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Showing posts with label songs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label songs. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Sounds of Camp Clark - Reminiscences from the Guy in the Upper Bunk
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Saturday, March 17, 2012
Pete, Joe and Clayt Farnham have a song, or two they want you to sing.
Email from Pete
The "campsite" (clever, eh?) continues to grow and look better and better. Of course, so does the pile beside your computer of great photos and interesting tales from a variety of former Clarkites, I suppose, as the word spreads. Great work, Wayne! Be looking for some photos and material from Clayt Farnham, if you have not already received stuff from him as yet. He and I and Joe Larson have been bouncing around camp songs and lyrics lately.
Clayt, Joe and I continue to try to recall songs that rang through the mess hall rafters in days gone by. The results to date are included in the attached "Singalong" file.
Maybe you'd like to invite all your visitors to share songs that they recall and enjoyed that aren't on the list. (For example, I know that we left "Bill Grogan's GoaT" out - which has a favorite of the ganbg from the Middlebush, NJ area. I simply don't remember the words.
On a side note(!) - for the benefit of new campers, former Camp Director Paul Favor (1940s) would always get up after the first Sunday evening meal of each period and announce, "Welcome to Camp Clark. You should know that Camp Clark is a singing camp and is one of the best singing camps anywhere!" Then he'd get everyone singing some of his personal favorites - like "Oh, How Lovely is the Evening" and "Down by the Station."
Anyway, keep on doing your good thing - it's great fun to hear from fellow campers and staff after all the passing decades.
Pete
Pete Mandell
==================================================================================
To:
Pete, Joe and Clayt
Here are a couple I remember. I will work at adding the words
1. There is a hole in the bottom of the sea
2. There is a hole in the bucket.
Now for Bill Grogan's Goat
Bill Grogan's Goat.... here is what I remember right off the top of my head.
Bill Grogan's Goat
Was feeling fine
Ate three red shirts right off the line
..... (here is where I choke)
da da da da dah dah dah
Not much help but the tune is in my head ...... Thank you very much!
Wayne
==================================================================================
From Pete, Joe and Clayt -- Great work gentlemen !!
The "campsite" (clever, eh?) continues to grow and look better and better. Of course, so does the pile beside your computer of great photos and interesting tales from a variety of former Clarkites, I suppose, as the word spreads. Great work, Wayne! Be looking for some photos and material from Clayt Farnham, if you have not already received stuff from him as yet. He and I and Joe Larson have been bouncing around camp songs and lyrics lately.
Clayt, Joe and I continue to try to recall songs that rang through the mess hall rafters in days gone by. The results to date are included in the attached "Singalong" file.
Maybe you'd like to invite all your visitors to share songs that they recall and enjoyed that aren't on the list. (For example, I know that we left "Bill Grogan's GoaT" out - which has a favorite of the ganbg from the Middlebush, NJ area. I simply don't remember the words.
On a side note(!) - for the benefit of new campers, former Camp Director Paul Favor (1940s) would always get up after the first Sunday evening meal of each period and announce, "Welcome to Camp Clark. You should know that Camp Clark is a singing camp and is one of the best singing camps anywhere!" Then he'd get everyone singing some of his personal favorites - like "Oh, How Lovely is the Evening" and "Down by the Station."
Anyway, keep on doing your good thing - it's great fun to hear from fellow campers and staff after all the passing decades.
Pete
Pete Mandell
==================================================================================
To:
Pete, Joe and Clayt
Here are a couple I remember. I will work at adding the words
1. There is a hole in the bottom of the sea
2. There is a hole in the bucket.
Now for Bill Grogan's Goat
Bill Grogan's Goat.... here is what I remember right off the top of my head.
Bill Grogan's Goat
Was feeling fine
Ate three red shirts right off the line
..... (here is where I choke)
da da da da dah dah dah
Not much help but the tune is in my head ...... Thank you very much!
Wayne
==================================================================================
From Pete, Joe and Clayt -- Great work gentlemen !!
CAMP CLARK SONGS
Oh, How Lovely Is the Evening, is the evening
When the bells are softly ringing, softly ringing
Ding… dong… ding… dong…ding… dong.
