For the lack of a better title we called them the Jr. Maintenance boys; they were 14-15 year old kids who attended camp as kids, were still too young to be counselors; but they wanted to work at camp. Around 1990, the Jr. maintenance program began. Some of the first boys were Seth Peterson, Joel Saleh, Daniel Poyzer, Seth Anderson, P.J Holmertz, Ryan Graden,Brandon Wind, and Brett Wiuff. We paid them $25 a week, so that we could fire them if they got out of hand; we work their tails off. Garbage, weed whipping, mowing, firewood, and even slopping the hogs with scraps from the kitchen.
We didn't know what we were doing those first years; we yelled, pushed, pulled, and tried to get them moving in the same direction. Always, by the end of the summer, I was worn out from keeping them busy. Not one has ever come back to me and said, "I hated my time here working for nothing." Everyone reflects back on the good old days and laughs and knows that was great training for becoming a man.
Seth Peterson is now 31 and is the construction coordinator for us at the camp... he did all the electrical and geo-thermal on the family life center... plus alot more; Seth Anderson just graduated from medical school; Brett Wiuff is with Navigators in Oregon; P.J. Holmertz is a family counselor with the Valley EFC; Ryan Graden is the Program Director at Hidden Acres; Joel Saleh is a railroad engineer; Daniel Poyzer is a computer programmer; Brandon Wind is still wanting to be in a rock and roll band.
First jobs are interesting at best; a young person wants to do well; they want to be paid fairly; they want to be spoken of highly. Some meet those expectations, while others fail miserably. They boys mentioned above all survived their 2 months and developed into fine young men.
I recall my first job beside walking beans. As a Jr. higher, I gathered eggs at a Hy-Line chicken farm outside of Coon Rapids; I received $.75 per hour: $6 for a days work. I thought it was great; I scooped chicken manure, cleaned out waters, gathered eggs, and anything else Harold Hagge asked me. I moved up to a $1 per hour in high school loading hay bales for Sonny. By my sophomore year, I made a whopping $1.60 per hour working at the Hotel Muscatine for Mike Rewaldt, doing dishes and busing tables. While in my senior year in high school, I took an evening job in a factory, making an astounding $4.22 per hour. I had made it to the big time.
By today's standards, I was working for nothing. Today, baby sitters make more than I did while welding in a factory. But work is good for the soul. I had no self-esteem issues when I was young; I was needed by someone. Sonny or Harold was counting on me to be there and to work hard for them.
Tomorrow, summer staff will come in and work for 8 weeks; Senior staff will make around $160 per week, Jr. staff will make around $70 per week. Maintenance boys will make around $70 too; They work 10+ hours a day for 5 or 6 days. Sr. and Jr. counselors are at it 24 hours a day; they are taking care of children late into the night, and they are awakened early for trips to the bathroom or for other reasons. They may put in over 100 hours a week; you do the math; that is about the same pay I received in 1972.
And they love it. And it is good for them. The will move on into adulthood better for having spent their summers at camp. They will be better teachers, parents, church workers, or whatever else they add to their resume. Camp molds young people into thinking, problem solving adults that will one day reflect back on their camps days and say, "That was great training, and well worth the nearly $1.60 an hour I made!
earldtaylor@yahoo.com
We didn't know what we were doing those first years; we yelled, pushed, pulled, and tried to get them moving in the same direction. Always, by the end of the summer, I was worn out from keeping them busy. Not one has ever come back to me and said, "I hated my time here working for nothing." Everyone reflects back on the good old days and laughs and knows that was great training for becoming a man.
Seth Peterson is now 31 and is the construction coordinator for us at the camp... he did all the electrical and geo-thermal on the family life center... plus alot more; Seth Anderson just graduated from medical school; Brett Wiuff is with Navigators in Oregon; P.J. Holmertz is a family counselor with the Valley EFC; Ryan Graden is the Program Director at Hidden Acres; Joel Saleh is a railroad engineer; Daniel Poyzer is a computer programmer; Brandon Wind is still wanting to be in a rock and roll band.
First jobs are interesting at best; a young person wants to do well; they want to be paid fairly; they want to be spoken of highly. Some meet those expectations, while others fail miserably. They boys mentioned above all survived their 2 months and developed into fine young men.
I recall my first job beside walking beans. As a Jr. higher, I gathered eggs at a Hy-Line chicken farm outside of Coon Rapids; I received $.75 per hour: $6 for a days work. I thought it was great; I scooped chicken manure, cleaned out waters, gathered eggs, and anything else Harold Hagge asked me. I moved up to a $1 per hour in high school loading hay bales for Sonny. By my sophomore year, I made a whopping $1.60 per hour working at the Hotel Muscatine for Mike Rewaldt, doing dishes and busing tables. While in my senior year in high school, I took an evening job in a factory, making an astounding $4.22 per hour. I had made it to the big time.
By today's standards, I was working for nothing. Today, baby sitters make more than I did while welding in a factory. But work is good for the soul. I had no self-esteem issues when I was young; I was needed by someone. Sonny or Harold was counting on me to be there and to work hard for them.
Tomorrow, summer staff will come in and work for 8 weeks; Senior staff will make around $160 per week, Jr. staff will make around $70 per week. Maintenance boys will make around $70 too; They work 10+ hours a day for 5 or 6 days. Sr. and Jr. counselors are at it 24 hours a day; they are taking care of children late into the night, and they are awakened early for trips to the bathroom or for other reasons. They may put in over 100 hours a week; you do the math; that is about the same pay I received in 1972.
And they love it. And it is good for them. The will move on into adulthood better for having spent their summers at camp. They will be better teachers, parents, church workers, or whatever else they add to their resume. Camp molds young people into thinking, problem solving adults that will one day reflect back on their camps days and say, "That was great training, and well worth the nearly $1.60 an hour I made!
earldtaylor@yahoo.com
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