BUG BITES

Bug Bites
Page
1
Summer
2013
CAMP OZANAM’S
B UG B ITES
Letter From the Director
Dear Campers and Friends,
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Lucy
Pevensie who spent the summer with her two older
brothers Peter and Edmund and her sister Mary at their
uncle’s house in the country. Every day they went out
to explore the forests and lakes of the countryside.
Lucy was very curious and always on the lookout for a
new adventure. One rainy day when she was trapped
indoors she discovered a top secret room with a
mysterious closet. She could not resist the temptation
to open the closet to see what was behind those wooden
doors. What she found inside was AMAZING! Hidden
behind the coats and clothing was a magical world
called Narnia. She could not believe her eyes as she
walked through the snowy grass and met a new friend
Mr. Tumnus who played games with her and together
they sang many happy and funny songs. She learned
about the great and powerful Aslan the Lion and how
he was returning to bring happiness and love to that
cold and lonely place. Lucy was so happy and she did
not want to leave. She wanted to stay there forever but
she had to return home to her family. However, she
would return to visit the magical world of Narnia every
summer.
I cannot help but think we all had an experience like
this at this magical place called Camp Ozanam. Passing
through the doors of the bus and stepping on the grass
you discovered something beautiful and very special:
Camp Ozanam. For some it was the first time here and
for others a tradition of coming back year after year,
but for everyone this place is like Narnia. You made
new friends in your cabins and enjoyed hanging out
with some fun and crazy counselors. You played lots of
games like Eagles’ Eggs, Chinmaster, Counselor Hunt,
Cabin Feud, OZ Cribs, Hunger Games, OZ 500, OZ
Olympics and many other competitive and fun events
throughout the summer. Songs filled the air at camp in
Seymour Hall, at Snaq Shaq, at flagpole, in St. Anne’s
Chapel and everywhere else there were two or three
campers together. And of course we learned about
Jesus Christ and His great and powerful love for each
and every one of us. We prayed every morning and
offered a prayer of thanksgiving for the gifts received
at our closing campfire on the last night of camp. God
has been so good to us!!! All of these things have made
Camp Ozanam AMAZING!
We have been “Under Construction” all summer long.
Thank you for helping us make something beautiful for
God. You have made us all proud with your many
achievements here at Camp Ozanam. We celebrated 90
years of faith, fun and friends at Camp Ozanam this
summer. We are glad to have you in our family at this
place that we all call our “home away from home.”
There is no place I would rather be during the summer
than along the shores of Lake Huron at 7303 Walker
Road in Carsonville, Michigan. I am sure that you feel
the same way about camp. Camp does that to you.
Please join me in raising a prayer of gratitude to God for
this amazing gift that is Camp Ozanam. May God
always watch over and protect all who visit this special
place. We thank Him for so many Vincentians who
make camp possible with their hard work, generosity
and love for children. They are angels sent to us from
God. Let us pray for all the past campers and counselors
who are also part of this wonderful family and have
made so many traditions that we still enjoy today. Let us
sing a song of praise to God for bringing us all to camp:
the place we made new friends, we came to know and
love His Son Jesus and we ran around in His playground
of creation. God invites us to pray for each other as we
travel along the road of life on our way home to God in
heaven. Remember to smile often because God loves
you. Always find time to be kind to those around you.
Talk to Jesus every day. And sing lots of camp songs to
remember all the fun you had this summer. I hope to
see you again soon at camp.
Your friend,
OAK
Page 2
Bug Bites
Under Construction: Trip 1
Our first week at camp sure was
eventful. Between the fierce competition
of Eagle’s Eggs, the extreme hilarity of
Mr. and Mrs. OZ, and our patriotic
celebration on the Fourth of July, it is
hard to pick what the best part of the
week was! The winner of our coveted
Cabin of the Week Award went to the
much deserving young ladies of
Adventure Camp, and their celebratory
pizza party was lots of fun, as it always
is.
Trip 2: Laying the Foundation
The second week of camp was no less exciting than the
first. All of the cabins competed in OZ’s Got Talent, a
camp wide talent show that was won by the lovely girls
of Shawnee. We also brought back an old Ozanam
tradition, Counselor Hunt, which was as fun as it always
is. Trip 2 also saw the introduction of a brand new
game, the first ever OZ Hunger Games! This intense
water balloon battle was hard fought, but the young
women of Ottawa proved that the odds were ever in
their favor. Trip 2’s Cabin of the Week went to the very
talented girls of Shawnee.
Bug Bites
Page 3
Building Higher: Trip 3
Our third week of campers began with a bang, as a power
outage on the first day threw everyone for a loop. However
this did not stop the fun at camp. We all laughed at another
installment of Mr. and Mrs. OZ, and the return of the
Hunger Games was enjoyed by all. The return of an
Ozanam classic, Shipwrecked, saw all of the cabins
running around trying to find the pirate’s treasure, while
avoiding being captured by the pirates themselves. One
other major highlight of Trip 3 was the Great Sheep
Escape during Quest Rest one day. Through the valiant
efforts of several staff members, all four of the sheep were
returned to their pen safely. Cabin of the Week for Trip 3
was a tight race between the sister cabins of Penobscot and
Potawatomi, with Potawatomi proving the victor in the
end.
