Campers at Columbus?

[chrisw]

I do remember the hopper trick. Sneak in the opposite door, and tickle the poor unsuspecting kids butt with a stick and watch him rocket off the toilet seat. Great stuff.

I'm so old that that memory was running together with a similar dirty trick we played on a friend once. This was early 1980's, went to Vermont with a friend and my brother Matt. We stayed in a log cabin, and it had a hole in the bathroom floor right beside the john. You could see grass and daylight. Well this firend was taking his morning dump. Matt and I found a perfect stick, 6 foot long with a branch at a right angle. From outside and under the cabin we stuck it up into the hole in the floor right beside his leg. And all we heard was a really loud "holy crap" and the pounding of feet as he ran out of the bathroom. We laughed so hard we couldn't stadn up. We were rolling and laughing in pain.

My brother Chris and Matt I thought sort of befriended one of the local pinee kids. I remember a scruffy, sort of always dirty blond hair kid.

That was this kid.

"Having a "piney" ( can't believe I remember his name: matthew) join us for a canoe trip in the lake and watching, amazed, as he dove headfirst into the muck and came up with a turtle."

Mike was the counselor in charge on the canoe trip. More like canoe ride around the lake. I remember him being worried that he really shouldn't have let the kid come out on the canoes with us. Probably against camp policies.

He looked like this kid:

I remember in 74 we went on a water hike. Started at clearwater and was going to end back at camp. Jumped in and made it about 100 yards before me and 2 other kids went under water (hit a deep spot in the creek). I got and refused to go back in. The other 2 boys joined me. So one of the counselors walked us cross country through the woods. Basically followed the creek on land. When we got to the end of the lake we proceeded to have the greatest mud fight of my life. By the time we got back we had no choice but to shower.

Wasn't everything in the messhall light green? All the bowls,cups,plates, etc.

I also seem to recall that the camp nurse was pretty hot. A brunette.

 

[chrisw]

Remember this song?

John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,
His name is my name too.
Whenever we go out
The people always shout,
"There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt."
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,
His name... [repeat ad infinitum]

Keep repeating ,getting lower (volume) each time, until the end when you sing one last time screaming ( the lalalala part) at the top of your lungs.

 

[Summers End]

1969

Merrily we roll along
Roll along
Roll along
Merrily we roll along cabin number 7


This was the song that dismissed you from the Rec Hall. The number at the end was chosen by the Director and the verse was repeated until all the cabins had been dismissed. The advantage to being called out first was that you had less of a wait in line at the latrine to wash up and brush your teeth.

There was a rope swing at the dam but the local kid who broke his neck actually dove out of a tree. There were boards nailed to the tree so you could climb up to the top then dive. I'm pretty sure the tree is still there minus the boards. There are still some nails in the tree where the boards used to be.

Here is a picture in front of cabin 5, (the Senior Village) of Billy (my brother on the left) and Chris (me on the right) Holt from the summer of 1969. More to come.

 

[Summers End]

1969

This picture was taken in 1969 in the Senior Village on a Saturday. All of the mattresses, foot lockers and anything else that was on the floor were placed outside the cabin. The cabin was swept out and the fire bucket was taken up to the supply shed behind the Mess Hall to have pine sol added to it. It was then filled to the top with water and brought back to the cabin. Then it was mopped out. I always will remember the smell of the fresh pine that permeated the whole camp on Saturdays. I'm not sure who this is in the picture but my best guess is a counselor or a worker. I could be wrong and it could also be a camper. More to come.

 

[Summers End]

More pictures from 1969

I remember a soccer game that was played in the Senior Village after a torrential downpour. There was close to a half of a foot of water on the ground. The wooden porches in front of the cabins were floating away. If my memory serves me right, Mike Welch was one of the players in the craziest game of soccer that was ever played at Camp Columbus! It started out with just a small group of people and as the rain let up more and more people were drawn outside by the excitement of the game. People were soaking wet and covered with grass from head to toe.

