While the wooded fields outside Cable Lake remained rather serene Friday morning, it will not be long until the grounds are filled with chattering excitement of hundreds of local children.

Dowagiac’s Fitch Camp will open for its 76th season on Tuesday, offering tons of outdoor activities for the area’s second- through seventh-grade students through July 25. The camp is open to students who attend the Dowagiac Union Schools district for just $1 per day.

On Friday, the camp staff was hard at work preparing the campgrounds, located off Garret Road, for this season’s campers. Around 15 counselors, lifeguards, kitchen aides and others will work at the camp during the summer — most of whom are either high school or college students from the Dowagiac area.

Among the students working at the camp this year are Ellen Cox, a sophomore at Southwestern Michigan College studying criminal justice, and Dean Klann, a senior with Trine University studying exercise science.

As counselors, the two will be responsible for leading a group of students throughout the day’s activities, they said. Every day, after arriving at the campgrounds, the children gather in the courtyard and are asked to break into smaller groups, going with the counselor of their choice.

“You usually never have the same group of kids in your group,” Cox said.

After that, the counselor picks out something for the children to do, usually asking one of the students what they suggest the group does, Klann said. Among the activities are games such as whiffle ball, capture the flag, kickball and rim wars (similar to dodge ball, but a little less intense). They also hit the lake every once in a while, taking children paddle boating or fishing.

For the older children, the season caps off with an overnight stay, complete with a big camp fire at night.

Both Cox and Klann are longtime employees at Fitch Camp. Cox has worked as a counselor for six years, taking on a position with the camp after attending it since she was young — her father, Chris Cox, is the director of the camp. Klann has been a counselor for around five years, recruited by the elder Cox after volunteering with his baseball camp.

Working at Fitch Camp for so long has given them the opportunity to serve as role models and mentors for many children. They have watched the camp regulars grow up over the years, watching them develop and make new friendships, with each other and the camp staff.

“Some kids were really shy when the first started coming to camp,” Klann said. “Now you can never get them to stop talking.”

While the bit of extra summer income doesn’t hurt, ultimately working at Fitch Camp gives counselors a chance spend their months off of school making a difference.

“You could be having a bad day, but as soon you come out here and see the kids having a great time, it makes you smile,” Klann said. “Being able to make a kid’s day makes you happy twice as much.”

For more information people may contact the camp via its Facebook page, at facebook.com/ERootFitchMemorialDayCamp