Camp’s vehicle and heavy equipment fleet is in critical need of improvement. If you have a mechanically sound van, truck, passenger vehicle, or utility tractor you’d like to donate, please contact Dan King at 618-695-2489, ext. 102. Vehicle and heavy equipment donations are subject to IRS regulations. Ondessonk will happily provide guidance in making this type of tax deductible gift. Please visit ondessonk.com and click on “Stewardship”, then “Wish List” for a complete list of Ondessonk’s in-kind gift needs. Thank you for helping us work “Camp Magic” for these items!

By Connie Lanaghan

Sweet dreams for our campers as they lay their bodies on new mattresses, courtesy of a $10,000 lead grant in 2011 from the Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation.  Our mattress replacement project is part of an ongoing effort to enhance our campers’ outdoor experience by replacing all 376 camper mattresses by summer, 2014.  Special thanks to the Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation for funding this important project and to former Executive Director Tim Eiserle and his wife Robin Wellington for sponsoring our project proposal.  The foundation’s lead grant allowed us to replace 100 mattresses and refurbish another 150 with new covers last summer.  Our goal is to replace another 80 – 100 this summer.  Each $75 gift gets us one mattress closer to our goal.  Your support in this project will be greatly appreciated by our campers.

By Rusty Parker

Since its inception, Camp Ondessonk’s CIT Program has successfully developed generations of Ondessonk staff members, and this summer marks the unveiling of an exciting new look to the program. Designed to fulfill the mission of instilling and cultivating qualities of integrity, compassion, hard work, and selflessness in emerging lifetime leaders, Camp’s new CIT Program will take on a slightly different structure consisting of a guaranteed full two weeks of programming for all CITs, with a third week being offered to a small number of CITs who will be selectively invited back based on performance. While the first week of the previous program was devoted to training within a specific activity area, the first week of the new program will instead engage CITs in creative programming designed to contribute to their leadership development through the cultivation of those qualities most necessary for strong leadership and effective camp counseling. Having developed in these capacities throughout the first week, and having received an orientation to their assigned activity area at the end of the first week, it is our hope that CITs will be better prepared for successful participation in their activity area training during week two. The second week, then, will offer CITs the opportunity to learn the hard skills and teaching techniques of a particular activity, and CITs will be tested and evaluated on their performance. While most of the CITs in a given session will complete their program at the end of this second week, a handful of select CITs will be offered the opportunity to closely shadow a Unit Leader in a bonus third week, which will allow those select CITs to live in a unit and be trained in the activities and responsibilities of a unit counselor. While the CIT Program at Camp Ondessonk has always been one of Camp’s most successful and popular programs, we are excited about the new additions to the program and feel strongly that these additions will contribute meaningfully not only to the development of future staff members, but also to the development of future leaders. The CIT program staff can’t wait to implement this new program and are looking forward to working with another outstanding group of CITs this summer. Heepwah!

By Tim Coffey

Camp Ondessonk Lodge

Between making some additions to the way Fall Lodge Reunion is run, inducting almost 200 new members, raising several hundred dollars for Ondessonk and the Campership Fund, spreading awareness among many communities, and performing service at Camp, the Lodges of Ondessonk and Tekakwitha have had a very eventful year. Last summer, with the help of many summer staff and volunteers, we were able to induct nearly 200 new members. These new members have already been an awesome addition to Lodge and its mission. Tri-State Lodge Tribe recently spent an entire weekend working at Camp, performing necessary cabin maintenance and working on the ongoing project of reopening Fat Man’s Misery. The Metro East, Springfield, Clinton County, and Tri-State Lodge Tribes have all hosted “Fun Nights” at churches and schools in their areas. These events garner interest in Ondessonk, raise significant funds for Camp and the Campership Fund, and are an awesome time for those in attendance. Be sure to keep an eye out for an Ondessonk Fun Night in your area during the next school year! Attendees of this fall’s Lodge Reunion observed some changes from those Reunions in the past. They gained valuable knowledge and skills through seminars offered up by Ondessonk staff and even a professional storyteller. And of course, there were all of the best parts of Lodge Reunion: reconnecting with friends, performing service, electing officials, and hiking.    Lodge has done and continues to do great work for communities and Camp Ondessonk. If you are a Lodge Member, please consider being a part of this service by re-activating and becoming an active part of your Lodge Tribe. For more information about Lodge and becoming active, email lodge@ondessonk.com or call 618-695-2489. 

By Connie Lanaghan

Bid paddles were waving and quarters were “cha-chinging” as 110 Camp Friends gathered for the 1^st Annual Camp O Quarter Auction, held on February 19^th, 2012 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Highland, Illinois. Twenty-four area vendors set up their wares for a pre-auction shopping party, and they graciously donated more than 140 items for the silent auction, attendance prizes and the main event.