The picture is from 1969 in front of cabin 5, which was my brothers cabin as I was still in the Cub Village (cabin 17). My father is on the left and the kid on the right is yours truly.

 

[Summers End]

More pictures from 1969

I'll try again.

 

[Summers End]

Take note of the Kerns soda bottle on the porch.

 

[chrisw]

Great pics. My Mom said she had some but tossed them years ago.

I remember a story of it raining so hard once that they were using the canoes in front of the cabins.

 

[Summers End]

1969 picture

The canoes were only used after the dam broke and the lake level was too low for the row boats to be used. Prior to the canoes, the rowboats were kept at the boat dock in the Cub Village and the oars were kept in a box along side of cabin 17. Life jackets had to be worn at all times. What's left of the dock is still there. The last time I checked there was still a car tire, which was used as a bumper, attached to a cedar log down at the dock area. The rowboats were made of wood and were painted green or red on the outside and gray on the inside. Counselors used to have boat races across the lake to Piney Beach. Often times we would have lake weed fights with the other camp boats. Even though we weren't allowed to get out of the boats while on the lake, if a painted turtle was spotted out sunning itself all bets were off. I was notorious for jumping in and catching turtles. I had earned more than my fair share of the nature award.

The picture that follows was of a kid named Dino in the Senior Village in 1969. Of course it was a Saturday. Look at the mattresses he's sitting on as well as the ones in the background. The building at the far right in the background was the side of the office. It had a side door where you could access activity equipment that was stored there. The bows and arrows were kept there as well. I remember there were a few times where Danny Ratyniak and me would take the bows and arrows and would shoot at the rabbits over by the canteen. We never made any kills though.

 

[Teegate]

It sure sounds like you enjoyed yourself. Hard to believe there were that many buildings there.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

I am not an expert, so this is the best I can do. Compare it with the previous one in post 207.

http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/misc/CampColumbus1967_Altered.jpg

Guy

 

[bobpbx]

I'll try again.

Your Dad looks like a straight up guy. A little old for the hippie days and probably had the greatest time of his life in the 50's. Is he still around?

 

[Summers End]

Your Dad looks like a straight up guy. A little old for the hippie days and probably had the greatest time of his life in the 50's. Is he still around?

My Dad is still around just turned 71 last month. Good assessment on too old for a hippie.

 

[Summers End]

I am not an expert, so this is the best I can do. Compare it with the previous one in post 207.

http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/misc/CampColumbus1967_Altered.jpg

Guy

Nice job on the touch up. Did you use PhotoShop? I was pressed for time and wanted to get the pictures up quick. Thanks.

 

[Summers End]

Hi all. My name is Chris Holt. I was a camper at Camp Columbus from 1967 through 1974. The name Summers End (my screen name for this site) was bestowed upon me during the Indian awards ceremony for being camper of the week. It was the last week of the season in August of 1973. I still have the Indian headdress patch that I was awarded. And as fate would have it, I eventually became an Indian brave for the camper of the week induction ceremony during the time that I worked there. All of the Indians in the ceremony but the chief had to wear what amounted to loin cloths and feathered headbands. One wrong move and the family jewels were on display for all to see. Prior to the ceremony we would go to the art shop and paint our bodies and faces with paint. When signaled, two of us would then run screaming like Indians to the council ring and leap over those parents, campers and locals seated for the ceremony. I would then leap over the campfire and scoop up a handful of sand then recite "Winds of the North, winds of the South, winds of the East, winds of the West, guide me to my destination" while throwing sand in the appropriate direction to correlate with my mantra. We would then scour the council ring looking for the preselected new inductees. Once we found them we would drag them to the chief so they could have their Indian names bestowed upon them. It was also a running gag to try and make the chief somehow lose his composure. Usually when the chief would ask what merits have these two inductees demonstrated to be worthy of the honor they are about to receive. I would whisper something in his ear to try and make him laugh. I can't remember which Mercantini brother was the chief that year but after failing all season to make him crack up I came up with a plan. I had taken an empty shampoo bottle and filled it with water and stuffed it under my loin cloth. I had it positioned in such a way that I could leave the flip-top open and not have the water leak out until I squeezed my legs together. I could then direct the stream of water to the chiefs leg while I told him that I was having a wet dream about his sister at this very moment. My planning paid off and the chief was left with a wet leg and was laughing hysterically.

