The O C Campers
By Pati Egan,
The 1970s brought the first Campers from Chicago, Ill. These are the Original Chicago Campers! I recently Instant Messaged three O C All Stars – Mary Tuscher Zolfkie, Katie Schofield Sarhage, and Dawn Doyle McNamara. I was curious how they, and their parents, felt about getting on a bus on Sunday and going 346 miles from home to an unknown Camp. There would be no way to really communicate with your child or children. There was no Bunk 1. Snail mail was it!
The Campers had a choice of going one or two weeks. This is a luxury the Belleville Diocesan kids did not get until, I think, the 1980s. The Chicago campers could come any two weeks but the Belleville Diocesan campers had one, all-Camp, Pioneer Session.
Katie & Dawn went together and stayed one week. They were in 5th Grade. Mary came two weeks by herself. Mary recalls that “The Camp Director talked at my school when I was in 5th grade and did the promotional presentation, and I was over the top excited. I went home with that little tri-fold brochure and begged to be able to go. Two weeks cost $45 and the bus cost $65. That was a lot of money in the 1970s. But my parents said yes. Their mindset (they told me years later) was, I was a camper and Staff Member at a Catholic Camp…she can’t get in any trouble there!”
“Two friends also signed up but we did not get the same session, so I was all by myself. We went to the Holiday Inn in Oak Lawn to meet the bus. I waved goodbye and never looked back!”
“We stopped in Effingham and I had my first ever McChicken sandwich! Yummy! The Chicago bus didn’t arrive at Camp until about 3:00 pm, and I was put in Raganeau. I was in tears by the time I got there with my sleeping bag and luggage and thought to myself, ‘What the heck have I gotten myself into! I have to spend two weeks here!’”
“Well, then came inspection, dinner and opening campfire and I was hooked! I loved every activity every day! I tried for every Arrowhead I could get. The Friday night overnight at Pine Lake was amazing!”
“I’m not sure who the Unit Leader was, but I do know Pat Perdue and Carol Klinger were part of the Unit Staff. By the end of my two weeks, I was crying because I had to get on the bus to go home! I was the kid at home that always talked about Camp, ‘One time at Camp….!’”
Now let’s go back to the two friends that went to a different session. “They were so homesick and never returned to Camp again! Sissies! It has been a part of my heart ever since!”
The One-Week Experience
Dawn and Katie chose Daniel. Dawn recalls, “Ok, so I was in 5th grade and I forget who came down to do the presentation, but Katie Schofield and I were hooked. We convinced a few other girls to come with us. Convincing my mom to let me go somewhere was totally easy.”
Dawn continued, “My mom bought everything on the list, I packed it up, and off to the Holiday Inn at 7:00 am we went. We just talked on the bus wondering what Camp was going to be like. Stopping in Effingham for McDonald’s was a highlight. Back then we used to pick our units on the way down. We picked Daniel, and thank God we did. If we would have picked a unit farther out, I probably wouldn’t have ever gone back. The funny thing was we HATED it. We were so homesick, and I forget our unit leaders name, but she wore a full habit and she was very stern. It wasn’t until we got home that we realized how much fun it was and how we wanted to go back.”
Katie recalls, “I was in 5th grade, and the presentation was given by, I believe John Winkelmolen. Dawn and I were beyond excited! We were in Old Daniel. I believe Sister Sue was our Unit Leader with Jackie Jablonski as Unit Staff. We were home sick but we loved it! After that year we were on the two-week track. So many great memories! I think my mom and dad had no idea (me being number eight of nine) where or how far away I was going. But I was a good kid and they weren’t afraid of me getting in trouble. They ended up coming for a visit when I went on a Frontier Trip. They were very surprised at how ‘rustic” it was.”
But you were so far
Katie, Mary, and Dawn had no real concept of where Camp was located. Their parents had great faith that this was a good place to send their children. I’m sure they worried, but no technology existed to ease their minds through the week. I don’t recall there being a higher percentage of Chicago Campers being homesick than other campers.
Unique Registration for the Chicago Campers
All money was collected on the bus except money for credit cards. Two Camp Staff stayed at the Holiday Inn in Oak Lawn Saturday night. They met the campers and parents when the bus arrived on Sunday. The staff had Unit sheets with spaces blocked out for the Chicago Campers. The staff would go seat to seat and steer campers to a Unit the staff felt would be a good fit for the camper. It usually worked! The two-week campers had no choice, until the Belleville, Springfield, and other Dioceses had the same option the Chicago campers had – then there would be two-week Units.
Walking a lot!
The campers got their luggage off the bus – no luggage haul in those days. I suppose they left it by the Administration Building because that was where they changed “real money” into Camp Credit Cards. Then it was out the door and get your Unit shirt at the Trading Post, and one more stop. Go to the infirmary, get your luggage, and head to your Unit. If there was time, you could go take your swim test.
Dawn, Katie, and Mary we’re all exceptional Staff. Mary was a Unit Leader; Katie and Dawn were in Nature. I recall we moved Dawn around to different jobs – no worries, Dawn would excel! I remember her being an excellent Archery Instructor.
Mary and Dawn are summer volunteers. Katie helps out at Stable Round Up. They are regular attendees at the Galas. Camp is so much richer for having them. They took a chance on a faraway Camp and have never looked back! Camp has always attracted risk takers – those who embrace a challenge, and say why not?
Click here to learn more about Camp Ondessonk’s Mission and History.