The Council Room

[Jim Culleton]

As I recall Wyanoke opened its doors to campers as I speak . . . . . either the 3rd or 4th week of June on a Saturday! What a day as our parents either dropped us off after finding out our cabin/tent assignment, or the buses from the Boston & NY Parties are about ready to navigate the two stone walls at the Wyanoke entrance. I don't think any of us knew our cabin/tent assignments until we arrived. Either way it was an emotional time for new campers entering into a brand new environment. Veteran campers knew the ropes pretty much but it was a traumatic experience for the newbies and some veterans as well. "Why are my parents shipping me off for 8 weeks . . . . . . . . . to a strange land . . . . . maybe to never return?" During my 1st year in '56 I thought NY was a million miles from NH. Geez they will never find this place in August?! Camp kept us too busy to remain homesick too long!

I can remember the smell of the pine trees that were so characteristic of the Wyanoke landscape as a camper. I also have fond memories of PineSol permeating the Midget, Jr. & Sr. Camp "Pines" which became more of a reminiscent theme of Wyanoke days! Anytime I smell that PineSol I am remembering stall #1 in the Senior Pines which was reserved for Mr. Slocum. Never a sign posted . . . . . it was just understood.

And yes, the initial Junior meeting hosted by Norm Risser conveying all of the pertinent info that we needed to know for the rest of the summer. The only thing I remember is Norm's classic . . . . . . . "You Can't Catch Fish In Those Trees"!

I don't think we had "swim" on the 1st day . . . . . maybe an afternoon one? Can't remember what the noon meal was on the 1st day, but it had to be good since we were leaving mom's home cooking. It was also our indoctrination to "The Slide" and 2nd's. Remember those scratched beat up serving trays. Were they aluminum or steel? I remember that they had a ridge on them in case of spills.

Just as an aside . . . . . . JA's, JC's and Councilors were informed of their status pre-camp in a letter from BMB. As I recall we had to sign a contract since we were being paid for those duties.

Anyone else want to chime in on their 1st day at Wyanoke, either 1st year or subsequent years?

An experience that I would not trade anything in the world for.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jim
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[DavidAyars]

Good description, Jim. The only thing I remember differently in the later years was that camp always started (and ended) on a Tuesday or Thursday. I'm sure there was a Gregorian calendar somewhere divined by monks gazing at the stars which broke out the formula as to which would be chosen back then-- Tuesday or Thursday.

The other thing I remember well, as we've commented on in at least one old thread, was the first trip to the camp store, to pick up our uniform and supply order. You'd stand, feeling alone, in a slow-moving line outside the store heading back towards the councilor's staff "lounge". You'd get to the head of the line and say your name and somebody would go back and find your stuff, and you'd go in the back room (the only time most campers ever went in the back room of the store, which had an old roll-top(?) desk and an old combination safe, and a bare 120W light bulb struggling to light the bare wood framed walls and shelves), and there'd be about 10 older ladies from Wolfeboro sewing name tags. You'd try on a pair of your shorts with the ladies present. It was pretty grim. They'd pile your order up in your arms and you'd try to find your way back to your tent or cabin.

I do remember the first day I went to camp in July 1965 (I was a second-month only camper that year) was very cool and drizzly. Not inviting at all.
_________________
Camper: J-8 1965 (Kevin Ryan), J-8 1966 (Mike Freeland), S-6 1967 (Russ Hatch), S-3 1968 (Jeremy Cripps), and JA-2 1969 (Dan Mannis).
JC: J-2 1970 (Bill Bettison) and J-3 1971 (Gene Comella). Councilor 1972, J-5 1973, and JA-1 1974 & 1975

[Mike Freeland]

Funny, I don't remember anything specific about any of my first days at camp as a camper. Only the general stuff like the things you guys brought up. I don't remember meeting my tent/cabin mates specifically, nor my councilors. Going to camp was a kind of approach-avoidance thing for me -- it always took me a little time to acclimatize (sp?), and I knew that so I didn't want to go. Once I did get used to things, I loved it and so I did want to go. Real conflicting.

