Next up in our Look Back at Leaders series, we hear from Jackson Dulaney’s mom! Jackson will be returning to Deerhorn for his 6th year as a Deerhorn camper to lead the 2026 Deerhorn Bobcats!
Jackson has always been a bit like Loki, the god of mischief. He loves to play tricks and pranks, is always donning a grin, whether sheepish or sly, and cracking a joke about anything he can find humor in. In school, he is always busy and life has been his stage. I regularly got phone calls from school that he was being the class clown. Always benign fun, but always itching for more activity, more challenges. From the time he could walk, he played ball sports year-round and hadn’t met a season that he didn’t love to be outside. He watched and imitated every funny thing he saw. He loved to pop up from any doorway to scare the daylights out of me. So, when the opportunity arose to attend a summer at Deerhorn in 2019, I thought “this will keep Jackson busy and out of trouble this summer if I can talk him into it…”
Little did I know that this would be the place he’d be begging to return to year after year.
That first summer, even though I knew it would be the structured fun that Jackson needed, I worried that he wouldn’t thrive and would be homesick or…worse, get in trouble. We sent him with self-addressed stamped envelopes and told him to write. I think the first letter arrived after he had been there 2 full weeks. “Camp is good. They have dogs. I love you. Jackson.” Oh, my heart! Every letter that followed was much of the same correspondence and I quickly learned that “no news is good news”. Once he came home with his first year of stories, I knew that he was too busy and too tired to elaborate more than that!
Through the years the letters didn’t change much, mostly focusing on food, the Deerhorn dogs that were such a selling point for his first year and the sports that he was learning to play. We were always so happy to hear about all his adventures no matter how short the letter and knew that camp was making a big impression on him. What we didn’t expect was the impression he made on others. In writing this, I went back and watched videos and read letters from counselors from years past and my heart just swelled with pride. In 2023, Jackson was given the Spirit Award. All that mischievousness he exuded had been effectively channeled into love and Deerhorn spirit! The presenter spoke about his huge smile and living camp life to the fullest. Optimistic, positive, confident, a Booster rather than a Knocker and a gentleman under all conditions.
In 2025, when he went on Voyager, there was no doubt in my mind that he was right where he needed to be.
Looking back at my chubby-cheeked, brown-eyed boy at his first year of camp and comparing him to the tall, lean, self-assured young man that he has become makes me realize the positive influence that each one of these summers away from home has provided. The lifelong friendships he’s made through camaraderie with other campers, the competitive games and learning new skills have increased his confidence and abilities in all areas of his life. He has become a better student, athlete, friend, and leader because of these challenges and learning to adapt to change. His eyes have been opened to opportunities, and he has come home every year taller, leaner, happier and more caring, responsible, and mature, growing in a nurturing environment of other young men and future leaders. I can truly say that Camp Deerhorn shaped Jackson into the young man he is and I am confident that he will always look back fondly on his summers in the Northwoods…and still have a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
