My years at Camp Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan convinced me that the camp program was the key to the success of Scouting, and I support the camp to ensure that it is available to all future Scouts.
I attended Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan as a camper from 1968 to 1974 and served on the camp staff as an aquatics counselor from 1975 to 1978. I also served on the Order of the Arrow dance team. As an adult, I’ve been part of the Wilderness Engineering Society (WES), a volunteer group that helps sustain the camp property, since around 1985, and I’ve led the WES aquatics maintenance program for over 20 years.
I retired recently and now have more time to support the camp. Two years ago, I built a cedar-strip canoe for camp, and last year I built three rowboats. They were a big hit, and Northeast Illinois Council asked me to build three more rowboats this winter. Assembly began this week.
At camp, Scouts learn to be independent and how to live with peers, and they get life skills that are not typically available to non-Scout youths. The skills learned from camp and Scouting are important for everyone.
I was a troop leader at camp for about 10 years. I recall one new Scout who was terribly homesick his first night. He was crying and wanted to call his mother. After we discussed his advancement plan for the week, which included a number of sessions at Trailblazer—where new Scouts learn basic skills for camping, first aid, knots, lashings, swimming, map and compass, and nature—and classes in Swimming and Canoeing merit badges, I was able to calm him down. I promised him he could call his parents on Wednesday night, and he agreed. Once involved in advancement the next morning, he never looked back. Wednesday night came and went, and it was not until Friday night that he ran up to me happy and excited and exclaimed that he had completely forgotten about calling his family. About four years later, I attended his Eagle court of honor.
The camp experience challenges Scouts to pursue their BSA advancement, and in many cases, sets the hook that keeps them in Scouts for the long haul.