By CHERYL HEMMER
For the Republic-Times

It was relatively quiet at Camp Wartburg on a recent afternoon. But soon it will be exploding with the sounds of laughing, shrieking and singing campers as they swim, canoe, fish, participate in archery and high ropes, study nature, play games and sports, and create with their hands.

Camp Wartburg is a 117-acre camp facility and retreat center just outside of Waterloo. It offers day camps, summer camp programs, four-season outdoor activities for organized groups and schools, and year-round facility rentals for day and overnight retreats, family reunions and other events.

It’s facilities include a dining area which can seat up to 190 people, meeting rooms for 10-150, handicap-accessible retreat houses, woods, fields, creeks and a pond, an outdoor swimming pool, picnic pavilion and chapel, plus a high ropes course, climbing tower, zip line and multi-level low ropes course.

Bob Polansky, the camp’s executive director, describes Camp Wartburg as safe, Christian experience with nature that is missing for many children today.

“And it’s right in Monroe County’s backyard,” he said.    “Valuable outdoor recreation is something we took for granted when we were young. Kids don’t have that freedom today. We provide that safe outdoor opportunity for them.”

Polansky said studies have shown that children do better in school when they have a balance of outdoor activities in their lives.  He also said some ADD behavior in children disappears when they are immersed in nature.

Polansky said the summer programs fill up quickly. He said the most popular camp programs are the WOW camps, which he describes as “sampler camps” with a little bit of everything.  WOW camps are offered for three different age levels.

Other camps to choose from include Big Kid, Little Kid; Forts, Fantasy and Fun; Sports Camp; Horse Play; Theater Arts; Wacky Water Week; Fishing; Survival; Night Owl; Paintball; Higher Ground camps for high-ropes courses, and Trip Camps to the Current River or underground caves.

New camps being offered this year include Spy Camp, which allows campers to hunt for clues and crack codes to solve a camp mystery.  Another is Art Explosion, which involves making things with mud, Legos and recycled objects and then destroying the creations.
Camp Wartburg also provides day camps for preschool and grade school-aged children.

“Some working parents depend on us to provide that continuing care for their children during the summer,” Polansky said.

Camp Wartburg also provides opportunities for service events. Each summer begins with Shepherding Sheep Camp for people with physical or developmental disabilities.  High school and adult volunteers participate with campers singing songs, talking about God through Bible stories and puppet shows, swimming, fishing and making arts and crafts.

Participants in Hands Reaching Camp travel to Green Bay, Wisc., to assist people in need.  Campers can help in a food bank, restore the environment or tend to a community garden.

College students serve as camp counselors after undergoing a week of training. All of them are CPR trained and most have lifeguard training. High school students can serve as a junior counselor for a week.

Camp Wartburg also hosts groups that have their own camp programs and counselors.

These include Annie’s Hope, a bereavement camp; HIS Kids, a camp for children with cancer and their siblings, and Adapt for Autism.

Spring is a busy time of year around camp for class field trips. Children from more than 50 public and parochial schools visit to study animal habitats, watersheds, lake ecosystems, and identify trees, animals and insects.
Camp Wartburg is owned and operated by Lutheran Child and Family Services, a statewide social service agency.

The theme for this summer’s camp programs is “Look to the Birds.” The theme is based on Matthew 6:26 which says “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable then they?”

Although it is affiliated with the Lutheran church, campers from all denominations are represented and welcome.
Camp Wartburg has served the area since 1963 when it was known as Thorburg Acres.  When LCFS purchased it in 1996, the camp consisted of 38 acres and served 156 campers.

The camp has now grown to 117 acres and last summer served 1,200 campers, including 66 with disabilities, 114 affected by cancer and more than 40 from state foster care programs. Hundreds more attended youth and adult retreats.

Including adults, 7,500 individuals are expected to experience Camp Wartburg through retreats and outdoor education this year.

Polansky said the staff tries to add something new to the campgrounds each year. Recent additions include Grandma Linda’s Craft Center, high-ropes and low-ropes courses, the Negwar Family Center, tree houses and a gaga ball pit.

New bathhouses have also been built for the swimming pool. The pool, however, is the original and is the oldest pool in Monroe County.

Polansky has been with the camp for 18 years. He was the camp manager before he was appointed executive director after the sudden death three years ago of then executive director John Mohl.

“Camping has been in my blood since I was very young,” Polansky said. “I have always loved it. I went to camp as a child and that created my love for the outside and sharing the outside with others.

The camp is a not-for-profit organization and generates income through camp fees and several fund-raisers during the year.  The 18th annual Let Your Love Shine dinner auction will be held in August, the 46th annual chicken dinner was in April, and the 15th annual John Mohl Golf Classic will be held May 18.

Camp Wartburg also operates the Nice Twice furniture and clothing resale store at 518 Park Street in Waterloo.  Businesses, organizations and individuals also donate money services and products to the camp.

For more information on Camp Wartburg, visit online at www.lcfs.org/campwartburg or call 939-7715.