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VOLUME XII.    NUMBER SEVEN.                    August 11 – August 17, 1939.

DEPARTURE. PLEASE NOTE!  The supervised group will leave Fort Plain on train number 132 at 7:40 A.M. and will arrive in New York at 12:15.  They will then take the B & O 1:05 and will arrive in Baltimore at 5:22 P. M..  All train times are Eastern Standard.  Frank Supplee will again be in charge of the group.  All boys have been asked to give this information in the letter of today.  The day is Friday, the 25th.

WEATHER.  The warm dry spell has been unbroken.  It has not been very hot, but there has been very little variety in the weather.  In the hills weather varies within surp rising limits.  Sparky Barker, Jim Dandy and Billy Middendorf, for example, were out with the older Picketts to take the water and grain up the mountain for Larry and his horse-hike.  Suddenly there came up a veritable cloudburst of rain and hail.  In the midst, we were stuck on the new road.  After the car was turned about with no little difficulty, we went back.  On our way we encountered the cavalry.  Bob Stringer, Larry Fenneman, Folger Oudin and their guide, councillor and friend were all quite dry.  At camp, the dust rose under our wheels.  The mountain is but six miles from camp.

ANOTHER HORSE-HIKE.  Before the events recorded in the last paragraph, Gordon took out a hike by horse to the same mountain.  They reported a fine time.

DRAMATIC EVENT.  Two plays were produced this last week.  The first gave a number of the younger actors a chance.  The subject was the famous Ferdinand.  Guy Holliday impersonated this bovine celebrity with great fidelity enhanced the mask made by Travers.  Others of Guy’s contemporaries were the mata and pica and other dores.  After the arena had been cleared, Chan, Wam, Jake, Charlie, and Walter Lord gave a rendition of Dunsaney’s Lost Silk Hat.  Both productions were excellent with their history of a week of preparation, a week shot to the consistency of Swiss cheese with other activities.

SOME GOINGS AND COMINGS.  Lucian Platt is with us for the rest of the season.  Marq Mitchell came back for the duration on last Friday.  He had been West on a trip.  Billy Neill went home with his parents who visited camp last week-end.  Freddie Wehr ended his month this week and left via Fort Plain.  Old camper Bucky Turner dropped in for a couple of days with his friend Larry Naylor of the Princeton varsity.

THE EVENTS OF A NIGHT.  Monday was a busy evening.  It was also a day but the day was overshadowed by the consequent night.  The first annual Pathfinder-Hyde Bay barn dance took place in the grange hall in East Springfield.  The ladies were the hosts or esses.  An orchestra from nearby Oneonta furnished the auditory stimulus.  The girls came by hay wagon and tractor.  We went by the prosaic auto, with the exception of Larry Pickett and Jake who discovered an old-fashion buggy and a single harness.  Fanny in ignominy between the shafts completed the outfit.  They made East Springfield in a few hours and actually were able to get back.  After the driver found he did not have to shift gears to back, all was well.  Meanwhile at the camp, Inquisitor Lynn took his innocents out to a conventional snipe-hunt.  Although the bushes have never been beaten with more zest, the wiley snipe could not be lured from their lodgings.  Later that evening Bill Fromwalt arrived to amuse Manley Jenkins and Benjy Franklin in that great national pastime, mathematics.

CONTESTS.  The lowly Cowboys beat the league-leading Golfers in an exciting last inning battle.  We have had a number of sailing races in which I think we were once the winner.  The annual combine meet with the aid of Pathfinder is a matter of history now.  The Pathydes and the Bayfinders battled to a victory for one by a two–point margin.  These teams are composed of boys and girls with no regard for camp affiliation.  A feature was a victory of the U. L. relay team over two other teams chosen from the council of both camps.

UNDERGROUND STUFF.  We finally got to the annual Howe Caverns trip.  This year, we hired the big Cooperstown bus and went in one unit.  The wonders of the open spaces beneath Otsego County were once more appreciated.

MOVIES.  On Sunday night last, the camp movies were shown again with the inclusion of the fine new film of pictures of Hyde Bay in the past presented by Mr. Allner.  The talkies came in for their recognition when we showed “The Sign of the Cross” on Wednesday night.  We recognized this as a fine old film but a bit too much on the horror side.

FIRE!  No Hyde Bay season would be even approximately complete without the great final bonfire.  No final bonfire would be worth the match that lighted it if it were not built by Cap Hartzell.  This year, his symmetrical creation stands expectantly on our shore ready for Thursday night.  It is a genuine Hartzell in height and girth.

A PLANT.  We have traded in the old Delco for a bigger plant which should cast more light on what goes on about Hyde Bay.  We have repaired the boats with endless sheets of copper.  The spring has been full twice.  The pipe is about to be connected.

STARS.  All the last of the week we have been watching a great show as the regional Star Boat races have been going on.  They make a pretty picture as they stream up the lake.

SUSQUEHANNA REVISITED.  Lawry and Jake led forth B and C tents on an exploration of the upper reaches of this river which rises in Otsego.  They reported a fine time and easy canoeing.

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