Towering Pines Blog

With the alumni reunion coming up in July and the celebration of 80 years of camp this summer, it elicits fond memories of many years at Towering Pines.  Throughout all of these years, a plethora of friendships have developed and some have lasted for decades.  These were brought about not just by chance but by living, playing and learning together through cabin clean-up, meal times, activities, and special events. Friendships sparked by organic conversations walking to the waterfront, cheering teammates on during Pirate Day and Gold Rush, creating a unified team cheer and flag during Olympics and so much more.

It’s amazing that even after years spent apart, alumni come together to share memories and experiences that truly transcend any distance that time has played.  Many alumni reflect on the strength of friendships made at camp and how these bonds were often stronger than even yearlong school friendships.

One alum shared that he learned patience, humility and leadership skills. The structured group living setting promoted getting along with others, developing compassion and encouraging negotiation.  Learn to love and respect others regardless of any other outside influences. The depth of what camp offers is personal connections that may even last a lifetime.

One of our core values at camp is Community.  For us this means that we are a place where everybody knows more than your name. The nature of Towering Pines (and Woodland) is that it provides the chance to really get to know the campers and staff and to form genuine friendships.  Camp provides the opportunity to build community whether a camper is joining us for his first summer or has been coming to camp for many years and is now venturing into the role of counselor. We encourage inviting others, building each other up and working through conflict.

Vespers is a time where we all gather in the Seeking Place (a special place in the forest) for a few moments of quiet, songs and sharing thoughts on the theme of the week.  Cabin 11, Seneca chose “Friendship” as the theme for their week to lead vespers. Julian, one of Seneca’s counselors in 2025, shared his very meaningful thoughts about what friendship at camp means to him.

Friendship at camp is one of the most powerful and lasting gifts we can receive.  Imagine being ten years old, stepping into a place full of unfamiliar faces and a strange language — and then, a decade later, returning to that same place, hoping to see those once-strange faces again.  There’s something magical about the connections that we form here.  The bonds built beneath these towering pines go beyond explanation.  It’s bumping into someone you met in Cabin 4 many years ago and remembering all of the crazy times that you had like no time has passed at all.  Some of the most meaningful friendships of my  life were born around bunk beds in between two lakes and under a big blue northwoods sky. I truly believe these friendships will stay with me for the rest of my days. — Julian

Cabin 11 campers also shared their thoughts as well: (Names have been used if they wanted to share theirs.)

• Friendship plays the biggest part in the camp experience. My friends make all my activities more fun and without them I wouldn’t come back all these years. — Emeric
• Friendship is one of the main components of camp.  It is the reason why many people and I continue coming back year after year.  Without friendship time in the cabin would be boring, activities wouldn’t function properly and meals would be silent.  Friendship is everywhere at camp, and without it, camp wouldn’t be the same.  —  Lucas
• This camp is one of my favorite places in the world. The value at camp that stands out to me the most is friendship.  It’s what holds all of camp together, and is the main reason most people come back to camp every year.  We use friendship in every activity, and in every second at the cabin.  While camp might work without friendship, it would be nowhere near what it is now. — Conor

• Camp runs on any morals and values that keep it running correctly.  Having strong friendships gives people the opportunities to open up and have strong bonds with people.  This makes people happy and coming back to those strong bonds over the years at camp. — Henry
• We use friendship in all our periods, but especially in zoo where you become friends with the animals! Without friendship, I know life would be much less interesting.  You have a friend in me!
• Friendship is in everything that we do at camp from hanging out at the cabin to doing activities. Creating and keeping friendships helps allow campers to stay happy and not be lonely.  Every year at camp I have a lot of friendships from previous years along with a lot of new friendships.  Without friendship you wouldn’t have anyone to play board games with or to talk to.  Camp wouldn’t be enjoyable without friendships!

• Friendship is an essential element at camp. Without friendship, camp wouldn’t be CAMP because no one would care about anyone. And at the activities, like archery, if you shot a qualifier, no one would care, and it wouldn’t be as fun or as rewarding. — Diego O.
• Friendship is one of the most important things at camp because it makes people want to come back to camp.  Like in soccer if my friends wouldn’t be at that activity to support me, it wouldn’t be as fun.
• Friendship is a key concept for camp because without it, camp wouldn’t be the same.  Our favorite activities wouldn’t work as well, and nobody would care for each other.  Nobody would want to come back to camp and wouldn’t appreciate what camp is really about.  Without friendship you would feel lonely and that you don’t have anyone to support you. — Sebas

Camp is another place to call home, with friendships that last a lifetime.

“By Nokomis rippling waters where our campfire’s bright, keeps the flames of friendship burning in our hearts tonight. Here we gather in the twilight loyal friends so true, building in our hearts fond memories, Towering Pines for you.” (closing campfire song)

We’d love to include your child in our camp community.  If you’d like to explore that option more, you can check out our Towering Pines website.

Angie Wenzl

“Building in our hearts fond memories, Towering Pines for you.”