Randy and julie - an interview
What were your first experiences at FPYC like?
Julie- I came to camp when I was 12 years old. I fell in love with camp and the atmosphere of Teen Camp back in the day. I remember 7-hour bus rides from Brooklyn Center, and the bus would always break down. We didn’t care; it was part of the fun.
Randy- My first experience at FPYC was as an adult with Julie and Natalie. We came to camp for a retreat with the Brooklyn Center church of Christ. It was fall; we brought a tent to try out for the first time. We set it up right next to the dining hall in sawdust. It was super cold. Natalie was only like 2 years old. The next night we slept upstairs in the Dining Hall. There weren’t 8 rooms then, more like 4 where we shared a room (cabin) with the Dudrey family.
At what time, or what was happening when you first thought to yourselves, “Being FPYC camp caretakers would be a pretty cool job”?
We think it was about Spring Break 2005-6, that we brought our family up to camp to help out Don & Becky do some winter projects. We helped scrub down all the tables and benches, then we helped scrub the floor. The girls had so much fun using the floor scrubber. It was like a ride at the amusement park!😆 After that week, we decided that we needed to move “closer” to camp. By 2007, we moved north near Duluth.
Do you think of it as a job? A ministry? A calling? A little of all of these? Or as something else entirely? Why is that?
This is a tricky question to answer. Randy & I both feel that the caretaker position is our calling. We both love camp and had been “dreaming“ about taking over when Don and Becky retired. We weren’t able to logistically apply when they did retire. But when we heard that the Johnson family was moving to Bemidji, we knew we had to apply.
It is also a ministry. We have weekly Bible study and dinner with our neighbors. We try to help our neighbors and people in our community when the opportunity arises. We also do our best to get the word out about camp. A lot of people don’t even know that camp is here. Of course, with any paid position, there are times when it feels like a job. Usually for Julie this involves grocery shopping!
What’s been your best day ever as camp caretaker?
There hasn't really been a best day ever for us. Most days are good. I guess the best day ever would be no campers got hurt, all the meals were cooked without problem, and everything went according to plan!
Julie- I came to camp when I was 12 years old. I fell in love with camp and the atmosphere of Teen Camp back in the day. I remember 7-hour bus rides from Brooklyn Center, and the bus would always break down. We didn’t care; it was part of the fun.
Randy- My first experience at FPYC was as an adult with Julie and Natalie. We came to camp for a retreat with the Brooklyn Center church of Christ. It was fall; we brought a tent to try out for the first time. We set it up right next to the dining hall in sawdust. It was super cold. Natalie was only like 2 years old. The next night we slept upstairs in the Dining Hall. There weren’t 8 rooms then, more like 4 where we shared a room (cabin) with the Dudrey family.
At what time, or what was happening when you first thought to yourselves, “Being FPYC camp caretakers would be a pretty cool job”?
We think it was about Spring Break 2005-6, that we brought our family up to camp to help out Don & Becky do some winter projects. We helped scrub down all the tables and benches, then we helped scrub the floor. The girls had so much fun using the floor scrubber. It was like a ride at the amusement park!😆 After that week, we decided that we needed to move “closer” to camp. By 2007, we moved north near Duluth.
Do you think of it as a job? A ministry? A calling? A little of all of these? Or as something else entirely? Why is that?
This is a tricky question to answer. Randy & I both feel that the caretaker position is our calling. We both love camp and had been “dreaming“ about taking over when Don and Becky retired. We weren’t able to logistically apply when they did retire. But when we heard that the Johnson family was moving to Bemidji, we knew we had to apply.
It is also a ministry. We have weekly Bible study and dinner with our neighbors. We try to help our neighbors and people in our community when the opportunity arises. We also do our best to get the word out about camp. A lot of people don’t even know that camp is here. Of course, with any paid position, there are times when it feels like a job. Usually for Julie this involves grocery shopping!
What’s been your best day ever as camp caretaker?
There hasn't really been a best day ever for us. Most days are good. I guess the best day ever would be no campers got hurt, all the meals were cooked without problem, and everything went according to plan!