Connecting at Camp Menogyn
BY TONY LOCKHART
 

Tom Diener, who taught Earth Science at Marshall School for 34 years until his retirement in June, remembers the idea that has become a cornerstone of the freshman experience: A shared activity for the entire class that would “blaze a mark and leave a tattoo in the memory” of each student. Along with Terry Schoer, a thirty-year veteran teacher, they designed a MORE (Marshall Outdoor and Recreation Experience) trip centered on the Boundary Waters.

Now renamed the Fryberger Outdoor Experiences after legendary Marshall supporter Jerry Fryberger, the 9th grade trip to the Boundary Waters has become a cornerstone of the first-year experience at Marshall. Each September, at the very start of the school year, students ride yellow school buses up the Gunflint Trail to YMCA Camp Menogyn for an experience that students draw upon for the next four years—and remember long after that.Menogyn is a loose translation of an Anishinaabe term that means “full of growth,” and the primary goal of the experience is to offer just that–a chance togrow together as a class. Heather Fishel, the Upper School Principal, describes the four goals of the 9th grade trip as “providing a common experience for the entire class [which is] especially important when 25% of the 9th grade is often students new to Marshall. It creates opportunities for students to work with and meet other students who they don’t know well, participate in an activity where teamwork is essential to success, and experience one of our national treasures—the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.”

Once off the bus, students are organized into trail groups of seven or eight with whom they will spend the next several days. The groups are deliberately mixed so that students have an opportunity to extend old friendships as well as to make new connections. Then it is time to cross the lake, because there are no “roads” to Menogyn and the only way to reach the camp is by boat. The first afternoon is spent practicing skills that will be required for the multi-day trip into the wilderness. Some skills—like paddling, portaging, and campcraft—are specific to the canoe trip. Groups will learn how to be safe, even taking a “tip test” in the cold waters of West Bearskin Lake to understand what to do if the canoe fills with water on their trip. They practice paddle strokes on the dock before trying them on the water. They pitch tents on the volleyball field before having to set them up on a wilderness campsite.
 

"IT CAN BE HARD TO GET TO KNOW NEW PEOPLE, BUT CARRYING CANOES AND PADDLING TOGETHER IS A GODO WAY TO BOND"

Other skills—like teamwork, cooperation, and being “all in”—will be important to the success of the class over their entire time together. It takes teamwork to portage a heavy canoe and cooperation to keep a canoe moving forward and straightahead. Current senior Laramie Prell ’22 remembers that “I was in a group with all new people, and at first I was upset. But it turned out to be fun and cool.” Her classmate Sam Aamodt ’22 agrees, “It can be hard to get to know new people, but carrying canoes and paddling together is a good way to bond.”

It is on the morning of the second day that the real magic begins. Beginning right after breakfast, groups pack up their equipment and leave for a three-day trip in the BWCW wilderness. According to 9th Grade Dean Karen Stiles, “It is a pivotal experience upon which students build lasting relationships, positive class culture, and enduring memories.” While travelling together, new friendships and bonds will develop between students. They might see wildlife, sometimes small like a mink and sometimes as large as a moose. They will cook their own food, sleep together in tents or under the open stars, and watch the sunset over the trees, all the while getting to better know the classmates they are paddling with, and glimpsing a life away from technology.

In the view of senior Luke Moeller ’22, “While nature isn’t new to those of us who have grown up around Duluth, it is often fragmented. The feeling in the BWCA of being able to go for miles through wilderness is incredible.” Each student comes away with a different highlight of their trip. For some it could be the beauty of a favorite lake, or the satisfaction of completing a difficult portage. It might be catching a fish, or swimming in a wilderness waterfall. “However,” Stiles asserts, “the value of the experience extends beyond what students do to how they achieve the adventure together.” Senior Zak Etterson ’22 agrees. “It works for bringing people together. I have some close friends just because of Menogyn. We still talk and tell stories about our trip.” After three days the groups return to Menogyn for reunions with friends and stories of their adventures. Camping gear is cleaned and put away in lockers. Groups clean up with a traditional sauna and swim, followed by a banquet dinner. Then it is time for a trip back across the lake to load the buses and return to the school year with new, shared experiences that will help the class work together over the next four years. It is not surprising that in the 30 years since the first trip, stories of the 9th grade trip have been a part of virtually every student speaker’s remarks at graduation.

Head of School Jamie Steckart, who accompanied the class this fall, sums up the experience succinctly: “Menogyn is a ‘remember-when’ moment that should be encouraged and savored with students. These experiences become the building blocks of positive relationships with their classmates and adults who care about them.”