[Sung as a round – like “Row, row, row your boat…” three times]
Traditional German Round
Lyrics and music at: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~msmiller/rlovelyeve.html
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt -
That’s my name, too.
Whenever I go out,
The people start to shout:
There goes John Jacob
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
Da,da, da ,da, da, da,da, da!
[Sung three times through, each time softer than the one before, BUT the final “Da,da..etc.” is very loud]
Tune and music at: http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/johnjacob.html
Show me the Scotsman who doesn’t love the thistle,
Show me the Englishman who doesn’t love the rose.
Show me the loyal son of Camp Clark who doesn’t love the spot…
[stomp, stomp, stomp] Where the Lawrence waters flow.
Words adapted for school songs by Springfield College and Utah State University
Three Jolly Fishermen
There were three jolly fishermen
There were three jolly fishermen
Fisher, fishermen, men, men
Fisher, fishermen, men, men
There were three jolly fishermen
There were three jolly fishermen
Fisher, fishermen, men, men
Fisher, fishermen, men, men
There were three jolly fishermen
The first one's name was Abraham
The first one's name was Abraham
Abra, Abra, ham, ham, ham
Abra, Abra, ham, ham, ham
The first one's name was Abraham
The second one's name was Isaac
The second one's name was Isaac
I, I, zak, zak, zak
I, I, zak, zak, zak
The second one's name was Isaac
The third one's name was Jacob
The third one's name was Jacob
Ja, Ja, cub, cub, cub
Ja, ja, cub, cub, cub
The third one's name was Jacob
They all sailed up to Jericho
They all sailed up to Jericho
Jeri, Jeri, co, co, co
Jeri, Jeri, co, co, co
They all sailed up to Jericho
They should have gone to Amsterdam
They should have gone to Amsterdam
Amster, Amster, sh, sh, sh
Amster, Amster, sh, sh, sh
They should have gone to Amsterdam
The first one's name was Abraham
Abra, Abra, ham, ham, ham
Abra, Abra, ham, ham, ham
The first one's name was Abraham
The second one's name was Isaac
The second one's name was Isaac
I, I, zak, zak, zak
I, I, zak, zak, zak
The second one's name was Isaac
The third one's name was Jacob
The third one's name was Jacob
Ja, Ja, cub, cub, cub
Ja, ja, cub, cub, cub
The third one's name was Jacob
They all sailed up to Jericho
They all sailed up to Jericho
Jeri, Jeri, co, co, co
Jeri, Jeri, co, co, co
They all sailed up to Jericho
They should have gone to Amsterdam
They should have gone to Amsterdam
Amster, Amster, sh, sh, sh
Amster, Amster, sh, sh, sh
They should have gone to Amsterdam
Lyrics and music at: www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/threejollyfishermen.html
Oh, the noble Duke of York, he had ten thousand men.
He marched them up the hill and marched them down again. [stand up and sit down, with lyrics]
And when you’re up, you’re up, and when you’re down, you’re down, [up and down, with the lyrics]
And when you’re only half way up, you’re neither up or down! [again, match the lyrics]
He marched them up the hill and marched them down again. [stand up and sit down, with lyrics]
And when you’re up, you’re up, and when you’re down, you’re down, [up and down, with the lyrics]
And when you’re only half way up, you’re neither up or down! [again, match the lyrics]
Lyrics and music at: www.songsforteaching.com/folk/nobledukeofyork
Down By the Old Mill Stream
[First time through, sing song slowly WITHOUT the words in parentheses, but with action visuals:]
“Down” [point thumb down] “by” [wave bye-bye] “the old” [stroke beard] “mill” [rotate hand like mill wheel] “stream” [hand flutters like waves in stream]; “Where I” [point to your eye]….etc.
[Second time through, sing much faster, add the material in parentheses and use actions:]
Down by the old (not the new but the old)
Mill stream (not the river but the stream),
Where I first (not the last but the first)
Met you. (Not me but you.)
With your eyes (not your ears, but your eyes)
Of blue (not green, but blue).
Dressed in ging- (not silk but ging-) -ham too. (Not one but two.)
