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HYDE BAY HOME LETTER
VOLUME 40 September, 1966 AFTER-CAMP
MONDAY, AUGUST 15: Rain before, during, and after breakfast. Cloudy in the afternoon. Most of the morning was consumed with gathering clothes and laundry to go out in the evening. Good clothes were checked and those that needed it were sent to the cleaners. A large group went out with Dick Carlton to gather wood for the final bonfire. The finishing touches were put on the wrestling and archery wind-ups. In the morning those who had not been to the Farmer’s and Baseball Museums were sent out for the last Museums trips. Due to the weather the Crafts Shop was busy most of the day. Since it cleared after supper, we had intramural basketball and volleyball followed by an evening swim.
TUESDAY: Partly cloudy with a good wind or sailing. Chenango arrived at 10:00 a.m. for a swimming meet which we won quite easily. The score escapes us at the moment. Two more groups went in search of wood which was the termination of the bonfire gathering process. Some found enjoyment in rigging canoes with poncho sails and sailing in from Clark’s Point. In the afternoon after rest period we all watched the finals of the wrestling wind—ups. The evening was occupied with a showing of the old camp movies.
WEDNESDAY: Sunny and windy with no rain. The remainder of the sailing wind-ups were finished and the rest of the day involved the ending up of other finals - mainly in swimming. Final exams were given in Junior Life Saving and Senior Life Saving. Mike Brough took the finalists to the golf course for the last round of the final tournament. The tennis courts were busy most of the afternoon. This was a very busy day with no particular planned activity except for the movie, “The Trojan Horse” in the evening.
THURSDAY: Sunny and breezy. Shortly after breakfast the canoes were loaded on the trailer for the Camp—to—Cooperstown UL race. This year two canoe loads of councilors also joined the ULs. The winner of the race was the team of Tom Ratcliff—Charlie Fisher—Larry Sager.. Second place went to Tim Pitts-Jim Stone-Jeff Levi. Third place was Sam Spragins-Dick Raymond-Dave Clinnin. The boat of Mercer—Turner-Mulvenny is still coming up the Lake! This was a great triumph for the ULs to defeat the Councilors. The final bonfire was erected, the center pole raised, and this year the pole was graced with the hats of Ted Mehl, Chris west, and Roger Helms. In the afternoon, immediately after lunch, we held the annual Riding Show. Tom Kemp deserves a great deal of credit for running a fine performance with his riders. In the evening we showed a movie on mouth—to—mouth resuscitation.
FRIDAY: Clear and very windy. The sailboats were kept busy with recreational type sailing. The rest of the activities were involved with wind—ups. Finishing touches were put on the bonfire with a general cleanup of the front of camp. In the afternoon the Councilor vs. Twelve-and-over Baseball Game took place with the Councilors coming out on top, as usual. The rest of the camp enjoyed getting last minute participations in their favorite activity. After supper a few of the ULs went into town to the movies and everyone else entered into some type of after—supper game.
BARBEQUE DAY: A clear and bright day for which we were all most grateful. The campers spent the better part of the morning in getting cleaned, packed, and ready for their departure from camp. This always seems to take longer than we anticipate what with showers, polishing shoes, and collecting lost
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articles. Many parents begam arriving in the morning and were able to do some of the activities their sons had participated in during the summer. By 6:00 p.m. most of the parents had arrived for the feast. After all had partaken of the barbequed chicken, the Director initiated the festivities with a few remarks about the season in general. As soon as it was dark enough Dick Carlton, the master behind the bonfire, lit the paper that ignited the large pile of wood. It was a very fine fire, and we were all able to watch it for about half an hour after it fell towards the Lake, thank goodness. The awards and trophies were given out to all the deserving campers. The finale of the evening was the presentation of the Best Camper Award for 1966 to Dyche Kinder. Many boys left with their parents after the awards - the rest left the next morning.
CLOSING OF CAMP: After the majority of the boys had left early in the morning, the staff began to dismantle the equipment. The dock, tower, and, tent platforms went to the Russellorum, the rowboats, canoes, kyaks, and sailfish to the Lodge, Comets to the Theater, and the tents and mattresses to Little Bohemia. This was all completed by Monday noon at which time the Councilors departed in their various directions The married men and their families remained on until Wednesday morning. Most of the camp was now settled for the winter.
REPORTS: All final tutoring reports have been sent out to the various schools and parents’ copies are enclosed with this Homeletter. If there are any questions in regard to the summer tutoring, please let us know. We sincerely hope that the boys’ work during the summer will be of help to them during the school year. Most of them worked industriously.
LOST ARTICLES: All articles that were left behind with name tapes have been sent home. If you are still missing something let us know. We will attempt to track it down.
BILLS: Enclosed are the bills for the incidental expenses – plus additional tutoring charges and tuition adjustments. We hope there are no discrepancies. Kindly call it to our attention if you feel there are any errors.
A WORD OF THANKS: Thank you very much for a most pleasant summer with your sons. Just as in the past years they have made it a most successful camp season. The Council did a fine job and all went as smoothly as we could possibly have asked for. We want to hear from you of any constructive or adverse criticism you have. We always want to improve. We are already working on new programs for next summer. Many parents and boys have indicated they wish to return next summer. During the early part of February we will be sending out the official card for you to designate your specific plans for 1967. We would be happy to hear from you sooner and urge all applications for UL and Councilor positions to be in early. I will be writing the Council shortly after the first of the year. I would like to have the staff ready and complete by the end of February. You will receive a Christmas letter in December.
REMINDER: We would kindly ask you to address all correspondence until June 1, 1967 to
Mr. Robert A. Pickett Our telephone number is:
225 Central Avenue
Milton 87, Mass. Area code. Area code 617 - 696-2669
We would be pleased to see you or hear from you at any time during the winter. If any of you are in the Boston area, please do not hesitate to call.
Again, all the Picketts join together in wishing you and your families a most pleasant fall and winter.
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