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Li' 
 
 SUMMER IN THE 
 GIRLS' CAMP 
 
N earing the summit 
 
SUMMER IN THE 
 GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 BY 
 
 ANNA WORTHINGTON COALE 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH 
 PHOTOGRAPHS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 THE CENTURY CO. 
 
 1919 
 

 Copyright, 1917, 1918, 1919, by • 
 The Centuby Co. 
 
 Published, August, 1919 
 
 AUG \b\)ji)j 
 
 ©Ci.A530562 
 
TO 
 MY SISTER 
 
 WHO FIRST INTRODUCED TO MB 
 
 THE JOYS OF SUMMER IN 
 
 THB GIRLS' CAMP 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The history of the organized camp for girls 
 covers a period of more than fifteen years. Be- 
 fore that time educators had long felt the need 
 of this form of outdoor life for growing boys, 
 and boys' camps had been in existence for nearly 
 a decade. But as for girls and the out-of-doors, 
 the popular idea had not advanced beyond the 
 summer hotel stage. 
 
 The suggestion came originally from some 
 parents who had had sons in a camp in Maine 
 conducted by Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Cobb of Provi- 
 dence, Rhode Island, and who felt that girls 
 ought to have the same freedom in their sports 
 as their brothers enjoyed, and that in order to 
 gain this it would be necessary to get away from 
 the beaten path, to live in the open and to adopt 
 some simple form of dress. The idea appealed 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Cobb, who were engaged in edu- 
 cational work, and especially interested in the 
 problem of the summer vacation, and they started 
 
viii INTRODUCTION 
 
 the first organized camp for girls at Bridgeton, 
 Maine, in the summer of nineteen hundred and 
 two. 
 
 The idea became popular, and within three 
 years there were several others. Within ten 
 years there were nearly a hundred. Today the 
 number is increasing so rapidly that it is diffi- 
 cult to keep count. The educational aim of the 
 original leaders of the girls' camp movement is 
 being emphasized today by the National Asso- 
 ciation of Directors of Girls' Camps, and its edu- 
 cational value has been more and more recognized 
 until it has taken a place in the educational sys- 
 tem which is in the opinion of prominent edu- 
 cators second only to the school. In this con- 
 nection a course of lectures on Camping for 
 Girls was recently given at Teachers' College, 
 Columbia University, to prepare leaders for this 
 new kind of educational work. 
 
 Dating back to about the same period as the 
 camp in Maine is another type of camp which 
 has been developed by the Young Women's 
 Christian Association, to provide the same kind 
 of outdoor life for short vacation of the self- 
 supporting girl. Other movements, such as the 
 Camp Fire Girls, the Girl Scouts and the Wood- 
 
INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 craft League have contributed much to the cause 
 of untrammelled freedom for girls in the out-of- 
 doors, and through cooperation of these move- 
 ments with the directors of the private camps, not 
 only are the standards for camp activities being 
 advanced in all camps but the general public is 
 coming to know more about the girls' camp. 
 
 Observation during a period of twelve years 
 of the effect of the camp life in the physical im- 
 provement and character development of upwards 
 of a thousand girls, and association in work and 
 play with girls of nearly every walk of life leads 
 to the sincere belief in the great mission of the 
 girls' camp in helping to solve some of the prob- 
 lems of our American life. 
 
 We wish to acknowledge the courtesy of the 
 Outlook Company in granting permission to re- 
 print Chapter I, which appeared first in the 
 pages of their magazine. 
 
 A. W. C. 
 
 New York. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I Life in a Girls' Camp 3 
 
 II Going to Camp 20 
 
 III Fitting into the Environment . . .32 
 
 IV Camp Activities — Sports 49 
 
 V Camp Activities — Crafts 64 
 
 VI Camp Activities — ^Trips 79 
 
 VII War Times in the Summer Camps . . 98 
 
 VIII Are You a Life Saver? 112 
 
 IX Outside the Schedule . . . . . .127 
 
 X The Councilor 153 
 
 XI Inter-Camp Days 167 
 
 XII The Short Vacation Camp . . . .184 
 
 XIII Singing 200 
 
 XIV What Counts v^^ith Camp Girls . . .232 
 XV Honors 244 
 
 XVI Camp Periodicals ....... 254 
 
 Jests 283 
 
 XVII Educational Values and the Summer 
 
 Camp 298 
 
 XX 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Nearing the summit Frontispiece 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 Enjoying an open fireplace in an Adirondack camp . 8 
 
 Ten camps uniting for a patriotic celebration . . 9 
 
 Fun at a sea-shore camp 24 
 
 A camp in the pine woods of Michigan .... 24 
 
 Around the fire in one living room 25 
 
 Starting out on a hike .40 
 
 Tent-mates and visitors 41 
 
 A swimming party making the camp letter . . .52 
 
 Tennis in a Michigan camp 53 
 
 The girls can put up a game of baseball that will 
 
 hold the side-lines in suspense 53 
 
 The joy of the slide 60 
 
 A war canoe fully manned 60 
 
 Knitting as a handicraft 61 
 
 A popular place for craft workers 61 
 
 A sketching party in a junior camp 84 
 
 You look out on a scene of vast wonder and beauty . 85 
 
 Viewing Mount Washington from Mount Jefferson . 92 
 
 Working in the war-time gardens at a girls' camp . 93 
 
 A class in signaling 96 
 
 The racing dive to start 97 
 
 Breaking the wrist hold 112 
 
 Making contacts with subjects 112 
 
 xiii 
 
xiv ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 The double arm carry 113 
 
