Dave Street has been going away to summer camp for nearly his whole life, most of them to Camp Waskowitz in North Bend.
Street first attended Waskowitz as a fifth-grader as a camper, then he went back as a teenager to be a counselor. Today, he is the camp director of the Kent Parks Residential Camp at Waskowitz program, the only city-run residence camp program in the area.
“Nothing against any other camp,” he says, a grin spreading across his face as he leans in for the punch line. “But they can’t do what we do. We do one week and we give it everything we’ve got.”
Street, known to a generation of campers as “Mr. Dave,” and a staff of 40, take 140 Kent fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders to Waskowitz for a week of swimming, hiking, camping and fun each summer. This summer marks Street’s 30th year as camp director.
This year’s group heads up from Aug. 10 -14 and Street says there are still openings available for kids who want to get in on the fun.
Nestled on 372 acres in North Bend, more than 4,500 campers have spent time at Waskowitz over the past 30 years, many of whom, like Street, keep coming back as counselors when their time as campers comes to an end.
“I enjoyed it as a kid and thought it would be a great thing to do,” says Bard Hall, 31, now a counselor at the camp.
Camp begins each year bright and early at 8 a.m. Monday at Russell Road Park in Kent. After a quick trip to Snoqualmie Falls, the buses pull into camp for orientation and cabin assignments before beginning group activities in the afternoon, such as the ropes course, which the kids will have to do blindfolded, something the camp calls “acclimatization.”
“If you can’t see it, you have to feel,” Street says.
According to Hall, the process ties into a larger idea.
“We relate it to life,” he says. “You don’t know what’s ahead, but you know people who do. There are a few things we do to sneak a little education in without the kids really knowing it.”
A full day of activities await on Tuesday – including making a Washington State resin mold and the camp’s “Olympic Games” in which each cabin creates its own country, flag and song – and separate overnighters for boys and girls. Wednesday has more activities which may include a hike to the nearby waterfall and then the annual Bigger Than Big entertainment show, which in the past has featured American Idol runner-up Blake Lewis and his band, Buckley country musician Blaine Larsen and pop-rockers the Presidents of the United States of America.
On Thursday, the camp hosts its water carnival and ends the week with Family Night, where parents join their campers and watch various skits, as well as the final campfire.
On Friday, there is an awards luncheon and the buses roll back to Kent.
Street praised the Waskowitz staff: “I’ll tell you this about my counselors,” he says, “if they don’t get through to everybody, they feel destroyed.”
“To us as counselors, this means more than a summer camp,” adds Hall, who takes a week of vacation from work to be a counselor.
Camp Waskowitz
Camp Waskowitz is a five-day, four-night residence camp open to all boys and girls entering the fifth, sixth or seventh grade. Cost is $295, which includes transportation, accommodation, supervision, meals, a field trip and a T-shirt. For information or to register call the Kent Parks Resource Center at 253-856-5030.
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