And it was there (not here, but there),
I knew (not old, but new)
That you loved (not hated, but loved)
Me too. (Not one but two.)
You were sixteen (not seventeen, but sixteen)
My village queen! (Not the king, but the queen).
Down by the old (not the new, but the old),
Mill stream (not the river, but the stream). [sing the final phrase “not the river but the stream” very slowly and with lots of harmony]
Written by Tell Taylor 1910. Lyrics and music on many web sites
I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
(Refrain)
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
(Refrain)
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
[There are two more verses, which we never used at Clark – see:
· |
The Itsy Bitsy Spider . [a.k.a. ”The Gol-Darned Spider”]
The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout
Down came the raining, and washed the spider out.
Out came the sunshine, and dried up all the rain
And itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.
Out came the sunshine, and dried up all the rain
And itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.
Do your ears hang low? Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie 'em in a knot? Can you tie 'em in a bow?
Can you throw 'em over your shoulder, Like a Continental soldier?
Do your ears hang low?
Can you tie 'em in a knot? Can you tie 'em in a bow?
Can you throw 'em over your shoulder, Like a Continental soldier?
Do your ears hang low?
Music and lyrics at: www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/earshanglow.html
“Push the Damper In.” (Larson’s imitation of Hannum leading this song is a classic, not to be missed)
Oh, you push the damper in - And you pull the damper out
And the smoke goes up the chimney just the same
Just the same, just the same
And the smoke goes up the chimney just the same
And the smoke goes up the chimney just the same
Just the same, just the same
And the smoke goes up the chimney just the same
“Down By The Station”
Down by the station, early in the morning
See the little pufferbellies all in a row.
See the engineer-driver push the little valve down.
Choo choo, woo woo, off they go!
“Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy” Lower Lights. 8,7,8,7
Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.
But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.
Refrain:
Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting struggling sea-man, You may rescue, you may save.
Some poor fainting struggling sea-man, You may rescue, you may save.
Dark the night of sin has settled, Loud the angry billows roar;
Eager eyes are watching, longing, For the lights along the shore.
Refrain
Trim your feeble lamp, my brother; Some poor sailor, tempest-toss’d,
Trying now to make the harbor, In the darkness may be loast.
Refrain
Music and words by Philip P. Bliss, 1877, Pilgrim Hymnal
Words adapted by Amherst College (under the title, “Paige’s Horse”) to tell the story of two students who rented a horse and sleigh to go to see the girls at Smith College in Northampton and on their return upset the horse and sleigh in a snow bank and were guided back to college by the beam from their roommate’s study lamp. Music and words at: https://www.amherst.edu/users/L/salangford63/Songs#paige's horse
“Follow the Gleam”
To the knights in the days of old, keeping watch on the mountain height,
Came a vision of Holy Grail and a voice to the waiting knights:
Came a vision of Holy Grail and a voice to the waiting knights:
“Follow, follow, follow the Gleam, banners unfurled, o’er all the world;
Follow, follow, follow the Gleam of the chalice that is the Grail.
Follow, follow, follow the Gleam of the chalice that is the Grail.
[2nd and 3rd stanzas not used at Clark:
And we who would serve the King, And loyally Him obey,
In the consecrate silence know, That the challenge still holds today:
In the consecrate silence know, That the challenge still holds today:
“Follow, follow, follow the Gleam, Standards of worth o’er all the earth,
Follow, follow, follow the Gleam, Of the Light that shall bring the dawn.”]
Follow, follow, follow the Gleam, Of the Light that shall bring the dawn.”]
(Here’s an interesting story on the song’s origin, by a blogger from upstate NY named Kihn Winship.)
In 1920, Sallie Hume Douglas, a widowed, 53-year-old teacher from Honolulu, and Helen Hill, a student from Bryn Mawr College (Class of ’21), met at the Silver Bay Association on Lake George, in New York. The occasion was a YWCA conference; one of the many activities that summer was a song competition.
Sallie Hume Douglas was something of a hobbyist in song writing. She had published her “Garden of Paradise: Hawaiian Love Song” in 1915, and “Her Pink Mumu” in 1916.