 The tired swimmf's carry 113 
 
 Scene from "Every-Camp" 144 
 
 A tow of canoes on the way to Field Day at a neigh- 
 boring camp 144 
 
 Getting the last directions for the trail . . . .145 
 They came down the field in the final formation six- 
 teen abreast 176 
 
 At a point held by a figure in bloomer costume they 
 
 turned 177 
 
 Down they went in the midst of the puddles . . .177 
 
 The Ice Cream Shack, Altamont 192 
 
 Getting ready for inspection 192 
 
 Fatigue squad at a Girl Scout Camp 193 
 
 Learning to tie knots at a Girl Scout Camp . . .196 
 Singing on the side lines to cheer the team . . . .197 
 Camp girls like a girl who goes out to win . . . 240 
 
 A day of field sports 241 
 
 The riders from a Vermont camp 272 
 
 A camp girl is not taught theories, but how to do 
 
 things 273 
 
SUMMER 
 IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
SUMMER 
 IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 LIFE IN A girls' CAMP 
 
 TEN years ago girls' camps were rare. 
 Five years ago you heard of a few of 
 them in Maine and New Hampshire. 
 Nowadays we hear of a hundred, and they are lo- 
 cated in all parts of the country — in the Adiron- 
 dacks and the White Mountains, at the seashore, 
 in Arizona and other parts of the Far West. 
 The girl camper may be twelve or twenty. She 
 usually comes from a home of luxury and hugely 
 enjoys the novelty of sleeping in tents, the un- 
 hampered opportunities for learning to swim, to 
 row, to paddle — in short, to live close to friendly 
 Mother Nature — through eight or nine happy 
 weeks of the camp season. And, best of all, she 
 learns the value of girl friendships. A camp girl 
 
4 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 who is now in college writes: ''More important 
 than experience with wind and wood is the inti- 
 mate association with people which camp affords. 
 I have known college girls who wasted most of 
 their freshmen year in learning the simple prin- 
 ciple of community life — toleration, cooperation, 
 and normal friendliness — which the camp girl 
 has already been taught." Another girl said 
 that at home she had known only one girl well. 
 Camp taught her to understand other girls. 
 
 Every summer one whole camp has an oppor- 
 tunity to vote for just one girl. It is not the 
 most popular girl — though she is sure to be that; 
 nor the most athletic; nor yet the best-looking. 
 Not any of these. The highest honor the camp 
 has to bestow is given for Camp Spirit — and it 
 goes to the girl who has proved to be the most 
 thoughtful, generous, and kind — in short, the 
 best friend. 
 
 The girls' camp has proved that there can be 
 just as great esprit de corps among girls as among 
 boys. Not only that, but among girls of varying 
 ages and circumstances. When one camp is 
 "out together," there is always an older young 
 woman who seems to be the leader. It is hard 
 to decide whether she is a camp girl or not. 
 
LIFE IN A GIRLS' CAMP 5 
 
 There is a big-sister air about her, and yet an 
 air of frank comradeship. She is a councilor — 
 a college girl, full of life and spirit. She is the 
 close friend and adviser of the younger girls. 
 Then there is the honor girl, who has been chosen 
 by a committee of councilors because of her 
 ''camp spirit" of thoughtfulness, friendliness, and 
 leadership. She can swim and row, and is al- 
 lowed to go in a canoe without a councilor, and 
 sometimes to take other girls. There are also 
 in this company the timid little mother's darling 
 and the prim little city girl. Yet in spite of 
 these varying types, so strong is the spirit of 
 friendship that there is rarely a note of discord 
 or maladjustment. 
 
 Camp routine is much the same in all camps. 
 The bugle call which awakens the girls is fol- 
 lowed ten minutes later by another, which sum- 
 mons all the campers to assemble for a short cal- 
 isthenics drill and a run around the open court 
 or a lively folk-dance. At one typical camp, ''If 
 you don't go to 'cal' you can't go swimming all 
 day." If you come in a bathing suit, you can 
 have a dip in the lake before breakfast. 
 
 After breakfast there is a lively scramble to 
 put the tents in ship-shape order for inspection. 
 
8 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Then follows the reading hour, under a big 
 tree, with sewing, if you like; and the afternoon 
 excursions are planned. It may be a long trip 
 on foot or horseback; a night in the open, a trip 
 to some distant mountain, with three nights on 
 the way ; a three-day gypsying trip with a wagon 
 for the baggage ; or it may be merely a quiet pad- 
 dle along the lake shore. 
 
