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VOLUME 35                    July 10, 1961                          No. 2

BUSINESS: The first half bills have been sent out. Those remaining for all or part of the second half will receive later bills.
NEW ENTRIES: Enclosed you will find the same material sent out in the early part of June to all boys coming in at the start of camp. Please fill out and return the necessary forms to us as soon as possible.
REPORTS: The first set of reports are also enclosed: In most cases, the councilors and tutorers have, spent considerable time writing and submitting the reports. Please do not hesitate to comment on them. They are not censored; we attempt to be as honest in our opinion as possible. As soon as I read and sign all reports, I hand them over to Betty to add any details on the health of each boy. Tutoring reports will be sent to the respective schools when requested. We hope you will read and enjoy the various comments along with the Homeletter.
MONDAY, July 3: We were greeted in the morning by partly cloudy skies and a few scattered showers, followed by a clear and rather windy afternoon. It did not prevent us from sending out the first Up—the-Lake trip under the guidance of Dick Carlton, Frank Pine, and Perry Winston. They returned in time for supper with the support and assistance of sails fashioned from ponchos tied to paddles. Sailing and rowboat activities occupied the remainder of the stay—at—homes’ time. Junior Life Saving classes began, as well as baseball practice and riding classes.
INDEPENDENCE DAY: How thankful we all were that we were not out on the crowded highways. The day was quite overcast and windy and chilly. Captain Coupe reported from the first Susquehanna River trip that conditions were considerably warmer out away from the wind of Otsego Lake. He was ably assisted by Dick Koppisch and By Johnson on this first river trip. The horses and sail boats were all active all day. In the afternoon, the Director and Dick Carlton took a group of boys to a place we call “Snow Gulch,” a formation of several cravasses a short distance from camp. Before returning to camp, the boys gathered small amounts of snow which
they proudly exhibited to the other campers on returning to camp. Finding snow on the Fourth of July is quite an accomplishment for any age, but especially thrilling for those of camp age. Many more trips will be sent out to look for this frozen water. In the evening, all those who brought fireworks with them to camp were permitted to fire them Off under the supervision of councilors. John Young and his mates in Mouldy City had fashioned some rockets which they launched most successfully. After the pyrotechnics, we assembled on the beach and gave each boy a box of sparklers which he ignited. A bonfire provided the necessary fuel for roasting marshmallows. Bedtime followed, and thus we brought a very safe and enjoyable Fourth of July to an end.
THE DAY AFTER THE FOURTH: The weather was a bit warmer and quite clear. Frank Pine led his charges on the first fossil hunt of the year up Shadow Brook. We initiated water skiing and aquaplaning on this day for the “C” and “D” testers respectively. Doug Coupe returned with the Susquehanna trip and told us of high water and a grand trip. The day progressed with our usual activities and ended with a cinema production entitled “Destination Gobi.” It was a good Navy picture and well received by the Hyde Bayers.
THURSDAY: More wind but a fine swimming day. Many tests were passed and

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a great deel of recreational swimming was enjoyed. The second of our one—day Susquehanna trips departed, being taken out by Captain Coupe with Lts. Jock McQuilkin and Walt Rogers doing the assisting. In the afternoon, Sherm Murphy led a group of twenty two boys up to a camp spot on “Lookout” which is a plateau area up the mountain behind camp. It looks out over our entire bay area. In the evening, a very active camp game prepared the campers for a quiet retreat to bed at their regular times.
JULY 7: A calm and pleasant day, although the wind picked up enough during the course of the morning to allow the sailboats to get a good workout after lunch. The second Susquehanna River trip returned at milk—and-crackers time as well as the Lookout troups that went the night before. Most of this day was taken up by swimming and play practicing for the forthcoming plays on Saturday night. There was also baseball practice for the softball team which is for boys eleven and under. In the afternoon, we sent out the first trip to our new camping spot around the other side of Clark’s Point which is directly across the bay from us. Another group also ascended Lookout efficiently navigated by Dick Koppisch, Allen Spaulding, and By Johnson. Shortly after supper it began to cloud up and a rather violent thunder storm hit camp at about seven p.m. There was much excitement for a few moments during the storm when a small bolt of lightening hit a tree in back of the camp buildings and followed its way into our hot shower building. It disrupted the power in the shower house for a short period. Jim Main, of our theater producers, was holding onto a mike in a play rehearsal during the storm and received a slight shock from the effects of the increased voltage. He recovered quickly and was in his usual good form for the next night plays. After the storm had subsided, I took our speed boat and went to the camp spot around the point. This group had already begun to set up camp in a pretty wet sort of way. Their return to camp was not unwelcome. Nine of the eighteen who had gone to Lookout also elected to return to more comfortable quarters shortly before bedtime. Unfortunately, no one has much control over the ways of Mother Nature or Old Man Weather. We are just thankful to be let off so easily from their rages. The movie trip for the older boys went out as scheduled to Cooperstown. Finally, eleven p.m. saw the camp in bed and settled down.
SATURDAY: We awoke to a fair day with scattered clouds. There was enough wind to make the sailors happy. The morning saw lots of swimming and a short baseball practice before the big game in the afternoon. The theater producers were performing their last minute chores. During the afternoon, the Hyde Bay baseball squad opened its season with a resounding victory ever Chenango - a neighboring camp - by a score of 14—2. Three sailboats sailed down to watch the game, four horses with their riders made their way on hoof to witness the victory, along with a small contingent of hikers. In the evening, the Hyde Bay Theater had its opening performance of its usual repertoire of fine plays, with councilors Jim Main, Mac Mellor, and Ned Atwater producing this splendid set of plays. Jim Hivnor from Tent #5 won the best actress award, portraying the character of Frannie Conncis. The best actor prize went to Allen Farber from Tent #1 for impersonating the T.V. star, Bill Cullen, in a take-off on the program, “The Price is Right.” Tent #4 was judged to have the best play – “The Slowest Gun Alive.” Next week, we will be entertained by Tents #53B, 2, 9, and 10. They have already begun their practices at this writing.
SUNDAY: Warmer, cloudy, and windy. We had a weekly special tent inspection along with our supervised hot showers and church conducted by Dick Carlton. He gave a very fine talk on our Christian beliefs. In the afternoon, we had our first annual greased—watermelon battle in the water. The watermelon spent most of its time under water and greasy fun was had by all. Tents #14 and 7 went to town at the conclusion of our outdoor supper - a reward for being the neatest tent in the camp for the week. A good set of educational movies ended up the day. This has been a good and rewarding first-week-of-camp for us all. We will look forward to more.....

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