Editor’s Note: As part of our year-long celebration of our 100th Year Anniversary (1922-2022), we’ll post a Throwback Thursday edition of our Alleghany Rattler Newspaper to give you a peek into life at camp across those 100 summers!
Harkening way back to 1964, this piece gives insight into the Upstarts Program almost 60 years ago!
The Upstarts
by Karen Calhoun
Almost every day, 28 girls meet in a tent at the end of Unit 2 to plan. They are the Upstarts of Alleghany, and Pat Barry is (their) “Upstart Mom.” Amid profuse groans, P. B., as Upstarts call pat, passes out assignment lists for milk and crackers, ice cream letters, songbooks, and showers, and dock duty. Smiles return, however, when the Upstart Mommy tells some good news — the 16-year-olds are to be hostesses at the Greenbrier Dance, and the 15-year-olds are to plan an evening activity with a Secret theme.
Some class time is devoted to discussion of good counseling — what it is and how to do it. Of course, some time s taken up with “busy work,” as P. B. calls it, such as taking out splinters, discussing the U. S. Mama’s erratic behavior, and last and maybe even least, filling out information sheets telling P. B. what class that Upstart wants to observe and perhaps teach for one day.
There’s a lot more of the Upstart Program than passing out milk and crackers to hungry campers, though. They are assigned tents which they take during Rest Hour and Taps on counselors’ days off. Soon there will be Vespers — on the hill, everyone hopes — which were planned by the Upstarts.
Upstarts are part of Alleghany’s traditions. As a living part of tradition, then, it is an Upstart’s most important duty to laugh, to sing, to plan, to love Alleghany, and to try to make other campers do the same.
