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HYDE BAY HOME LETTER             19th SEASON              August 10 - 16, 1945

Return Plans. To repeat the message of last week, boys will leave Fort Plain at 8:56 on the morning of Thursday, August 23. They will be in charge of Couni1or Richard H. Williams. If fortune favors them, they will arrive in New York at 3:15. If they meet with the fate that we have encountered in recent trips, they will arrive at 4:40. In any event, they will take the first available Pennsylvania train for Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington. If the 3:15 is our fate, they should be able to take the 4:30 from Pennsylvania Station with ease. Boys who do not go to Baltimore and Washington, who are not met by parents or friends in the Grand Central Station, will be instructed to go to the incoming train room and stand near the Bulletin Board until parents arrive. If it is possible, some parent who does meet the train will be asked to look after the boys until the parents arrive.

Weather. This has been our best week of the entire camp season. There has been scarcely any rain at all. The nights have been cool and the days have been warm and sunny. Against the background of the vagaries of The preceding weather, this dispensation is deeply appreciated by all.

Health. For another week, the infirmary has housed not a single boy for an overnight stay. One or two had upsets and headaches, and occupied a bed for a few hours.

Infirmary Tenant. The only tenant of the infirmary was Lt. Al Kerr, former councilor, just back from a long stay on
Okinawa. The few old campers who remembered him gathered about and soon had him playing the piano, as of yore.

Celebration. V—J day passed rather quietly at camp. There was of course much rejoicing. At night, an effigy of Hirohito was burned with appropriate ceremonies.

Treasure Hunt. The annual search for buried treasure took place on Thursday and Friday. The clues proved baffling to the majority of the boys, although the Director, who made out the hunt, had felt that they were easier than usual. Toward the end of the hunt, four teams pooled their interests, in defiance of the Sherman and all succeeding anti—trust laws. Having mastered the final clue, a coin was flipped to determine, which of the four should be left out in the cold, and to distribute the three prizes among the other teams. Dick Nash’s team was first while Jimmy Gorter’s organization was eliminated. The others took second and third place. The first prize was a dinner in Cooperstown, followed by the movies. The second was a trip to the movies, with sodas. The third was a trip to East Springfield with a filip of ice cream and pop.

Big League. Teams 4 and 6 of the Baseball League are to play off the little camp series, best two out of three games.

Holiday. The day after the announcement of the surrender of Japan, the boys in the school took a holiday, with the agreement that they make up the work on Saturday. This was duly carried out.

Tent of the Week. Tent No. 10, headed by Charles Lando, who Who shepards Tibor Cholnoky, Dick McCornack, Michael Misson, Kenny Van Cott and Henry Vollmer, were the proud winners of the Tent-of-the-Week contest. Their predecessors went in to see the movie “Wilson” one evening this week.

Cinematic Finale. The last movie of the season was the well—known film “I Wanted Wings.” The revengeful movie apparatus took a last fling at its operator, with the result that the projection was rather poor, which in the opinion of some of the adults, was in harmony with the movie. However, the younger members of our community seemed pleased.

Doubleday Revisited. On Monday, our teams once more clashed with Cooperstown on historic Doubleday Field. Once more, both teams won decisive victories over the local boys. Thus ended the best baseball record in the history of the camp, with no defeats on our record at all.

Garden. As is likely to happen in the middle of August, our garden has begun to produce delicious sweet corn. We have had it three times, and are looking forward to a repeat performance at the final banquet.

Equestrian Data. On Sunday, the annual horse show was held, with contests in four classes. The results will be given out and ribbons awarded around the fire on the final evening.

Invitation. All parents are cordially invited to attend the final banquet bonfire on the evening of August 22. Preparations are already going forward for that gala event. Boys have been down the road with the truck and trailer, bringing up vast quantities of wood for the final fire. Silas and his cohorts in the kitchen are full of plans for the gastronomic end of the affair.

Current Events. As we go to press, the final contests in our camp world where taking place. This is known in our quaint parlance as, “The Wind-Up.” Races were held in swimming, row boats, and canoeing. A number of events have already been run off amid considerable excitement. These results will also be announced around the fire on the last night of the season.

Valedictory. This will probably be the last home letter of this season. It has been a pleasure to endeavor to set forth the events of this very pleasant camp season. The response and comment of many of you have kept the editor’s chin on at least a horizontal plane. All kind words are deeply appreciated. The editor always plans to write another home letter after the boys have gone, but always weakens and assumes that the vocal report which is made by each of the young men will be much more gratefully received.

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