 The lovely camp evening, with its basket-ball, 
 tennis, a bonfire with camp songs and stories (or 
 the fireside, if it rains), or a *'sing" on the lake 
 with all the campers in canoes, is brought to an 
 end by the bugle again sounding in the deepening 
 twilight. Taps, '' lights out," find all quiet, ex- 
 cept a giggle or two, hushed by an honor girl, and 
 the happy day is done. 
 
 In a suburban town a committee of parents re- 
 cently held a serious and prolonged discussion 
 over the question of the recreation of the children 
 of the community. 
 
 A playground expert from a national associa- 
 tion was called in to make a survey of the recrea- 
 tional facilities of the town. The survey re- 
 vealed that ^'one-third of the leisure life of that 
 town's boys and two-fifths of the leisure life of 
 
LIFE IN A GIRLS' CAMP 9 
 
 its girls are taken up in going down town, walk- 
 ing and loafing." At this point an exasperated 
 parent suggested that if children could have du- 
 ties, tasks, and a child's measure of responsibility 
 they could utilize what time they would have left 
 for sport and recreation without suggestion from 
 adults; and they would not be found wasting the 
 precious hours of playtime in aimlessly strolling 
 down town and about the streets. Perhaps this 
 wise parent had known in his boyhood days the 
 joy of turning work into play. 
 
 At a certain camp in New England there was 
 an accumulation of rubbish to be disposed of 
 soon after arrival. The camp leader suggested 
 a bonfire. The idea was enthusiastically re- 
 ceived, and rubbish was brought from all quar- 
 ters of the camp grounds. Many hands piled 
 it ''high as the sky." When night came, there 
 was a wild Indian dance and war-whoop, all 
 joining hands, as the huge pile was lighted. 
 That was a fine instance of making play out of 
 work. 
 
 It was some years ago when Janet came to camp. 
 She came from a large city in the Middle West. 
 Her ''set" at home had parties almost every night. 
 Janet was popular, too, with the boys. When 
 
10 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 she saw the campers in their bloomer costume, 
 her face fell. They seemed so young. The camp 
 leader found her weeping tears of homesickness 
 when the train left which took her mother back 
 to her Western home. *'J^^^^ dear," she said, 
 cheerily, ignoring her tears, "I want you to organ- 
 ize a basket-ball team. I have been depending 
 on you for our team. Will you come out now 
 and look over your material?" Janet came out. 
 She looked over her ^'material." Somehow, in 
 the bloomer costume, with her hair in braids, she 
 looked just as young as they. And they were 
 such nice-looking girls, she noticed. She soon 
 had a good team chosen, and during that summer 
 she developed qualities, not only of leadership, 
 but of thoughtfulness and genuine friendliness. 
 So popular was she that her name has been 
 handed down through several summers, and still 
 clings to the tent which she occupied. And when 
 every once in a while she returns to visit the old 
 camp, she is welcomed by all the campers, old 
 and new. 
 
 In the democracy of camp life a girl finds her- 
 self in an environment of simplicity and freedom 
 which stimulates her to activity. In place of lan- 
 guidly accepting a ready-made programme of 
 
LIFE IN A GIRLS' CAMP 11 
 
 play she must provide play activities for herself 
 and others. There is no distinction in dress, for 
 the camp costume is alike for all. A girl is rated 
 by her achievement, not by externals. More- 
 over, she has a distinct advantage in being rated 
 well at the start, for, as one older brother put it, 
 "Your camp takes it for granted that a girl is a 
 good fellow till she proves that she is n't." 
 
 Gwendolyn was one of the few girls who failed 
 to appreciate all this. She ought to have gone 
 to camp sooner. For she had been around the 
 world twice, had wintered in Japan, and had a 
 yacht and an automobile. Yet these accessories, 
 which stood her in such good stead at home, 
 failed to make any impression at camp. 
 
 Then Gwendolyn started stories about the 
 other girls. The first one passed unheeded in 
 the friendly atmosphere of camp democracy. 
 She tried it again — unhappy Gwendolyn! The 
 second time the stories were repeated. The third 
 time they were doubted; but the fourth time, 
 alas! they were believed. But there was a re- 
 action immediately. The stories were traced 
 straight to Gwendolyn, and she became so un- 
 popular that she actually became so miser- 
 able that she had to leave. "I had a hard rub," 
 
12 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 she wrote afterward, ''but I know it did me 
 good." She had found that trips around the 
 world, yachts, and automobiles count for naught 
 when a girl fails to be thoughtful, kind and gen- 
 erous. 
 
 In camp a girl learns, like her brother, to be 
 a ''good sport." One way is to take defeat cheer- 
 fully and to honor your successful competitor. 
 Another way to be a "good sport" in a girls' camp 
 which some brave girls have learned is to refrain 
 from doing things which you are not able to do. 
 One girl with a weak heart learned this only 
 when she had to be rescued because she tried to 
 swim too far. But the spirit of restraint which 
 she afterward showed was recognized by the 
 campers to be just as fine as the spirit of daring 
 in others. 
 
