Team HoneyRock Runs 5K at Cranberry Fest

Becki Henderson--Administrative Assistant

I should start by saying that running the 5K at the Cranberry Fest in Eagle River, WI on Saturday morning at 8:30am was NOTHING like running the Disney's Princess Half Marathon in Orlando, FL!  For one thing, it was 34 degrees and raining when we started, and for another there were about 45 participants (compared to 7,000-10,000 at Disney!)  I experienced a moment of worry when I realized how few people were running.  I am fairly confident I won't come in last place in a group of 10,000, but the odds of coming in last in a group of 45 are MUCH higher!

But neither Mary Elise nor Luis nor I came in last.  In fact, Mary Elise was the second woman to cross the finish line!  We ran from the Cranberry Fest and over the bridge that crosses Eagle River, down some quiet neighborhood streets (it was quite lovely and peaceful with all the colorful leaves!) and back over the bridge to return to the Cranberry Fest.

Just before I reached the bridge the second time, three deer came booking it out of the woods right in front of me.  It was pretty startling to see them that close and was a good reminder that I was in the Northwoods and not at EPCOT.

When the race was over they had juice and muffins for all of the participants. 

Cranberry Juice.

And Cranberry Muffins.

 

 

Pony Rides

One of the biggest blessings of the 60th Anniversary Weekend was the number of children who attended with their families.  There were 80 children under the age of 16 who were able to do activities and hang out with Wheaton College students during the sessions.  It was fun to see so many small kids in the dining hall at meals!

Due to the number of younger kids, we offered multiple pony rides on Friday and Saturday afternoon.  Becky and Ashley did a excellent job serving our guests throughout the weekend.  The young kids who were able to do pony rides and the older kids and adults who did trail rides had a great time.

Wrangler Breakfast

Among the many fun activities of the 60th Anniversary Weekend at HoneyRock were the Wrangler Breakfasts that we had each morning.  The sign-up sheets were quickly filled each day and many of our guests were excited to participate.  We even added an additional breakfast on Sunday morning because so many people wanted to be a part of it.

A big thanks goes to our team who was able to make Wrangler Breakfast possible this weekend: Scott Eppler who drove the tractor back and forth to the Wagon Circle (often making multiple trips to get everyone out there) and to Becky, Ashley and Kris who worked hard to make delicious chocolate chip pancakes and egg-in-a-holes for all our guests!

Fired Up!

The 60th Anniversary Weekend at HoneyRock was a tremendous success.  We were privileged to have 230 guests here whose previous HoneyRock experiences spanned every decade of HoneyRock's existence.  One of the exciting events that happened during the weekend was the firing of the wood kiln that was built this summer at HoneyRock.  Dr. David Hooker and 5 Wheaton College students came up from campus late on Wednesday night to prepare and fire the kiln.  While it was a long and tiring weekend for them (feeding a fire for 24 straight hours can be exhausting!), they were thankful for the chance to be up here and to take advantage of this incredible resource.  On Sunday morning after the kiln had cooled, they were able to open it and take out the pottery. 

Stay tuned to the blog this week as we'll be sharing more stories about the 60th Anniversary weekend. 

We Remember...

This weekend for the 60th Anniversary Celebration we've posted some HoneyRock quotes and sayings around the dining hall to make us smile and remind us of the people who make HoneyRock so special.  Maybe some of these phrases will make you smile today as you remember your time at HoneyRock.

1)  BIONIC BUD

2) “A PLACE APART”

3) “Responsibility Is The Great Developer Of People” -Coach Chrouser

4) “Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Doing Poorly” -Coach Chrouser & Bill Long

5) CHIEF!  CHIEF!  CHIEF!

6) “It’s a LEADERSHIP School!” -Dan Elsen

7) “You Must Have A Spirit of Play” -Coachie Gale

8) “I Hear and I Forget, I See and I Remember, I Do and I Understand” -Experiential Education

9) THEN: “Engineers & Hostesses”  NOW: “Service Teamers”

10) “Work is the Best Kind of Fun” - The HoneyRock Staff 1951 - Present

11) “We Believe in Youth” -Coach Chrouser

12) “Expect What You Don’t Inspect”

13) The “Ooga Booga” Club For Counselors -Circa 1958

14) “In All Things We Give Thanks”

15) “If It Doesn’t Move...Paint It”

16) An Innovative Classroom In The Wilderness

Check out our fall colors

The fall colors have made their entrance into the HoneyRock scenery. They usually stay for about three weeks and we're fortunate to have our 60th Anniversary celebration take place during this time. Take a look at our fall colors (as well as a sneak peek into what we're doing to get this weekend ready!) in this video: