The Spirit Orchard: An Excerpt from Days Filled with Sunshine

Perhaps you’ve walked through the doors in the back of the Assembly hundreds of times – and perhaps you’ve noticed the dedication of the room as “Caemmerer Hall.” But do you know who Rev. Dr. Richard Caemmerer was? Dr. Caemmerer—“Doc” to Arcadians—served as a dean at RKD for fifty-one years. He taught homiletics (the art […]

The History of the Minnehaha

An excerpt from Days Filled with Sunshine: 100 Years of Camp Arcadia by Stephanie J. Jass One interesting feature of the Camp Arcadia lakeshore is the wreck of the Minnehaha. This four-masted, two-hundred-foot schooner succumbed to a serious storm in October 1893. Laden with over 160 tons of corn, it was being towed by a […]

The Spirit of Arcadia – Dr. Frank W. Miller

October 27, 1981 Today is our last day in the cottage for 1981 and we will be going through the familiar routine of closing for the winter. It’s time to go. The cottage was built for warm weather use and the last few days have been quite cold. Max, down at the service station, says […]

“The Best Camp of All”: A Quick Trip through Camp Arcadia Song Books

Written by Stephanie Jass “Over hill, over dale, we will hit the happy trail to Arcadia, we all love so well…” Just seeing this opening line will probably initiate an earworm for most Arcadians. We know it as the “Arcadia Camp Song,” and it’s most famous for its shout of “AR-CA-DEEE-AH!” during the chorus. This […]

An Intersection of Opposites

Talking with John Jass about designing the cross for the Chapel on the Beach In his role as Camp caretaker (1994-2015) John Jass built – and rebuilt – many things at RKD. Those shelving units in Inn rooms? John. The Wigwam expansion? John. The playground with the sand pit? John. But John isn’t just a […]