 Unfailing good humor is a strong characteris- 
 tic of the girl camper. Any mention of discom- 
 fort is frowned upon, and an uncomfortable ex- 
 perience, whether in camp or abroad, is always 
 made romantic in a song. 
 
 The mountain trip, which involves several 
 days' travel and some degree of hardship, is a 
 good test of spirits and power of endurance. 
 
 A party from one camp started out one fine 
 
LIFE IN A GIRLS^ CAMP 13 
 
 day to climb a famous mountain, whose high 
 peaks they had often viewed from afar at their 
 camp home. They walked many miles to the 
 base, and then traversed the long side of the 
 mountain before they began to climb. Lunch 
 and supper were eaten from knapsacks on the 
 way. It was nearly dark when they reached the 
 hut half-way up the mountain where arrange- 
 ments had been made to spend the night. The 
 hut, they found, had accommodations for but 
 thirty. Another party had preceded them, and 
 there were fifty- four. ^'We '11 have to sleep like 
 sardines," said one of the girls. And they did. 
 By morning they had a jolly good song to take 
 back to camp, as every party must, and every 
 verse ended in *'Roll over!" 
 
 Next morning they started the long climb. 
 Before they had gone far it began to rain. A 
 car passed them half-way up, filled with people 
 comfortably seated on dry seats. 
 
 "Only towering peaks and rocky paths can 
 sturdy climbers thrill," the girls sang, "though 
 others do their climbing in a car." 
 
 Nearly drenched, but in excellent spirits, they 
 reached the summit, again to find that the best 
 rooms of the tip-top house were occupied by some 
 
14 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 gentlemen from New York. The gentlemen of- 
 fered to vacate, but our girl campers stoutly re- 
 fused. After being dried by a smoky fire, and 
 passing a night on some extra bunks, they started 
 down the mountain, singing : 
 
 "How many miles have we got to go, got to go, got to go, 
 How many miles have we got to go, 
 To catch the train to ?" 
 
 It was afterwards learned that the gentlemen 
 from New York caught cold on the way up the 
 mountain, but never so much as a sneeze was re- 
 corded among the girl campers. 
 
 Camp has valuable lessons for us all, the ex- 
 periences of some parents being as significant as 
 those of their offspring. A fond father brought 
 his motherless little girl to camp. The mother's 
 death was very recent, and Patty had never been 
 away from home before. Papa stayed at the inn 
 across the lake as long as business in the city 
 would permit. The first night he looked out 
 across the lake and saw the camp lights twinkling 
 on the shore, he wondered about Patty. How 
 would she get along without her maid to undress 
 her? "But it will be a good experience for her," 
 said he, shaking his head sadly. In the middle 
 
LIFE IN A GIRLS' CAMP 15 
 
 of the night a storm arose — wind, rain, thunder, 
 and lightning. The waves beat against the 
 rocks. Papa arose and paced the floor. "My 
 poor little girl over there among the rocks and 
 caves!" he groaned. "She will be frightened to 
 death!" He wrung his hands. He continued 
 to pace the floor until dawn. At the earliest pos- 
 sible moment he tried to reach the camp by tele- 
 phone, only to find that no one from the outside 
 could break into that camp, by telephone or oth- 
 erwise, for another hour. He waited. He 
 called again. Patty's voice came back, fresh 
 and clear. "Yes, papa." "My darling," said 
 papa, "were you frightened?" "At what, 
 papa?" "The dreadful storm — thunder and 
 lightning." There was a pause. He waited 
 anxiously. After a minute came the reply. 
 Patty's voice sounded puzzled. "I didn't hear 
 it, papa." 
 
 There are other parents who have learned the 
 value of looking carefully into the management 
 of the camp to which they wish to send their 
 young daughter. For, although a camp may 
 have an ideal location and beautiful scenery and 
 model equipment, if it has not also wise leader- 
 ship and the highest ideals of character, it will 
 
16 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 fail in its greatest obligation — the development 
 of the highest type of womanhood. 
 
 The result of camp training should be, and 
 usually is, a sound mind in a sound body. At the 
 same time, the camps reveal, by contrast, a de- 
 plorable lack in the present system of education 
 for women. It is the failure to put the proper 
 emphasis on physical development. The school 
 and college — and the home as well — are not 
 sending forth their daughters with a reserve of 
 strength and steady nerve as a preparation for 
 living. And there are other evidences of a need 
 for revision of the educational system. Just as 
 in industry women have been working under con- 
 ditions designed for men, so it would seem, in the 
 school and college, a man's program is being 
 imposed upon the girl student. Courses and 
 methods which ignore the physical have been 
 handed down from the past without proper adap- 
 tation to the needs of girls. 
 
 Many of these courses are not related to the 
 needs of the girl's after life. For instance, the 
 study of dead languages and higher mathematics 
 may be good mental exercise, but may be wholly 
 unrelated to the life of the girl who is preparing 
 to make a home. 
 
