Bluff Lake & Camp Benson

In 1996 I went back to school to pursue a graduate degree in Recreation Administration and Leisure Studies at Washington State University - Pullman. After graduation I accepted the Camp Director/Camp Manager position of the Pasadena Family YMCA branch Camp Bluff Lake YMCA located near Big Bear Lake, CA. Sadly, the Pasadena Family YMCA (at the time the oldest Y on the West coast) would go bankrupt and fold a few months after I was hired. Though my time at Bluff would span only one summer it was the most intense and perhaps most memorable summer I ever spent at camp. Following Bluff Fozzie and I returned to the Midwest with hopes of directing a resident camp within a few hours drive from Madison, Wisc. This led us to discover YMCA Camp Benson located in Mt. Carroll, IL. In the fall of 1999 I was hired by the camp's parent Y, the Sterling-Rock Falls Family YMCA, to be the camp's first full-time camp director and would guide Camp Benson for four years. At the end of 2003 we left Camp Benson for Madison, Wisc. to be closer to Jenny's parents and better healthcare services (Our 2nd son, Josh, was due in February of '04). A few years later we returned to Benson for family camps and our sons, Luke & Josh, would go to summer camp there for several summers. This gallery includes photos from:

Tammy* & Richard's Wedding, St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Middleton, WI - April 7, 2000 (*Bluff Lake)
Rhonda & Joe's* Wedding, The Wright House, Mesa, AZ - January 1, 2001 (*Bluff Lake vol staff & kids went to Benson)
Mary Ellen* ("MEG") & John's** ("Slim") Wedding, St. Patrick Church, Oskaloosa, IA - June 2001 (*Benson & **Benson & Phantom)
Lindsay* ("Gretta Grotto") & Steve's Wedding, Milledgeville, IL - July 2005 (*Camp Benson "Lifer")
Christine & Dan's* ("Cozmo") Wedding, St. John's Lutheran Church, Racine, WI - December 16, 2006 (*Camp Benson)
Susan* & Tim's Wedding, The Weddin' Barn, Menomonie, WI - June 2010 (*Bluff Lake vol staff & a Phantom camper alum)
Anna* & Nate's Wedding , Oconomowoc Community Center, Oconomowoc, WI - August 2016 (*Camp Benson, Flower Girl for Jenny & Mike's wedding and Anna's parents were Benson vol staff and are Phantom alumni)