4-H Camp provides learning and laughter
4-H CAMP OHIO – Collin McCoy and Joe Batchelor are both camp counselors this year during “Coshocton County” 4-H week at 4-H Camp Ohio, which is tucked into a rural part of Licking County. McCoy said about the week, “Everything’s been fun, campfires are good, wildlife run, nature’s been fun, it’s just been a pretty good time out here.”
McCoy said that he enjoys “Being a good role model and helping them do everything at camp”. When asked about how the youngsters handle the rain, he said, “Well, we get wet a lot at camp with the swimming activities and the water gun and water activities. They’ve handled it pretty good.”
McCoy has been a counselor for three years and has one more year to be a camp counselor.
Joe Batchelor, who is in his final year as a camp counselor, said, “Since this is my last year I’ve been really enjoying every minute of it. With the superhero theme the kids are really took that and ran with it, they are really enjoying it. I think it’s one of the better themes that we’ve had in a while. Canoeing has been great except for when the water gets a little too high. Water polo is great today – all the campfires have been good and the campers are having fun.”
Joe asked about if the kids enjoy getting away from television and smartphones, etc. “In this day and age, TV and cellphones take over a lot of what kids do these days so it’s good for them to get outdoors and try out some nature things or maybe something they haven’t done before. If they live in the city then it’s the opportunity to get out in the country a little bit or vice versa.”
Batchelor said this about what he would take away from his experience as a camp counselor, “The kids this year have been the best I’ve ever had before. They’ve been great kids and it’s great to see the transition they make. I can already see it from when I was a camper to when I became a counselor. I can already see the same transition happening with some of the campers. Some of the counselors were campers the first time I was a counselor so that’s nice seeing all that.”
Jenny Strickler, who is the 4-H Educator for Coshocton County, said about the week, “It’s been great. We’ve had a lot of fun. Of course, we always know that we have to deal with the weather but it’s not been bad at all. We had a little bit of rain this morning (Sunday) and we moved a couple of things inside and we were still able to have everything so it’s been going great.”
One of the nice things about the time that Coshocton County youth spend at camp is that they see many familiar faces year to year. Jenny said, “It’s wonderful. It’s like a well-oiled machine every year – they know what they’re doing – I don’t even have to ask, they’re right where they’re supposed to be and they keep me on track too. It’s great.”
When asked about the kids and the many days of rain that have been inevitable this summer, Strickler said, “You know it’s funny – when it was raining this morning a couple of them said, “we can move that stuff inside”, but the kids came outside about ten minutes early just to stand in the rain and wait for their session. They don’t even seem to care; they just know it’s a camp thing.”
Strickler said that at camp, the kids, “Learn a lot. They get to experience new things, be on their own and learn responsibility. I know that parents might not believe it but these kids make their bed every day and they clean their cabin every day. They really know how to take care of themselves, be a leader and be a member of a team and also get to do a lot of cool things that they don’t get to do at home.”
Category: People & Places