LIFE IN A GIRLS' CAMP 17 
 
 And much of the girl student's work is still 
 done by assimilation and imitation, rather than 
 by methods which develop the imaginative, cre- 
 ative, and reasoning faculties. 
 
 We hear in these days of the "nervous strain 
 of college life" — and sometimes we hear the same 
 thing from school-girls. The reason for this, in 
 the case of too many girls, is a lack of discrim- 
 ination in not knowing how properly to balance 
 their time with work, rest, and play. Girls need 
 to be taught how to relax. A camp girl said she 
 found at college tired, overworked girls who did 
 not know when they needed rest — not realizing 
 that the mind and body, to keep healthy, must 
 have complete quiet at times. "Some girls 
 here," she says, "do not know the treasures in a 
 long walk over hill and dale, along the brook- 
 side, through the woods, when all thoughts of 
 lessons are left behind." 
 
 The camp girl is taught how to divide her time. 
 Play has a large place in her program, and 
 it furnishes valuable educational training. 
 Through play she learns some of the first prin- 
 ciples of the fine art of living — adaptability, re- 
 liability, initiative, and good fellowship. 
 
 She also realizes the great value of rest — some- 
 
18 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 times solitude — and its relation to work and play. 
 Off in a pine wood, beside a mountain stream, in 
 a canoe, along shore, alone with nature or a com- 
 panionable book, a camp girl can be happy for 
 hours. ^'Invite your soul," is a familiar expres- 
 sion in a girls' camp. 
 
 And then the camp girl works! She goes in 
 for things, and works for the sake of working. 
 It may be organizing sports, or some unfinished 
 craft work, or a part of the domestic work of the 
 camp assigned to her. Sometimes she puts in an 
 hour or two on lessons which have to be made up 
 for school in the fall. With superb health, ex- 
 uberance of spirits, and pleasant companionship, 
 she gets joy out of working. And a definite part 
 of each camp day is sacredly devoted to work. 
 
 Because she has learned the importance of ac- 
 complishing what she sets out to do and the ad- 
 vantage of team-work, the camp girl is depended 
 on in college for the executive work in non-aca- 
 demic activities. It is said in one college that 
 when a camp girl is made chairman of a commit- 
 tee that committee's work will be done well. 
 
 Camp life gives a girl also a good store of 
 knowledge as a preparation for her academic 
 work. She knows not only how to bandage a 
 
LIFE IN A GIRLS' CAMP 19 
 
 cut and right an overturned canoe, but also how 
 to recognize the stars and appreciate the poetry 
 of scenery. Contact with the real world of na- 
 ture develops an interest in scientific explanations 
 and theories. 
 
 Good health and a balanced mind bring many 
 desirable qualities in their train — physical poise, 
 toleration, friendliness, power of achievement, 
 and that indefinable charm which is the glory of 
 every woman with glowing health. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 GOING TO CAMP 
 
 HAD the authorities at the Grand Cen- 
 tral Depot but realized as they do now 
 the importance of the summer camps, 
 all the mix-up might have been avoided. As it 
 was, crowds of boys and girls had been start- 
 ing off from the big New York terminal for their 
 camps at the seashore and in the mountains at the 
 beginning of each summer without attracting very 
 much attention. And that was why Betty Brown 
 came very near being left behind when Camp B. 
 boarded the White Mountain Express one hot 
 morning in June. 
 
 Camp B. had arranged to meet the chaperon 
 at the information desk. But when Betty and 
 her grandmother arrived at the Grand Central, 
 all breathless and perspiring and just a little late, 
 they found the station a swarming mass of girls 
 and boys, mothers and fathers, grandmothers, 
 
 20 
 
GOING TO CAMP 21 
 
 uncles, cousins, and aunts; and when, by dint of 
 much pushing, Betty finally succeeded in jostling 
 her way through the mob to the information desk, 
 it was only to find herself hopelessly separated 
 from her grandmother and locked tight in a jam 
 of girls, chaperons, and suitcases, while the clock 
 hands were pointing dangerously near to train- 
 time. 
 
 It was a desperate moment; for had the party 
 gone without her, Betty would have had to give 
 up going to camp for the summer. Something 
 had to happen! And it did. She never knew 
 just how, but all of a sudden something gave way, 
 the jam loosened, and the next moment she found 
 herself on the edge of the crowd, with a signifi- 
 cant bit of blue ribbon, the badge of Camp B., 
 fluttering right under her nose. It was attached 
 to Miss Mills, the head councilor, making a last 
 frantic search for the councilor with the block 
 ticket, who had disappeared in the crowd to find 
 Betty. They seized her just in time, and every- 
 thing turned out all right, for her grandmother 
 had found her way to the gates and was waiting 
 there with the Camp B. girls. In a moment, 
 with a single punch of the block ticket, everyone 
 was pushed through the gates, and the next thing 
 
22 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 they knew they were moving swiftly out into the 
 open. 
 
