The Last Night of a Wisconsin Boys Summer Camp
The last night of an overnight summer camp season does not look like the brochure. At North Star Camp for Boys in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, it looks like a Steak Dinner in the Lodge, a Green-White winner finally announced, and a whole community of boys crying and hugging and laughing at the same time. If you have ever wondered what the end of a summer at a boys summer camp actually feels like from the inside, this is a look at how one season closed and why the goodbyes are the part that families tend to remember most.
A Final Night of Camp Traditions
By the time the last night arrives, the boys have spent either four or eight weeks together, and the closing evening is built to celebrate all of it. The afternoon began with our Request Program and rolled into our final Green-White recognition, where Green took the win for the summer. From there we honored the group finishing our Counselor in Training program at their graduation, and we recognized the staff earning their International Five awards and their thirteen-year paddles, two of the ways North Star marks the people who keep coming back season after season. Before dinner the whole camp gathered around the flagpole one last time for Formal Retreat, and we sang Oh When the Saints Go Marching In together before making our way into the Lodge for a Steak Dinner.
The Final Keylog Ceremony and the Camper Farewell
Our Final Keylog Ceremony is always emotional, and this one held to form. The boys have so much they want to express by the end of a summer, and they cry and hug and cry so hard that they find themselves laughing and then crying again, which is a wonderful demonstration of the love they have for one another and for camp. Our Camper Farewell was delivered by Pine Manor camper Ethan K., who spoke beautifully about his six summers at North Star. He described camp as “more than just that. It’s a community… it’s a family, and most of all, for me, it’s a home.”
Encouragement That Comes With the Grit
One idea from Ethan’s speech stayed with me. Looking back over his years as a camper, he realized that camp was not special because life here was easy, but because every challenge came with encouragement, and as he put it, “This home in Northern Wisconsin is what it is because of the encouragement that comes with the grit.” That is exactly what we hope every boy experiences at this overnight camp. We want them to try things they are not sure they can do, and we want them to struggle sometimes, but we also want them to know they are never facing those moments alone. Ethan closed with a line I suspect many of our campers will carry with them long after this summer: “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” It is a fitting way to describe what happens at North Star, where the older campers encourage the younger ones, counselors encourage their campers, and friends encourage one another, so that nobody loses anything by giving that support and the community only grows stronger.
Saying Goodbye Around the Effigy
After the Camper and Counselor Farewells, we watched one final slideshow before gathering around the Effigy. We had a little surprise when the effigy fell, but Dan and team were at the ready with fire extinguishers, and the night carried on the way it always does. We ended the summer as we always do, singing Carry On and one more rendition of Forest Green, with tears and hugs and so much gratitude all around. Now the boys are on their way home, somewhere between Hayward and home, and as I write this camp is suddenly very quiet.
What We Hope Every Camper Takes Home
Before anything else, I want to say thank you to the families who trust us with their sons every summer, because when you send your boys through the arches in June or July you are handing us the people you love most in the world. I hope they come home with wonderful stories, a little more confident than when they arrived, and with friendships that last a lifetime, and most of all I hope they come home proud of the young men they are becoming. If you are a family looking for a boys summer camp in Wisconsin where challenge and encouragement come together, we would love for you to learn more about North Star and think about joining us next summer.
“There is a destiny that makes us brothers,
None goes his way alone,
All that we give into the lives of others,
Comes back into our own,
I care not what his caste or creeds,
One thing holds firm and fast
That into the days and deeds gone by,
The soul of a man is cast.”
— Edwin Markham
FAQ
How long are the sessions at North Star Camp for Boys?
Campers attend for either four or eight weeks each summer, which is why the closing night celebrates boys who have spent a full four or eight weeks together in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.
Where is North Star Camp located?
North Star is a boys overnight camp in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, near Hayward. Camper Ethan K. described it in his farewell as “this home in Northern Wisconsin.”
What is the Keylog Ceremony?
The Keylog Ceremony is North Star’s gratitude tradition, a time when campers reflect on the summer and thank one another. The Final Keylog Ceremony on the last night is one of the most emotional gatherings of the year.
