Cousins camp for summer fun

Toby Rumple works together with her children Maggie, 4, and Owen, 2, Rumple at the Roachdale Cemetery where they volunteered community service Thursday. Toby served as a camp counselor at Cousins Camp, a two-day event created by Toby and her sister for their children.

When it comes to summer activities for their kids, Toby Rumple and Emily Duncan like to keep it all in the family.

Beginning this year, sisters Rumple, a resident of Logansport, and Duncan of Roachdale decided to bring their children together in Roachdale for what they are calling Cousins Camp, a two-day camp for their combined six children which includes community service, an educational field trip, and various games.

"I'm the one that lives the farthest away," Rumple said. "So, this was a great way to bring all the kids together in one place so they could do stuff together."

Rumple said she and Duncan brainstormed the idea about a month ago and then got the idea along the way to make it like a "real" summer camp, complete with a school bus and camp counselors.

Rumple and Duncan made themselves both counselors, along with their parents Trudy and Jack Wright, Rumple said. They were in charge of scheduling events, making brochures, and gaining permission from sites where they wished to travel.

The camp began Thursday with a community service project at the Roachdale Cemetery. The children walked around with the counselors for about an hour picking up trash, blown-over flowers, and sticks.

The rest of the day entailed making crafts, running through an obstacle course, and having a weenie roast at the camping spot on the Wrights' 10-acre property.

"We have a 10-person tent, and all the counselors and kids will sleep in there together," Rumple said. She also mentioned her parents' property had been nicknamed Circle Wright Ranch for the occasion.

On Friday, the cousins will make their educational field trip to Bruce and Julie Harbison's house in Roachdale where their daughter Danielle Harbison raises sheep for 4-H, Trudy Wright said.

"The kids will go and listen to Danielle speak about sheep -- how she raises them and what she does for the 4-H program," she told the BannerGraphic.

Afterwards, there will be the usual crafts and games, and the camp will conclude around 6 p.m, Rumple said.

"It's only a one-night deal now because I have a two-year-old and a four-year-old," she said. "But we hope it'll lengthen as the children grow older."

For the camp, the six cousins each made individual T-shirts with their names and a group picture on the back.

Wright said that her and her daughters hope Cousins Camp "catches on" this year and continues throughout the years.

"Right now, we're just hoping our kids look forward to it each year," Rumple added. As for the possibility of stretching out community-wide, Wright said, "We just hope it would be an inspiration for other people to do something similar."