This year’s YCMAD Campout campers included, back row, left to right, Tim Juba, Lucas Kramer, John Frerichs, Matt Hall and Collin Salisbury, and front row, left, Norm Hall, and right, Connor Minor.

This holiday season heralds the end of a bittersweet year for Blue Earth’s KBEW/Darling International ‘You Can Make A Difference’ Campout.

The outdoor donation drive is always a sweet experience for the hardy campers who make it possible. This year, however, the campers bitterly felt the loss of long-time camper Joe Salisbury, who passed away recently.

Joe’s death marked a period of change for the campers, whose efforts had been lead by founders Norm Hall and Tim Juba, as well as Joe, for the past 27 years. This year, feeling it was time for a new generation to take ownership of the Campout, Norm passed the torch to his son, Matt Hall.

Historically, Norm has played a large role in organizing the Campout, which is an annual donation drive for money, food items and toys. The items are all distributed locally to the Faribault County Area Food Shelf and the Western Faribault County Toy Drive.

Each year, the campers solicit donations outdoors, in the Juba’s parking lot.

They weather the cold for the duration of the Campout to draw the community’s attention to their cause.

The 27th annual Campout was slated to kick off at the south end of the Juba’s parking lot with an 8:15 a.m. introduction on Juba’s Jabber on Thursday, Nov. 30. The campers collected donations until Saturday, Dec. 2, at noon.

Prior to the Campout’s kick off on Nov. 30, one of the duties Matt assumed in his father’s place was recording advertisements for the upcoming event at KBEW Radio Station.

Norm, who worked at KBEW for over 30 years, had always recorded the advertisements in years past.

“One of the ads, I don’t think my dad could have got through this year,” Matt admits. “He would have really struggled to get through the ad about Joe Salisbury.” 

This year’s Campout is dedicated to Joe’s memory. Without him, Matt says, the Campout would not be what it is today.

Early on, Matt explains, “It was literally Tim and Norm, and a burn barrel and a tent. It’s cold out there – I don’t know how they got through those first few years.” 

According to Matt, Joe joined Norm and Tim in the Campout’s second year.

“He respected their chutzpah and what they were doing for the community, but he thought there was a better way,” Matt recalls. “Joe was a helper by nature, and that’s what he did. He got involved, and his involvement made the comfort level a lot better for the campers.” 

It was Joe who first provided the gear for the Campout’s elaborate set up. Today, the campers enjoy a spacious, warm tent filled with comfortable seating.

Later, Joe’s son, Collin Salisbury, and his grandson, Carson Salisbury, assumed Joe’s role as ‘provider of gear.’

Matt explains it was partially Joe’s death which caused his father to start thinking about the Campout’s future.

“My dad is 67 years old,” Matt says. “After Joe passed away, it kind of scared my dad. He wants this passed along to Collin and myself. This is part of his legacy outside of our family.” 

He jokes, “Hopefully, Collin keeps showing up so we have a nice place to sleep.” 

Collin has been a camper for many years, as has Matt, who first joined his father for the Campout 20 years ago, when he was 16 years old.

“I saw the burn barrel and the tent, and I saw my dad out there. I thought, ‘What are these guys doing? Are they nuts?’ I’ll never forget it. It was wild,” Matt remembers.

Two decades later, Matt says, “It’s become a part of me. It’s on my calendar every year.”

He observes the Campout has also become a part of the wider community.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth not only in the campsite, but in what it’s meant to the community over time,” Matt explains.

For example, the Blue Earth Area School District now plays a big role in the Campout’s annual success.

About 20 years ago, the campers started the Campout’s annual essay contest for Blue Earth Area Elementary School students, asking them to write about the importance of donations. In addition to participating in the contest, the students also collect food shelf items and toy donations.

The contest culminates with a student council-led pep rally, which KBEW broadcasts to the community. Norm once again emceed this year’s broadcast, which was scheduled on Friday, Dec. 1, at 2 p.m.

“(The broadcast) is probably the coolest part of the whole thing,” Matt says. “Everyone at the school is so accommodating.”

He adds that the broadcast is also the most touching aspect of the Campout.

“You stand out there and see all those kids looking back at you, and they’re so energized. They want to help and they want to give,” Matt says. “It’s probably the hardest thing we do over the two- and-a-half days of the Campout. Some of those kids need this food.” 

One of the children who won the essay contest in second grade, Lucas Kramer, has since grown up to be a camper himself.

This year, he joined fellow campers Norm and Matt, Collin and Carson, Tim, John Frerichs – who takes charge of the campers’ victuals – and Connor Minor, who is Matt’s nephew and Norm’s grandson.

“He was 10 years old (when he joined the campers), and it’s cold out there, but he wanted to get involved,” Matt explains. “Some of it’s our family, but some of it’s him as a person.” 

Matt insists that every single camper – from Norm to Connor, and many other people in between – has been integral to the Campout’s success.

“We are so much more than the sum of our parts.  We’re so much greater together,” he says.

Matt shares that, although the campers have built a lasting bond, they usually only gather once a year for the Campout.

“It’s not like we get together on the weekends and shoot the breeze. We all come together for this really special thing. The only time we saw each other this year was for a funeral for a camper,” Matt says. “We are all invested and we all care, and we are there to make sure that the community has a chance to give.” 

He hopes locals realize that the community is just as important to making the Campout a success as the individual campers are.

“If no one shows up and donates, or is involved in the school program, it’s just some guys in the parking lot, looking weird,” Matt explains. “That’s what’s key, is the community, the people, each person who donates. Big or small, it doesn’t matter.” 

He adds, “It’s more like a love story for Blue Earth. We’re just a conduit.”