“I think we had a good turnout, and we met our goal for our first year,” said Camp board member Cindy Knebel, who coordinated the event with fellow board member Lynn Fuhler.  “About 80% of the attendees won some sort of prize and everyone had fun.”

Quarter Auctions are the newest craze in fundraising events, and are growing in popularity in the St. Louis area. A cross between an auction and a bingo, bidders place quarters on the items they want to bid on and raise their paddle number, and the winner is chosen by a drawing.

Big Heepwahs to Cindy Knebel and Lynn Fuhler for spearheading the event, to all the participating vendors, and the Lodge and Camper volunteers who worked at the event!

Camp Ondessonk has been my home away from home for over 40 years.  I go back at least once a year to enjoy the beauty that the Shawnee Forest has to offer. The many friends that I have made there are like family to me.  At camp, it is not important if you are rich or poor, black or white, fat or skinny, male or female–everyone is treated with courtesy and respect.  Camp is fun–you wont miss your cell phone, tv, video games, or even your soft, cushy, air conditioned room–why?  Because you are having the time of your life.  If given the opportunity– go to Camp Ondessonk…you will never know what you missed, if you don’t.  HEEPWAH!

Sara C  Nashville IL:

I learned about Camp Ondessonk when I was 10. My parents weren’t so sure about sending me to a rustic place three hours away at that age, with three-sided cabins and caves as living units. But once my whole family got there, met the amazing role models I had, and saw the self-confidence I’d gained after just a week, they let me come back every year – followed by both of my sisters, and all of my family at Family Camp. That first year was 1990. Twenty-two years later, I can honestly say that Camp Ondessonk has been one of the most formative experiences in my life. I learned how to break out of my shyness. I learned how to roll my own sleeping bag, walk a trail by moonlight, pee in the woods without getting my shoes wet. Sure, there were spiders, there was some homesickness and there were some tears. But I lived through it, I got over it, and I came back, summer after summer. I learned that who I am is someone of value and talent, just the way I am. I learned how to build a fire big enough to cook 60 burgers, and light it with one match. I learned how to connect with God in a whole different way than just during Mass. As a staff member, I learned I can lead, and do it with kindness and humor and still get the job done. I’ve climbed in my career thanks to the people skills and life skills I learned at Camp Ondessonk. I made the best friends I will ever know – including my husband. Every kid needs Camp Ondessonk. It’s one of the purely happiest, most positive places on earth.

Cyndi J.- Metropolis IL:

I attended Camp O in the late 70′s as a camper and continued on staff in the 80′s. I made lifelong friends who I still communicate to this day. I met my BFF at camp when I was 16. Camp taught me social values and gave me a great appreciation for nature. I would highly recommend this great institution to anyone wanting the full camping experience. Besides a week or two of fun, your children will take away a lifetime of memories.

Cate L- Chicago IL:

To me, Camp Ondessonk is a home away from home.
‘Camp O’ is an amazing environment where you are accepted for who you are as a person, not for your looks or the new shoes you have. It may seem scary, going to a new place for a whole week, not knowing what to expect, or if you’ll make friends, but the counselors and campers at Ondessonk are so genuine and friendly, I cry every time I have to LEAVE camp. Additionally, at Ondessonk, there is something for everyone. From horsebackriding, to making crafts, to shooting arrows and guns in Target Sports, learning about Catholic martyrs in Council, to hiking in the Shawnee National Forest, to Boating and Swimming, Camp O has it all. Not only are there activities in the day, but many fun night activities, like a Unit Campfire, Tuesday Night Game, Overnight (sleep out in the wilderness and eat Camp’s famous foil burgers!), the Lodge Ceremony, and Friday Night Skits. I can 100%, undoubtedly guarantee that Camp Ondessonk is the perfect place for you to go to or to send your child to over summer vacation. Last but certainly not least, Camp is the place where some of my best memories were made, ever since I was 10 years old. Meaning all things good, Camp Ondessonk is not only 5 stars, but a big HEEPWAH!

Rachel B- St Louis MO:

Camp Ondessonk was the first place I learned that life was much larger than the hometown where I grew up.  No matter the size of their town/school/church, it’s easy for young people to get labeled in a certain way and not realize there are other qualities to be brought out of them.  Camp definitely fosters this development.  Something about entering those gates allows you to check all judgments and inhibitions at the door and for one week, teens and pre-teens learn the valuable lesson of acceptance.

Beyond that, how often do you get to be so close to nature?? The living units are incredible – where else do you have the opportunity to live in a tree house or cave?  The camp schedule walks that perfect line of staying engaged while getting to thoroughly explore and experience all that camp has to offer.

