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ActivitiesThe campers experienced
having a bed of their own, brushing their teeth and showering on a daily
basis, eating three healthy meals a day (all they could eat) on Blue Willow
china and drinking milk with every meal. Every day, campers had to make their
beds keep their clothes clean, and sweep and mop the floors of their cottage.
These activities promoted self-pride and responsbility for themselves and
their surroundings. |
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Manners were important, especially at the recreation hall for music and dancing. All campers from the smallest to the oldest went to Goodfellow Hall for dancing. The boys were seated on one side of the hall and girls on the other. When a cottage name was called, the residents would get up, walk across the room and politely ask, "May I have this dance?" No one was ever allowed to refuse, and everyone had a partner even if it was a counselor. |
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One favorite activity of campers was swimming. The first swimming pool, built in the early days of camp, was a concrete in-ground pool with a steel-like fence around it. It had a makeshift diving board. The second pool, built in 1951, replaced the original pool and was brought up to health and safety standards such as filter systems, showers, lifeguard chairs, graduated depths, standard diving board, secure steel linked fence, and a cement walkway. |
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Other activities included reciting The Pledge of Allegiance every morning, swimming, tacky parties, carnival, folk dancing, campfires, peanut hunt, track meet, July 4th celebration, wishing boat ceremonies at the pool, and songs at campfires. It was important that the children maintained their religious affiliations at camp. Every Sunday, the campers and their counselors would gather; the Catholic children would walk to the Catholic Church (mothers would be driven); the Protestant children would walk to the Protestant Church; and the children with other beliefs would meet in Goodfellow Hall for their own private services.
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At the beginning of their two week stay, any camper that had money had to deposit it in the camp bank. Those without money were given an account. At the end of each day after supper the children were allowed to buy limited amounts of candy from the candy store which was set up on Goodfellow Hall porch. The cost of this candy was charged against their account. |
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Every group
published its own newspaper. The campers wrote all the stories, which were
taken from the activities participated in during their camp experience; they
met the deadline for writing articles in so they could be typed, printed,
stapled and handed out before the campers left for home. At the end of the
two-week period, the paper was printed and given to the campers.
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