was great, and we were blessed to be a part of this special couple’s happy day.

The next day we napped............

Some new things you may have missed at Camp 2014

 Since many of you were not at camp this year, I thought I’d do a blog on some of the new things implemented at camp this year.  Following the trends, as we do at Camp Daniel, we put up a photo booth two times each week.  One on pirate day, and one before French night.  Everyone had fun taking selfies with the props.

 We had two new theme meals this summer.  In the pic above, you see Stevo Hays supporting the Blue Team during the Red/Blue Pep Rally.  This meal replaced the football tailgating theme.  The dining room was decked out in red and blue, as were most everyone there.  The camp was introduced to the summer interns who led their teams in chants and cheers.

 Our second new theme was British Breakfast.  I know you are asking yourself, “How did they get the Queen Mum to go to Wausaukee?”  She was awesome.   In the photo below, you can see the honorary Prince and Princess of Spatula (complete with crowns) being served at the royal table by Chef Trish.

 In a less formal change, we changed up the counselor snacks this year too.  Some of the items are the same, but everything was served “bar” style.  Below, you see the chocolate fountain bar.  We also had a nacho bar, sundae bar, potato skin bar, popcorn bar, veggie pizza bar,  and pretzel bar.  It was all a hit; but I’d like to thank the DiBiase’s for donating the chocolate fountain.  It gave a real “Aaah” factor on the first night.

 Our “Don’t Stop” theme had a car racing look, which was fun.  The photo here shows one of the most fun additions to camp this year; CSPN (Camp Daniel Sports Network) was taken to a whole new level.  Each day the CSPN desk would travel to the days group rec activity and the announcers, Steve and Nick would announce the game via a cordless sound system.  They even had sports themed background music.  They did a great job of commentary, which added a new layer to the activities.  In the photo below, CSPN was held in the chapel, where they were able to show video highlights from the previous days activities, and interview the athlete involved.  It was all quite entertaining, and the campers got a kick out of the focus on them.  (A microphone in hand is always a good thing too!)