GLENNIE – After closing in the fall of 2012, the U,S, Forest Service has relaunched Sprinkler Lake Day Camp at the Sprinkler Lake Education Center through the support of the community, the Fprest Service Fire & Aviation Management and the help of the volunteer group Friends of Sprinkler Lake in order to again provide a summer day camp to area youth.

Joell Krejcarek, former camp director and a member of Friends of Sprinkler Lake, said the camp originally was built in the 1960s as a science camp by the Frederick family in conjunction with the USFS. Later the family sold the camp to the Forest Service.

In 1996 Alpena Montmorency Alcona Educational Service District leased the property and ran a year round facility for youth.

“Throughout the school year we had kids here every day. We had about 10,000 kids here a year. It was pretty active,” Krejcarek said.

After the lease with AMA ESD ended, the camp closed its doors until this summer when Delynn Lovelace, a supervisor for the U.S. Forest Service, was challenged to relaunch two free one week day camps for children in second through seventh grades. Lovelace reached out to Krejcarek, who was Lovelace’s former school teacher, for assistance in reviving the camp.

“It was pretty bare,” Lovelace said. “Everything was gone. It was empty and we had to start from bones.”

Bringing the camp back to its former glory was personal for Lovelace as her son, Michael, grew up attending the camp and later volunteered his time at the camp.

“He was devastated when he saw it,” Lovelace said. “The memories were here and it’s exciting for me now to know these kids now are getting what he got.”

Numerous grants and local business donations to the Eastern National Forest Interpretive Association totaling $17,000 has been brought together for the camp. In addition over $35,000 toward the kitchen was given by the Forest Service fire organization allowing Lovelace, other USFS employees and many volunteers to put in over 300 hours cleaning up the camp in order to rebuild.

“This is the community really pulling together and the friends brought it all together,” Lovelace said.

As a government agency, the Forest Service cannot charge for the camp so it offers the day camp free of charge.

“If another organization held the permit it would be easier to purchase the supplies, get the teachers, the transportation,” Lovelace said.

While Lovelace is hopeful for another organization to take over the permit for the camp in partnership with the USFS she said what this year allowed was for many children who might not otherwise experience a summer camp program to participate.

Lovelace said 93 children participated in the first session with seven teachers and the second session is filled to capacity with a wait list.

“The response was great,” she said.

Two buses travel, one from Alpena and a second from Tawas, making periodic stops to pick up the campers.

During the five day camp participants are able to go canoeing, hiking and geocaching. They also learn about a variety of topics ranging from fire prevention to archaeology.

“They are learning so much,” Krejcarek said.

In addition to the activity filled days, Lovelace said breakfast, lunch and a snack are provided. Due to the high expense of operating a camp, she said the goals include expanding the camp and finding an organization to take over the permit and operate the camp in order to best manage the financial burden.

“If you get someone to take it over, they can charge for the camp and it makes it easier to pay for the transportation, the food, the teachers,” Lovelace said. “It would make it much easier.”

While Lovelace said the community has been supportive she knows year after year it would be draining.

“Everybody involved believes in the place and wants it to be a success,” Krejcarek said.

Paige Trisko can be reached via email at ptrisko@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5693. Follow Paige on Twitter @pt_alpenanews. Read her blog, Scribbles on Pa(i)ges, at www.thealpenanews.com.