Trip 4: Raising the Roof
With the end of Trip 3, the camp season was officially
more than half over. As sad as this was, it did not bring
down the energy during Trip 4. Our first day was
exciting as always, and it ended with a drive-in movie in
St. Phillip’s Hall. Despicable Me left the kids (and even
more so the counselors) crying with laughter. Moving
from the big to the small screen, another fun evening
program this week was Cabin Feud. This camp based
turn on the classic Family Feud was a resounding
success, with victory going to the young women of
Ottawa. The return of Eagle’s Eggs on Thursday
equaled the intense competition from Trip 1, and our
closing bonfire on Friday night was as solemn as
always. Walking away victorious from this bonfire was
our first male Cabin of the Week this summer, the
youngest boys in Shawnee.
Page 4
Bug Bites
Completing Construction: Trip 5
Our final week of campers was no less exciting than the first four.
The campers enjoyed another movie, this time Up, and as always
Eagle’s Eggs was a camper favorite. Mr. and Mrs. OZ returned
yet again this week, another success. The year-end classic
Kangaroo Court was as funny as always, with numerous staff
members being tried for their bad habits at camp. The campers
acted as the jury, and verdict was always GUILTY! The final
Cabin of the Week Award for the 2013 camp season went to the
young men of Shawnee, a very deserving group of boys.
Christianity at Camp Ozanam
A caption is a sentence describing a
picture or graphic.
Camp Ozanam’s heritage as a Catholic camp is still
something taken very seriously today. Between daily
chapels and Mass at least once a week, we spent the
summer building stronger relationships with God. Praying
the Angelus and singing different graces before every meal
also helped all of us grow in our faith.
“To catch the
reader’s attention,
place an
interesting
sentence or quote
from the story
here.”
Bug Bites
Page 5
Why Do Our Campers Love Camp?
Being in A.C. is a great experience. You get
to go on a canoe trip with your teepee
mates. Yes, you get to sleep in teepees. In
A.C. if you pass your swim test you have
the opportunity to swim to the “rock.” You
also have to be the ones who the little kids
look up too. You also get to stay up late and
take showers every day! If you’re late to the
flag pole, or to any meals you MUST sing
gray squirrel. In A.C. you also get to have
bonfires after dark.
-Felicia Schmidt
It is so fun at camp! You swim, shoot arrows, meet new
friends, climb a rock wall, eat good food, and learn about
God! I love camp!
-Zachery (Garfield) Cordero
Camp is so fun, like if you’re in A.C.
you can do high ropes and canoe.
Regular camp is also fun. You can
swim, do archery, arts and crafts,
drama, and Sucker’s Creek! There is a
lot they do. There is evening program
and my favorite is Eagle’s Eggs. It’s
like capture the flag. Whether you’re
in A.C. or regular camp, Ozanam is a
lot of fun!
-Nancy Forsythe
There is Archery, swimming,
crafts, and sports. All of it is
really fun. You will love all the
counselors. When you are in the
Ottawa cabin you will be able to
do Sucker’s Creek and you will
get all muddy. You’ll like all
the camp songs. You’ll love all
the food the cooks are amazing.
Tinkerbell, one of the head
counselors, will help you have a
fun and safe week at Camp
Ozanam.
-Emily Lickey
Page 6
Bug Bites
Camp
By Rachel Walker
Here you learn to never be late
And sometimes the weather’s not so great.
You do so much here, it’s never boring.
At night we’re so tired you can hear us snoring.
There’s archery, sports, and hiking too.
And the lake we swim in is very blue.
Camp Ozanam is so much fun.
I’m going to be sad when it’s all gone.
The food here is so good.
We get to make s’mores by burning fire wood.
There are so many new people you get to meet.
And always try to keep your bed neat.
The days here are very long.
We’re always singing a crazy song.
There may be people at home that I miss,
But this is a wonderful place of bliss.
Bug Bites 2013 Members:
Letter From the Editor
Wow, what a year! I owe a huge thanks and
debt of gratitude to all of those who contributed
to Bug Bites this year. This includes not only
the people in the elective, but all those campers
and staff that took pictures or contributed
artwork in any way. I was hesitant about taking
over Bug Bites this year, but you all really
helped me out and made it a great year.
-Sasquatch
Trip 1: Miona Mcoaunts, Romina Natzke, Bradin Badger,
Nancy Forsythe, Zoe Lavalle, Allana Anderson, Zachery
Cordero, Lauryn Rozelle, Emily Lickey, Anna Johnson,
Nnamdi Nwankwere, Seth Rolewsed
Trip 2: Nia Thames, Sierra Snipes, Rachel Walker, Micah
Dabney, Maren Kerr, Felicia Schmidt, Patience Adams,
Rachel Brozek, Kiara Scarlett, Grace Rudolph, Brook
Minter, Emoni Smith
Trip 3: Nikki Comby, Jacob Yoousif, Chelsie Bowers,
Marissa Madurski, Meghan Morrissett, Lucy Sutliff, Kyndall
Talley, Daija Terrell, Isabella Filber, Maggie Johnstone,
Shanteria Butler, Trrenae Martin, Josh King