Camp Ondessonk does a great job of representing its “Catholic Youth Camp” mission with an inviting platform for all denominations/traditions.  The Mass celebrated on Sunday evening brings a heightened appreciation to practicing Catholics, and the liturgy itself (songs, message etc.) is a great experience for someone who has never attended Mass before.  Spirituality is infused in the week not through bible verses and memorized prayer (although these are welcome formats) but through a true awe for the Creator and the world so magnificently fashioned.

In shaping my worldview, I credit Camp Ondessonk second only to my family.  The friendships ignited during Ondessonk summers have withstood distance and time to be the most lasting and returnable (you know what I mean – the friendship you can go back to after a decade without even a second of small talk) relationships.

I really thought, when I walked across the covered bridge as a 5th grader, that I was just going to camp for a week.  I had no idea that camp would be going with me for a lifetime.

Jaime C- Oceanside CA:

Some of the best memories of my childhood were made here. I learned so much here, not just about living in the outdoors, but also about who I am. I’m 32 years old now, but I would still go to camp every summer if I could. You can bet I will be sending my children to Camp O someday. Heepwah!

Ana M- Festus MO:

I started going to Camp Ondessonk the summer after I turned 10 and have been going every summer since. Everything about camp is amazing! When I’m at Camp O I can be me and just have fun. Because of camp I am more confident in everything I do. Take it from a camper, Camp is a life-changing experience!

Allison S- Belleville IL:

I have to start by saying how beautiful this area is! I sent my 13 year old to camp last summer (all girls week) She had the time of her life! It was really good for her to get away from teenage stresses and technology! The staff and counselors are so caring I felt very comfortable leaving! I have to say not only was this a great rewarding and learning experience for my daughter but It taught me a few life lessons as well! In the words of my daughter “HEEPWAH”

J.T.- New Lenox IL:

Camp Ondessonk is a great place to send your kids for a wonderful and safe camp experience.  Activities include, hikes, horseback riding, swimming, handicrafts, archery, and outdoor overnights. Campers stay in units which are three wall rustic cabins. Kids are under the supervision of trained and background checked camp counselors. The camp director Dan King is professional and kind and was happy to answer all my questions and concerns.  King, was a camper when he was a kid and now runs the place! My child had a great time and wants to go back next year. He made made many friends.  If you want to know more check out the website.

Coed 1 – Cartoon

Coed 2 – Space

Coed 3 – Blockbusters

Boys – Zombie

Mini Camp– Super hero

Family Camp– Old West

Girls 1 – Spies and Secret Agents

Girls 2 – Disney

Coed 4 – Harry Potter

Coed 5 – Olympics

Camp Registration

Camp Ondessonk Official Facebook Site

Camp Ondessonk Official Youtube Site

Camp Ondessonk Official Twitter Site

Camp Ondesssonk Official Blog

We can’t wait to see you this summer!

-Camp Ondessonk

What struck me the most was the the 16 – 20 year old staff. I had taken for granted the effort that is put into the selection and training of the staff at Ondessonk. Because of the superior quality of the Ondessonk summer staff year after year I had forgotten the care that is obviously taken to help them provide the level of care that they do. I watched 16 year old texting on their phones instead of interacting with campers. I thought “I know that Dan and Evan tell the staff that texting while with campers is certainly not acceptable”, but then I thought “I wonder if they even have to say it, or do they hire such intuitive and responsible young people that it does not even have to be said?” I watched the young staff more interested in having fun with each other and sharing inside jokes, than in interacting with the campers. Some staff were too bored or tired to muster up enthusiasm for their activity, or let the parents to most of the teaching. I am not saying that the staff was entirely below par, I am just saying that there was certainly room for improvement.

What I am trying to get across is I know that many hours are spent agonizing over the hiring of staff, and then many hours are spent developing the training activities to help them do their job to the best of their ability. The effort is worth it. To think about what those young staff members do in sometimes extreme conditions is mind boggling. They are role models and confidants for the campers. They are what makes the thunderstorm bearable, and the 105 degree day fun. The staff make it cool to slog uphill through 6 inches of mud just to get to dinner a cool thing to do. Your staff make it okay to try to hit the target for the fifth time, after missing on the first four tries. Your staff make the skinned knee from going through Fat Man’s Misery feel like a badge of honor. Your staff is a large part of why campers come back year after year. They are a large part of why Camp Ondessonk is the fabulous experience that it is. Please thank the staff for taking a very difficult job and making it look easy and fun. They are the heart of camp.

