KAXE is that special place up north where you gather with family and friends each summer to catch up and feed the mosquitos together. It’s a place where you can stay in touch, be part of the conversation, learn new things and reminisce.
What are some of your favorite camp memories? Let us know when you donate!
Our staff has been thinking back to their own camp and camping experiences.
Producer Jennifer Barr remembers dropping an entire gallon of milk on a gravel road while bringing food back to her Girl Scout troop's campsite when she was about 8 years old. The plastic jug burst upon impact, and there was no milk with lunch that day!
Reporter Megan Buffington questions her parents' sanity, deciding the best time for the first family camping trip was with four kids ages 6 to 4 months. All she remembers of the trip is splashing in the river and getting covered in syrup after breakfast at Douglas Lodge.
Development Director Chris Walker attended Big Sandy Camp in McGregor for over 10 years. He was a camper from fourth grade through high school and then spent a few years as a counselor. His favorite memories are of gathering in the large, grassy field and playing games like capture the flag.
"The camp had an old, wooden slide that was really fun to ride down as a kid," he said. "The part you would slide in was a huge lasagna pan that was welded with an attachment to fit in the slide. Looking back as an adult, it was probably not the safest operation, but boy, was it fun!"
Music Director Kari Hedlund has many memories, both of camp and camping. In her younger days, she attended NeSoDak, a camp in South Dakota. Every morning started with a Polar Plunge and every night with a campfire. In her teen years, she was a camper at Klein Ranch, which holds memories of horseback riding, capture the flag, KP duty, crushes and pen-pals.
In college, she was a camp counselor out in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho where there were weeklong backpack adventures, overnight stays with elementary kids and a cabin of sixth graders that nearly did her in.
Director of Content and Public Affairs Heidi Holtan grew up going to camp and was a camp counselor the summer after her first year of college. Though arts and crafts counselor wasn't her first choice, she ended up loving being in the counselor cabin, not having to watch the kids all night long — and hanging out with other cool college students.
"So what if my arts were gluing googly eyes onto pinecones and making them into characters for stories we could tell," she said. "Camp was everything I remembered, singing, inside jokes, swimming and so many new friends."
Phenology Coordinator Charlie Mitchell didn't go to summer camp as a kid, but she loved going to "turtle camp" as a graduate student. She learned about the weird process turtles have for determining sex — painted turtle eggs in cold nests turn out male, while eggs in warm nests turn out female.
General Manager Sarah Bignall never went to a traditional camp, but for a summer in late middle school/early high school set up a large 1970s Sears canvas tent in her backyard. It was giant and had a green-and-yellow-striped roof.
"As the summer went on, my friends and I added a stereo, TV, fans, furniture and made it a cool hang-out," she said. "Our nightly tradition was to watch "Grease" on VHS. I think I saw that movie close to 100 times that summer. It was so much fun!"
For a sustaining donation of $5/month, you can get your very own Camp KAXE bandana. It’s great for keeping your hair under wraps in the woods, collecting raspberries, even making your dog look like a happy camper! We have Camp KAXE hats for sustaining donations of $20/month and Camp KAXE lanterns with a Bluetooth speaker for sustaining donations of $25/month.
Grab one of these great thank-you gifts by donating now. Thanks so much to all of our members.