The first overnight campout

The hike and overnight stay at WITS - Window In The Stars - was not too strenuous. This is an "after" picture and most are still smiling.


Yesterday started with a bee hunt for morning calisthenics. The boys walked to Indian Village where two fellows were stung turning over logs looking for salamanders to use for bait. One left his bait can there in the ensuing dash to camp for first aid (which was pretty much unnecessary - they were the right sort of bees) and wanted to retrieve it first thing in the morning.

Breakfast, clean up and cabin inspections were followed by our much-anticipated first archery lesson. Some missed the target, some chased arrows in the field behind the hay bales, and a few actually landed on the paper. The question now is whether archery will become the fad that replaces fishing.

The intrepid campers of CC '07 are sleeping out tonight in the WITS shelter after fixing it up during 2nd duty on this hot, steamy day. Joe Horne (more on him later) made it easy by cutting a path to the Adirondack-type shelter, killing the hornets and removing the decaying and porcupine-chewed pieces in preparation for new pressure-treated wood.

The boys were happy to go to morning swim after sawing, hammering, and collecting firewood. The last of our campers passed his swim test and I HAD to swim to make sure he safely made it to the floating dock. Another fellow did a full flip with a half twist. I love my job!

So, the camp is quiet for the first time in weeks. I still ring the bell so the boys can hear it from a distance, but all that is really happening is laundry. Smelly laundry.

The Lake Test

Being at camp is healthy for children. They get away from the usual routines of life and visit an environment that is interesting, engaging and challenging. We work hard to encourage campers to exceed what they think they can do and grow in confidence as a result.

A goal at Camp Choconut is to meet each child where they are both physically and emotionally, and to challenge them to succeed beyond what their expectations. We do so safely, with the expectation they will succeed, because the counselors set the goals to be within reach.

We strive for each camper to have a good day.

Some days are better than others. One of our fellows is physically adept. He easily masters physical tasks, is one of the strongest swimmers, and can do a flip off the swim tower. He has long, thick wavy hair, gallons of confidence, and a ready smile

We have a swim test where a fellow must swim from the main dock to a floating dock. This allows him to swim in the largest possible area. The next challenge is swimming to The Point in preparation for the Lake Test - a one-way swim to Forest Landing. The 1/4-mile distance proves he can swim to shore from any place in the lake and allows him to take a canoe, with a buddy, to any distant shore.

When our young Adonis asked to swim the Lake Test, I scheduled it during the free time that comes after lunch and a rest. Counselors in the past have paddled a boat so that the swimmer has a ride back to the dock and are easily rescued if they become too tired to continue. I prefer to swim with the boys and tow an inflatable raft and a rescue float.

Another camper is rather shy, but emotionally strong, having overcome several big challenges in his young life. He is almost as fast and almost ready to try a flip. I dubbed him "The Big O" because he is always ready to step up to volunteer, to help a fellow camper and to try something new. He really wants to learn to paddle a canoe.

So I occasionally ask him, "Big O, are you ready to give it a go? Are you ready to do the lake test?"

"Uhhhhhhhh, no."

This time he knew we were going and I asked again and he agreed to swim.

The two boys passed without a problem. Forest Landing has a rope that hangs from a tree bent over the water like something out of "Huck Finn." Once we tired of that, the boys surprised me by asking to swim back to the dock instead of walk. This we did.

Big O went on to take out a canoe that evening while the bats did their dance just above the mirror-smooth lake, gathering their weight in bugs. The other fellow caught a 13 inch bass right under the dock - the biggest fish so far this year.

Campcraft

A counselor shows some of the older boys how to use a hatchet. Each must learn how to safely carry, care for, and pass the tool before they can even hold it. They are carefully supervised and tutored in its use and grow quickly in confidence from their knowledge and a lot of supervised practice.

I finally have the chance to write!

We are settling down to the camp routine. I was a cabin counselor last night and barely kept my eyes open as the boys prepared for bed. Then I was "On Camp," which means I am posted in the cabin between the two cabins in case one of the boys needs me. I promptly fell asleep on the couch and Fred woke me at 11:20 p.m.

I went to bed and slept another seven hours!

The days have been packed with exciting things for the boys to do and we work hard to keep up with them. One camper said tonight, "We have been here four days already."

I asked him if it seemed like a long time or a short time, he said, "Oh, it seems like a long time. What if we get bored because we run out of things to do?"

I told him that I had lots of ideas for fun things to do and if I ran out, Fred and Matt (the other two counselors) would probably have a lot more. If that fails, I said I would call some old campers and counselors and they would come up with hundreds of ideas.

Isn't Choconut sweet?

This place is really special, there is something in the 100-year-old paths and the feel of the buildings, but it is the care and energy from so many people that make it what it is. I am happy to do my part to make that spirit thrive.

It has been three full days and the boys have really come together as a group. I was nervous that only six campers could be a problem, but every child contributes, helps his fellow camper and pitches in with the work details like cleaning out Joe's shop in the Grainary building or helping me paint the swim tower.

They do this gladly and voluntarily and it is good.

Fishing is the main attraction right now. I spent all of free time and free swim at the waterfront (2:45 to 5:30) and while there was some swimming, most of the day was spent fishing or looking for bait. The fellows pulled together spontaneously as a team to dig for worms, slugs and other crawly creatures to sacrifice to the insanely stupid sunfish in the lake. The boys fetched shovels, scrounged containers and turned over rocks to gather bait just in time to leave the lake for dinner. After a game of volleyball, they clamored to go back to the waterfront where the fish were biting so well that half of them swallowed the hook.