Jen Schauster

Make a plan. Carry a water bottle. Laugh. Always have duck tape. These four things were vital to surviving summer camp. My management philosophy reflects my camping experiences. I realize through Bolman and Deal’s conceptual frameworks and lessons from Dan King, my favorite manager, that my camp counselor days helped me create a set of beliefs and principles that will allow me to be a successful manager.
As a camp counselor, I had to devise an activity plan everyday for the campers. It had to be fun, detailed, and organized. The activity plan had to coordinate with the other camp units so that the group did not overlap into one another. This required clear lines of communication with the other camp counselors. In Bolman and Deal’s structural framework, a clear plan and mission is essential to the success of an organization.
I also always had to have a water bottle with me. Summers in Southern Illinois are hot and humid and someone is always thirsty. It was my duty to make sure the physical needs of the campers were met. Dehydrated campers are tired and cranky and their experience at camp will not be as fun. Meeting the needs of staff is key for developing motivated and happy staff.
Summer camp is a time when fun and laughter rules the day. It is not uncommon for campers and counselors to break out into song on the way to an activity. Summer camp is a chance for me to embrace my inner child and just have fun. My manager, Dan King, welcomed the chance to be childlike summer camp. He would be the first to jump in to a pickup game of baseball or put on a silly wig for a campfire skit.
One of the most fun activities at camp was the marathon at the end of the week. It was a competition among the camp groups and each camper had a specific task. My campers and I would meet and decide what everyone would do during the marathon. There were times when campers would choose the same event and it was up to me to decide who would do that task. This required me to realize my campers’ potentials and maximize my resources for the best outcome for the camper and the group. Dan King believed in all of the staff and campers and truly wanted everyone to have fun and succeed. Through his encouragement, he gave me the confidence I needed to apply to graduate school.
My experiences have taught me to always be prepared for anything. I could have the best group of kids, perfect weather planned, great activities ready but something could and would always go wrong, which is why I had a roll of duck tape with me at all times. From plugging a leaky boat to fixing a blister or fashioning a bracelet, duck tape was my answer. Conflict and problems are unavoidable in organizations. The key is to be prepared and have solutions.
These experiences helped me to become a decisive leader. I infuse humor with challenging tasks and develop creative solutions. I also value input from those that I supervise. I have had good outcomes and bad outcomes at camp, but all have helped me to become the leader I am today. I can build a pretty good campfire too.

Camp Ondessonk Mini Camp: (Session I- Wednesday June 6th-Saturday June 9th; Session II- Sunday July 1st-Wednesday July 4th)

This summer, we will be offering two sessions of our Mini Camp program, a special three day, three night session for younger campers aged 8 & 9.  It is the perfect way to give campers an introduction to the Camp Ondessonk tradition of rustic, nature based camping in the Shawnee National Forest.

The Mini Camp schedule includes horseback instruction and riding, handicrafts, boating, swimming, archery, evening campfires, skits, and lots of singing.  All activities are modified to best serve the mini camp age group.  With one Ondessonk counselor for every three or four campers, mini campers receive nearly constant guidance and companionship from our caring staff.  Incidentally, many of our staff members were once mini campers.

Mini Camp Explorers: (Sunday June 3rd-Saturday June 9th)

Mini Camp Explorers offers adventurous 8 & 9 year old children an extended experience building upon our popular Mini Camp offering.  By popular request, young campers will spend the entire week discovering all of the Camp activities and traditions so beloved by campers over the past 52 summers.

Explorers will enjoy nature walks, horseback instruction and riding, handicrafts, boating, swimming, archery, campfires, structured social time and skits while living in a communal setting designed to develop social skills and build friendships.  Mini Camp Explorers will be led by a specialized staff equipped with the counseling skills to best serve the mini camp age group and introduce campers to the wonderful world of outdoor, week-long sleep-away camp.

To register for Camp Ondessonk Mini Camp click here.

Kate Burgauer’s script was produced last spring into an award-winning short film called Scraps.  It is currently in festivals across the country, including the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis this October!

Camp Ondessonk Family News

Jen (Sportsman) Rains and her husband Justin had their second child, Colby Dale on 5/15/11. Big sister Taylor is now almost 2!

Sam (Stowe) Waicekauskas and her husband Kevin had their first child, Levi Timothy on 5/12/11.

Katie Luchtefeld graduated from University of Illinois Springfield with her MA in English and is engaged to Rob Eytchison, planning to get married next September.

John and Sara (Cox) Laury had their second child, Samuel Thomas on 5/13/11. Big sister Cecilia is now 2 1/2!

Kyle Klues and Emma (O’Brien) Klues were married on 5/21/11 in Southern Illinois with their reception at Camp Ondessonk.

Tyler Kivland and Alanna (Garvey) Kivland were married on 7/30/11 at Brown County State Park in Indiana.

Cindy (Moehlenkamp) Smith passed away on 8/18/11 in a car accident near Tunnel Hill. Her surviving family includes husband Lee Smith and their children, Jimmy, Betsy and Jake. The whole family has been affiliated with Camp Ondessonk for the last 40 years.

