God, make of me a worthwhile man.
Give me the strength to stand for right,
When other folks have left the fight.
Give me the courage of the man who knows that
If he will, he can.
Teach me to see, in every face the good,
The kind, and not the base.
Make me sincere in word and deed.
Blot out from me all shame and greed.
Help me to guard my troubled soul
By constant, active self control.
Clean up my thoughts, my speech, my play
And keep me pure from day to day.
Oh make of me a worthwhile man.
My dad first came to Camp Highlands in 1950. And it was at Camp Highlands where he returned every summer of his life – save one – when an untimely illness kept him away.
He always knew that Camp Highlands was where he wanted to be.
That’s why in 1963 he convinced some of the owners of Camp Highlands to sell him shares. He became the youngest member of the board of directors (at 23 years old) and over time he became the majority shareholder, and primary owner and director of camp. Camp has been his life vision and dream; and he has lived the dream like none other. You will not find a finer, more worthwhile man than Mike Bachmann.
His marriage to my mother was a match made in heaven (if you, like I, understand heaven to be a place on Plum lake). Thanks to my grandfather’s desire to be a staff man at Highlands, his daughters all ended up coming along for the ride as well. My mother has been at Highlands since she was three. She, too, has always found the magic in the place. Together they ran Camp Highlands and oversaw all operations, until he brought me on as his assistant director back in 1999. Over time he passed more and more of the decision-making and leadership of camp over to me and Tracy. He was always there to guide any decisions we made – but his advice always came after he would ask me, “Well, what would you do?”
He has been our strong foundation and the one to whom we all looked to see what an ideal example of a Highlands man could be.
It was my father who brought our Worthwhile Man prayer to camp; and it is my father who I think of as the perfect example of the man outlined in that beautiful prayer.
He has been not just a wonderful father and grandfather to our family; he has been one to many of yours as well. And he will be missed.
It is with a heavy, heavy heart that I share the sad news that our Highlands Man has passed away. Mike Bachmann, the most worthwhile Highlands man I know has left this earthly plain and now resides in the star-lit skies, smiling down on us from heaven.
The earth is a lesser place for his passing.
He died quickly of a heart attack yesterday, September 7, 2014. He and my mother were en route to yet another great adventure.
There will be a memorial service at the First Congregational Church of Western Springs, Illinois at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 13th, with a reception to follow. We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers during this sad time.
Mike at the helm. We miss you already.