FIRST REAL ISSUE: The last number was merely introductory. This covers a full week of camp life. It is being dictated Monday morning on the shore of the lake which locale we hope will eliminate dryness.
Weather: An admirable week. The rain of Thursday served merely to make us appreciate the six other excellent days.
Health: We are off to rather brisk start in this department. Our casualties include a nail in a foot (properly and immediately of course), a potential break which proved to be a sprain, another genuine break in a wrist, considerable sunburns, and other minor afflictions. The patients are all doing well. The parents have been given the details individually.
MONDAY, JUNE 29th: We started Junior Life Saving with an unusually large class. We sailed, we rode horseback, we played tennis and “Little Bohemia”, as the handicraft lodge is called, was very busy. A feature of the afternoon was a softball game for the youngest boys. Jack Garver transported three to the golf course. The first overnight trip to Gravelly, a delightful promontory a couple miles down the lake, was supervised by Walter McManus, his clients, being, of course, his tent. About 4:00 a.m. they were visited by friendly and gregarious skunk. These vanishing animals are quite harmless in thc summer months, never offensive unless under provocation.
JUNE’S LAST FLING: The versatile Garver assisted by Charlie McManus and John Hendee conducted the first “up the lake” trip. This involves transportation nearly to Cooperstown and a paddle across the lake and all around its shore to camp. At the extreme upper end of the lake, a flotilla of Comets under Admiral Williams joined them. Our “hardball” team had its first practice. The pebbles of Gravelly had hardly recovered from the McManus invasion when Charlie Classen and his tent arrived for the night. Jim Main and Cooper Winston and tents went up the shore in the opposite direction to “Sandy Beach” where they had supper. The feature of the post—supper activity at camp was game of “Capture the Flag”. Perspiring participants plunged into the lake before they rolled into bed.
CAME JULY: Dick Carlton and Frank Pine led a group on a fossil hunt up the lovely ravine on the mountain back of camp. Some interesting specimens were rounded up. There was another softball game in the afternoon. Water skiing was indulged in by a number of boys. J.J. Daily and Alan Howell passed their “D”tests while Dave Peevers did the “E”. The “C” tests this day were too numerous to mention. A small group watched with much interest a visiting blacksmith as he put shoes on some of Bob Rockwell’s steeds. Properly shod once more, Bob took Rickie
_______________________ Back of page ________________________________
Reese and Joey Gardiner out of camp for a ride. The varsity baseball team practiced after supper till a call summoned all to see the feature film called “Satellite in the Sky”.
JULY SECOND: We use the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Farmer’s Museum as a refuge on rainy days. This one seemed to qualify so a group under Dick Carlton and Cooper Winston viewed the interesting exhibits in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Presently the rain stopped and baseball started. There was naturally much handicraft work. Twenty—seven boys under the personal direction of elder statesmen, Mouldy, Dick, and Chief scaled the mountain in the hack of camp. At the Lookout where the lake by some optical illusion seems almost at one’s feet, the ubiquitous Rockwell and his horses joined the group.
FRIDAY: This day missed being Friday the l3th by a one digit. The first of the major adventures of the season in the shape of a canoe trip down the Susquehanna took off under chief guide Classen assisted by Pine and Hentlee, They rattled out of camp in the bus and Pontiac with their six canoes on the pursuing trailer. This was a fine sailing day. Comets coursed ceaselessly. Jeff Williams and Mac Mellor transferred their young charges to Gravelly for the night. A bus load of older boys went to Cooperstown to see the commercial cinema. Many of us, under the clear starlit sky, sat around the fire on the beach.
THE GLORIOUS FOURTH: Early in the morning of this anniversary Bob Rockwell took equestrians Burwell, Gardiner, and Frick on a ride which terminated in time for Breakfast. Anon the Susquehanna adventurers returned. A group of our younger citizens went on a hike under the skilled direction of Walter McManus and Sherm Murphy. After rest period fireworks brought to camp were exploded under councilor supervision. After the dramatic presentation of the evening sparklers and other fireworks were displayed.
THE DRAMA: Our first series of Saturday night plays proved to be an unusually fine dramatic debut. All the plays were well done with original and interesting plots and skilled acting. The judges had a most difficult time but finally determined that Tent #2 was the best. Kenny Taylor was considered the best actor while Bill Frick gave us one of the finest bits of feminine acting we have seen in many a long day. This is drama at its best, Parents should plan to find out when their son graces the boards and make this their date for the evening.
AND FINALLY SUNDAY: Appropriately beautiful day. Chief conducted our church services and subsequently led a force of inspectors through all the tents and trunks therein. Our numbers were augmented by campers Moore and Diamond. During rest period letters to their dear parents were laboriously penned by all the campers. These missives were taken to town in the Hacker by tents 53B and 14 who had been judged the neatest of all. As is our Sunday custom we consummed a delicacy known as Mouldyburgers out—of—doors accompanied of course by other viands. The “Mouldyburgers” be it said in less romantic surroundings are called hamburgers. The name comes from the “chef” of each Sunday evening.
CONCLUSION: Thus a very pleasant first week at Hyde Bay Camp came to its close as does this letter. Actually the camp week came to an end as we viewed two educational movies, one dealing with the trip through a Florida swamp glorifying the Edsel car, the other tracing the course of the cocoa bean into succulent Nestle’s chocolate.
