8 December 2008
Camp Memories Are Strong Ties
Posted by admin under: camps .
What would make a 96 year old man drive out to the forest and hike half a mile to get a glimpse of a lake that doesn’t exist any more? Boy Scout camp. Jim Schlosser, writing for North Carolina’s The News & Record, has a human interest story about some old Boy Scouts going back to the camp of their youth.
The Old North State Council of Boy Scouts invited about 20 long-ago Scouts to return to old Camp Graystone in southern Guilford County. The Boy Scouts gave up the camp in 1947. It’s now a Girl Scout camp.
…
The former Boy Scouts told Lynch the mess hall wasn’t where it is now. The flag pole across the camp road differs also. The Boys Scout had their pole on the opposite side. The men looked for old troop cabins, but they were gone, except one. They tried to figure out where the cabins stood.
The present swimming pool sure wasn’t there for Boy Scouts. The boys swam in a lake. They wanted to see it or what was left of it. They hiked a half mile through the woods, with 96-year-old Douglas in the middle of the double-file procession. At the site, they looked disoriented. The old rock dam remains, but a new lake stretches on the other side. On the opposite side, the Boy Scout lake is now forest.
…
They returned to the Girl Scout mess hall. A Scout leader, Ed Koehler, had peach cobbler he had cooked in Dutch ovens waiting. The men sat and listened as council Executive Director John Meeks and board member Barry Smith stressed scouting’s importance and that national scouting’s 100th birthday looms in 2010.
All then stood, raised three fingers and recited the Scout oath, “On my honor. …”
After 60, 70 and, in Douglas’ case, nearly 80 years, the words were not forgotten.
I feel the same way. There is something special about camp life and you remember fondly situations you would never tolerate at home – weird camp food, walking miles per day to take classes, and sitting on the ground to watch corny skits. Camp is one of the core components of Scouting to me. I hope all the executives keep it in mind.
- Hiya, Smoky!
- Different Dutch Ovens
- Sunday’s Golden Girls – 12/07/2008 (delayed)
- Girl Scout Mom Hates America
- Saturday’s Eagle Nest – 11/01/2008 (Mucho Delayo)