Tony Vrooman and his wife Kim had their second child, Emma Eloise on 8/11/11. Big brother J.P. is now 6!

Bill Beatty married Catherine E. Ciak on 7/23/11.

Bryan Hallengren and Brooke Hagarty are engaged and had their first child, Jack Daniel, on 6/2/11.

Catie Whelan married Phillip Evans on 7/30/11.

Rachel (Beatty) Kell and her husband Trevor had their first child, Mia Lynn, on 7/14/11.

Judy (Blase) Woodruff is now the Executive Director at the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias.

Jack Contri married Katie (Duffin) Contri on 7/2/11.

Lacy (Jennings) Guard and her husband Mitchel had their second child, Logan on 8/19/11. Big sister Emma is now 2 1/2!

By Ryan Brummer

Amy Rivers photo

We all have fond memories of Camp Ondessonk and of our favorite staff members.  For many of those who were campers in the early 1990s one name specifically comes to mind: Amy Rivers.  Amy was a classic Ondessonk counselor with a strong compassion for the campers, a kind personality with her fellow staff, and of course the ability to rock a guitar like nobody’s business.

After attending CampOndessonk, Amy continued to mold the minds of young ones for several years as a middle school science teacher.  Once Amy had children of her own, she decided to take a step back and focus on family life for a while.  Amy has raised two wonderful kids: Izzy, 12, who says her life is all about the c’s (cheerleading and camp), and Andrew, 11, who never stops playing sports, unless they interfere with a week at camp.

Currently Amy spends all of her time either with her kids or managing Lamasco’s; a bar she owns in Evansville,Indiana.  Amy says the business plan behind the bar stems from her time at Ondessonk.  Camp is where Amy says she discovered the true power behind music and how it can make someone truly happy.  She not only hosts live performances from Evansville bands, but also opens up the stage for friends of camp to play.

Amy still loves to visit camp as much as she can and help out by volunteering every summer.  Amy also plans a huge party at Lamasco’s every year to benefit camp..  “Half Way to Labor Day” happens mid February and half of the profits made from the evening go toward the Campership Fund.  The exact dates of this year’s party will be coming out shortly, and Amy can’t wait to see everyone.

YOUTH, ADULTS DRAWN BACK TO CAMP ONDESSONK YEAR AFTER YEAR

Story and photos by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

The sun beats down on a group of 8- and 9-year-olds sitting in a semicircle around a young woman who draws their attention and holds it. Why? Because when she finishes, each youngster will mount his or her own horse, possibly for the very first time.

This happens all week long for young people at Camp Ondessonk, a 300-acre Catholic camp for young people adjacent to the Shawnee National Forest in far southern Illinois.

For some, like Bridget Coolican, being a camper is a legacy to be lived. Bridget’s parents met at Camp Ondessonk and later were married at the camp. She feels right at home there, in this her first official camping experience.

A week at camp usually begins on Sunday afternoon and ends on the following Saturday. Variations on that theme can include adventure camps that begin at Ondessonk and take campers outside for horse adventure, rock climbing or canoeing.

However at the beginning of July, an extended weekend is set aside for families to camp together at Ondessonk, and the end of that week is reserved as “mini camp” for 8- and 9-year-old youngsters not old enough to sign up for a week of camp yet. Of the 250 mini-campers that week, were they fearful of being away from their families? Not really. Some said they couldn’t wait to spend time at camp because of the stories they had heard from older siblings or even from their parents who had been campers or staff members in earlier years.

For more than 50 years Ondessonk has provided a place for special adventures, to make and renew friendships, to learn about God’s creation, to broaden knowledge and test skills of young people and the staff at the Belleville diocesan camp. 

Some of the staff began their life-long love of Ondessonk as campers, came back to train as counselors and joined the staff when they were able. “It’s a special place,” they say.

Staffer Gina DeMattei from West Frankfort is a good example. This year, her 11th year at camp, she works at the barn as a wrangler.

She began as a camper and kept coming back. She loves horses and she loves camp, she said. When Gina was a camper she remembers viewing staff members as mentors, people she admired. “I wanted to be someone campers looked up to (now),” she said.

Campers come from as near as “a few miles down the road” to dioceses in other parts of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and beyond.

They all tell the same story: “I came with friends,” or “I’m meeting my camp friends this week.”

Equestrian director, Sara Oviatt, said the goal is to “give the kids a great first experience (with horses) so they want to come back.”

Camper Caroline Gogen of Freeburg learned about riding, the reins, parts of the horse, how to mount and dismount.
Caroline was riding a horse called C-Sweet Caroline. The experience was “not scary,” she said, and definitely wants to ride again.

Sometimes the camping experience itself draws them in and then back again.One young person may love horses but lives in an urban area where riding isn’t an option. A week at camp riding horses or going on a horse adventure, or this year on a two-week horse expedition pilot program can hardly be described with mere words. “It’s heaven,” they say.

