I Need Your Camp Memories!

Camp memories?

Hmm...I once got drunk and danced to Abba's Greatest Hits.

Camp... not VAMP.

My brother and I starved for a week as we hid our food in napkins and later buried it because it was so bad. I bet it killed the tree we buried it under.

Hmmm, I was once the ONLY 14-year old boy in a camp full of eleven to thirteen year old Girl Scouts . . . but I don't think you can use that.

Something about a marshmellow roast?

Something funny about hot dogs?

Fun things to do with Jello-O?

Kool-Aid!

Of course, there's always one kid who eats the paste.

And I had a friend who went to camp where they served macaroni and cheese for two weeks straight.

And there's the old-fashioned ice cream cranking . . . where someone forgets to put the salt in and everyone cranks for two hours and it's still not ice cream.

We once had a breakfast scavenger hunt, you know where you put your nonpersiable food around the campsite and people try to find it to make breakfast. Some hikers tried to steal it.

I remember going to Camp Reinberg (wrong spelling). There is nothing funny or exciting about camp when you’re in 6th grade other than we were all in love with our camp counselor. Every night each girl crossed her fingers hoping he would sit by her. I don’t remember the food, so apparently it wasn’t too hideous. Sorry Pat, if I think of anything I’ll let you know.

P.S. If this was high school retreat, I could really tell you some stories.

Something that seemed funny at the time -- just goofy:

At meals, we sat at square tables. Two on each side. Now and then, we'd do this thing where all the guys on the LEFT side of benches would stand up. Then, as they sat down, the guys on the RIGHT side would stand up. And vice versa. If you can picture it, it had sort of a merry-go-round visual effect.

It wasn't complicated or clever, but pretty soon, the whole place would either have joined in or be laughing.

I won't go into the flying-wedgie stories; I know right now they won't fly for Highlights. (And I'm DEFINITELY not discussing the pre-camp counselor week stories. )

Hi Pat - camp memories, two versions - very old - one of the foods I had never seen before was corn fritters - globs of batter with little specks of corn in it that were dropped in a deep fryer and then served with syrup - very good. We sat at tables for 8, the head of the table passed out the food and the foot of the table had to scrape off the dirty dishes into a pan with a spatula - another thing I'd never seen. Before the meals were over one table usually started singing "This is table number one," etc. etc. After the meals were over there was always more singing - frequently a half hour's worth. I think the singing was one of my favorite things about camp.

Camp 2 - more modern - ever made Girl Scout stew? Each girl brings a can of food (predesignated as to whether it's supposed to be a meat or a veggie or a soup) and plops it in one big pot - talk about yucky (who would ever put tuna fish into a stew?) And then there was the year the mothers who were in charge of planning our cook out meal decided to cook brats over an open fire - those things explode! But the fake angel food cake (French bread with Eagle milk dripped over it and toasted over the fire) made up for them. Bread on a stick was also a favorite for outdoor cooking - basically bisquik dough wrapped around a cooking stick and cooked over the fire. What was always funny was to watch after the kids took their bread off the stick and put butter and jelly down the hole - it ran right out. Puma

I guess that stringing the camp counselor's bra up the flag pole wouldn't be accepted either.
(but it sure made us giggle during morning pledge!)

Serenading (went to a mixed- boy/girl camp)

We also played this game called Ticks and Chiggers. Everyone in the camp would bring a bunch of outrageous stuff to the mess hall. The campers were divided in half (If it was an exceptionally large camp group, we added Fleas) Then the counselors, who were dressed rediculously, of course, would go on a scavenger hunt through all the stuff in the mess hall. For example: The judge would ask for the largest tennis shoe, or most unusual flashlight, and the counselors would run up and down the team, looking for this item. When they found what they thought fit the bill, they brought it to the judges table. Who ever was first, won the point. It sounds like chaos, but it was loads of fun.

The "Jabba the Hutt" song.

I went to a Catholic girl's school, and we'd been told that Sister Christina, our teacher, used to come in and check on us and night and that she would kiss anyone who was still awake. So we all buried our heads under our blankets and pretended we were fast asleep.

When I was 16, I was off at a coed church camp for a week, and my boyfriend was also there. We were sitting in the common area goofing off, and he kept trying to tickle my bare foot with his toes. We ended up lacing our toes together (kinda like holding hands, but with our feet instead), but my foot suddenly cramped, and we got stuck that way.

*grin*

Maybe not suitable... I found a chipmunk licking the last scraps of peanutbutter out of the bottom of the jar, and put the lid back on for a few seconds.

He looked like a little furry mime when he stood up and put his little paws on the glass.

I can't wait to read it, Pat. Sorry I didn't see this sooner. I have so many Camp memories. El Tesoro, Campfire Girl Camp. I survived many a summer there.

Oh darn, so I guess the hand in the warm bowl of water while the "camper" is asleep, isn't needed

Or, the itchy nose, w/ the hand full of something along the lines of cream or...

Ah...fond memories of camp...
When I was in Girl Scouts, the troop leader would have fire drills in the middle of the night. Another time we were shown an obstacle course in a lodge. At the end of the course was a pile of mats we were supposed to dive or slide into. One by one (while the rest were locked in a storage room) we were blindfolded and took our turn in the obstacle course. At the end, the troop leaders took away the mats, so we were diving on a wood floor.
yeah. great memories.

Marie

memories of camp

As a former camp counselor, I can tell you that every camp is full of homesick children. Lots of weepy, inconsoulable children having panic attacks about needing to go home. Also lots of children scared to death of the great out doors. "My God!There are snakes out there!" A terrified camper came to my tent saying that there was an owl in their cabin. None of the other counselors would go near it. Everyone acted as though it was a big dirty vicious animal. It was just a little screech owl. I picked it up and threw it into the air so it could fly away.
At breakfast we had oatmeal that was so thick that if I got the spatula under it just right I could flip it out and leave the bowl completely clean. We had a hell of a salad bar because the head cook was a vegetarian. On days when the food was really bad, the head counselor let us all eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

We always had bug juice at lunch, which was just strawberry jello powder in water...incredible stuff.