The generic experiences you both mentioned, however, are burned into my head. That ordeal of standing in the store in my underwear with all those women, all of whom looked like everybody's grandmaw was indeed pretty grim. Kind of like your first day in the Marines.

I do remember, though, a really comforting feeling when I opened my trunk for the first time after getting settled in my tent. It'd been packed so neatly at home, but now looked as though some TSA agent with a deadline had been rooting around for explosives. My trunk smelled of OUR attic, where it was stored all winter with things in it that I'd need the following summer, but would be too small for me.

There was a smell to the dining hall that always stuck with me too. It wasn't the food being prepared, and it wasn't altogether pleasant at first. The first meal for me was dinner on the first day (the New York Party arrived later in the day), and I don't remember what was served. I hope it wasn't cold cuts.

The first bed time was always a bit grim to me too (Whaddaya mean "did I go to the pines?"), and I didn't know anyone well enough to want to talk and giggle after Taps. It was light out and too damned early to drift off to sleep. I wasn't used to mosquitos. I don't remember if my councilors spent the first night telling us a story or laying down the rules of the tent. I hope it was the former.

The first reveille was like a hammer. For one brief moment I'd think I was at home, but suddenly realized I was stuck to my flannel sheet-blankets and had to get ready for inspection and a breakfast of bacon and toast. That wasn't home.

And those aluminum trays. Some were smaller than others, and I sometimes wondered why they just didn't order a few gross of the same model. How could they wear out? When I started at camp, they had aluminum pitchers (also mentioned elsewhere in the forums) the Kitchen Boys would dump (rather than pour) milk into from 5-gallon (or more) milk cans straight from the WasMacco dairy. If the milk can was full, they'd get milk all over the garbage slide trying to stop dumping. Those pitchers went the way of Freddie's truck for trip transportation because of health concerns. The beginning of the safety paranoia we still suffer from.

I could keep this up for hours. Anyone else? Anyone?

Oh, and welcome to the new registrants from Winnemont. It's great to have you aboard!
_________________
'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6

[DavidAyars]

You're right, Mike, the specific memories are gone. Funny thing about the first night, and reading a story vs. a stern talk about the rules of the tent, then... councilors were told, pre-camp: have a talk with your boys the first night at taps setting the tone for a good summer (="the rules"), because, the theory went, it's easier to start strict and loosen up than to go the other way around. Cautionary tales were offered of a councilor or two who tried it the other way around and met with disaster.

But actually, you're probably right, Mike, that the better way to set the stage for a good summer would have been to create a warm family atmosphere on night one rather than set the stage for a by-the-book military operation. But hey, times have changed. Some of the traditions at camp were evolving in the '60s and '70s but were still rooted in the military and prep school models. If I was still there now, we'd do the first trip to the store a lot differently, too. It's kind of like the Scientology thing about a quiet birth room. Make the first impressions warm and positive ones.

Though I don't remember the first night-- since I started in mid-summer, I probably got the story start, not the rules one-- my very generic memories of the Taps-time ritual as a camper were pleasant. The councilor coming around for a quiet, private word or two (the equivalent of a kiss on the forehead from Mom). The flickering lantern light. The story. I still like falling asleep to old time radio shows from the 1940s and '50s, which probably comes from story-reading at camp. I did endure bouts of homesickness my first two years, but I don't remember them being worse at bedtime, as is the stereotype.
_________________
Camper: J-8 1965 (Kevin Ryan), J-8 1966 (Mike Freeland), S-6 1967 (Russ Hatch), S-3 1968 (Jeremy Cripps), and JA-2 1969 (Dan Mannis).
JC: J-2 1970 (Bill Bettison) and J-3 1971 (Gene Comella). Councilor 1972, J-5 1973, and JA-1 1974 & 1975

[Jeff G]

Thursday was the day I remember getting on the bus during my years ('67-'70) at Wyanoke. I still have a pretty clear memory of BMB stepping up into the bus upon arrival at camp. Ah... the first glimpse of his ever present notebook.
As my parents had shipped my trunk (steamer variety) via REA Express, I had only my USMC duffle bag packed with all sorts of stuff that I would never need. The thing weighed a ton. BMB spotted Fred Lang who was my JC, and after a quick introduction, FL and I headed up to J-8. I'll never forget the ease in which Fred handled the duffle bag. Hey, ya just knew that living with a 6'9" 16 year old JC was gonna be interesting.

