COUNCILORS’ SWANS SONG: The enc1osed comments are the last reports you will receive from the councilors of the l953 season. You will find sundry summaries and famous last words. I hope you have enjoyed the comments of these young men who are nearer in age to your son than either you or I. I may say that I have been very well satisfied with the work of the 1953 council.

RETURNS: Up through Sunday we have received 38 cards which is a reasonably good parental average. I can speak with condenscension of parents from the vantage point of being seven times a grandfather. If you have not sent in the card, please do so at once before we are driven to resorting to the telephone,

ADDENDA: We, have recently added to our fleet four new kyaks 6 feet by 2 feet overall. They have been in constant use by the campers. 

WEATHER: Monday was warm and clear with some rain, becoming colder on Tuesday. It relented that afternoon and was clear and warm for the next threeo days. It was remarkably misty on Friday obscuring the opposite shore. Sailing continued with clear and windy days at the end of the week.

HEALTH: Our infirmary has stood as empty as the “silly buckets” on the dock of the Ancient Mariner’s craft. The usual group have patronized Betty’s out—patient department.

MONDAY: Some sixty boys with attendant councilors made the trip to and through the famous Howe Caverns. Henry and Grover made the trip while we improvised an outdoor luncheon at camp. In the afternoon our baseball game on famous Doubleday Field had to be called on account of rain with the score 1—1.

TUESDAY: The second and last trip to Trenton Falls set out under Bob Pickett and Heb assisted by Councilors Garver, Stephenson and Williams. The Stiflers beat the Goodwins 10-7 in soft ball. Once more we had to postpone our basebal1 game on the literal basis of wet grounds.

WEDNESDAY: We took advantage of the climate to do wome water skiing and aquaplaning. In the evening Councilors Lawder and Sargent took their tents to Gravelly. Our head councilor took British Ambassador Basil on an inspection trip of the Trenton Falls expedition. They returned with no international incident.

THE NEXT DAY: Senior Life Saving class received their final tests. The Trenton Falls trip rattled back into camp reporting the usual good time. We won our tennis match with Camp Chenango 2-1. Jay Tate lost his single match but Ken Boyd triumphed in a similar encounter. In the doubles, Campers Rozendaal and Bowyer won. That night we saw the movie known as “The Desert Fox.” Obliged to be absent myself at the laborious task of devouring many viands at a nearby clam bake, I am reliably informed that it was a good movie.

ON FRIDAY the last Susquehanna trip set out under the inevitable Heb with assistants Offutt and Miller. Woodsmen Carey and Gorter took their neophytes to Gravelly. Determined at first to rough it, they relented and returned for a considerable part of their equipment. In basketball the Rozendaals beat the Triggs. The younger boys under the guidance of Al Kerr visited Springfield Landing.  The more aged among our juveniles went to town to a movie. Late in the evening an event occurred which will have a special paragraph.

THE PARAGRAPH: Commodore Lord appeared to play a return engagement. At once the usual orderly pandemonium broke loose. He is leaving today with a trail of regattas, portraits, speeches and wrestling matches littering his path. Commercial: No other camp for boys has a Commodore.

THE DRAMA AND SATURDAY: Many sailing races were featured this windy day. A nature hunt which had started on Friday was won by the Barker boys, Eddy Freeman, Charlie Classen and Billy McQui1kin. The nature hunt is a refined and instructive form of the scavenger hunt. Boys assemble a variety of objects produced naturally, such as leaves, rocks and insects. The last of our tent plays found Pete Powell with Tent 53B the winner. They produced a replica of that cinematic triumph “Shane.” Doug Lawder and his men in a skit entitled “A Scandal for School” and a portrayal of a sick Sherlock Holmes by Tommy Sargent and his boys pressed them closely for the candy bars which is the conventional Hyde Bay equivalent of laurel.

REGATTA SUNDAY.: Jack Garver preached. Tent 7 with Harry Bowdoin in command took the Hacker ride along with Tent 14. Tent 7 had the best average of any tent this whole season. We had movies at night. The feature of the day was the 8-inch regatta. Almost all campers enter a miniature craft of their own construction. “The Rusty Nail” owned, if not operated, by Rusty Pickett won first place. This is the first time a Pickett has ever scored in this annual event. Phil Pratt’s Harvard—sailed junk as second.

BANQUET: This pleasant event will take place on Monday, August 24th, at 6:30 PM, Daylight Time. You are invited if you will let us know.

TRANSPORTATION: We still plan to take the early train out of Fort Plain arriving in New York at ll:3O EST, hoping to take the 1:30 on the Pennsylvania for Baltimore and Washington. Bob Russell, a Veteran of this ordeal, will take the group down.

THE NEXT HOME LETTER: Our next venture in the world of journalism will not appear at the usual time. We hope to accompany it with the bills for the incidentals which require some time to make out. In the meantime you will have a vocal report from an extremely reliable source.