Having heard of the song contest, Douglas was probably on the prowl for a lyricist with whom she could collaborate and perhaps even win. She found Helen Hill. As it turned out, both women were interested in the Arthurian legends, and familiar with Tennyson’s 1889 poem, “Merlin and the Gleam,” about the quest for the Holy Grail.
Their song was the contest winner, and more. It became an anthem that closed every YWCA gathering, sung at the end of vespers, sung by soloists, sung by the assembled masses, sung at girl’s camps all over the country, even today.
Before she died in 1944, Sallie Hume Douglas said that “Follow the Gleam” was the high point of her life. However, Helen Hill Miller once offered to pay the YWCA if they would remove her name from the piece. From what I gather, it haunted her. She found it overly sentimental, did not share in the sentiment, and wanted it to go away.
Words and music at: www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/f/o/folgleam.htm
“Hans and Yaaker” [spell?]
Me mudder she had twins, they was me and me brudder’
We looked so much alike, we looked like each udder.
We looked so much alike, we looked just the same –
And Hans and Yaaker, those are our names.
[The remainder of the song has become lost in the mists of the 57 intervening years. Somewhere along the way, one of the twins died, but we couldn’t tell which one it was. Any help out there?]
Another pseudo-German song was brought to camp by Hap Greenhalgh: {“John Schmoker, ish klein spieler… blah blah blah… la trombona. Boom., boom, boom, das ist trombona… toot. Toot, toot, das ist trumpeta…ding, ding, ding, das ist triangle, etc.} The song seemed to be an earlier cousin of the popular Julius LaRosa hit of about 1953 called “Eh Compari.” Can anyone appoximate the lyrics? I sure can’t
“Down in the Valley”
Down in the valley, valley so low
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow
Hear the wind blow, dear, hear the wind blow;
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow.
Roses love sunshine, violets love dew,
Angels in Heaven know I love you,
Know I love you, dear, know I love you,
Angels in Heaven know I love you.
Build me a castle, forty feet high;
So I can see her as she rides by,
As she rides by, dear, as she rides by,
So I can see her as she rides by.
(Verse not used at Camp Clark)
"If you don't love me, love whom you please,"
"Throw your arms round me, give my heart ease,"
"Give my heart ease, dear, give my heart ease,"
"Throw your arms round me, give my heart ease,"
Write me a letter, send it by mail;
Send it in care of the Birmingham jail,
Birmingham jail, dear, Birmingham jail,
Send it in care of the Birmingham jail.
Roses love sunshine, violets love dew,
Angels in Heaven know I love you,
Know I love you, dear, know I love you,
Angels in Heaven know I love you.
Words and music at: http://www.traditional-songs.com/download_score.php?name=Down%20in%20the%20valley&country=Usa
One Finger One Thumb
One finger, one thumb, keep moving. (Move the body parts as you sing)
One finger, one thumb, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, keep moving.
And we'll all be happy today.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, keep moving.
And we'll all be happy today.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, keep moving.
And we'll all be happy today.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, keep moving.
And we'll all be happy today.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, stand up, sit down, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, stand up, sit down, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, stand up, sit down, keep moving.
And we'll all be happy today.
There are several versions. One close to that used at camp is at: http://www.nursery-rhymes-collection.com/lyrics_one_finger_one_thumb.html
One finger, one thumb, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, keep moving.
And we'll all be happy today.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, keep moving.
And we'll all be happy today.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, keep moving.
And we'll all be happy today.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, keep moving.
And we'll all be happy today.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, stand up, sit down, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, stand up, sit down, keep moving.
One finger, one thumb, one hand, one arm, one leg, stand up, sit down, keep moving.
And we'll all be happy today.
There are several versions. One close to that used at camp is at: http://www.nursery-rhymes-collection.com/lyrics_one_finger_one_thumb.html
Monday, September 17, 2007
Memories of Camp Clark. Circa 1956-1966
Google Earth Photo.
This is a Google Earth Photo of a YMCA camp on Cape Cod Mass.
CAMP CLARK as I remember it.
A-Uncle Bob's cabin and camp offices.
B-Boathouse that I "helped" build. I remember pounding nails in the new floor.
C-Chow hall and rainy day activity center.
D-Water front.