Part of the adventure at Ondessonk for any camper has to be in the unit they call home for three days or a week. Campers can choose to stay in treehouses if they choose one of a number of units with A-frames tucked away in the trees.

Described as “the coolest spot in camp,” houses campers under a sandstone amphitheatre where they are cooled by the stone, and if it rains they enjoy a waterfall.

Some of the units are named for Jesuit missionaries who ministered to Native Americans in the mid-17th century in Canada.

So, the units Brébeuf, Chabanel, Daniel, Garnier, Goupil, Lalande and Lalemant are named for these martyrs while another is named Tekakwitha for Native American Kateri Tekakwitha, the daughter of a Mohawk chief and a Roman Catholic who has been beatified by the Catholic Church.

Campers learn about the martyrs and about the camp’s name, Ondessonk — Native American for bird of prey — at a special evening campfire with dances and a call for some of the campers to join the Lodge of Ondessonk (for boys) or the Lodge of Tekakwitha (for girls).

When they become lodge members, they remain members for life with continued opportunities to contribute to the camp and be involved in special projects developed for the lodges.

While days are spent learning crafts, swimming, boating, riding and the many activities available for youth, Ondessonk also pays attention to the spiritual side of life and teaching campers about their care of, and respect for one another and the earth.

A few of the area pastors take time to go to camp to celebrate liturgy with campers in the chapel and be part of campers’ lives during the week. Prayer, said staff members, is an important part of the day at camp.

Because camp staff is aware of the economic struggles families face, an effort has been and is being made to raise money to assist with “camperships.”

The staff doesn’t want one person who really wants to go to camp to miss out. Scholarships and assistance in paying fees is available.

To find out more about camp, other programs being offered throughout the year and how to become involved, please go to Ondessonk’s web site at http://www.ondessonk.com.

RON RENSING
REGIONAL SALES ACCOUNT MANAGER
INNOVATIVE FACILITIES SOLUTIONS
ORION ENERGY SYSTEMS

To find out more about our summer time programs visit our website at www.ondessonk.com.

Click Here to download a copy of the Summer 2010 Ondessonk Dream Catcher.

Dream Catcher is a collection of poems, writings, sketches,

artwork, and creative expressions from Camp Ondessonk’s

campers and staff. While you all eagerly await your

yearbook, enjoy this collection of words, thoughts,

feelings, and artistic expressions that Camp Ondessonk

inspires. Photographs can bring you back to Camp

Ondessonk, but Dreamcatcher invites you in to share the

joy, friendships, and memories you found there.

This collection is one of a kind. These words ring true.

The artwork is priceless. Whenever you miss your time at

Camp Ondessonk, read, enjoy, and experience summer

camp all over again when you open the Dreamcatcher.

As I write at this time in my life, I find I am trying to remember and understand the people, places, and events in my past. Now I want to put some closure on the recollections about my years at Camp Ondessonk.

I spent seven summers at the youth camp just thirty-five miles from my family home in Metropolis. Illinois. Looking back from the vantage point of middle age (whatever that is!), I can see that the camp world was artificial. The day to day life of the camp centered around activities that were not essential for the young campers’ well being. I know that the young men and women that never took the Split Rock Hike and never squeezed their bodies through a narrow crevasse between two rocks, still turned out quite well in the adult life in which they find themselves. Yet there was a mystique for me about the life at Camp Ondessonk. The boys and girls that made it through the “Little Split Rock” perhaps felt better about themselves for that accomplishment. I know that I felt better about myself because of my Camp Ondessonk experience.

When I was ordained to the priesthood, one of the choices I had to make was what kind of a holy card I would have printed up as a memento of my Ordination and First Mass. One of the cards I chose was a panoramic view of the rocks and mountains. I have a feeling of awe even to this day when I see the miles and miles of forest trees and hills stretching as far as the eye can see. The Shawnee Forest is close to my hometown and close to the camp. There is not a time that I travel to my home without thinking of the camp. To have spent so much of my life as a young man helping to hew a camp out of wilderness rock and then to have helped many campers to walk the trails and enjoy nature’s beauty has etched those memories permanently into my mind.

Besides the special affection I have for nature’s majesty, I have wrested some other gems from the Ondessonk days.