Fred suggested that we head down to the camp store and get "that" over with before lunch. I sort of got the sense that this might be about as exciting as going shopping with my mom at a craft store. Looking back, I was pretty optimistic with that presumption.

The line at the store was not too long, as I was able to actually get in the doorway. Maybe 5-6 kids ahead of me. Do you remember your parents telling you the line about picturing someone sitting in their underwear..bla-bla-bla.

Seeing those "ladies from Wolfeboro", I had to hope that I would never see them again. All I could imagine was running into one of them at a later time in my life and having them announce, "Why, Jeff Grush, don't you remember me, I remember you as a little boy standing in your underwear..."

Great...

One thing that I always wondered about was the choice of food for the 1st meal at camp. Spaghetti with sauce, new white camp shirts and boys aged 6-15 I have always thought was an interesting mix.

I naturally introduced shirt and sauce within maybe 20 minutes of putting the 100% cotton garment on.

Hey..there was always Saturday night dinner to look forward to...But that's a tale for another post.


Regards,

Jeff G.

[Mike Freeland]

Ahh, spaghetti. I forgot that. All kids like spaghetti. The skills I've perfected of transferring anything not-white to my clean white shirt (and/or pants, as in the case of my camp band/councilor/pictures uniform) started at Wyanoke and continue undiminished to this day.

Red for the spaghetti, yellow for the mustard on Saturday nights (and some grape jelly too).

Don't forget the swim checks on the first full day of camp. The water was always unpleasantly cold that time of year (the ice had just gone out about a week before camp opened), and I did some of my fastest free-style lengths during those checkouts. One time I think I went in head-first and came out immediately, feet-first.
_________________
'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6

[Chris Gill]

I recall that it was never certain the bus was going to make it into camp without hitting the stone pillars.

I have no recollections of my first day at camp, probably because my councilors were so great. After the first year I couldn’t wait to leave home and get to Wyanoke. I do remember messing with rookie councilors because I knew the rules better than they did. They would dutifully write in their activity books at night and ask me if I went #2 that day. I would feign ignorance, make them explain what that meant, and watch them squirm as they tried to explain it tactfully.
_________________
1965-1975
C7,C8,J8,S4,S3

[David Bentley]

What a great bunch of posts - most all on the money.

The opening day was always Thursday, and that tradition went way, way back, and was actually started by the railroads. The railroads contacted the Camps in the area and told them that on certain Thursdays they would run a "camp special" to Wolfeboro. The train actually came right into downtown Wolfeboro delivering campers for any camp that used Wolfeboro as it's main base (Belknap, DeWitt, Kehonka, and several others). Each camp was assigned a section (car) on the train and had to provide adult chaperonage for the trip. Then the train changed it's schedule and didn't come into Wolfeboro, stopping, instead, in Sanbornville, NH, and eventually, in Dover, NH. At this point BMB decided to use buses, basically doot-to-door from Boston (with a stop in Winchester) and New York and maybe Philly (I can't remember).

The wise bus drivers went past Camp, turned around, came back past the stone gates, pulled to the left, then backed into the road, thus navigating the gates without incident. The less experienced drivers zoomed up Forest Road, made a whopping right turn, and then suffered the consequences of trying to put an oblong peg through a narrow hole. Usually, if that driver did the route in the future, he remembered and corrected his approach.

Oh, the dreaded trip to the Store for clothes. If, at any time I wish I could have capitalized on being the SOB that would have been it. I would have given up a few pieces of Mrs. Morin's cake just to avoid the Store ordeal. And, Jeff Grush, with respect to the ladies of Wolfeboro, I did know some of then, and they were all friends of my grandmother, and I did see them in Wolfeboro (ugh).

