Joe and Mae Rosen – The Spiritual Heart of Camp

Joe was a school principal. When dealing with the staff he was always fair and professional. He encouraged staff to do their best and often gave guidance to the young men who looked after the campers. While he did not take an active role in field or waterfront activities, Joe took notice of any camper who was struggling and encouraged them. At the Sunday staff softball game you could count on Joe making at least one home run.

Friday every cabin had a special clean up. Every shelf and corner was cleansed of any dust and dirt. Then the mop buckets were used by the campers to mop the floors with soapy water. Each cabin counselor had to inspect their cabin responsibly for any sign of dirt. When the counselor announced “Cabin X Ready for Inspection,” Joe would enter the cabin as each camper stood at the foot of his bed. Joe walked through the cabin pointing out any missed dirt or piece of clothing that was not folded neatly. If the cabin was not at the minimum of 90%, the counselor in charge would be told later, “Next week your cabin needs to have 100%.” No campers or others nearby when Joe would talk to the counselor and say nothing more about the low grade.

Every Friday at the evening meal Joe, Mae, and a camper lead the camp in a short Jewish religious ceremony. This was the one time the Mess Hall was quiet and the campers attentive. There was a short free time and then whole camp gathered at the Rosen Bowl for religious services. Joe and Mae were the organizers of the services. If a counselor had an appropriate message, they coached him on how to deliver it. Joe always led the camp with the response part of the service. The message for the week might be given by Joe or Skipper. “Pastor Dan” who was a seminary student for a Christian denomination often gave a message. The atmosphere was always spiritual as we were worshiping the same God though in different ways.

Cabin clean-up was after breakfast. Every day cabin clean-up was inspection by Joe. The scores were announced at lunch. When the scores were added at the end of two weeks, the highest scores in each age group won a trip to the A&W Root Beer Stand. As Joe usually started with Cabin 1, the competition was fierce. There were a few times when the campers in a cabin with a higher number went next door and messed up the place a little. One day Joe started at the highest number cabins first. The bad boys did not get out before Joe walked in. They would not be on a trip to the A&W the rest of the summer. Although no announcement had been made of this event, the whole camp knew about it before the end of competition. After that no one knew in what order cabin inspection would be done.

Everybody loved Mae. Her function of the camp was to keep the books and make out the checks. She always had a good word and smile for everyone. If she saw a camper was having a problem with a meal, she would talk to him and make the problem go away. One camper would not eat anything but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Try as she may she never got him to eat anything else. The nurse said that his diet would not hurt his health. That was the only time that Mae's power of persuasion failed. When the boy's parents visited camp they said that is all he ate at home. They thought that when he saw other boys eating different foods he would also.

When the staff and campers who knew Mae learned she had passed away, they felt the camp had suffered a great loss. No other came that could replace her.

After the partnership with the Kuklin's ended, Joe would visit the camp and walk quietly around the grounds. He did not announce his visit as he usually strolled through the camp at a meal time and the fields at Rest Hour. I was at the Trip Shack and the rest of the camp was finishing up the noon meal, when Joe stopped by to say hello. He was very proud of the hard work and tough times that had built Camp Waupaca. For Joe, Camp Waupaca was a dream that came true.