The Vedette | 2021 Woodcraft Camp | Issue 3

The

Vedette

Issue 3 July 29, 2021

By: Maria Guadarrama Ruiz, B1 I interviewed Lt. Margaret Baxter, Junio Counselor for C3, to learn about a day in the life of a Culver counselor.

Lt. Baxter doesn’t wake up at the same time everyday. “On a regular day, wake up is at 8 a.m. but on days we have covid testing, wake up is at 7:30 in the morning,” she said. She also said that in her free time, she relaxes in headquarters or takes a nap.

I asked what rules were in place for counselors. Lt. Baxter said that, “it depends on the duty you're on but the two main jobs for primary are waking everyone up in the morning and doing taps at night.”

Lt. Baxter told me that she doesn’t necessarily have to spend her own money unless it's for personal stuff or camp decor. After interviewing, I learned a lot about what being a counselor is like and if you were also wondering, now you know, too!

By Nicholas Fish, D7 Honor Cabin is an award that is given to the best cabin in each unit. To help the new campers to Woodcraft understand what the plaque means, I interviewed Maj. Drew Thomas, operations director, about the award.

Q: What is the Honor Cabin Award?

Maj. Thomas: Honor Cabin is an award given to the cabin that is most consistently organized and clean.

Q: How is it determined what cabin wins Honor Cabin?

Maj. Thomas: The Honor Cabin award is determined by Personal Inspections (PI), Anytime Inspections (AI), and General Inspections (GI).

Q: Is there a special inspection that helps determine the Honor Cabin award?

Maj. Thomas: Yes, there is. We choose a random cabin and a random bunk in that cabin and then inspect it to see if they deserve Honor Cabin.

I also interviewed Roberto Selem from D7 about the honor cabin award.

Q: What is the most important aspect in winning Honor Cabin?

Selem: The most important aspect is that everyone needs to work together to keep the cabin clean and that you should always be fixing your cabin and personal gigs.

I hope that this will help you understand that the Honor Cabin award is a prestigious award that takes a lot of hard work to win once, twice, or even every time.

By Blake Molway, D3 I interviewed Lt. Rolling, who loves chess and really enjoys the game because it’s fun and you have to think ahead.

Lt. Rolling’s favorite peice is the rook because it's a good piece to put the opponent in check-mate. His back story with chess is that he's been playing chess for eight years.

I've played chess for five weeks and I love the game. My favorite piece is the queen because you can move around the board fast. The king is the most important because if that piece gets put in checkmate, you lose the game. Sign up for chess next summer!

By Nicole Wang, B3 I am writing about the food from the dining hall because I like most of the food from the dining hall. I interviewed two girls from B2.

Angeline Anthony likes banana pudding because she likes to eat bananas and her mom makes great banana pudding. “I like banana pudding,” she said. “It tastes like banana pudding when I am at home.” Gabby Mcgee likes the doughnuts served in the dining hall.

I like the chocolate pudding from the dining hall.

By: Mariana Trevino C3, & Helena Vega, C1 Circle Ikwe started in 1995. The word Circle Ikwe stands for Circle of Girls. Circle Ikwe’s necklaces are made from soft leather, and the members usually keep them for a long time. Here is some information we collected on Circle Ikwe by talking to Major Kamrow and Major Robertson.

Q: Why can’t Circle Ikwe members talk?

A: It’s a lesson and a test to teach them that listening to others may be better than talking.

Q: What happens after Circle Ikwe members wake up in their favorite place?

A: They do a task and then walk back to camp.

Q: What happens if Circle Ikwe members talk?

A: There was a case of a girl that talked a lot and didn’t respect the rules so she got kicked out of Circle Ikwe.

Q: How do they know they are in their favorite place?

A: Sometimes they know where they are and sometimes they don’t, it's a secret.

By Mariel Fernandez Valeria Pidal and Alexa Yanez, B3 Have you ever wondered why there is no D2? We interviewed Maj. Trickey because he knows the true story.

In the summer of 1968, D2 existed. The shirt colors were white, and the Major was Peter Trone.

The real story of why D2 doesn’t exist is because in the summer of 1968, there was a ghost called Clubfoot. At first he was a normal janitor that worked in the golf course.The D2 boys bullied him a lot.

One day, Clubfoot was smoking a cigarette on his bed, but he fell asleep and the cigarette started a fire in his house. People think that he died but his spirit still haunts Culver.

He started by taking the D2 boys to another dimension, but there is something that keeps us safe, that thing is something you wouldn’t expect: the D2 banner. If it disappears, Clubfoot will be able to hurt campers and Culver will not be safe.

