BIG BAY, Mich. (WZMQ) – Bay Cliff Health Camp, located in Big Bay, has a long history of changing and adapting to the times to best serve children from around the Upper Peninsula and around the entire country. One thing that hasn’t changed is its focus on inclusion of everyone and celebrating important milestones.
“Bay Cliff is a place of celebration,” said Executive Director Dr. Clare Lutgen. “We’re going to celebrate everything from tying your shoes, to being able to dress yourself independently, to being able to speak better publicly. And celebrating 90 years of working together with kids.”
That’s what happened on Saturday afternoon, as campers, board members, and volunteers gathered at the camp to celebrate the its 90th birthday.
The camp started in 1934 as a place to treat malnourished children from around the Upper Peninsula, and later became a therapy camp for children that had been impacted by polio. 90 years later and the camp is still thriving as a therapy and wellness center for children and adults with disabilities, and each year continues to build on its legacy.
“Throughout all of that, we’ve built such a name for ourselves,” said Ryan Gooch, the camps Program and Outreach Director. “Through COVID and all of the other challenges that Bay Cliff has faced, we’ve always made it through.”
Campers celebrated the birthday with several games and activities, including cornhole, an inclusive dunk tank, face painting, and more. The celebration also included plenty of food and cake, and it couldn’t have happened without the 30 volunteers who showed up to help out.
“It’s the first time we’ve done an outdoor event where all of the events are being facilitated by volunteers, so the staff and the campers can hangout and participate together,” said Lutgen. “So it’s a pretty big deal. It’s a milestone for us.”
With the festivities happening outdoors, the less than ideal weather conditions made set up and activities a little more difficult, but no one was deterred.
“It’s very Bay Cliff of us,” said Gooch. “Despite the wind and weather, here we are celebrating 90 years.”
The celebration wasn’t just about the camp, but also the campers who come from all over the country, who make the place so special.
“Just being here, and being with friends, and eating at the big house,” said a 3rd year camper when asked about her favorite part of camp. Her favorite part of the celebration was playing cornhole, where she was making so many beanbags, she couldn’t count them all.
But her experience is not unique, as many of the campers come back each year to be with their friends and camp family.
“Whenever campers leave, I hope that they can say, ‘This was my best summer ever,'” said Gooch. “Maybe that’s a big ask, but it happens with almost all of our kiddos. And every year they come back, they seem to say that summer was their best summer ever, and they come back the next summer, and that’s their best summer ever. And I think that’s my favorite part about what we do here.”
