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VOLUME XII.    NUMBER FIVE.                        July 28 – August 3, 1939.

DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT.  This edition of the Homeletter is being typed directly on the stencil.  Normally the Director-Editor does the original on his machine, Herb stencils it, Jack Stockbridge runs off the mimeograph sheets.  Today the benevolent influence and corrective fingers of Herb are lacking.  On the last Trenton trip he fell and dug a hole in his elbow.  Lawry bandaged it (He hopes to be a doctor in five or six years) a Prospect doctor went over it; and he has to keep it more or less straight for two weeks.  Hence the horrible alternative as stated above.  Perhaps life would be better if all our errors in expression were thus made irrevocable.

WEATHER.  If we mention the weather first you will know that it is not playing its usual role of padding.  Again we have had a perfect week meteorologically (Herbie would have corrected this spelling).  We have even had a rain.  Warm days and cool nights, just enough of air stirring.

SWIMMING.  Congratulations to Larry Fenneman and Tommy Cranwell on passing the “D” test.  That left no “non swimmers”# in camp.  Did we say last week that Lawrie Hooper, Randall Beirne, Al and Pitts Raleigh, have all passed their Junior Life Saving tests ? Billy Crawford, Bobby Dodson, Guy Hollyday, and Folger Oudin all get a hand for passing the long “A” test, a swim from Clarke’s Point over to camp.  We were just nosed out in a swimming meet for the younger boys on Thursday.  The victors were the Playground boys from Cooperstown.  One of the excellent features of this astonishing village is a splendid supervised playground with land and water sports.  Our meet with them is a very pleasant annual event.

HORSE AND FOOT.  Larry Skelley took out a five horse trip to Nebo.  They report sound sleep and a great night on the hill.  We have just determined by a study of U. S. Survey maps that Nebo is just a few feet over 2,000 above sea level.  The highest point on the map is 2,295.  Our view is as fine as any, a complete circular panorama.  A group went by car to the start of the abandoned road and then hiked to the leanto on Nebo.  (We can not get Scalp-lock going somehow.)  Travers and Supey lead out their tents of the younger campers.

RUM HILL BUT NOT A RUM GO.  (Herbie would have deleted this awful pun.)  Just to warm up for the horse hike, Larry took four horses ten miles to the summit of Rum Hill, that peak on that fringe of mountains across the lake which looks so like cardboard scenery against a sinking sun.  The riders seems a bit so#re (Oh dear ! Read seemed for seems and disregard the #).  It takes more than that to keep a good man up.  Johnny Kinder, Schuyler Townson, and Ralph Thomas sat down# to meals as usual.  Meanwhile Gordon Kinder took four canoe loads across the lake and scaled the heights on foot.  This too is an annual trip with the horse party as an innovation of 1939.

GOOD RESOLUTIONS.  There is a correction fluid, symbolic of forgiveness, which I shall use on this sheet.  I scorned it last time.  (I should have said we with an editor on our list of subscribers.)

CHANGES OTHER THAN CORRECTIONS.  To return to camp, we should state that the following have left us as perschedule:  Brian Phillips born off by his parents.  Randall Beirne carried away by parents.  (His Father and I almost beat George I and George II, Chandlee and Gillet at tennis.)  General Heiner and his daughters took Gordon off to the West.  Lawrie Hooper rode down with the Beirnes.  Al and Pitts Raleigh with Freddie Allner boarded the train at Fort Plain for New York and points south.  Mrs. Maltbie dropped in briefly to load on Bill for an eastern sojourn.  Marq is away for a week with his parents who called for him.  He returns next Friday.  Howdy Bubert rode away to the train on Monday morn accompanied to the road by a full cortege of fellow U.L. Lest you picture the survivors as so many Robinson Crusoes attended only by Theodore Friday we hasten to say that Walter Dandy, Matt Atkinson, (had to touch Matt up with the fluid-did you notice it?) and Charlie Ellicott came in Thursday at the Fort.  Benjy Franklin followed soon after. Mr. and Mrs. Stringer dropped Bob for the rest of the summer.  As this letter covers only up to Thursday we cannot mention the advent of Dancy Bruce on Friday night.  But you can see that we are keeping well up to Numbers.  Three or four more are scheduled to appear next week.

SAILING.  In addition to almost daily trips and voyages we have had numberless sailing races but very few victories this week.  We are improving and having a lot of fun doing it.

OPERA.  The campers at Pathfinder put on Wagner’s Opera, the Flying Dutchman, and we were invited to see it.  Avout twenty boys and councilors went down to enjoy a very beautiful presentation.  (I hope all these names are right.  The ensemble sounds a bit like a mixture of baseball, diving and music.  Here again Herbie would be a real convenience. )

OPUS.  Pathfinder found us fresh from our victory over Camp Chenango.  Evidently they had not heard about us for they went on to beat us on the tennis court.  Names of defeated contestants are with held by request.

BASE BALL.  Those stirling agregations known as the Millworkers and the Golfers both won in the bog league this week.  ( If this were not such a dry season “bog” would not be an error.  We did mean big.)

ROW BOATS.  This week saw three new (to us) row boats brought to camp on the trailer.  They are trim craft instantly popular with rwong adepts.  (No fluid will help that.  I mean rowing.)  Larry Pickett and Jake Madeen with Billy Crawford as cox have issued a blatant challenge to all comers in a double oared event.

VISITORS.  The Townsons were in over the week end and with them Mr. John R. Webster who exercised Murph on the court till it rained.  Mrs. Fenneman and her sister Miss Martien were here for a few hours. ----- With no Herbie to check up I have a fearful feeling that I have left some one or thing out—but not () ( easier than to try to spell them.) Ahhhh!  !  Why will children of any age hurt their arms ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

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