 So after all the bustle and confusion they were 
 off, and Camp B. settled down for a whole day 
 on the White Mountain Express, which went roll- 
 ing on and on up into the hills and fertile fields 
 of old New England. There may have been pas- 
 sengers on that train who found the trip tedious, 
 but there was one car, filled with a crowd of 
 lively school girls that managed to have a good 
 time all the way, singing camp songs, visiting and 
 making new acquaintances, looking over the new- 
 est magazines, and keeping a lookout all the way 
 along for the friends who were to get on at the 
 important stopping places. The whole car was 
 filled with camp girls, except for two or three el- 
 derly ladies on the back seats, who smiled and 
 looked pleased at the gay company. And here 
 and there, surrounded by a group of admirers, 
 was an older girl, who was known as a councilor. 
 
 It was a nice surprise for Betty to find that 
 three other camps were making the trip on the 
 same train, and that they occupied the cars just 
 behind. Exchanging visits and singing to them 
 made the afternoon pass very quickly. Until af- 
 ter four o'clock the train slowed up at the junc- 
 
GOING TO CAMP 23 
 
 tion, the one-time waiting place where a great 
 many people got on and off, and then — bringing 
 the end of the journey nearer — on again, to wind 
 its way around the familiar bends of the beauti- 
 ful Connecticut River. Things began to grow 
 exciting now, and the campers in the rear car 
 commenced to pick up their things. There was 
 a rush for the windows as they went swaying by 
 familiar landmarks, familiar to them all as the 
 scenes of many a canoe trip. Now the girls in 
 the rear car were standing, crowding the aisles 
 with themselves and their suitcases. Still the 
 train sped on, now following the stream around 
 the curve, now leaving it for a little while for a 
 straighter course. Till at last, rounding another 
 bend, the spires of a village appeared, then a lit- 
 tle station, and the train slowed up to discharge 
 its first crew. Down over the station platform 
 they swarmed, girls, handbags, tennis rackets, 
 ukeleles, in wild confusion. Some landed in the 
 frantic embraces of friends, others went scram- 
 bling, shouting and running to fill the waiting au- 
 tomobiles that were already headed for a certain 
 camp back among the hills. 
 
 The next station claimed another crew who 
 made an equally noisy and hasty exit, and so on, 
 
24 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 until the last one off leaving the river at sunset 
 sped away in a dozen automobiles toward distant 
 blue mountain peaks, and there were left only the 
 elderly ladies, a stout gentleman, and a few other 
 city passengers to go on to the junction to the 
 north. 
 
 But to go back to the rest of the crowd at the 
 Grand Central Depot. Within another hour they 
 were all scattered, and speeding out in a dozen 
 different trains toward the hills and lakes or the 
 coast of New England — except, perhaps a few 
 who were bound for the camps in the Adiron- 
 dacks — they too were realizing their dreams about 
 going to camp. For they had been dreaming 
 about it — these girls and boys too — just released 
 from school, ever since the first warm breezes of 
 spring had been wafted in through the school 
 room windows, and the longing for outdoors 
 growing stronger made books and lessons and 
 final examinations seem duller than ever. And 
 while the picture in the mind of one might be a 
 row of tents in a sunny field, in another a group 
 of bungalows nestled among the trees on a rocky 
 hillside, they both made the same call. You re- 
 member the day-dream of Penrod when he found 
 himself flying lightly over the heads of all his 
 
If- 1 
 
 Mi ni- l^MKKKKM " 
 
 ^4 II 
 
 Fun at a sea-shore camp 
 
 
 
 A camp in the pine woods of Michigan 
 
GOING TO CAMP 25 
 
 troubles, while the class below was laboring 
 through a stupid recitation? In much the same 
 way, the call of camp, wafted in on the first warm 
 breeze affects the imagination; and the camper, 
 with her eyes fixed on a dull page finds herself 
 making a splashing dive from Caesar's bridge, or 
 climbing to the top of an acute angle in the geom- 
 etry. 
 
 Now there are different kinds of camps. 
 There are those to which a girl can go for only 
 two weeks at any time during the summer, sleep in 
 the open, and enjoy the outdoor sports and camp 
 fires, and which will be described later on. But 
 Betty Brown's camp is the kind set forth so at- 
 tractively in the advertising pages of the maga- 
 zines, where the activities are arranged in regular 
 progression through a specified term beginning at 
 the end of June or the first of July, and extend- 
 ing through nine weeks till the first of Septem- 
 ber, and which are clustered so thickly through 
 the mountains and lake regions of Maine, New 
 Hampshire, and Vermont, although there are 
 some also to be found in Michigan, Wisconsin, 
 and other states in the West, and a few in the 
 mountains of the South. 
 
 One nice thing about the opening of camp is 
 
26 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 having everybody arrive at once. You can pic- 
 ture the excitement in Camp B. when they all 
 get there together — girls and councillors from all 
 parts pouring in, load after load, from the differ- 
 ent trains. You can hear them singing and 
 cheering as they come down the road and around 
 the bend, and as they draw up in front of the big 
 porch, and roll out of the cars on to the familiar 
 stamping ground, there is a wild reunion of old 
 friends interspersed with "Wonderful to be 
 back," and "Why, there 's Dot," and "Oh, you 
 old peach," and "Thought I should NEVER get 
 here." Even the smallest is keyed up to the top 
 notch of excitement, and anticipation. Small 
 wonder no one lives up to the family expectations 
 by getting homesick. 
 
