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HYDE BAY HOME LETTER

VOLUME 41             August 14, 1967                   No. 7

MONDAY: Sunny and bright with no wind all day. Under the guidance of John Mercer, Jack Poreba, and Chris West an often—postponed Susquehanna trip departed shortly after breakfast. It included campers Paul Pickett, Andy Carl, Dick Raymond, and Mike Fish. The rest of the camp stayed at home to continue on all the wind—up events. The pleasant day was most conducive to a great deal of emphasis on swimming. Another small group went to Beaver Valley for continuation of the mammouth clearing job. About mid—afternoon another Lookout trip went out with George Radcliffe and Jeff Levi. Going with them were Andy Evans, Mike Hilliard, Randy Ryan, and Doug Master among others. Camp games were held during the evening for those remaining at home.
TUESDAY: Cloudy and overcast in the morning - sunny but hazy with a good breeze the afternoon. Many junior Comet races were run during the day. The swimming team finished its preparation for its meet with Chenango the next day. Peter Mehl held wrestling practice for those on the team who also were to meet Chenango on Thursday. Mike Whedbee took out riding trips both in the morning and afternoon. The tennis tournament was continued and most of the divisions were brought up to the finals which will be held at a later date. And guess what?? Rain in the late afternoon with thunder and lightning.
WEDNESDAY: Overcast but fair wind - enough to continue the sailing races. Chris West, Dave Gotshall, and Peter Mehl took a large group down to the base of Natty Bumpo’s Cave and scaled the cliffs to the top. It included campers Woody Franzheim, Dick Evans, David Patrick, Willie Franzheim, Ed Rucker, and Jonathan Clapp. Another large contingent of boys, councilors, and ULs went to Beaver Valley. John Brooks, Chip Smith, John Clinnin, Sandy Pickett, along with Alton Davison and Phil Breadel made the journey. About 2:50 p.m. Chenango arrived for the swimming meet. The event ended in a tie with some very fine swimming on both sides. The decision was made only at the final relay. In the evening we saw the movie “The Three Worlds of Gulliver” - a foreign film in technicolor,
THURSDAY: Very windy and partly cloudy. In the morning the order for the day was wind-up boating and sailing events. We are holding these a little earlier this year because of the risky weather; we have taken advantage of the good days. By 10:00 the wrestling meet was underway. Hyde Bay was the victor, 20-l4 Randy Ryan and Dave Clinnin won with some fine efforts. Cullen Dwyer also did a commendable job with his match. The horses were busy in the riding ring and also practicing for the jumping class in the upcoming riding show on Tuesday next. (August 15) The wind has finally changed and it looks as though we are in for a spell of improved weather.
FRIDAY: Windy and cold in the early morning, turning partly cloudy and cool during the latter part of the day. wind-up events continued and the theater was quite busy practicing for their plays on Saturday. The thirteen—and-under left for Doubleday Field to play Chenango. They decided to complete a previous game which had been rained out and won by a score of 5—2. The second game was called at four innings and Hyde Bay was losing, 6-5. The twelve-and-over team went to Doubleday to play Chenango and won 4-5, gaining a run in the last inning — a most exciting game. Those few campers not occupied by baseball worked in the Craft Shop with Hunt Hilliard and on the tennis courts. A group of ULs went to town in the evening to shop and see the movie “The Dirty Dozen.”

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SAIURDAY: Overcast and cold - a good breeze for sailing races, turning warm in the afternoon. Almost all of the wind-up tournaments were continued, including wrestling, sailing, boating, swimming, shuffleboard, water skiing, and archery. A UL group worked very hard in the theater to polish up their plays for presentation in the evening. Many interested campers and councilors assisted Alton Davison and Mouldy erect a most unusual final bonfire. It consists of many derelict boats that have been lying around camp for many years - some, we are sure, are as old, if not older, as the camp’s; 41 years. The old ST 37 tops the edifice. It Should be interesting to see how this type of fire works. In the evening another excellent set of plays were enjoyed by all . We would like to say at this time that the tent plays this year, under the able direction of Josh Shoemaker and Jolly Schmick have been the finest that we can recollect for many years. These boys are both clever and imaginative. The best actress award went to Rick deVantier for his portrayal of a Spanish speaking woman. The best actor was a double award - Stan Poreba as the Cheshire Cat and Harry Turner as a Captain of naval craft. The outstanding play of the evening was judged to be that from tent #l8 - Hyde Bay version of “High Noon.”
SUNDAY:. A cool, foggy start in weather but clearing and partly sunny later in the day. Breakfast was followed by preparation for Sunday trunk inspection. At 10:00 we all assembled in the theater for the church service with the Director leading. His talk was concerned with a brief recap and comment on the previous talks along with being aware that failure can sometimes be a rewarding lesson if we approach it with the correct attitude. Following inspection and Sunday showers the camp readied their craft for the afternoon Eight-inch Yacht Regatta. After a very fine dinner of fried chicken and our first batch of sweet corn the ULs assembled on the dock for their swimming wind-ups. At 4:30 p.m. all the Eight-inch boats hid been properly registered with our Deputy Commodore, McKee Lundberg (by popular vote of the camp), and were on their way to the starting line. The race went off without a hitch except for the fact that the course had to be changed from tower to shore to tower down lake due to a peculiar wind. The winning craft, “The Battleship Hyde Bay” was built and, engineered by Charlie Stone. David Clinnin came in second and Steve Childs was third in line. We missed our regular Commodore, Walter Lord, and hope that he will be able to make it back for race week sometime in the future. Outdoor supper followed the race. A second group of ULs went into town to the movie that they had missed on Friday. The campers saw the seria1 and cartoons in the camp theater. The Inspection winners for the week were from tents #67 and 12.

This is our final Weekly Homeletter for the season. You will, obviously, get the full details of this last week in person from your sons. Whatever we might have to say would be old hat. Likewise, the enclosed reports from the councilors will be the final ones for the summer. We have enjoyed each and every one of your boys and hope they, in turn, have learned and benefitted from camp. We look forward to seeing them next Summer.

There will be another Homeletter late in September which will include incidental bills, tuition and tutoring adjustments of all campers, both first and second month boys. The reason for the delay in this September Homeletter is because we are moving from Milton to Westwood, Massachusetts, the first of the month. Obviously, there will be some confusion in our office work. Our new address will be: Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Pickett
                 27 Briar Lane
                 Westwood, Massachusetts   02090

We are looking forward to seeing most of you at the Barbeque on Saturday.

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