By Matia Gutt, C1 Here at Culver Woodcraft Camp, campers have the opportunity to experience and try new things. Although that is fun sometimes, it can be stressful. The track meets, inspections, awards, cabin games, etc., can cause a lot of stress. It is normal to feel nervous at times but we have to remember we aren’t alone. I interviewed a few campers on if they ever feel stressed and how they cope.

Ella Fry, C2, says she gets stressed as first sergeant. She gets nervous hearing the words “forward march” because she doesn’t want to mess up. “When stressed I try to relax and play games with my cabin mates,” she said.

Nicole Smith, C1, says, “I get stressed a lot at camp, especially before something important like track meets and before GI.” To calm down, Nicole takes deep breaths and lays down.

Maria-Renee Arguedas, C1, says, “I get stressed during GI, PI, and other inspections. To calm down, I clean until I feel I did a good job.”

Sarah Dodds, C1, says she gets stressed when she is tired and doesn’t have enough time to rest, and when she is preparing for GI. To calm down, she steps out of the situation that is making her stressed. For example, stepping out of her cabin.

Clearly, it’s normal to get stressed or nervous. Thankfully, there are different methods to cope with the stress. Here at Culver Woodcraft it's okay to make mistakes or be nervous. We just have to learn from our mistakes and overcome our fears when ready.

Here is an exercise you can do when stressed: Four Second Breathes 1. Close your eyes or stare at a point 2. Breathe in for four seconds 3. Hold your breath for four seconds 4. Exhale for four seconds 5. Repeat until calm

By Victoria Orrantia, B3 I interviewed Lt. Margaret Baxter who is a junior counselor for C3 and gave me a tour of the cabin.

When I walked through the door, I saw so many closets, beds, and center bins.

Lt. Baxter said, “the JC cabin is dark, cluttered and there is always someone in there.”

It felt like I was in a college dorm room. It was also very quiet. Lt. Baxter says that it is loud in the mornings because everyone is getting ready. “The door slams really loudly,” she said. I asked if anyone is disrespectful and she said, “no one is. We have set rules for the cabin.”

By Angeline Anthony , B2 In case you don’t know how to march, allow me to help you! I also had trouble marching at the beginning, so this to tell you also what I have learned about marching at Culver.

•

There is a rule about marching: the line that doesn't look eyes right during the command eyes right is the far right line so if you're in the far left or the middle line be sure to look right.

•

The only people who present arms while marching are regimental staff, battalion staff, wing/division leader, first line and staffline. If you're not in any of the following things: DO NOT PRESENT ARMS!

•

Do you talk while marching? Only if you're saying a command or calling step.

•

What does a wing/div leader do for their unit: They are the example for their unit.

•

Do not swing your arms while marching.

By Wallace Michalek, D3 A common wish of campers is to make their own class and patch. So in this story I interviewed campers about what class they’d like to create at Woodcraft.

•

Duke Alvis, D6, said he would make an architecture class, and the patch would be a half built house.

•

Spaulding, D4, said he would make a cheese-making class and the patch would be a block of cheese.

•

Emily Wilhite said she would make a woodworking class, and the patch would be a wooden bear.

•

Cpt. Harris, D4, said he would bring back the canceled Jetski class, and the patch would be a big jetski on the water.

•

Logan Hinton, D3, said he would bring back the also canceled scuba class, and the patch would be the scuba flag.

•

Alvaro Gaxiola, D3, said he would make a go-kart class, and the patch would be two go-karts crashing.

By Clark Pugh, D1 One of the coolest patches in Woodcraft is the Neptune patch. To get the patch, you have to take sailing or paddle sports. Also, you have to take the water safety class and pass your mile swim. You are able to get a bar if you take sailing or paddle sports and also water safety again.

You are also only allowed to get the Neptune patch if you are a Beaver or a Cardinal. This summer, I took paddle sports to start my Neptune patch, then I took water safety and passed my mile swim.

By, Chloe L. Hollins, C1

If you are curious about why your Circle Ikwe friends can't speak for a certain amount of time, or how it's so amazing that someone could make it into PowWow, then this story is for you.

How does someone earn Master Dancer and/or Circle Ikwe? The staff has to meet and go over potential candidates, everyone has to agree on the candidate, if one person says no then that candidate will not be chosen. The staff surveys your division/wing to get a recommendation.

You don't have to be in Indian Dance a certain amount of time to be these, but someone who has been in longer has a greater chance to be master Dancer and/or Circle Ikwe.

You have to be a good dancer, a good leader, always follow the honor card, and have a good attitude everyday.

I asked an American Indian Lore instructor what made American Indian Dance such an impact on his life. “It was through my younger years,” he said, “when I wanted an Indian lore patch here at Woodcraft.” He had previously joined an indian dance team back in his hometown, and that was how he ended up at Culver.

