Which means retirement may be in the cards for Mike— one of these days, anyhow.“ If I can lock him down somewhere where he’ ll sit still,” chuckles Nate, Mike’ s son and a lifelong resident of the Camp. Having grown up with Mike’ s vision for the campers’ experience and his own love and respect for the outdoors, Nate’ s the perfect choice for carrying on the Palawopec tradition.“ Staff know and respect him, the campers love him, and he knows how to repair everything around here,” Mike says.“ He’ ll keep the camp going after I can’ t anymore.”
And all signs indicate that Palawopec will keep going strong. Enrollment has been up in past years, with campers being turned away for the first time ever. But Mike can’ t do anything about it: many campers come back year after year, and the Camp’ s advertising is almost entirely word-of-mouth.“ I’ ll see parents who say their kids have talked about nothing but camp since they left. They can’ t wait to get back. That’ s some powerful promotion,” he says
For the Nickels family, there’ s one more marker of success, and one that they’ ve been delighted to see over the decades: Palawopec’ s long-term effects.“ Our campers grow up to be adults, and we hear from them all the time,” says Nate.“ No matter what they end up doing in life, camp stays with them. Some of them are still in contact with friends they made at camp. No matter what they end up doing in life, they might choose to live in a forested area because of camp.” Mike agrees, adding,“ Their appreciation for the outdoors never leaves them. They’ re more independent thinkers. In some cases, they now sit on boards or committees where they can advocate for the preservation of nature or outdoor education. And then we see their own kids come here as campers.”
For more information visit < camppalawopec. com > or call( 812) 988-2689. •
July / August 2019 • Our Brown County 17