Record Flooding Shapes the Summer of 2022

By Tim DoWney

By the time the ice had gone out in early May, it was known that the water would keep rising. And it certainly did rise, derailing all of the projects we had scheduled to complete before campers arrived. 

Even without a first session, staff stayed busy. Flood-related assignments included sandbagging, weighing down docks, and harvesting lake gold, also known as debris from the lake. Staff members were called over to the Foundation House to fortify the sandbag wall and keep pumps running so the basement and water systems weren’t submerged. Staff also rotated shifts in town, volunteering to help place sandbags around homes in Ranier and International Falls. Given we’ve had a few seasons where higher water made getting to Woodmanship difficult, we created a new center on higher ground where the old ropes course used to be. 

Although we missed the energy of the campers, staff members made the most of this time at camp, rotating between “flood duty,” honing their trip skills with Alex Ernst, reviewing their morning class curriculum with Cleveland Smith, and embarking on a 10-day, skill-building canoe trip. 

By the time the second session started, the main dock was accessible and ready to greet campers. As the lake continued to recede, we could focus on cleaning up. The Seniors, aided by a boombox blaring tunes, spent several days between their trips removing thousands of sandbags around the Foundation House. The Juniors spent multiple afternoons removing the sandbags near the Trips Center, spreading the sand on the road and keeping a detailed tally of sandbags moved. Thankfully, the ball fields had dried thoroughly by the time trips returned, and final week activities were able to proceed as usual.

We were fortunate that the Kooch-i-ching attitude persevered through the many disappointments and hard work. When it would’ve been easy to embrace a negative attitude towards the daily updates of job assignments, the staff and campers brought positive energy to projects that are not implicitly enjoyable. This enthusiasm was impressive to see, and allowed everyone to have a great experience.

A special thanks to Jim Hunt, Michael Martinez, Sam Moulton, Mick Geehan, Jack Ivey, and Kyle Siebert who arrived early in May and set the tone. It was a summer where many hands were needed to get all the work done. The summer of 2022 was very different, but very memorable and successful.

This article was originally published in the Fall 2022 issue of the Kooch-i-ching Tumpline.