Building for the Future
Each week of camp has a theme that guides our Evening Embers discussions, our Campfire talks, and our Church program. Unselfishness was this week’s theme, and we talked about what it means to work for the greater good, or to put others before yourself. In the spirit of unselfishness, we had some volunteers choose to help rebuild and clean up a group space at camp this week, so future campers could have a chance to enjoy it too.
Our cabins are divided into groups by age, called Lines, and each has their own campfire council ring where they can meet together. This week, our oldest boys in the Betula Line have been cleaning up their council ring, giving back so that the space can be enjoyed for years to come. Yates made the announcement on Wednesday after Morning Assembly, inviting any Betula campers to come assist with the effort of re-clearing the overgrown area.
When we were creating the new Line names, we wanted to highlight the attributes that made each age group unique. Betula is named after the Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis), a pioneer species that paves the way in the forest for others to grow. The tree’s wood can be used to start a fire or be made into a canoe, just as campers in this Line have a spark that spreads to others, and are adventurous by nature. This Line also embraces the Warrior Spirit value of the FCC Code, welcoming new challenges and leading the way for others. This week all of these attributes were on display as boys dedicated their free time to improving the outdoor space for others.
After Yates’ announcement to the oldest boys, he expected a handful of them to join him for voluntary manual labor. Instead, 15 of them arrived ready to tackle the challenge. Yates brought rakes, clippers, leaf blowers, shovels, and chainsaws, and everyone got to work, clearing their council ring above the Betula cabins. Upon hearing how many had joined in, I told Yates how surprised I was. “I know!,” he agreed, “And when you give them all tools, stuff gets done fast!”
“First we cleared the trees and then started clearing the floor and getting rid of the weeds and stuff like that,” said Miller, one of the boys who volunteered to help. He said they weren’t sure what the layout of the finished area would be yet, but they had a lot of ideas. “Next thing is that we’ve got to post-hole dig 3 holes for each bench, so the benches can be long enough for them all to sit together as a cabin,” said Yates.
The plan over the next couple of weeks is to make 12 new benches for each of the oldest cabins. Some will be made of locust wood, and some will be made with stones. The area will be used during special occasions, and on evenings when the oldest cabins have a campfire as a group. In the coming days, boys will be using tools to dig holes for the new bench posts. They’ll also be moving rocks to rebuild some rock benches, and a retaining wall against the upper dirt level.
I asked some of the volunteers why they chose to spend their afternoon doing hard manual labor when they didn’t have to. “I signed up because it was something different than our regular activity periods, and it sounded like a good experience” said Miller. His friend Eric agreed, and explained how it also felt rewarding to be a part of the project. “I think it’s cool that I’ll have an impact on something that people who come to camp in the future can use,” he said.
When Falling Creek first began in 1969, campers helped with much of the building, clearing, and manual labor around property to get camp started. They showed their Servant’s Hearts, modeling unselfishness as they worked hard to build things that we continue to enjoy today (the benches at our Campfire area are just one example!). Years later, the Spirit of Falling Creek can still be seen through unselfish acts that happen daily in the camp community, such as volunteering to clear and improve the Betula council ring. The young men that are here at camp now are perpetuating the strong brotherhood that makes Falling Creek so unique, and we’re looking forward to the positive legacy they’ll leave behind.
Since it’s Saturday, we’ll be sleeping in an extra hour and enjoying our first weekend at camp! There will be tournaments this morning instead of typical activities, and all our trips will be back on property so we can play a huge all-camp-game as one big camp community this afternoon. With 4th of July celebrations tomorrow too, it’s going to be a great weekend!
