Choosing Camp as a Celebration Site

You might say YMCA camps have gotten into the DNA of the Rosso family.

Paul and Sandi Rosso have been YMCA campers for years. So have their kids, and now their grandchildren. The family is, as they say, “in deep.” With stints on staff, serving on a camp community board, and as participants in multiple Y camps, it’s not a stretch to say they’ve done it all.

And yet, as fellow family campers can affirm, YMCA Camp du Nord has a way of occupying a special place in the hearts of its alumni, even for those long loyal to other Y camps.

Perhaps that’s because du Nord is one of only two YMCA camps fully dedicated to strengthening the entire family — two, three or even four generations at a time.

This love affair with du Nord is as true for the Rossos as for many others. So much so that when Paul and Sandi looked ahead to celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in 2022, du Nord became the epicenter of their planning.

After arranging logistics with camp leadership, all the pieces came together this past summer. With a dinner catered by a local Ely business, Paul and Sandi’s family and friends gathered on a magical, sunny evening to celebrate their marriage and a way of life that has turned camp and the love of time in nature into a multigeneration tradition.