Friends for the Third Week of Summer? Why Not for Life?

Lifelong friends — even spouses — can trace their start back to a Y camp.

The subject has even blurred the line between dad jokes and memes. “Friendships at camp are in tents!”

Nowhere is this truer than at a Y camp that puts relationships first. This is the story of one such friendship — 38 years long and counting — that found its beginnings at YMCA Camp Ihduhapi in 1984.

Enter the main characters.

Jason Star. Starts his Ihduhapi story in 1982 at age 8.

John Hendrickson. Gets his feet on the ground at camp in 1984 at age 10.

In the summer of ’84, Jason and John met, sharing a cabin the same week, and became fast friends.

“We were the odd couple. I was the big kid (at that age),” says John, “and he was the scrawny mouthy kid … we were always poking fun at each other. We were two jokesters who wanted to horse around. And of course, we were both more interested in the girls than the canoeing.”

Jason and John also discovered they would both be going to the same school the following year. “A lot of people had come from elementary schools together and already knew each other. Neither of us knew anyone else,” says Jason.

The two friends fondly remember those first years at camp. Jason recalls his counselors and activities, riding horses for the first time, and walking down Toboggan Hill. He tells a story about sneaking out late at night with cabin mates and tip-toeing across camp to the girls’ cabin area to put rocks in their shoes that were sitting out on the porch of their cabin. When his son chimes in to ask why, he smiles and says, “I don’t know, we were 10. That was the best we could come up with!”

“[The counselors] were just so great and made the experience so fantastic,” says John. “They are these cool college guys. We had this counselor Pete, he was a track star. You look back at those guys and I really appreciate them. They made the camp so awesome.”

John and Jason would continue to return to camp together each year, progressing from campers to junior leaders to counselors.

Mark Hennessy was Ihduhapi’s executive director when they were on staff. He remembers Jason and John well.

“They were both great role models, and were wonderful cabin counselors. I remember their enthusiasm and energy that they both brought to all-camp games. Almost every day after supper we had some sort of game: counselor hunt, capture the flag, etcetera, and these two young men brought tremendous energy to those games, whether it was the first week or the eighth week. Both had a true love of Ihduhapi and made the camper’s experience the best it could possibly be.”

“You make better relationships at camp than your friends at home,” continues Mark. “It’s a different connection. Hanging out at meals, between electives, holding hands and crying at late night campfires, singing songs. Teenage boys don’t like to admit that stuff, but it’s a different kind of friendship at camp.”

Their friendship continued through college and into adulthood.

Jason and his wife have two children and John and his wife have three. Their families are close and despite living in different states, visit each other once or twice a year. They talk on the phone every week.

Two of John’s three kids have been campers at Ihduhapi and for John, becoming a camper parent was a special experience.

“If you are lucky enough to go to camp, it’s a rite of passage,” he says. “You can’t get a better experience as a kid.” When he went back to Ihduhapi with his children, he was struck by how much it felt the same. He was happy to see the new things since he was at camp, but also found comfort in the familiarity.

Jason and John’s story of friendship is the story of so many camp alumni, from all the Y camps. It is a story as old — and as wonderful — as the camps themselves.

“Jason has been my best friend for the past 35 years since we met at Camp Ihduhapi. We went to junior high and high school together at St. Thomas Academy. We were each other’s best men at our weddings. To this day we talk frequently and see each other when we can.”

“John has been like a brother to me. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him. We have our own language created over years of friendship.”

Jason sums it up best saying, “Camp gave me a best friend, and being at camp allowed me to learn about who I really was. It was safe space to grow, develop, push boundaries and experiment. I wish every kid had that experience.”