I also asked some of Woodcrafts MasterDancers and Circle Ikwe members how it was for them.

“It takes a lot of dedication, patience, and trying,” said Reid Seddelmeyer, C. “It took a lot of hard work, and it takes a while,” said Chris Sorg, D7.

By: Bruno Carrillo, D&B

I interviewed Maj. Brun, the director of military, about marching and military aspects from Culver Woodcraft.

I hope that his answers will improve your marching and your military points.

Q: Can you give some tips for marching better and not moving during a parade/retreat?

A: The first thing is try not to move because that is a point less. The second tip is tie your shoes with a double knot. The third tip is to drink a lot of water and don't lock your knees because if you lock them, you will end up in Maj. Trickey’s golf cart. The last thing is that a lot of bronze “C”s think if they close their eyes and move we won't see them.

But remember, I can still see you.

Q: What are the things that you are looking at when we are marching?

A: Being in step, your cover and your dress, eyes right for the guide ons distance between division/wing field performance, so don’t move. If we see them off step, we take half point. If they fix it, we don’t take a point.

The most grading comes from the review line.

By David McGee, D3 This article is about military commands, which a lot of people want to learn about. I interviewed Maj. Brun to find out about all of the Woodcraft military commands: Parade Rest

Com-Left March

Attention

To The Rear

Left Face

Countermarch

Right Face

Fallout

About Face

Dismissed

Present Arms

Cover

Order Arms

Recover

Forward March

Dress-Right

Marktime March

Dress

Eyes Right

At-Close Intervals Dress-Right

Ready Front

Dress

(Division, Platoon, Squad) Halt

Fill In (Fall In)

Double Time March

Report

Com-Right March

At Ease

These commands are used every day in the military. Also in the military, you have to report in and out. Woodcraft uses almost all of the commands except To The Rear and Countermarch, which D&B, Upper Camp and Winter School use.

I wrote about the military commands because I like them. I think it’s cool to know them and I hope you do, too.

Trevor Grimes, D1 During a talk with Maj. Robertson about how Indian culture came to be a part of Woodcraft tradition, I learned that it started out as people dancing and playing games around a fire. This was started by a man named Erwin Coren in the 1930's. Eventually, there became certain dances, and 17 handwritten plays by Coren. Later, in 1964, a man named Robert Zimmerman took charge of the program. He wrote 20 more plays until 2019.

Maj. Robertson is now in charge of the program and has performed three new council fires.

By: Pedro Reynoso, D1 The Potawatomi Tribe had unique dancing, crafting techniques, and a chief to guide its people. Just like we have division leaders, the tribe had a chief to guide them or lead them into battle or a hunt. Soon the tribe was driven away by the government who took the land to expand the United States.

Woodcraft Camp is on the same land the Potawatomi tribe once was. Woodcraft now offers American Indian Crafts, American Indian Lore, Council Fire, the powwow.

By: Lleyton Hensley, D6 Here is a counselor’s and campers experiences with ping pong: Lt. Villaiobos: It is a sport you can play anywhere and you can play it inside or outside and it doesn't matter if you are big or small.

Ivan Cui, D6 : Because it is a fun game you can play with your friends and does not take a lot of skill to have fun.

Blake Molway, D3: if you are mad, you can play a game of ping pong to stay calm. Some people like to play it for fun.

By Lucia Pierdant, C1 It is better to have a good time at camp than to focus on awards and positions. Many people at camp forget that Culver is an opportunity to have fun and are only preoccupied with winning awards.

I asked a staff member how important it was for her unit to win banners. She said, “It is as important to me as it is for the girls.”

On the other hand, a returning camper said she felt pressured to win positions. “I don't want to disappoint my unit,” she said.

Sometimes campers forget that Culver is an opportunity to have fun and learn new things. I hope you as a camper stop worrying about the awards you win and start prioritizing fun.

By: Emily Wilhite, B2 I took reading for enjoyment because I love to read. It's amazing to be in a class with people who share your love of reading. The class is held in the museum.

They have big comfy chairs and shelves full of books and you can check out books.

Ivette Murat said she took reading for enjoyment because “I wanted to learn English better and because I love to read.”

Grace Heisler said, “I took reading for enjoyment so I didn't have to focus on classes all day. That is another reason why people can take reading for enjoyment. It can help you not think about classes all day and how stressful they can be. She also said “I also think it’s a really fun class because I could just be free and read” Kira Cislak said “It's a really fun class” The teacher lady is really nice and she has a vast majority of books that range in variety that are all really good. So take it from the people I interviewed and me, you should definitely sign up.

By Aspen Chiu, D&B The review board is a place where many different stories can be told, always learning something to better yourself in an interview situation. How does this system work though? How do the reviewers grade you to get positions within Woodcraft? What are their tips? To answer this, I interviewed Majors Foley and Brun.

