On an August weekend in 1974, Wanake staff learned that the Christian practice of welcoming needy strangers is not as simple as it sounds and can throw routines off balance. I was managing the camp that summer as David Schar had assumed responsibilities for Camps Wesley and Zimmerman as well as Wanake. Unfortunately, both Dave and Sharron were gone that weekend. On Saturday afternoon, I was calling volunteer counselors to fill a cancellation for the next week when Merl Savage called me outside the Inpost barn. A man approached us—speaking broken English about his broken down travel trailer, and waving $150 in my face. He asked to camp the weekend so that he could fix his trailer. Merl and I were caught off guard, and explained that we didn’t have public camping facilities (there was only a pit toilet in the orchard then). But the man was desperate, and so we agreed. I accepted the money and intended to refund part of it as a deposit, and Merl showed him to the orchard. In a few hours, 10 trailers had circled the orchard shelter. When they refused to leave, I called the police, who arrived, traced their license plates to Bradenton, Fla., and called authorities there. They indicated that these harmless people were up north picking crops, and then laughed saying, “You have a band of modern day gypsies on your hands.”

They fit the stereotype well. For most of the night, the gypsies played fiddles, tambourines, and “danced around the campfire light to a ‘gee-tar’ melody.” The reaction of Wanake staff was divided. Some greeted them and enjoyed plates of their campfire stew. Others were amused but appalled, saw that we were being used, and wanted them gone. I worried about security and damage to facilities. The gypsies left at dawn before campers arrived on Monday, and it took Merl and I half the morning to clean up the orchard. We learned later that public campgrounds in the area had turned them away. Perhaps this accounts for our stranger’s desperation and deception. Since then, I’ve met many more needy strangers, and learned that some approach us with mixed intentions. But like the “Wanake” gypsies, they succeed in throwing our lives off balance—often giving us an opportunity to see the truth about ourselves, and the possibility of a new occasion to receive God’s grace.

By Jim Tichenor

The first time i went to Wanake was vary cool I met a counselor,her name was Bethany oh my gosh she is so nice to me. Bethany is a Pines person so she mite be my person who watches over me but she is a counselor. But this is my first time at Wanake so i am cinda SCARED but it will be ok i think. I can’t wate till then!

By Delanie

The weeks have passed and you are hot, tired and feeling like you haven’t made a difference at camp. Let me tell you a true story of a camper named Fred who attended a week of day camp.

Fred was 7 years old and had been adopted as a special needs child by a wonderful couple a couple years before coming to camp. The mother explained that he was very slow especially in physical development. He didn’t react well with other children, wouldn’t be able to sing songs or do the motions. He wouldn’t go in the water and wouldn’t play games as he wasn’t able to keep up with the other children. The Dr. told them not to expect much from him. My counselors and I prayed for Fred that week.

The first day I noticed that he didn’t seem extremely slow mentally. He watched the other children intently, but didn’t join in. I noticed that, although he didn’t sing, he tried to do the motions. That evening I asked the counselors to encourage him to join in, but not to force him. The next morning while waiting for all campers to arrive, he joined in a game of “Red light” and his counselors gave him much praise. Wednesday he went into the pool and after much coaxing played cookie machine and burst out laughing. By the end of the week he was singing songs while doing motions. He joined in all the games, and even played a part in the “Good Samaritan” skit for the parent program. After the program, Fred’s mother was sobbing. When I asked if I could help her, she explained that she had never seen Fred involved in activities like that. She said that from Tuesday on all he talked about was day camp. For the first time, he got up each morning, completely dressed himself, and was anxious to get to camp. Since the Dr. told the mother not to expect much developmental improvement, she was shocked at the improvements he accomplished at camp. She said it gave her courage to look beyond the Doctor’s diagnosis.

Sometimes we think we don’t make a difference, but a camper like Fred comes along needing someone to believe in him. Not only may you change his/her life, but that camper may change your life. You would be amazed at the campers you have touched with the Word of God, a smile, a kind word, or patience.

By Nancy Housel

1961 through 1968, Wanake senior high Wilderness camps loaded an antique wooden wheeled covered wagon with the supplies the group decided they would need for their week of “Wilderness Camping”. Merle Savage, our caretaker, pulled the heavily loaded wagon with a tractor through the hay fields that are now Alva Knoll’s Pond carefully circling the 1000’s of baby trees planted in and hidden by the hay grasses where the woods camp shelter sits now, through another field where the Pioneer farm is now growing and out the back entrance to Rt. 62. The “wagon train” of tractor, wagon, counselors and senior high campers (usually two groups of 10 campers and 2 counselors) followed the gravel roads nearly a mile to Sugar Creek and then bumped through the ditch and into Mr. Killgore’s pasture. The now sweaty and often sneezing hikers followed the banks of Sugar Creek nearly a half mile to a grassy clearing among the large maple and sycamore trees where Merle unhooked the dusty, squeaky wagon. Everyone held hands up for a group prayer and then said good bye to Merle who promised to be at the gravel road near the bridge each day at 11AM in case there were supplies we had forgotten.