E-Junior campers cabin areas.
Camp Clark was owned by the New Bedford YMCA in the 1950 and 60's.
Now it's Camp Lyndon.
Summers at Camp Clark has to be one of my fondest childhood memories.
My Mom and Dad somehow managed to scrape together enough money to send me to this wonderful place.
Each day at Camp Clark started like THIS.
It was here that I learned to swim, sail, water ski and paddle a canoe. It is here that I learned to love nature. That I learned the basics of plant and animal life and exploring the outdoors. It was here that I learned to make a lanyard out of gimp.
I can remember the steam rising off the early morning water front and the sound of the screen doors slamming on the chow hall.
I can still see Uncle Bob (the camp director) and smell the sweet aroma of his pipe.
09/17/07 Update: Uncle Bob's assistant was a guy we called Spike. I'm sorry I cannot remember his name. Uncle Bob's family was from Marion MA where he lived at 48 Main Street until 1981. His family: Wife -Evelyn. Sons - Alan, Donald and Warren. I believe there was a daughter and she was the youngest.
I can still remember the end of session camp fires that included the great magic of a bonfire that started with a great flash of flames and a loud W.O..O..S..H you could hear and feel. NO matches NO flares and NO torches...just "magic".
This magic was created by an appropriate incantations of a senior councilor and as I learned many years later a well timed exothermic chemical reaction assisted by a commonly available accelerant. GAS! See the update below.
Maybe this is why they always had lot of shiny hand pumped fire extinguishers available. They were worried about the candles!
A campfire that included games and fun competitions like laying head to head on the ground with a mouthful of water and a flaming candle on the ground between the each contestant. The object being to extinguish thecandle.
A camp fire where we each received our awards for swimming (minnow, flyingfish, shark, junior and senior life saving). I can still remember the pride of hearing your name being called and getting a badge or certificate to signify your success.
I can still remember the chow hall with it's long tables. One table for each of the many cabins. A long table with the campers and their counselor and CIT (counselor in training). The food served family style. The boxes of cold cereal the we would cut open along the dotted H line and simply pour in milk. Platters of pancakes, french toast, and bacon.
I can still remember the camp songs sung in the chow hall after the noon meal.
Two of my favorites.
Bill Grogan's Goat. Lyrics here.
There's a Hole at the Bottom of the Sea. Lyrics here.
I can still remember the dish-room it's sound and smells and the time I had to spend cleaning dishes when our cabin pulled kitchen duty.
I can still remember the required afternoon rest periods in our cabin bunks.
I can still remember the Sunday evening services on Brown Bread Hill with it's very own "Old Rugged Cross". It was a YMCA camp after all. Lyrics to the Old Rugged Cross HERE. Listen HERE.
I can still remember the the sorrow of seeing mom and dad's car pulling away on that very first Sunday of my very first summer, the tears and the fears of them leaving me at this strange unknown place. And yes, I can still remember the disappointment of the Saturday morning two weeks later when I had to go home. I can remember begging them to let me go back. PLEASE! PLEASE!
And of course, I STILL have great memories of this great place on Lawrence Pond on Cape Cod Mass.
Today some fifty years later it still is a summer camp where boys and now, girls learn to swim, sail, have campfires and learn crafts.
Today it is called Camp Lyndon. Still a wonderful place and a wonderful story.
A story of how my 25 year old nephew in the summer of 1997 helped me re-discover the "lost" Camp Clark... The story of the day 45 years later when I returned to these fond memories and sights.... This story I will tell someday soon. Hopefully, with pictures if I can find them.
Updates: Here is that promised story with pictures.
Each day at Camp Clark ended like THIS.
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the hills, from the lake,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.
09/16/07 UPDATE: Today I posed the following question to a local college chemistry professor "what commonly available chemicals might be used to start a fire by an exothermic reaction". His answer was dead on. Read this. Read the section that describes USES. OH by the way DO NOT try this at home.
This solves an old mystery for me. I guess it wasn't the incantations after all. Thanks R.D.
This is a Google Earth Photo of a YMCA camp on Cape Cod Mass.
CAMP CLARK as I remember it.
A-Uncle Bob's cabin and camp offices.
