Written by Father Michael
Wednesday I was called to Camp Lawrence to celebrate the Eucharist with the campers. It was a great experience. It was midweek and most of the campers were now experienced campers, over the homesickness and ready for fun. The participation in the Eucharist celebration was robust. They sang loudly as all campers and I asked them to remember that voice and enthusiasm at home in church. There were hugs all around. 
I joined them for a cook out. The hot dogs and chips were the same as I remember, but pasta salad was not part of my early camp experience. I listened to their stories and reminisced about my camp experience. Alan Sherman’s song about Camp Granada (google it) replayed vividly my experience at the Boy Scout’s Camp Betz (above) in the 1950’s. You may have experienced Camp Lawrence or Camp Betz. I can assure you the campfire stories are the same and have the same effect as they did then.
Stories are good and we remember then long after all the textbooks we study. Archbishop Donald Wuerl called stories a masterful tool for teaching and one we all should employ to pass on our values and traditions. He told this story by Rabbi Abraham Herschel: A rabbi asked his students how they could tell when night had ended and the day was on its way back. “Could it be when you could see an animal in the distance and tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?”’ “No”. “Could it be when you see a tree in the distance and tell whether it is a fig tree or a peach tree?” “No”. “Well then what is it?.” “It is when you look at the face of any woman or man and see that she or he is your sister or brother, because, if you cannot do this, then no matter what time it is, it is still night.”
At camp that seems to happens for a few days. All the kids were in the same boat, so they were one family. Many did come with their friends but many made new friends. They looked to me as really sisters and brothers. It was a good experience. Share some stories and see if they can help foster that unity we do share as children of God. We are all campers on this earth. 
This is Mole Lodge... ...or at least what's left of it!
It is the only existing camp cabin now found on a Michigan farm. It is used for storage by a farmer and hopefully, will be moved back to Camp Betz for historical purposes. It will, no doubt, be used to threaten incorrigible campers who would be assigned sleeping quarters here if they don't shape up! The Mole Lodge accommodated eight Boy Scouts on four bunk beds, two to a side.
The only ventilation that a camper had was from a two-board slat that was propped open with a stick. Each camper found a window along side his bunk but it was easily closed by other campers on their way to the "War Horse" (privy) at night. Campers always had extra sticks so they could prop up their "window" when it slammed shut at night. With campfire stories about bears and wild animals, it was always a very scary experience on the first night, deep in the Michigan woods