The creek was mostly ankle deep but there were deep holes where floods had tunneled under big trees along the 10 foot high banks and then fallen into the water. Sugar Creek was also the drinking fountain for the cows who lived in the pasture and in the summer the cows visited the creek often. Many cow pies decorated the sandbars down in the creek bed causing “watch your step!” warnings and “Oh yuck!” comments from campers who didn’t watch well enough.

July 1969 was the first time EUB Camp Wanake and Methodist Camp Zimmerman worked together and held senior high Wilderness Camp at Zimmerman on the Tuscarawas River near Gnadenhutten.

Friday evening, July 4^th public Firework displays were cancelled or interrupted by terrible thunder storms all over northern Ohio. Before breakfast on Saturday morning July 5, worried parents started calling Wanake asking if roads were open to Beach City and was camp going to be closed early rather than the planned 1:00pm Fellowship Circle? Saturday as the sun was peaking over the strip mined Eastern horizon, SYA volunteers Gene Parkinson and Bob Wagnor from Mansfield,Ohio were at the Big White house urgently knocking on the door. ”Dave, we need to get the Wilderness campers from Zimmerman before the river takes out any bridges. The radio is full of high water warnings… Wooster, Ohio has had several drownings, bridges are wiped out many places! ”

The Zimmerman campers and counselors were surprised when three very muddy men hiked into their campsite interrupting a cold cereal breakfast. ”We really got wet last night!” ”Did you know our tent has a leak?” ”Yes we’re ready to leave early?” ”Why are you here so early?” “My sleeping bag is soaked!”

As we drove back to Wanake, the river bottom farm hay fields we had noticed just an hour before were all now angry, boiling muddy lakes. Back at Wanake, parents were arriving with stories of closed roads and detours and ”Can we pick up our campers early before the roads are all closed?” The phone rang continually with similar questions and trying to learn if we knew what roads were still open.

Route 93 at the camp driveway started to flood north of the camp. Everyone had to come in through Beach City. Then the road flooded south of the camp drive and Merle took wagon loads of campers and luggage through the water to meet parents at the water’s edge. By 1:30 pm flood water on the highway was so deep the fan of the tractor motor was throwing muddy water all over the tractor engine and driver. Merle announced that, “The Wanake Ferry was grounded until a dove brought him an olive leaf.”

While we were row boating campers from the neighbor’s barn across the flooded fields to waiting parents on Rte. 93, one family came paddling across the water in their own canoe to get their campers (Vargo family). We got a call that at day break the sugar creek was 10 feet deep in Killgores pasture the exact spot the Wilderness campers would have been sleeping if God had not done the miracle of getting two churches to merge and made possible Wanake and Zimmerman to share a place for Wilderness camp!

God does not slumber! God does not Sleep. God is working through your camp staff to make miracles in the lives of your campers every minute of every day.

By David Schar 

Breakfast cook out had gone wonderfully! The smell of wood smoke and bacon hung in the quiet Inpost woods. The happy sounds of eating warmed the woods.

When it was time to put out the tin can stoves, a helpful camper tipped the Hobo stove off the buddy burner and stamped on the flaming tuna can to put it out. His foot only hit one side of the burner which flipped up on it’s edge and began to roll down the hill. Suddenly there was a flaming trail of molten wax following the rolling burner. The thick layer of dry leaves on the forest floor jumped into yellow licking flames wiggling down the hill.

Thank God, counselors ALWAYS have two buckets full of water for safety right by the fire! A major forest fire with lots of campers in harms way was averted and no one was hurt. The Dean of the Week found only a black charred burn streak snaking down the hill through the leaves from the Home - in - the - Woods.

We as Christians need to be so on fire for Jesus that even when others are trying to put us out, we will spread the light and warmth of Jesus’ Love to people near us.

David Schar

When our sons were on staff at Camp Wanake, they took great pride in the fact that they could make a one match fire. It took careful planning. They had to carefully gather pine needles and small sticks that would ignite easily. Then gradually build up to twigs, small pieces of wood and finally logs on the fire. It took time, patience and care. As long as the logs were added, the fire continued. Of course there were those rainy Mondays when it seemed to be impossible to start a fire with wet fuel. But of course there was plenty of Sassafras trees on camp and Sassafras burns when wet. So even in the rain, the fire would burn.

I compare this to our faith. You may make other analogies, but my own analogy compares the match to the Holy Spirit lighting the fire of our faith. It takes time and care to let the fire of our faith burn on. The twigs and logs are prayer, God’s word, and worship. In order for us to have a strong fire we must make prayer and reading the Bible a daily occurrence. That is made complete with worship attendance. If you remove any of these from your faith, the fire may reduce to embers. You must continually feed your fire of faith for it to be complete.

There are times in our life when the fire of our faith dwindles. That is when we need a boost like the sassafras on a wet day. I consider the sassafras to be fellowship of Christian friends. Your Christian friends can give you support during the difficult moments in your life. They also can refocus your faith.

The main thing to remember is to take great care building your faith, and always feed it so it will be strong and burn brightly.

Nancy Housel