I am not afraid of thunderstorms. I have experienced the violence of storms in the forest. In the seven years I spent at camp I was a unit leader for three or four years. Every Wednesday evening the cooks had a night off. The campers went unit by unit to a camping spot some distance from the main part of camp. One particular night our unit was camping above Phantom Canyon. Now very few Wednesday nights ever saw rain. This Wednesday night was the exception. We had cooked our meals of hamburger, potato, onion on the coals of our campfire. We sang our songs, made our plans for the rest of week, and listened to the ever faithful ghost story. Then it was time to bed down in our sleeping bags on the ground under the stars. The stars were soon to disappear. A storm brewed up some time after mid-night. We fortunately saw it coming. We did not have to wake up but one or two of the campers. The storm had everyone’s attention. After a brief discussion we decided to take refuge under the Phantom Canyon overhang. The other counselors and I helped the campers to climb down the steep path to the bottom of the canyon. Another unit camping in the canyon was already under the overhang. We did not have a lot of space. We were dry. The storm raged for several hours. Torrents of rain poured over the cliff. Stream beds normally bone dry in July became rivers. We stayed safe and dry despite the deluge of water and violent winds. We even slept for a few hours once the storm subsided as we lay on the bumpy ground under the cliff. At first crack of dawn campers and counselors walked tiredly Indian file down the moist trail back to our unit. We were so tired that when a copperhead snake that had come out to soak up the early morning sun right in the middle of our path was coiled to defend his territory, we just let him be and gave him a wide berth. We continued our journey back to camp. Once I experienced the vulnerability to the element of a summer storm out in the wilds, the thunder and lightning outside while I am inside my home hold no foreboding for me.

The camp experience gave me an appreciation for my physical body. I probably was in the best physical shape of my life from age nineteen to twenty-four. There was no fat on my bones. As a camp counselor and even before camp opened while we were building. I walked everywhere. In the morning we walked from the farmhouse to the camp. We walked to the units where we were working. The terrain of the camp was hilly. I built leg muscles just moving about in the main area of camp. Imagine all the oxygen produced by the trees in the Shawnee Forest. I drank in a portion of that for seven summers. When camp opened, I hiked with the campers. I swam with the campers, and mostly I walked all over the camp.

At camp I learned not to drink the creek water. Before camp opened that first year we had no water at the camp. We drank well water at the farmhouse and creek water that flowed in a stream that was in the middle of camp. I recall on a Sunday walking the trails of camp with my youngest brother, Vince who was ten or eleven. We were thirsty. I showed him how to look for a flowing part of the creek and we both had a drink. Unknown to each other both of us got very sick that evening. The creek water had gotten contaminated,

I still enjoy looking out over the large expanses of forests and hills. One of the joys that I have in going home to Metropolis, Illinois, is that the last thirty-five miles goes through terrain that is part of the Shawnee Forest. There is not a time that I see the vistas of trees and rolling hills that I don’t think of Camp Ondessonk and my seven summers in youth.

Recent legal events of the past few years have tainted the name of Camp Ondessonk for some. I wish I could ease the pain of the young people, now adults who suffered during their camping experience because they trusted an adult. I must admit that I grew up in a time that was more trusting and certainly more naive.

Soldiers say, “There is no atheist in a foxhole”. My brother, Vince, when he was an apprentice painter in E. St. Louis-Belleville area, said. “There is no atheist on a water tower”?, I say, “There is no atheist in the back of a pick-up truck driving to the farmhouse from Camp Ondessonk in 1959 in the late evening”. Away from any artificial lights except our vehicle’s headlights, I recall looking up and seeing the myriad collection of night stars in the summer sky. “The world is charged with the grandeur of God”, said the poet Hopkins. Truly the evening sky was full of the power and majesty, and beauty of God. I felt humble as I gazed on the heavenly fixtures we call stars. I felt insignificant and small in relationship to the vast universe created by my God.

I am amazed at what I can remember of my Ondessonk days so many years ago. Some of the events come rolling into my mind like a movie right down to the dust on the road and the haze over the hills and trees. Those seven summers will always be special to me–those summers I spent getting in touch with the forest of Southern Illinois–those summers testing the limits of my physical body–those summers so full of memories. Thus I end the Ondessonk Tales…

When she was introduced to the campers in the Dining Hall at Ondessonk, Treva Barker was called the Mayor of Ozark. (Ozark, Illinois is the small town closest to Camp Ondessonk.) Mrs. Barker would stand up, protesting her title, but enjoying the attention. She would beam brightly as the campers gave her the official camp greeting, a big “Heepwah!”. In reality, Treva Barker was just a storeowner who lived behind the store in the main part of Ozark. “Ma” Barker, as we affectionately called her in those early years of camp, ran the general store. During that first summer when the camp was being built, fifteen or twenty hungry young men would pile into the store at dark. Mrs. Barker, protesting a bit, “If I knew you were coming, I could have had things ready”, would whip up a “mess” of pork chops, potatoes and gravy. We would eat until we were full. The townsfolk were jealous of the camp boys. Despite some flack from her neighbors she treated us kindly.

