Celebrating 70 Years of Camp Voyageur

By Alex Kvanli
April 30, 2021 (comments)

The triangle rings, followed by a familiar voice echoing through the trees, beckoning you: “Rise and shine, it’s a great day in the Northwoods!” Soon thereafter the ringing of the bell invites you and your cabinmates to the Mess Hall for hot cereal and pancakes. Your buddy from Cabin Eight walks with you down the wooded path under the towering pine and birch trees wearing his new red toque, eyes brimming with excitement as he recounts for the fourth—and not the last—time his trip stories and how he sterned and carried a canoe for nine days on his trip to...

2010s: A Timeless Capsule

By Alex Kvanli
April 26, 2021 (comments)

Voyageur rode the wave of technology into the 2010s, expanding its emphasis on documenting the summer with photos and videos to a greater degree than ever before. Growing alongside Camp’s burgeoning online media output was its draw as a screen-free outdoor experience, a rustic oasis in a media-saturated world. Camp’s growing enrollment attested to the rising need for kids to experience the simple life immersed in nature—the physicality and camaraderie of adventuring on the trail, the social togetherness of sitting around a campfire, and the create-your-own-fun style of playing that always fuels Voyageur’s in-camp program.

2000s: Voyaging Into a New Millennium

By John Burgman
April 22, 2021 (comments)

Camp Voyageur by the Decades In many ways, the 2000s cruised with the momentum of the 1990s, with many campers from the previous decade returning as staff for a number of years. And, in that, new campers and new counselors found a community of experienced staff that was eager to teach and share the timeless Voyageur Spirit. The 2000s also saw an extension of many core elements of the camp experience that had been established in previous decades: Trips in the Big Banana proved particularly popular in this decade, as did backpacking treks on Isle Royale and the Superior Hiking...

1990s: The Web of Possibilities

By John Burgman
April 16, 2021 (comments)

Camp Voyageur by the Decades In the 1990s, the world learned what it meant to go “online,” and so too did Camp Voyageur. While Voyageur was not the first summer camp in the Northwoods to have a presence on the World Wide Web, once Jon Jenkins programmed the first Voyageur website, it instantly opened up new and intriguing possibilities for communication. Suddenly kids around the world could discover Camp Voyageur from the comfort of their own homes. Parents of campers, too, could stay more up-to-date than ever before during the summers with an updated photo gallery, blog posts, and eventually...

1980s: New Names, Same Voyageur Spirit

By John Burgman
April 10, 2021 (comments)

Camp Voyageur by the Decades In 1984 Camp Voyageur reopened for a two-week session under the direction of sister and brother team, Deb and John Erdmann. Big games once again drew campers to Pine Stadium. The Mess Hall plaques started filling up with names as in years past. Trips pushed off into the wilderness from the camp dock. But there were new evolutions as well—including inaugural hiking trips, an uptick in campers from foreign countries, and frequent educational presentations from various Ely experts as part of Camp’s evening programming.

1970s: Hitting the Big Time

By John Burgman
April 03, 2021 (comments)

Camp Voyageur Through the Decades Everything about Camp Voyageur got bigger in the 1970s. The rosters ballooned to over 90 campers. The canoe trips ventured farther into Canada and “stayed out” longer. A set of 10-day routes tested older campers. Even the reach of camp recruitment broadened, as Helen Jane Wertz recruited a Greyhound bus full of campers from Cincinnati. Mim and Charlie eventually shortened the season to one, 5-1/2 week session to avoid the change of personnel. Counselor Dave Casey acquired a 25-foot-long Old Town “war canoe” from the College of William and Mary. With a fresh coat of...

1960s: Changing with the Changing Times

By John Burgman
March 29, 2021 (comments)

Camp Voyageur Through the Decades The 1960s began with the construction of a 55-foot long Rec Hall. Charlie drilled a well for fresh water and raised poles along the road for a reliable electricity source. Additional cabins were built to accommodate more campers and counselors, and more canoes and a white and blue Crestliner motorboat pulled skiers. Some of Camp’s novel offerings in this decade were particularly unique—such as a kiln in the Craft Shop, and a photography darkroom beneath the Office Cabin; others were new staples that remain to this day, such as a tetherball space and Sunfish sailboat....

1950s: Where it All Began

By John Burgman
March 26, 2021 (comments)

Camp Voyageur Through the Decades

Alumni Launch COVID Relief Campaign

By Alex Kvanli
March 13, 2021 (comments)

A group of former campers from the 1960s and 1970s banded together this winter and hatched a plan to assist Voyageur’s recovery from the 2020 summer camp hiatus (resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic). Alumnus Greg Lippert is hoping that former campers, counselors, and friends can pool together to raise $200,000 by April 31st to ensure Camp Voyageur’s mission prospers into the next generation.

Beyond the Tower

By John Erdmann
February 19, 2021 (comments)

Believe it or not, a few years ago there were no cell phones. Hard wired phones (remember telephone poles) have been around for over a century. At first callers asked an operator to literally patch them through to another telephone. At a central office, she would plug two lines together. When rural houses shared a “party line,” if you picked up the phone to hear people talking, you’d hang up and try when the line was not in use. No biggie, but people preferred a private telephone line, eventually adding multiple telephone sets, some children even got personal land lines....