Each summertime, Wallowa County students gather for the annual Chief Joseph Summer Camp.

This summer, under the guidance of Stacy Green, some of the campers worked to create a newspaper, the Chief Joseph Summer Camp Times, to document just some of the activities campers did during the weeklong camp. Here are some excerpts from this year’s edition of the Times. (To see the full versions of these stories, check out the online version of this story at the Chieftain’s website, wallowa.com.)

Made by the Climbers

July `17-21, 2023

Chief Joseph Summer Camp Offers Many Activities

By Sena Wilks

I am going to tell you about activities at Chief Joseph Summer Camp. The Slip-n- Slide means soap plus water equals fun. In braiding you braid a key chain. In Beaver Dam you build a beaver dam. On the Zip Line you go very fast. At the Escape Room you will be in a different dimension. At Aikido you learn marshall arts.

At Archery you shoot balloons and it’s safe. At the Nez Perce tipi you learn about the Nez Perce lifestyles. At the Rock Wall you climb very high. The Rock Wall is about 20 feet high and colorful. You wear a harness and a helmet and there are pegs to help you climb. Some campers even make it to the top.

The Camp Store sells candy and raises money for the camp. In Rain Sticks you make a stick filled with sand and if you shake it it makes the sound of rain and helps make you feel calm. In Paint Ball you shoot balloons.

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Allison Patterson Works as a Counselor at Camp

By Noa Paxson

Allison Patterson was a camper in 2nd – 6th grades and she liked it so she came back as a counselor for one year and a junior counselor for two years. She lives in Enterprise. She goes to Enterprise High School. She was born in 2005 and her birthday is December 13. She works at Sugar Time Bakery. She is in 12th grade. When she graduates she will got to college and then become a nurse. Her friends would describe her as quiet when you don’t know her, but when you do know her well let’s just say she’s a bit louder.

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Her favorite activity at camp is braiding. She is super nice. Her time as a counselor has been great so far. She has two younger siblings, one sister and one brother. They both go to Chief Joseph Summer Camp.

Allison has a lot of duties around camp, such as instructing her group and singing at the amphitheater. She and the other counselors build and tear down the camp every year. She is a great counselor.

For safety, counselors are given a basic first aid kit and they are taught to sing and dance. They come on Saturday before camp to train and stay for the day. Counselors train very hard (I can tell Allison did) to entertain and keep campers safe.

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The First Day of Camp (PLEASE INCLUDE PHOTO W/ THIS STORY)

By Ari Jones

On the first day of camp you need to sing songs. Somethings to look forward to: Slip-n-Slide, the rock wall, campfire cooking or even the candy shop! You might be nervous at first but you most likely will get used to it by the second day. Make sure you are prepared for the bus ride there.

Everybody must bring lunch each day and as of this year each camper gets a metal water bottle. Depending on your co-op group you will either cook over an open fire, work on the newspaper, learn acting or drumming, or even run the camp store.

You will never have to worry about not having enough room at Ferguson Ridge Ski Area, where camp is held, since Fergi is about 170 acres.

This is just a few things to look forward to on your first day.

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Chief Joseph Summer Camp Experience

By Amelie Guillory

Hi, I’m Amelie and I want to tell you about my experience at Chief Joseph Summer Camp, and how things have change through the years. Ok, I have only gone here for three years so I only know about the changes from 2021-2023. Let’s start in 2021. This was my first year at camp, my cooperative group was campfire cooking which was taught by Melanie Rowley. I was super excited to do all of the activities after I saw them. They were all really fun and so were the instructors.

In 2022 the Escape Room was added and it was my co-op group. Everyone worked really hard, I think that co-op group really makes you think.

Now I’ll talk about the present which is 2023. Rhett Locke, who is a counselor, and his dad raised money to add a rock climbing wall. Some other activities that were added are: Aikido, Tie Dye, and building a beaver dam. Something that hasn’t changed is the effort that counselors and instructors put in to make us campers have fun.

One of my favorite activities is braiding. Not only because it is fun, but also because the teacher is very kind. I am grateful that Lisa puts in so much work and effort to make all those activities happen. What I mean by effort is how counselors come here every day for a week and act very fun to make us campers have fun.

I would definitely recommend Chief Joseph Summer Camp because my experience here for the past three years has been great and I have made many friends.

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Multiple People Lead Cooperative Groups

By Hayden Hull

Multiple people are helping at Chief Joseph Summer Camp’s cooperative groups, including campfire cooking, newspaper and others.

For campfire cooking I am going to be talking about a helper Alex Rowley. She is going on her fourth year. Alex came back to help because her favorite part of camp was campfire cooking. Alex’s group of campers favorite food cooked over the fire has been garlic bread. Back in 2019 Alex started helping (her mother, Melanie Rowley, runs the cooperative group) and she has liked her job.

Now I will be talking about our leader of the camp’s newspaper group Stacy Green. She has been doing it for 25 years now. Stacy came back because she has experience and came back after liking camp. She attended during 1975-1981. In 1998 she started the newspaper group and she has liked it since. Her favorite part of leading the newspaper group is hearing the campers ideas.

Lastly, there are multiple co-op leaders that build up camp for our campers. So we should thank them for it.

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Ferguson Ridge is a Ski Area in Winter, and hosts Chief Joseph Summer Camp in Summer

By Gretta Hulse and Cali Charbonneau

Winter at Ferguson Ridge Ski Area is a lot of fun with a lot of people going down the runs at once. People come to Fergi to ski and snowboard. In the winter there is a rope tow for the beginners. There is a T Bar too. The T Bar is for the people who wat to go down the bigger runs like Haze Maze, the Face, Stump Garden, and more.

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Ferguson Ridge is an amazing place. In the summer there is a camp called Chief Joseph Summer Camp. I come here every year. The hill looks way different in the summer. There are tents you can change in for the Slip-N-Slide. If you look at the hill from far away it looks like a peace sign because of the way the trails are formed around the trees. Speaking of trees there are Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir.

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