The older cabin began a work project today at a remote campsite on the lake called Forest Landing, where they cleaned out the fire pit and made new benches. The benches need new logs for support and their current plan is to roll the logs currently between Alumni End and the Dining Hall down the Vista to the water and then tow them by canoe to Forest Landing.

The younger cabin worked with Joe Horne and me, learning about the Wood Shop (newly dedicated to Uncle Hutch) and the tools there. We are using one of the yellow plastic slides from the playground equipment to make a slide on the dock so that a camper can slide into the water after sailing through the air.

It will be totally safe and good fun, too.

There were many firsts in the past two days - Graham passed his lake test, TJ made it to the top of the swim tower (& jumped), Oscar (The Big O) caught his first fish, Armen's swimming continues to improve, Orion finds a new, interesting rock every day and just adopted a salamander. RJ (the CA) has caught up on his sleep and seems to do what he needs to do three minutes before anyone asks him to do it.

He is part of a fantastic team for this inaugural year. Fred keeps me on my toes with schedules, ideas and activities, Sibelle is the Empress of the Kitchen and delivers a tasty meal three times a day, and Joe never stops moving as he goes from mentoring a camper in the art of fishing and maintenance, to continuing work on property improvements. Matt, our 20-year-old counselor from Silver Lake, is an amazing find and I wish he could give us another week this year. I'm working on him to come back in '08 as head counselor if Fred decides to retire.

I hope everyone here comes back next year and I plan to work hard so that 40 more will join us. A big CHO to the campers and staff - we're having a blast!

John

2007 Camp Choconut Opening Day

2007 Camp Choconut Opening Day
Originally uploaded by Tim Allik

Old and new friends of Camp Choconut gather with Camp Choconut campers and staffers on opening day, 2007, in front of the Peter Hutcheson Memorial Woodshop.


Here's a short video about Opening Day:

What a weekend: We're Back!

I've just returned from Camp Choconut, after a weekend that brought the old and the new together in a memorable and soulful way.

By the time I arrived at camp on Saturday, July 28, Director John Bauer and head counselor Fred Lorber had been working from early morning until late and night for days. But were they cranky when I showed up? No way! They were full of energy and enthusiasm, because Camp Choconut was reopening after a two-decade hiatus, campers were already traveling to Friendsville, staff was assigned, and the buildings and grounds look better than they have since Camp Choconut was last open in 1986.

A number of friends of Camp Choconut have helped to bring the camp back to its former glory in recent weeks and months. Thanks to the Carmalt Family, Alumni End is sparkling, with a freshly waxed floor that finally reveals the painted compass in front of the big fireplace. Closer to the cabins, the shower rooms have been equipped with state-of-the-art on-demand water heaters that make for the best showers imaginable.

Blair "Tump" May has volunteered many hours of immaculate renovation expertise to Middle End Porch, the Diving Tower, and much more. Joe Horne has worked landscaping magic on the magestic trees in the cabin area and parade ground, gently thinning things out to bring out the best in the place.


Needless to say, John Bauer and Fred Lorber are working hard and working well, in the spirit of fun and cooperation that IS the Camp Choconut experience.

On Saturday, Opening Day, the campers dribbled in over the course of the morning and afternoon, some a bit more naturally hesitant than others. But by early evening all were playing ping pong in Alumni End and smiling a lot.

The first breakfast at Camp Choconut in 2007

Ham Horne was there for the weekend, and was in good spirits. I had recently reread his book about Camp Choconut, Camp Choconut: A History of The Boys' Camp Near Friendsville, Pennsylvania and peppered Ham with questions pertaining to his time there as camper, counselor, and director. He kindly answered them, and noted a new edition of his book will soon be available for purchase.

More later. But all I can say now is, I'm impressed.

A good day at camp

The first since 1985!

Four campers arrived Saturday in time to wander the grounds, swim in the lake and enjoy a roaring fire at Alumni End. Two more flew all day to join us by 11 p.m. and went strait to bed in the Winlock House.

It was a good day of the old and new as many Alumni were in town for the annual Lake Choconut Cemetery Association meeting. Joe Horne took the boys to their cabin in the four-wheel "golf cart," a four wheel vehicle that is closer to a monster truck than an electric putt-putt mobile for poorly dressed men chasing a little white ball. We all ate together in the dining hall and the boys witnessed a couple of rousing C-H-O's, a boisterous cheer that includes vigorously banging silverware on the table and loudly spelling Choconut, and learned that making a lot of noise is an important part of camp.

Dan Lorber had a beautiful sign memorializing Peter "Uncle Hutch" Hutcheson. The former camper, counselor and wood shop enthusiast was beloved by many and died too young. Dan said a few words and unveiled the sign installed below the sign on the newly refurbished wood shop.

The boys got new t-shirts and ate in their "Blues." Sunday is the odd day for scheduling and "Jury," the time where issues important to the campers are discussed, will consist of talking about the rules that are designed to keep them safe as they enjoy the many resources at Choconut. Then the fun begins!

We will dress in our "Whites" - white Choconut t-shirts - and walk as a group to the Chapel to join their LCCA for their 2 o'clock service. Then take our camp photo, which I will post as soon as possible.

I'm off to ring the first morning bell in 27 years. It sure is great to have camp open again!

John