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!
This 1934 piece shows just how creative, offbeat, and adventurous ‘Ghany Girls have always been, especially in Blue-Gray match-ups!
The Scavenger Hunt
— by “Befuddled Blue”
On Wednesday night, a bugle called the Seniors to their Craft Lodge, and the Juniors to theirs.
I was late, and when I opened the door, the first thing I knew someone yelled at me to, “Go get some sheep’s wool,” and someone else told me I might find some on the fence near Don’s tent.
So I wandered up there, in a dazed sort of way, and asked Don if he knew where any sheep’s wool was. He directed me up to the kitchen staff’s quarters, and said he had seen all kinds of it up on the fence.
I stumbled up the hill, and nearly bumped into Rachel coming out of the kitchen. I asked if she’d seen any sheep’s wool. She said there was some caught underneath the house, but to watch out for the bees.
I hung back, not that I was afraid of the bees, you know, but just to give them time to get out of the way.
Then I scrambled under the steps and grabbed a hunk of something, and came out with some mouldy stuff, that looked like hair, in my hands. Though Rachel assured me that it had once been the property of a sheep I was doubtful. But when I got down to the Crafts Lodge they seemed to think so too, so I agreed.
I was next sent to get a frog, a real frog — not a toad.
I wandered down to the river, and when something jumped at my approach, I jumped too. Then I had an idea. I don’t know how I get these things — sometimes they just come to me.
I wanted Wheeler with a lantern to help me catch the frog. I think Wheeler thought that I was crazy. All I know was that he looked at me in a queer way, and led me to the ferry.
As we got down farther, he said in a deep whisper — “There’s ‘un!”
As he was holding the lantern, I had to go down on my hands and knees, in all that muck, and grab a slimy old frog. I got him by the legs, and although I sort of held him out at Wheeler, and looked at him in what I thought was an appealing way, he only said, “Pretty big feller,” and turned away.
I went up to the Crafts Lodge holding the “big feller” gingerly by one leg. I knew it must be rather uncomfortable for him, but right then I didn’t care. As I got into the Crafts Lodge, fellow members of my team rushed at me in a body, and demanded the frog. I surrendered him to Catfish, who immediately rolled him in a tight ball of cheese cloth.
I retired to wash my hands, but before I could get out of the door, they dragged me back to listen to the other team’s song (which was good) and to ours (which was almost as good).
Then before I knew it, the judges announced that both teams were given five points. This gave us the most points, and so I admitted that winning was worth even the self-sacrifice of going down on my hands and knees after a slimy old frog that I didn’t want anyhow!