The special affection she felt for the camp staff took a permanent mode after the death of her 93 year old husband. The entire work crew dressed up in what turned out to be the camp uniform, dark blue pants with a white stripe down the side, light blue long sleeved dress shirt and tie. We all traveled to a funeral home in Paducah. Kentucky and paid our respects. Mrs. Barker never forgot that presence.

Treva Barker was a short, dumpy woman with dyed black hair. She used a lot of rouge on her cheeks. At 65 she was bereft of physical beauty that perhaps she once had. What was attractive about her was the sparkle in her eyes and the loyalty and love in her heart for her friends. What made her special to the camp was that she befriended the people of Ondessonk even though the local community was a bit suspicious of things Catholic in the pre-Kennedy era of the late 50’s and early 6O’s.

The summer after my senior year of high school I worked as a caretaker and lawnmower at King’s House of Retreats in Belleville, Illinois. I played on a baseball team in the Belleville City League. The summer after my first year of college found me in a totally new environment. Father Robert Vonnahmen had asked me to work at a youth camp being built in southern Illinois near the town of Ozark. The name of the camp was Camp Ondessonk. Ondessonk was the Native American name for St. Isaac Jogues, S.J. a priest killed by the Iroquois in upstate New York. More importantly, the labor to build the physical plant of the camp was 98% volunteer donated by the men and women of the Diocese of Belleville. I found myself part of that first volunteer crew. It was late spring 1959.

I still remember my first look at the camp. Our red Chevy station wagon pulled off the hard road on the outskirts of Ozark, Illinois on to a narrow, twisty, turning railroad bed that seemed to go on forever.

The first clearing we got to was a sandstone slab of rock on which the foundation of a large building had just been poured that was about to turn into the Dining Hall. Standing on the rock behind the Dining Hall I could look down into a valley and up a power line swath to the next hill miles away. Camp was from the very first for me a connection to the wilderness. The camp was in proximity to the Shawnee National Forest.

Our task that first four weeks was to build a camp. Parishes from all over southern Illinois sent volunteer help and funds. A lot of the tradesmen would donate their time on weekends to make their carpentry and plumbing skills available. Some would even use a week of their vacation to help build the camp.

The core of the crew during the week days were older high school boys and college age seminarians. I can remember trimming the fresh cut oak board on the roof of the cabins with hand saws. The units where the cabins were placed were scattered all over the camp. We had one or two gas army surplus generators to supply some electricity when they were running. Most of the carpentry work was done by hand. We also did an incredible amount of walking and carrying. One day I recall three or four of us were carrying one side of a cabin that we had constructed in the main part of camp. Three of us were holding one side of the wall. Bob Baker, a muscular senior at Assumption High School, East St. Louis, was holding the other side.

We worked long days. Our sleeping quarters were an old farm house some eight or nine miles from camp by road as the crow flew. We slept on cots and sleeping bags. We washed in the cold creek water or on special occasions we would heat the water on the farm house stove. With the aid of a fellow worker we would take turns standing on a slab of rock behind the farm house and have the hot water poured over us. We drank well water from the farm house or creek water from the moving stream that ran through camp. Surprisingly no one got sick. One of our theme songs during the construction was the Calypso song recorded by Harry Belafonte, “Water”. The appropriate line that fixed itself in our lives those first few weeks was “Bring me a little water every little once in a while…” A week before camp opened a well was dug and we had running water in camp. The first bath house had no hot water. The plastic pipe lay on top of the ground. The first one to shower got sun-heated water. The rest got goose bumps.

The Dining Hall was completed. It reminded me of a giant ski jump. There was no chapel. Mass was said under the overhang rock below the Dining Hall. We really pushed the opening of camp. Parents were bringing the children in the front gate while we were still putting bunks in the cabins. Our first swimming area was in the creek. Nature provided a cold, refreshing pool with a rock to jump off of into the deepest part. We cleared the trees away and put in a sand beach and a dressing room.

One personal memory was seeing my volunteer father standing by a bell on a pole. Dad had just dug a hole and dropped in the pole right behind the Dining Hall on a work weekend.

I have always looked back at the first summer at camp with awe. We took a piece of rock and a panorama of trees and hills and a creek and turned it into a camp that brought nature into the lives of thousands of young men and women of Illinois and Indiana over the last thirty years.

All of my siblings, with the exception of my sister Peg, spent their weeks at camp. And now my brother Jim’s and sister Ruth’s children have been to Ondessonk. I am proud to have been part of the unique beginning.

Please consider giving the gift of camp. Contributions to the campership tuition assistance fund create “Because of Camp” memories for current and future campers of Ondessonk.

Thank you volunteers, counselors, donors, and most importantly, campers. We can’t wait for our 51st summer to begin.

Sincerely, Dan

(The “Because of Camp” initiative is a trademark of the American Camp Association.)