Camp Memories

[EagerBeaver]

Camp was awesome, except for Organized Recreation.

Whoever came up with the idea for Organized Rec (read: Mandatory Fun), should be tied down to his bed and beaten with soap wrapped in towels.

I loved canoeing out in Deep Lake in Millersylvania, Washington. In fact one day at Senior Camp last summer I was in charge of canoeing and we kept getting reports from the shore that three Russian brothers were tipping girls' canoes in the middle of the lake. I proceeded to canoe out to them, warn them...and when they did it again I made them latch onto my boat and paddle in a giant circle for 20 minutes. Then when I left them they couldn't paddle straight...they kept paddling in that circle when it was time to come back in and wash up for dinner, so out i went back in the canoe to get them.

As a camper, my friend Caleb and I carried out the most elaborate prank in WACOGOP Camp history. 2002, it was our final year as Campers so we had to go out in style. We sneaked out of church service early, ran down to the lake and set up flashlights, battery powered disco balls and mirrors in the field behind the boys cabins toward the lake (where anyone boating could intrude on the camp if they so desired). When the younger guys were being brought down from the lodge to their cabins, we turned the lights on and the mirrors reflected enough to make two flashlights look like 20.

My brother was in his second year of Senior Camp and joined in on the prank by screaming "Intruders!!!" thus riling up his fellow young Senior Campers (about age 13-14) and sending them all out to look for the "intruders" while Caleb and I hid in the woods.

As the young kids came close to finding us, we would whisper to them in attempts to scare them "Hey kid, I'm the spirit of fear, you'll never get out of here alive" and "I'm the spirit of false religion, join up with me." We were young and even dumber than we are now.

We didn't realize what an effect it would have on those kids until they came up to our place in the woods and started rebuking Satan, his spirits and commanding them to leave the campground. By now it had gotten well out of hand and we ran out of names of spirits to use so my friend Caleb started yelling gibberish like "I'm the Spirit of Chevrolet...I'm the spirit of Nike...Just Do It!!!"

Then some kid ran and told their group leader that he had been attacked by the spirit of Nike, the group leader found Caleb and I and to keep the rest of the story short, the area near the lake was devoid of duck poop by the end of the week.

I love camp.

[DaJudge]

C
Whoever came up with the idea for Organized Rec (read: Mandatory Fun), should be tied down to his bed and beaten with soap wrapped in towels.

We had something like that in Georgia camps. Dewayne and KB will remember these. They were called rat tails. Basically what they were were towels, wound up as tightly as you could get them with a knot in the end. Then you would snap your buddies with them. If you wanted to get nasty, you would wet the tip. Wet rat tails could literally draw blood.

Stuff that would get you sued nowadays, but we had fun with it.

[DeWayneTN]

Stuff that would get you sued nowadays, but we had fun with it.

I never had fun with it. I strictly forbid anyone near me putting one together. I was 8 years old when I first went to camp and my counselor (who has since disappeared ---hmmmmm) popped me with one.

[DaJudge]

Stuff that would get you sued nowadays, but we had fun with it.

I never had fun with it. I strictly forbid anyone near me putting one together. I was 8 years old when I first went to camp and my counselor (who has since disappeared ---hmmmmm) popped me with one.

The person having fun was the person doing the popping.

I made a mean rat tail.

[DeWayneTN]

I'm sure we'd have so much fun working in camp together, DaJudge - we have so many common interests. But this where we'd have a big disagreement. Of course, I don't mean to be such a spoilsport. You know I did break a camper's leg one time.

[KBevangelist]

You know I did break a camper's leg one time.

Saw with my own eyes

KB

[DeWayneTN]

You know I did break a camper's leg one time.

Saw with my own eyes

No wonder you were so well behaved when you were in my cabin after that.

[DaJudge]

Okay, Georgia folks. Who remembers Killer Ball games up in the gym? Wicked Awesome fun!

[Billy n NC]

I started going to Camp when I was 10 years old.
I am 50+ years old and I am proud to say that I have spent
if not 1 year, its almost, of my life in Summer Camp. I attended camp until I was in my early 20s as a camper. Then I started working in camp.
As many as 5 or 6 camps each summer. More if they asked.. LOL

Here in NC B4 we had Camp Maranatha we rented a facility in the Mtns of NC up near Boone. Johns River Camp. Had cabins scattered over the mtn side. A river ran beside the camp. At noon the camp staff would go to the bridge across the river and drop down wooden gates that would back the river up for swimming. That water was cold.

I still remember Larry Turner (state youth director.. aka VLB) standing in the water about waist deep trying to talk me into the water. Something was wrong. His lips was turning a deep bluish purple. Can I its COLD at waist deep river water..

I remember the softball games . The cooks coming out and playing/teaching us how to play horse shoes. We also on the last day of camp would go on a 50 mile hike(hey I was 11) to the top of one of the mountains near by that had a Fire/Ranger station. The cooks would meet us via a pickup truck with drinks and sandwiches. The 50 miles back was shorter.. LOL

And yes the towel fights were awesome. After a few years of being POPPED I learned to Pop with the best LOL Cabin Raiding, Pillow fighting and Dont think shaving cream in a can was available then LOL I was 11ish .

Church services where awesome. Lasting well into the night. I still talk and visit with friends that I met in camp and that was over 40 years ago.

And then came Camp Maranatha. Our State Owned Campground.

www.campmaranatha.net

Uh lots and lots of stories. Maybe another post.


There is lurker here that should and could share a story about

The CPMA PATROL.

Does he dare.... Double Dog Dare.

[EagerBeaver]

Stuff that would get you sued nowadays, but we had fun with it.

I never had fun with it. I strictly forbid anyone near me putting one together. I was 8 years old when I first went to camp and my counselor (who has since disappeared ---hmmmmm) popped me with one.

We had a rash of injuries stemming from Rat Tailed towels in youth camp in the mid-90s and for awhile I remember there being serious consequences for anyone who snapped a towel at anyone.

So everyone just took the towels and snapped them at empty pop cans instead.