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!
Martha Smith writes a first-hand account of a fun-filled overnight she took with her tentmates during the summer of ’42. On this overnight, they slept at Brunswick which is still the most popular meal hike, and overnight spot at Alleghany!
How to Take an Overnight
“Oh gosh, who has taken my pack strap now? Susie Johnson will you please give it back. That’s the third time you’ve taken it.”
“Hey, Bieler, What am I going to do? Every time I roll mine up, it gets to be four feet in diameter, and it just won’t fit. Maybe I’ve got too much, but I only have my pillow, two towels, six ponchos, and seven blankets! Guess I’ll take out three blankets and two ponchos!”
“Mercy, Lulu (Susie’s sister), don’t see anybody. Do you think they have left us? They can’t do that to us, I’ve only been to Brunswick five times and I don’t know the way. Besides, there’s a barbed wire and holes and somebody threw my flashlight in the river. But we’ll have to go ’cause we’ve already torn our beds apart.”
(With much further ado and wailing, the two sisters arrived upon the scene of battle and began to make their beds under a tree.)
“Great gosh, Miss Agnes! Susie, we can’t sleep here. Every time we put another blanket on, we cover up about six daddy long legs, and I just know I’ve got spiders in my hair Oh! That reminds me, we forgot to bring our handkerchiefs to cover up the ticks.”
“Come on, let’s go over to the fire quick! Everybody looks as white as a sheet. And what is Bieler screaming about? Good night, I bet they heard her back at camp.
(After stepping in the middle of everybody’s bed, such as it was, not to mention the fact that they squashed all the cups in sight and put the few remaining flashlights out at approximately twelve-fifteen. Of course, the number of trees and logs over which they lay and the interesting conversation going on about them had nothing to do with their finally dropping into a very troubled sleep at about three in the morning. But a word to the wise. If you really want to have fun, go on an overnight like the one last Wednesday the fifteenth.
– Written by Martha Smith, Gray