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Home Letter Volume 37, No. 5, August 6, 1963

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HYDE BAY HOME LETTER

VOLUME 37             August 6, 1963                   No. 5


MONDAY: Fair, windy, and warm. The third and final Trenton Palls trip left with Hunt Hilliard, Walt.Rogers, Lawry Pickett, Bob Pine, Charlie Tracy, and Todd Mulvenny along with fourteen boys. The morning was occupied with all camp activities with emphasis on sailing. The weather in the afternoon allowed us to send a group to Chenango for a sailing race that never got off the mark due to a rain shower and repair problems of one sort or another. Shortly before supper, two tents went to the Willows, and a large group headed by Bob Cunningham, Bill Howland, and Randy Burwell set forth to Lookout. The rains then came--the Willows braved the night through but the Lookout was forced to return very wet. They made their way back to camp about midnight and all members were ready for a dry bed by that time. The boys at home enjoyed after-supper swimming since the rain did not appear until late evening.

TUESDAY: Considerably cooler and windy. The Willows trip returned not too wet since they had the use of their boats to protect them from the elements. All equipment from both trips was hung out on lines and dried throughout the day. Our Senior Life Saving class continued along with other camp activities. In the afternoon, Sailfish races were conducted for all those interested in volunteering for same. The craft shop was open most of the day for various kinds of handwork.

MOVIE DAY: A beautiful, sunny, clear day. Excellent wind for sailing in the morning. Immediately after milk and cookies, a large group departed by Hacker to Natty Bumpo Cave and lunch at Fairy Springs (a town picnic area just this side of Cooperstown.). Trenton Falls returned having had very little rain on their trip. Baseball practice was held after supper and before the movie of the evening, "The Magnificent Matador," starring Anthony Quinn.

THURSDAY: brought cloudy and cool weather. A very hard shower after breakfast. This immediately turned our thoughts to Museum trips. We were able to get several groups into the Farmer's and Baseball Museums. In the evening, we played a camp Bingo game in the dining room, and the ULs went into town to visit the movies.

FRIDAY: This was a very similar day to the day before in weather and enabled us to send more boys to the Museums. The craft shop was again very busy as well as the dam building on a small stream that runs through the camp. Shortly after lunch, we sent our sailing team to Cooperstown to participate in a race with the Country Club team in a class of boats called the "Turnabout." With no experience in this class of craft, Hyde Bay was on the short end of the score but all enjoyed the meeting. A small group went to the golf course for an afternoon of this sport. The ULs that did not get to town last night went this evening for a movie trip. The weather cleared enough for some outdoor after-supper football and baseball games.

SATURDAY: Warm and mostly sunny. Soon after breakfast the twelve-and- under hardball team met with Chenango on our field and was victorious by a good margin. Immediately after milk and cookies, the annual Hyde Bay picture Treasure Hunt commenced. This involves identification of several pictures taken by Polaroid camera in and about camp, and takes most of the day with the final results having to be in by first call of supper. At this hour, all results have been graded with five teams very close which will necessitate a tie-breaking picture identification sometime this week. This is one of our most successful week-end games and encourages observations of camp areas that are frequently overlooked. Nightfall brought on our fourth set of tent plays. Tent #4 produced the award winning play--a take-off on a train-and-bus trip to Hyde Bay with Fred Gale winning the best actor prize in a portrayal of Mr. Hunt "Hallyard." Bruce Danzer walked off as the best actress. More group singing entertained us between plays. Performances for this week will be from Tents #14, 15, 16, .17, 18, and Mouldy City. The curtain rises at 8:30 p.m.
An unfortunate Incident occurred while we were watching the plays. We will explain this briefly simply to avoid any erroneous rumors. The camp has also been informed of the full story and everything is completely back to normal now. Four young girls (14 to 16 years old) came into camp, with the endorsement of the father of one girls, let down four of our tents, upset trunks, and turned over beds--the initial thought being only to short-sheet the beds. One thing leads to another and the end result was far more extensive than a simple prank. Two of the girls along with the father were apprehended and were interviewed by the State Police. The other two girls found their way home on their own. Pranks are somewhat understood but not when such things are sanctioned and promoted by unthinking parents!!

SUNDAY: Cool and cloudy with a stiff wind from the southwest. Intermittent rain showers in the afternoon. The morning was spent with trunk inspection and showers. The Director conducted the morning church service and talked on the ability to know right from wrong. This was done in view of the preceding night's episode. Many pertinent references were given and we would hope that some of the thoughts were absorbed. The wind was much too strong for our Comets but the Sailfish saw lots of action and were in great demand. Bud Flowers pitched our twelve-and-over hardball team to a victory over Chenango, 7-1, in the afternoon. Sailfish races were held and Tom Ratcliff emerged as the new champion. Sunday outdoor supper was followed by the trip to town by the Inspection winners, Tent #53A and 12. Two excellent educational films ended the day.

CARDS: It is most important that you return the enclosed card in the very near future. The headings on it are self-explanatory; kindly fill in.

FINAL BARBEQUE: We again repeat our Invitation for the Barbeque on Thursday, August 22. We reluctantly must limit it, however, to parents, brothers, sisters, and grandparents of campers. We anticipate a Barbeque of better than 350 persons, and all this information is vital in our final plans. We would appreciate your early cooperation. In view of frequent cool nights, we strongly advise bringing warm clothes and coats. The ceremonies will take about two hours .and the evening gets chillier as it progresses. A flashlight is also a tremendous help in getting back to your car. The dress is informal--wear what you are comfortable in for sitting outside.

TRAVEL PLANS: We will have a supervised bus and train group from Cooperstown to N.Y. and then southward. We oust know how many will be going in this way in order to confirm the bus arrangements. The bus will leave here early on Friday morning, August 25. We will give you the exact times later.

The mimeographed enclosure is also self-explanatory of a Hyde Bay custom. You are perfectly free to do exactly as you wish regarding it.

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