Here is another piece of Camp Columbus history. This patch was awarded to the camper of the week. One camper was picked from each village and was given this patch at the awards ceremony on Friday night at the campfire. Only 14 were given out in any one season. This one was given to me the last week of the season in August of 1973.

 

[chrisw]

I remember seeing 1 or 2 of those patches around our house. Don't think I earned one though.

 

[Summers End]

Reply to message from Kevin Early

Kevin,
Sorry to say I don't remember you by name but I do have a photographic memory. Were you in any of the pictures that were posted?

Cabins 1, 2, (Cub Village) and 3 (Senior Village) did have electricity including a single light bulb that hung from the ceiling. Cabin 1 was the village leaders cabin. My first year as a camper (1967), my brother and me bunked in there for two weeks. My second year I was in cabin 2 while my brother moved on to the senior side. Cabin 3 was the village leaders cabin and my first year on the senior side (1971) I bunked in there for four weeks. The village leaders name was Marty Fuchs and I believe he was from NY state.

The kid who got killed was a local. He dove out of a tree down at Red Bridge and broke his neck. He hit a submerged stump in the water. There were campers there when it happened and I believe some counselors pulled him out but he was already dead.

The flood kids were from Wilkes-Barre, Pa. from Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. The storm pushed the Susquehanna River to a height of nearly 41 feet, four feet above the city's levees, flooding the downtown with nine feet of water. Six people were killed, 25,000 homes and businesses were either damaged or destroyed. The camp put up a lot of displaced kids.

I remember the entire camp population gathered around a lone black and white television set in the Rec Hall July 20, 1969 as we witnessed man walking on the moon. To the best of my knowledge I don't think that Camp Columbus was ever co-ed. I remember there being talk about the tents that were there before the cabins. My great uncle worked at the camp in the 1930's and it was a boys camp then.

 

[Teegate]

Nice job on the touch up. Did you use PhotoShop? I was pressed for time and wanted to get the pictures up quick. Thanks.

I use a Mac program called Graphic Converter.

Guy

 

[Summers End]

1969

Hi again. Here is a picture from 1969. I'm not sure who is who but Raymond, Marshall and one unidentified boy are in the picture in front of cabin 5. The boy on the right is holding a turtle, I think. Take note of the fishing pole on the porch. Fishing was just one of the activities you could sign up for. Typically we would fish off of the dam at Red Bridge with chunks of bologna or hot dogs that we had acquired from the kitchen. The main catch was normally catfish with an occasional perch or sunny thrown in for good measure. If you had sense enough to bring your own tackle to camp, that included a couple of red devils or some Mepps spinners, you could catch some monster chain pickerel. I remember that a few snapping turtles were caught as well. They were always fun to unhook! More to come.

 

[Summers End]

1969

Here is another photograph from 1969 in the Senior Village of Ricky (on the left) and Timmy (on the right), last names unknown.

The name of the following song escapes me at the moment, maybe it was "The wild goose flight". It was always prefaced by describing a group of Indians braves canoing down a very quiet river where all is serene. All you could hear at first was the faint humming of the song as the braves approached. As they got closer you could hear the words they were singing and as they passed the singing faded to the drone of the humming yet again. When the song was sung, it started out as a humming of the melody for a verse then broke into the lyrics, then back to the humming. I have taught my daughters this song and they always want to sing it when we're canoing. Every time I hear it, my thoughts transcend me to the serenity of the scene described above.

Our paddles gleaming bright
Flashing like silver
Swift as the wild goose flight
Dip, dip and swing

Dip, dip and swing them back
Flashing like silver
Swift as a wild goose flight
Dip, dip and swing

Does anyone else recall the song?

More to come.