Activities for the opening day were designed to be flexible, and usually located in the central core - no archery, riflery, or any activities taking boys and men away from the central area. This allowed returning boys that chance to dump their stuff and start doing something, and it allowed BMB to find staff as new boys arrived and needed acclimatizing.

The noon meal was usually something flexible, too, like spaghetti, simply because the kitchen didn't have an accurate count of how many mouths they had to feed. By supper time, the count was pretty well set and the kitchen was business as usual.

If I remember correctly, a swim was strongly encouraged on the first day if for no other reason than to get cleaned up from the day of traveling. Of course, returning campers could zip through the check out process, and new boys were given the rules of the waterfront.

As has been mentioned before in other threads, homesickness was a factor. But, another factor was reverse homesickness. Many returning campers jumped from their parent's vehicles, mumbled something about "gotta go", and hit the road to camp life much to the lament of some mom's who struggled with the abrupt and less than emotional separation that had just occured. If the boy was a 'chip', his dad just smiled and told mom all would be okay. For as many letters as BMB received from parents saying their child was homesick, he received equally as many letter from parents saying they hadn't heard from their son (notwithstanding the obligatory Sunday bulletin). E-mail hadn't been invented, let alone text messaging.

So, camp ended on a Thursday, for the same reason as it started on a Thursday - the railroad schedule. And, even when we went to busses, we kept that schedule.
_________________
C-1 49 J-7 52 S-3 55 J-10 58
C-7 50 J-7 53 S-2 56 J-8 59
C-8 51 J-4 54 S-7 57 (JA) J-8 60 - 64
1965 - 1968 Military service
Pine Cone 68 - 75 (with wife,Sherry,
and daughter Tracey)
Wolfeboro - full-time since 1997

[DavidAyars]

Oh, great background stuff in that post, Dave. Lots of stuff there I was totally unaware of.

But I was positive camp didn't always start and end on a Thursday, at least after trains stopped and the buses were used, so I busted out my old camp catalogs which gave the dates and looked them up in an online calendar.

I'm not sure about 1969, because I don't have that catalog anymore, but in 1970 and 1971 camp started and ended on a Tuesday. (One problem doing that: it puts the Farewell Banquet on a Sunday night. I don't remember how we worked that out, with the kitchen staff which normally had Sunday night off. Maybe it was moved to Monday, the night before the buses departed. I don't remember.) And I'd forgotten this: in 1975, the final season, a Friday was the starting and ending day of camp. During my years, camp always started between June 27 and 30, and ended between August 22 and 25. That wouldn't work now, as many schools are back in session by the August 20s. Many summer camps go fewer than 8 weeks now and end closer to August 10 than August 23.
_________________
Camper: J-8 1965 (Kevin Ryan), J-8 1966 (Mike Freeland), S-6 1967 (Russ Hatch), S-3 1968 (Jeremy Cripps), and JA-2 1969 (Dan Mannis).
JC: J-2 1970 (Bill Bettison) and J-3 1971 (Gene Comella). Councilor 1972, J-5 1973, and JA-1 1974 & 1975

[Mike Freeland]

Yeah, fantastic post Dave! I took the train in '56 and '57, maybe later -- I forget when the busses began -- and se go on at Paoli, near West Chester in the Philly area (to answer your question). We joined the New York Party at Grand Central, maybe Union, Idon't remember, and proceded to Dover overnight (those Pullman cars were a GAS for us kids. The initial parting homesickness from watching our parents recede on the train platform was at least temporarily replaced by the wonder and fear of New York's terminal and the night in the Pullman.) That group was shepherded, at least from New York, by "Pop" Henderson.