 All this is very thrilling to Betty Brown, the 
 newcomer, who stands rooted to the spot, still 
 holding on to her bag and tennis racket. An- 
 other moment, and these are gaily snatched from 
 her grasp, and she finds herself swept on with the 
 others on the way to her tent, in tow of a slim 
 figure in bloomers, who introduces herself in 
 friendly fashion as an old girl. They follow a 
 bumpy path through the trees, the lithe figure in 
 bloomers, camp shod, bounding on lightly ahead, 
 
GOING TO CAMP 27 
 
 while the others with their city heels, pick their 
 way gingerly over the stones. All of them are 
 greatly excited over the question of tent mates, 
 Dot and Peggy hugging each other at the thought 
 of being together, while four older girls are 
 thrilled to find that they are to be put on their 
 honor in a tent by themselves. 
 
 "I wonder who my tent mates are," thought 
 Betty. 
 
 They come upon a group of white tents, nestled 
 in among the trees, on the lake shore, with a 
 glimpse of a bungalow beyond. Here they leave 
 Betty at Number Five, and her guide takes her 
 up the steps of the platform of a wide tent, 
 overlooking the lake, where somebody is busy un- 
 packing. The "somebody" turns and smiles at 
 the newcomer, and Betty finds to her great amaze- 
 ment that this remarkably good-looking young 
 and friendly person is a councilor! It is really 
 humorous, considering that all along she had pic- 
 tured her as a rather severe, middle-aged person, 
 like her Sunday School teacher. 
 
 Inside the tent it was very snug and homelike. 
 Four cots occupied the corners, and still there 
 was plenty of room down the center for the 
 steamer trunks. A rather high set of shelves oc- 
 
28 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 cupied one end, a wash stand with an agate bowl 
 and pitcher, surmounted by a small mirror, the 
 other. A row of shelves and some toilet articles 
 arranged on the shelves at the end showed that her 
 tent mates had been there already, as did also a 
 sweater and a bath robe tucked away on the 
 swinging shelf overhead, and although perfect 
 strangers she began to have a warm feeling for 
 them already as she found it was they who had 
 so kindly made up her bed with her own blan- 
 kets. She beamed when she found that one of 
 them was Sue, the honor girl who had brought 
 her to her tent. 
 
 She had only a brief moment to take it all in 
 before there was a sudden blast from the bugle — 
 just as she was in the act of trying out the wash 
 basin, and a wild shout of "Supper!" from the 
 tents near by, that sent everybody running up the 
 path to the dining-room. It was only with the 
 help of the friendly councilor that Betty was able 
 to join the hurrying procession. 
 
 The dining hall, a big room with a low ceiling, 
 opening from the front porch, was filling up rap- 
 idly as they came in. There were rows of tables 
 up and down the room, and places for every one 
 
GOING TO CAMP 29 
 
 of the mob of hungry girls that came trooping in 
 from every doorway. Some of the newly arrived 
 had found time in that brief interval to slip into 
 their camp costumes — clever rascals! — and they 
 looked remarkably easy and comfortable in their 
 clean white middies. At Betty's table were eight 
 girls all of whom seemed very nice. The ab- 
 sence of a tablecloth and the paper napkins 
 seemed quite camp-like, but the hot biscuits, jam, 
 and creamy milk were not exactly what she had 
 pictured as camp fare. What about the beans 
 and hard tack that Uncle Dick was always refer- 
 ring to? The food was brought on by efficient 
 looking camp girls and served by the councilor. 
 All over the room there was a medley of excited 
 voices, and rows of girls in every direction. 
 Betty was kept busy trying to take it all in. 
 
 On the panels of the walls were the names of 
 all the campers of other years, with a special 
 mark for those who had won honors. By and 
 by her mind wandered back to the folks at home. 
 They would be just about to sit down to dinner 
 now. . . . Her eyes were a little blurry and she 
 gave a start when she found someone was talking 
 to her. 
 
30 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 But a little later when they had all left the ta- 
 bles and gathered in the big living room around 
 a blazing fire, things looked quite cheerful. The 
 girls in camp costume sat on the floor around the 
 fire, making an inviting picture. Looking them 
 all over in the light of the fire, Betty decided that 
 they were girls that were well worth knowing, and 
 the prospects for a happy summer seemed very 
 bright indeed. In the center, the camp leader 
 was giving them a few words of welcome, and 
 when they were all introduced to each other, Betty 
 met another tent mate, who, she was overjoyed to 
 find, knew her cousins in Detroit. 
 