B-Boathouse that I "helped" build. I remember pounding nails in the new floor.
C-Chow hall and rainy day activity center.
D-Water front.
E-Junior campers cabin areas.
Camp Clark was owned by the New Bedford YMCA in the 1950 and 60's.
Now it's Camp Lyndon.
Summers at Camp Clark has to be one of my fondest childhood memories.
My Mom and Dad somehow managed to scrape together enough money to send me to this wonderful place.
Each day at Camp Clark started like THIS.
It was here that I learned to swim, sail, water ski and paddle a canoe. It is here that I learned to love nature. That I learned the basics of plant and animal life and exploring the outdoors. It was here that I learned to make a lanyard out of gimp.
I can remember the steam rising off the early morning water front and the sound of the screen doors slamming on the chow hall.
I can still see Uncle Bob (the camp director) and smell the sweet aroma of his pipe.
09/17/07 Update: Uncle Bob's assistant was a guy we called Spike. I'm sorry I cannot remember his name. Uncle Bob's family was from Marion MA where he lived at 48 Main Street until 1981. His family: Wife -Evelyn. Sons - Alan, Donald and Warren. I believe there was a daughter and she was the youngest.
I can still remember the end of session camp fires that included the great magic of a bonfire that started with a great flash of flames and a loud W.O..O..S..H you could hear and feel. NO matches NO flares and NO torches...just "magic".
This magic was created by an appropriate incantations of a senior councilor and as I learned many years later a well timed exothermic chemical reaction assisted by a commonly available accelerant. GAS! See the update below.
Maybe this is why they always had lot of shiny hand pumped fire extinguishers available. They were worried about the candles!
A campfire that included games and fun competitions like laying head to head on the ground with a mouthful of water and a flaming candle on the ground between the each contestant. The object being to extinguish thecandle.
A camp fire where we each received our awards for swimming (minnow, flyingfish, shark, junior and senior life saving). I can still remember the pride of hearing your name being called and getting a badge or certificate to signify your success.
I can still remember the chow hall with it's long tables. One table for each of the many cabins. A long table with the campers and their counselor and CIT (counselor in training). The food served family style. The boxes of cold cereal the we would cut open along the dotted H line and simply pour in milk. Platters of pancakes, french toast, and bacon.
I can still remember the camp songs sung in the chow hall after the noon meal.
Two of my favorites.
Bill Grogan's Goat. Lyrics here.
There's a Hole at the Bottom of the Sea. Lyrics here.
I can still remember the dish-room it's sound and smells and the time I had to spend cleaning dishes when our cabin pulled kitchen duty.
I can still remember the required afternoon rest periods in our cabin bunks.
I can still remember the Sunday evening services on Brown Bread Hill with it's very own "Old Rugged Cross". It was a YMCA camp after all. Lyrics to the Old Rugged Cross HERE. Listen HERE.
I can still remember the the sorrow of seeing mom and dad's car pulling away on that very first Sunday of my very first summer, the tears and the fears of them leaving me at this strange unknown place. And yes, I can still remember the disappointment of the Saturday morning two weeks later when I had to go home. I can remember begging them to let me go back. PLEASE! PLEASE!
And of course, I STILL have great memories of this great place on Lawrence Pond on Cape Cod Mass.
Today some fifty years later it still is a summer camp where boys and now, girls learn to swim, sail, have campfires and learn crafts.
Today it is called Camp Lyndon. Still a wonderful place and a wonderful story.
A story of how my 25 year old nephew in the summer of 1997 helped me re-discover the "lost" Camp Clark... The story of the day 45 years later when I returned to these fond memories and sights.... This story I will tell someday soon. Hopefully, with pictures if I can find them.
Updates: Here is that promised story with pictures.
Each day at Camp Clark ended like THIS.
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the hills, from the lake,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.
09/16/07 UPDATE: Today I posed the following question to a local college chemistry professor "what commonly available chemicals might be used to start a fire by an exothermic reaction". His answer was dead on. Read this. Read the section that describes USES. OH by the way DO NOT try this at home.
This solves an old mystery for me. I guess it wasn't the incantations after all. Thanks R.D.
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