I'm curious as to whether they started on the same day. I seem to recall that they did, with parents dropping off boys and girls on the same day, if not real close. Were they on the same special trains, bussed over to Ossipee while we went to Wolfeboro?
_________________
'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6

[Harry Sloan]

Wow spaghetti for the first meal what a good memory Jeff I would not have been able to answer that one for the life of me. The memory that sticks with me the most was my first swim test, and Mike you are so right about the water temp at that time of year COLD! I know that came as a blow to me because it got me busted back to the Midget beach because when I dove in it took my breath away! I able to redeem myself quickly and pass the warf test which made me feel better considering I was on a swim team prior to coming to camp.
_________________
68 S-6 ( Jon Crane ) 69 S-6 ( Kent Newby ) 70 JA-2 ( Dan Mannis )

[Robert Vaughan]

Regarding those ladies in the back room. My family would come up a weekend or two early and sort out the camp store clothing orders and I believe the ladies were there sewing on that weekend too to get a head start on things. If everything fit there was no need to make changes; otherwise they took the tags off and resewed them on another size.

We got to know all the names of eveybody before they ever showed up because of our role in all this. Cleaning up Hilltop was never fun but I recall my Mom coming up later than the rest of us so we could deal with the mice and the mattresses, etc.

[David Bentley]

Bobby, mice weren't really mice, they were 4-legged ambience!!
_________________
C-1 49 J-7 52 S-3 55 J-10 58
C-7 50 J-7 53 S-2 56 J-8 59
C-8 51 J-4 54 S-7 57 (JA) J-8 60 - 64
1965 - 1968 Military service
Pine Cone 68 - 75 (with wife,Sherry,
and daughter Tracey)
Wolfeboro - full-time since 1997

[Tom Rawson]

Wow--lots of good stuff here. My first two years I was a 2nd month only camper, and the first day was very lonely both years. To add insult to injury the second year (1964), I showed up at camp expecting to be a Junior, and discovered I was still in Midget camp. I think they raised the minimum age for Juniors that year in order to have a quorum in Cabintown. There were only twenty midgets that year--four campers each in five cabins (which of course meant four cabins were empty). I told BMB, "I thought if I'm ten-and-a-half I'm old enough to be a Junior." He replied the age was actually ten-and-three-quarters. I knew there had been younger Juniors the year before, but I was too young and timid to argue. Both years in Midget camp turned out just fine, but the first day and night were not much fun.

I think camp began on Wednesday or Thursday and ended on Wednesday. I know 2nd monthers arrived on Thursday. My first meal was the Thursday night cookout. Wasn't Thursday the night the kitchen staff had off? That's why we had the cookout on Thursdays, no? My first night at camp--a Thursday in 1963 in C-5 (Walter Scheirer) we had a cookout. I'm nine years old and I'm thinking, "OK, I'm at camp. We cook all our meals outside." (Is there a "Cookout" thread in this forum? I have some other memories of Thursday cookouts.)

Before that first meal in 1963, my JC (I think his name was Joe) took me for a swim at Pine Cone Beach. That was perhaps one advantage of arriving mid-summer--special bonding time with the JC that I don't anyone got in June when everyone was arriving at once.

I didn't come to camp in 1965. In 1966 and 1967 I was a two-monther and took the bus from Stamford CT. That was the New York bus. Started in NY and made a stop in Stamford. We stopped for lunch at the Howard Johnson's at the Mass Pike rest stop near Sturbridge. Mr. Scheirer was the bus chaperone. I remember him ordering "28 hamburgers and 28 cokes". We arrived at Wyanoke late afternoon. BMB greeted us and informed us of our tent assignments.

Mike, I was too late to enjoy the train experience, but you may remember that I was (still am) a RR fanatic. I'm quite sure that if your train from Philly picked up campers in NY, it was at Penn Station, and not at Grand Central. Cars from Grand Central could have been combined with cars from Philly in New Haven, but not in New York.

The first day my last year was quite easy as I had essentially the same tent group I had the year before and we just picked up where we left off.
_________________
1963 C-5 Walter Scheirer
1964 C-2 Bill Sloane
1966 J-4 Dave Clemens
1967 S-1 Garth Nelson

[Jim Culleton]