Q: Who are you and what do you do here at camp?

A: I am Major Foley, Douglas is my first name. I teach the Spanish class where I am known as Major Jorge, which is George in English. The reason they call me Major Jorge is because my middle name is Jorge. I also work with the boys director, Major Trickey.

Q: What is your biggest tip for Review Board interviews?

A: Don’t be in a rush to answer the questions. Most people believe answering quickly will make it seem like they’re more competitive or confident with their answers and a better chance to get a position. What we actually listen for is a well thought out answer and taking your time without rushing out your answer.

I interviewed Maj. Brun to ask how the Review Board system works.

Q: Who are you and what do you do at camp?

A: I am Maj Brun, I am the Military Director. I teach the Military Leadership class and coordinate the review board, I also grade marching and military achievement.

Q: How does the Review Board system work?

A: Every week the Unit Commanders, your Majors, will pick two gold “C”’s and one silver “C” in the unit to go down to Review Board. The way you get picked for Review Board is by having a counselor fill out a recommendation form, which includes previous leadership experience. We have three reviewers who understand Culver and how it works but they don’t know the campers. The reviewers will each ask one question, and they grade on your uniform, answers to the questions they asked and your military bearing, they also grade on if you are fidgeting and your eye contact with the reviewers.

Q: What is your biggest tip for the Review Board interviews?

A: Don’t be nervous, they aren’t trying to trick you. There are no wrong answers.

By Veronica Hallyn, B1

Despite the observatory being a small shed, it is a very large mystery. Other campers wonder about what the observatory was used for and what it’s like inside and why it’s not currently being used.

The observatory used to be used for Astronomy class and also for storage. It was used to store telescopes for Starwalks. “A starwalk is where we would have, say, three telescopes set up so you could see, say, Jupiter, Saturn, and if it’s at the right time, the Moon. You could see eight or nine or nine of Saturn’s rings, and even the Moon’s craters,” said Maj. Brandt.

There is a large telescope in the middle that you can use for Astronomy, and there’s also a set of stairs to the right that leads up to the telescope. There is a metal chair like one that you’d find in your cabin, with a plug on it. There was also a schedule from 2017 from a Bronze “C” in D1. There are also a few pieces of trash in there that are as dusty as a cabin that hasn’t been swept all day.

The observatory is not currently used because the motor for the dome is not working. Also, after this long, other things will most likely not work very well, and wasps have started to build a hive.

“The observatory was most likely built sometime in the 1960’s,” said Maj. GG.

By Valentino Ori, D3 There have been lists of the most picked classes, but I want to know if people like those classes. Here’s the list from the 65 campers I surveyed: 1. Water Ski, 16 votes 2. Ping-Pong, 8 votes 3. Indian Dance, 6 votes 4. Rocketry, 5 votes 5. Sailing, 4 votes Since water skiing won in my survey, I interviewed two people, one on why they like water skiing, and one on why they think other people like water skiing.

Q. Why do you like water skiing?

Robert Cox: It is fun to go around the water and do tricks.

Q. What kind of tricks?

A. Once I was on a kneeboard, and I did a 360!

Q. So you used to teach water skiing?

Lt. Bernie Quintana: Yes. Q. Why do you think kids like water skiing so much?

A. You don’t get to water ski just anywhere, but here at Culver, you get the opportunity to learn from teachers, and practice every day for two weeks, and when you finally accomplish it, it’s the best feeling in the world.

Aiden Jones, D&B If you haven't noticed, the track and field is under construction. They are currently trying to build an athletic center around the bleachers. The building will look like the riding hall next to it.

By Kiara Flores C2, Luciana Salazar B3, and Vania Leon C1 Culver Woodcraft has existed for more than 100 years. It started off just being for boys, and slowly they included girls. The military side of Culver has changed and is now less strict. For example, back in the 1960s boys wore only one uniform and weren't allowed to wear anything else unless it was pajamas. Today, we have colored T-shirts that represent the wings and divisions from Woodcraft but back then those did not exist.

When girls were added to Woodcraft in 1977, they were campers but could not participate in parade or retreat. They also had to wear skirts and did not march like the boys. Slowly, they added girls in more events like track, swim and marching. Then in 2015, two wings were added: Butterfly Wing 3 and Cardinal Wing 3.

The security of Culver has also changed throughout the years. Major Robertson, the Director of American Indian Dance, said that the only time Woodcraft had major security was when the President of Mexico's children came to camp.

Junior Counselors are part of what makes Woodcraft special. Major Kamrow, the Director of the American Indian Crafts, said 30 years ago, there was only one Junior Counselor per unit. Today, we have three per unit.

We hope you had a great summer!