George’s Wish List
Unplanned Projects
George, the hammer, and the septic
Today George and I were playing with an old septic line. The floor drains in the dining hall kitchen were clogged. We found the outlet line, a 6 inch cast iron pipe. We then dug it up, broke it, and now we are going to reroute it to our new septic system. When I say we, admittedly I mostly mean George, but look at those pictures!
Since March, our team has done countless projects like this.
I remember one day Chris intended to replace a few shingles but ended up replacing almost an entire corner of the Lodge. Then there was the time Dylan and I rushed to replace the septic line from the bathhouse to the main system. And the time Laura rigged up a system to safely paint the area of the barn above the new bathrooms.
Chris and Alice fixing a couple shingles…
We have done some really big planned projects like building 4 new cabins, adding new bathrooms to the dining hall, gutting and totally redesigning the shower house, painting almost every building at camp, re-graveling the road, adding a new water system, or adding bathrooms to the barn.
These projects are fun and we plan them, each time figuring out the best breakdown of who to get them done: volunteers, staff, or contractors. We put together a budget, a timeline, decide process owners, and get to work.
But projects like today are in some ways more fun. They certainly aren’t planned and they are never in the budget, but that’s what buying an old house... I mean giant old camp entails. It is full of surprises, struggles we didn’t anticipate, and new learnings.
This would be insurmountable without help. I have to do a couple of quick thank yous.
THANK YOU!
To John Munter
John bought the land from the Boy Scouts and then sold it to us. He could have signed the deed and walked away, but instead he is at camp almost everyday bringing his immense knowledge, construction expertise, unstoppable energy, and countless resources to help make camp possible.
For context, a couple of weeks ago he showed up with an air compressor as big as a Prius to help us blow out the water lines for the winter. He then spent the afternoon running around with us making sure every drop of water was out so the lines would not freeze. This all from a guy who “retired” from running a large regional construction company, and doesn’t need to do any of this. Without John, I can confidently say Stomping Ground would not be ready for 2021.
To the Kriegels and the Schotts
If you haven’t watched the video to the right it is 100% worth it. Laura’s parents and my parents have given their blood, sweat, and tears to camp. They have cleaned, painted, built cabins, constructed dining hall tables, and completed way too many projects to list. Their dedication, unselfishness, and know-how are unsurpassed.
Chris and George breaking for a cold shop lunch in March
To Chris, George, and Dylan
The facilities team. These guys jumped into a project that seemed impossible. They worked with Laura and I to turn an old facility full of beautiful old buildings in some tough shape into a workable camp. We didn’t know what we were up against, and it has been a wild ride so far, but Chris, Dylan, and George have been the tip of the spear. Often given not enough direction or resources, they have constantly figured out how to get what seem like unsolvable problems solved.
Chris got stuck in our weird quarantine bubble March through August. Dylan joined in July all the way through cold October nights at camp. George started in March and hasn’t looked back. I am unbelievably grateful for the work y’all have done. I can’t wait till the spring when Chris and Dylan join the team again… (Right guys!?)
Dylan and George laying conduit to power the new cabins
The staff village clearing brush so we could fill the lake
To the Summer Staff Village
This summer was bizarre on so many levels, but we were able to have a small group bubble up at camp for the month of July. They woke up every day and volunteered clearing brush, painting, building, cooking, and more. They brought a sense of possibility to camp, and let us begin to see what camp with people might look like. And I will admit arriving before we had water at camp was wild!!!
THANK YOU!
To the Family Volunteers
We have had a handful of families volunteer at camp. They sided cabins, taught us better ways to hang rafters, installed fans, and brought kids to camp! Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for supporting us. Thank you for sharing your kids with us. I can’t wait to get them to camp this summer.
As we learn how to navigate this covid world more effectively we look forward to getting more people to camp. We will have countless volunteer opportunities in the spring as well as tours, events, and more. You have made Stomping Ground possible. You are giving kids a Stomping Ground. Thank you!
Emma painting during her visit to camp
How You Can Help Now
George loves having the right tool
As George and I broke that septic line we laughed. First, we had to locate the pipe, then break the concrete above it with a sledge hammer, then dig it up with shovels, scour it with a sawsall, break it with a pick axe and the sledge, and later we are going to aug it before connecting it to a new line that will run to the new septic...
If you are anything like me 6 months ago, that sounds like gibberish.
George laughed at me today as he said, “Everything is easier with the right tool.”
Help us get the right tools.
The link below will take you to a Google sheet with a list and some links to different tools that will make it possible for George, and a million others, to continue building camp for kids this summer. Please click the box on the left if you choose to gift an item and we would love to hear from you. Send us an email or text!
YOU ARE AMAZING!
Tool Wish List
