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HYDE BAY HOME LETTER
VOLUME 43 7 July, 1969 No. 1
THE HOMELETTER: is our method of informing you of your son’s week’s events. The boys write home each week but many items of interest are omitted. We will be glad to send the Homeletter to any grandparents or other interested members of the camper’s family when requested. This edition begins the forty third season of this pleasant tradition. We will also continue to send this publication to former campers and councilors who have indicated their desire to receive it.
REPORTS: Included with this letter are the weekly camper reports. Reports for tutoring boys will also be included with this letter as well as with all subsequent letters. We will be glad to send a copy of the tutoring report to the respective school if the parents so desire.
TENT LISTS: A tent list for July is enclosed with the intention that it will assist you in introducing you to the boys in your son’s tent as well as to his councilor. It will also aid in identifying the tents that will be performing on the stage in the tent plays on successive Saturday evenings throughout the summer. The curtain rises at 8:30 p.m. and we welcome all guests. The tent plays for this Saturday will be coming from Tents #8, 53B, and 63A.
BILLS: The bills that are enclosed include the full camp fee — both full time and the first four weeks. If it is more convenient for those here all summer, half the tuition may he paid now and the remaining at the second billing, sometime the last Df July. If your son is registered for July and wishes to stay on for the second month, the tuition will remain at the eight—week rate. The tutoring fee is based on a projected figure. The final figure will be adjusted on the final billing after camp closes.
SWIMMING TESTS: Frequently throughout the summer we will be referring to various swimming tests. To interpret our terminology, we are describing the tests as follows —— the progression in distance being from “E” to “A”:
“E” -- around the float and back——about 50 yards.
“D” -- around the tower and back———about 150 yards or a little more.
“C” -- swimming along the shoreline towards Cooperstown --- about 400 yards. This test also includes mastering a few fundamentals in strokes as well as diving fundamentals.
“B” -- a yet longer swim with more emphasis placed on the mastery of some advanced strokes and advanced diving.
“A” -- from Clarke’s Point to camp---a distance of about 3/4 of a mile. All our swimming tests are done with a councilor rowing a boat along with the boy in the water and with a second man in the boat.
WEATHER: For the most part, the weather has been excellent for camping. In contrast to last year, the opening of the camp by the councilors was made easier by considerably batter working weather, and there is very little left to do to bring our physical set—up to completion. A couple of nights of rain has been the only adverse factor in an otherwise very active first week.
IN-CAMP ACTIVITIES: Most of the boys have passed at least their “D” test in swimming and we have begun classes for the few non—swimmers. The tennis court is in excellent condition, and we are already preparing for a contest with our neighboring camp, Chenango. The archery range has been extremely busy for this time of year. There are presently four horses in full use and all seem to be working out well. There will be a fifth one coming in shortly.
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Wrestling, fishing, and nature have been enjoyed by many. The theater department spent all week preparing for our first set of tent plays presented by Tents #1, 2, 3, and 4. The camp all enjoyed seeing these on Saturday evening. The winning play of the evening was that put on by Tent #3. The best actress award went to Nicky Warner and the best actor was judged to be Eric Reid. It was a fine set of plays for the opening night of our theater. Due to the lack of inclement weather, the craft shop was attended by few during the week. The tent inspection winners for the week were Tents #67 and 15. Their reward was a trip to Cooperstown to buy some goodies on Sunday afternoon. The week was commenced with a church service led by the Director who spoke on the reasons for us all being at camp and what we should expect to gain from the experience in this type of community. Hunt Hilliard led the following Sunday service. His topic was related to learning and knowing right from wrong, how we might achieve, this, and the pursuing the correct direction. All four Comets and our increased fleet of three Sailfish were in constant use. We are again fortunate in having our new ski boat back in camp for use in water skiing and aquaplaning, both of which are extremely popular.
TRIPS: The first trip of the year departed on July l1 to Snow Glutch under the abel guidance of Alton Davison, John Stidham, Tom Lynn, and Sandy Pickett. It Included campers Ted Sizer, Nicky Warner, Paul Mangano, Gordy Boone, Jeff Nielsen, Blaise deSibour, Hap Cooper, Craig Bock, Keats Bowie, Sandy Childs, Jonathan Clapp, Ken Davies, and. Bill Dube. They reported finding an abundance of snow. That evening Bob Tucker, Steve Childs, and Tim Bennett led a Lookout trip with the following campers among those going: Tim Braseth, Dave Lytel, Brett Schuler, Chris Ashley, Joe Hedal, and John Low. On the Fourth of July, we sent out two trips, one to Lookout which made a courageous return to camp during the night because of a rather heavy thunder storm. The trip was led by George Radcliffe, Dave Dube, and Tom Lynn, assisted by ULs Ken Earll and Scott Haskell. This trip Included campers from Tent #8, 53B, and 63A. The same evening, Bobby Tucker again braved the elements on a trip to Beaver Valley. He was ably assisted by councilor Larry Sager and ULs Pres Huidekoper and David Peggs. The campers who weathered the rain and precipitation included George Fulton, John Murray, Matt Skinner, Duncan Kinder, Ken Raff, John Roll, and Marty Sutton. This concluded the trips for the week except for some short hikes to the ravine above camp as well as to Pathfinder Gorge.
ENTERTAINMENT: The planned entertainemnt for the week consisted of a full length feature film entitled “P.T. 109” starring Cliff Robertson on Sunday evening plus another, feature film on Wednesday evening, “Masters of the World”, a science fiction thriller starring Vincent Price. The second Sunday saw the inauguration of our Sunday evening serial “Jesse James” and assorted cartoons. The evening of the Fourth was celebrated with a marshmallow roast for those in camp....some were on trips. An entertainment special event was the capture of a large thirteen—inch, twenty—five pound snapping turtle off the end of the dock by Scotty Carlton, a former councilor who was visiting camp for the the weekend. The turtle was kept in captivity for a few hours and then released in nearby Shadow Brook for a better home.
ATHLETICS: The only athletic competition of the week was a twelve—and—over baseball game with nearby Chenango. It was a shaky start, to say the least, since we came out on the short end of 4-0 score. The twelve—and—under team will play this next week, and we have great expectations for better things to come. We have begun our intramural program and it seems to be popular with all the campers.
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