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HYDE BAY HOME LETTER

VOLUME 39             July 19, 1965                   No. 4

MONDAY: Brilliant day, sunny, clear, and warm. Very little wind. The first Trenton Falls trip went out in the middle of the morning. Dick Carlton, John Mercer, Chip O’Brien, and Steve Cunningham made the trip along with fourteen campers including Peter Briggs, Blake Goldsmith, Neil Kocher, and Dave Gotshall. The rest of the camp was occupied by a large nature hike up the gorge in back of camp, swimming and all othe camp activities.
Junior Life Saving classes continued both in the morning and in the afternoon. The twelve—and-under had baseball practice in the morning in preparation for a game later on in the week. Aquaplaning and water skiing were in order for the afternoon. At 5:00 p.m. a Lookout trip set forth under the direction of Bill Bergstrom, Jack Poreba, and Tim Pitts with many campers. Some of the hikers were Tom Dyett, Dick Raymond, Frosty Frost, and Marty Zoubek. It was a clear, calm moonlit night which offorded some fine after-supper swimming.

TUESDAY: Very bright and rather hot day. With this type of weather the waterfront was the most active spot all day, although everything else was in full swing. After lunch, we put out the first overnight Rum Bill trip with Scotty Carlton, Lawry Pickett, Bill Schiess, and Dary Young in command. Stewart Wise and Winston Wood went with the group along with about seventeen other campers. After supper Junior football occupied well over half the camp. We have four teams in this league, both Junior and Senior groups. All the campers participate, and the groups have been named the Gromets, Steamers, Thunderbunnies, and Blossoms. In this particular series, the Gromets and Thunderbunnies tied 6-6 and the Steamers were victorious over the Blossoms.

WEDNESDAY: Another very hot day. Again, another good general camp day with no unusual program during the day - we attempted to take advantage of the good swimming weather. At noon the Hacker departed for the lower end of the Lake with the two youngest tents to explore Natty Bumppo’s cave under the leadership of Hunt Hilliard and Jamie Flowers. They ate their lunch at Fairy Springs and climbed the hill to the Cave and were back in camp by 3:30 p.m. Billy Ewing and Jared Bernstein were two of the climbers. The Trenton Falls trip returned after three days of good weather and high water all the way. They arrived just in time to escape a small thunder shower just before supper. The movie  for the evening was “Riders to the Stars” — a science—fiction type of movie with the emphasis on the fiction!

THURSDAY: Clear, breezy, with a good sailing wind. This meant that all the sailboats were in use almost steadily throughout the day with crews being tried out for a future race with nearby Camp Chenango. The N.Y. State Boating course got of the ground with Dick Carlton and the Director as instructors. At the end of the course, which should last a week, all the boys who pass will receive their licenses to drive motor boats on N.Y. waters. At the completion of the book work, they willthen learn how to run our small motor boat. Senior football and Junior volleyball were enjoyed by all after supper. A skunk was added to the menagerie at the Nature Nook. This was the first animal of any size that had been trapped to this date. He is

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friendly and shows no signs of using his defense mechanisms. towards any of the camp inhabitants. We think that  this one and others that hav e been observed are becoming Quite “humanized” by partaking of the delicious cookies that some of the campers have received from home.

FRIDAY: A beautiful day! Clear, warm, and sunny. A short time after breakfast Alton Davison toot out a second up—the-Lake canoe trip. He was assisted by John Mercer, Tom Kemp, and UL Rusty Pickett. In this trip we put the canoes in the water at Council Rock at the Cooperstown end of the Lake, and the boys paddle to Leather Stocking Falls for a hike and Juice and cookies, then to Three Mile Point for swimming and lunch. After lunch they paddle the far end of the Lake along with a short swim at Sunken Islands and then back to camp by about 5:00 p.m., having traveled a total of about twelve miles during the day. Those remaining in camp either participated in or were spectators to a twelve-and-over extra inning baseball game with Chenango, which we won by a score of 5—4. Our coach, Todd Mulvenny, states that it was the best game he has witnessed in his eight years of Hyde Bay residence. The twelve-and-under baseball journeyed to Chenango where they won a very close game 4—3. after supper there was a full slate of football and volleyball games. The weekly UL trip to town and bowling was enjoyed by fourteen ULs. On the return trip from bowling Tom Kemp and Steve Cunningham treed a
family of coons and brought one of the offspring back to camp with them — now giving us a count of two in our livestock attractions.

SATURDAY: Warm, partly cloudy, rain and thunder showers in the late afternoon. After a full morning of camp activities we commenced the first annual scavenger hunt. All but the ULs and councilors took part. The campers were divided into eight teams and were sent out in search of some thirty items, some of which were a live snake, a red eft, a thorn from a hawthorn tree, a maple leaf, a lost pop bottle, a live cocoon, and many other such things. The winner was Team # 1 comprised of Tom Prior, Tom Fisher, Mike Hilliard, Steve Johnson, Larry Sager, Pete Spragins, and Randy Ryan. This, along with last minute play rehearsals kept about everyone busy most of the day. Water skiing was done by some who wished a little rest from the hunt. The evening saw five plays put on the stage. The four youngest tents plus Tent #1 were the stars of the evening. The judges, headed by Mac Mellor who was visiting for the weekend and was former head of the theater department decided that there was a tie for the best play. Tents # 1 and 8 shared the honor. The best actor award went to Eric Reid with honorable mention to Charlie Stone. The best actress was Tom Fisher.

SUNDAY: We awoke to a rather heavy fog and low hanging clouds - a hangover from the storm the preceding evening. The sun finally came through and gave some nice warm weather. Mr. Davison led the church service at 10:00 a.m. with a fine talk on the privilege of being alive and the accompanying responsibility we also have towards others. The regular thorough trunk inspection and showers filled a good part of the morning. After rest period the  entire camp participated in the annual greased watermelon battle on the waterfront. This always provides lots of fun and action and a good time was had by all. Our outdoor supper was then followed by the Sunday night movies. The weekly Inspection winners, this week they were Tents # 8 and 12, left for Cooperstown right after supper and joined the movie group on their return.

HOT ROCK CONTEST WINNERS: Thirty some odd campers won prizes of various kinds. Sandy Pickett was the grand winner and Ray Athey, Stewart Wise, and David Tillapaugh were close runner-ups.