 Strains from the piano started some camp 
 songs that seemed to bring them all together with 
 a close, warm and chummy feeling. The old 
 girls were very entertaining, telling about the in- 
 teresting places near camp, hikes to the village, 
 canoe trips, and mountain climbs, and their glow- 
 ing accounts of all these good times made the 
 new girls feel how nice it would be to be an old 
 girl. After one more song the camp leader re- 
 minded them of the lateness of the hour, and 
 bade them good-night and happy dreams. Out- 
 side they waited a moment for lanterns, then scat- 
 tered to their tents, a whole flock of them picking 
 
GOING TO CAMP 31 
 
 their way down the stone path to the lakeside. 
 On her snug little cot in her tent out under the 
 stars, Betty, too tired to think, dozed off to the 
 lapping of the waters and the thrill of dreams 
 come true. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 FITTING INTO THE ENVIRONMENT 
 
 'T CAN'T get 'em up! I can't get 'em up! 
 I I can't get 'em up in the morning ! " rang out 
 JL the camp bugle, after real effort on the part 
 of a sleepy bugler to shake herself awake. On 
 the instant all over the lakeside, alert figures in 
 pajamas bounced out of bed, and began pulling 
 down the tent flaps. 
 
 In her cot in Tent Five, Betty Brown was star- 
 tled from her second nap — having been awak- 
 ened before by the early morning sun in her face 
 — and sat up, half dazed, and looked aiound. 
 
 One of her tent mates was still in bed. "Good 
 morning!" shouted Tent Six, which was an- 
 swered by another tent way down the row. Soon 
 there were lively sounds from the tents all around, 
 and campers were calling back and forth from 
 the lakeside to the knoll to know whether they 
 were to have ''dip" or calisthenics. ''Only ten 
 minutes to get dressed!" warned the councilor, 
 
 32 
 
FITTING INTO ENVIRONMENT 33 
 
 and two of her charges jumped out of bed. A 
 moment later, scantily clad figures went hurrying 
 by on the way to ''cal," and Betty and her new 
 friend after some frantic diving into trunks and 
 handbags, finally joined them on the bungalow 
 floor just in time to hear the order ''Class in 
 place!" and jump into line. 
 
 After a brief setting-up drill and a cold plunge 
 for a few of the fittest, the campers all hurried 
 back to the tents to finish dressing for breakfast, 
 and before all four had had turns at one mirror, 
 the cheerful notes of the mess call sounded 
 through the trees, announcing breakfast, and up 
 the path once more came the whole procession all 
 in camp costume, the last of the stragglers clutch- 
 ing frantically at undone middy ties. 
 
 The breakfast room was filled with a cheerful 
 chatter, everybody being very much alive and 
 glad to get back. Betty joined very little in the 
 conversation, for she was thinking of home, and 
 the cheerfulness around her only seemed to bring 
 a lump to her throat. She tried to conceal it, and 
 succeeded so far as to manage to smile when the 
 girl next to her asked her how she liked camp. 
 
 After breakfast, all the tables waited, with 
 camp courtesy, till the last one had finished, and 
 
34 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 then everyone hurried back to put her tent in or- 
 der. Getting ready for tent inspection was Bet- 
 ty's first introduction to real camp life, and it oc- 
 cupied a half-hour that was all too short, even 
 though each one took her share. Everything, it 
 seemed, must show the strictest military order and 
 neatness. The floor must be swept; pitcher 
 filled; the cots made up tightly and uniformly in 
 hospital fashion with corners just so; and all be- 
 longings in their proper places with not so much 
 as a string out of line; toilet articles arranged 
 neatly on the shelves, towels folded, shoes in a 
 straight row, or in the bungalows tucked up in 
 the rafters, bathing suits hung neatly outside, and 
 all sweaters, bathrobes and other bulky articles 
 rolled up and tucked away on the swinging shelf 
 overhead. Time was when everything was hid- 
 den from view in that most convenient of all re- 
 ceptacles, the steamer trunk, but nowadays, even 
 the trunk is not spared when the inspecting coun- 
 cilor sees fit to peep inside, or does the door yard 
 or the space underneath escape her eagle eye. 
 Over and beyond all this, some camps give recog- 
 nition for any little feminine touches or sugges- 
 tion of beauty, such as flowers, or convenience in 
 arrangement, in determining the mark that is 
 
FITTING INTO ENVIRONMENT 35 
 
 posted each day — or in some camps, read aloud 
 each week. While a little carelessness or a lazy 
 tent mate may be the occasion for a *'B — " and a 
 significant little note from the inspector, ^'Bed 
 poorly made," or ^'Shelves not neat," left on the 
 shelf and found later, which has a dampening 
 effect on one's hopes for final honors. 
 
 Promptly at nine o'clock, the horn blew for as- 
 sembly and brought the whole camp together in 
 the big recreation hall in the bungalow. They 
 filled up the room quickly, the leader announced 
 the hymn, and the piano gave an opening chord. 
 On the first notes, a few late comers straggled in, 
 and all eyes were turned in their direction. 
 Betty sat with the girls from her tent near a wide 
 doorway which looked out through a clump of 
 white birches upon the blue waters of the lake. 
 She was greatly interested in watching the rows 
 of girls, some of whom she knew already. The 
 room was completely filled with girls in camp 
 costume, and it seemed that they all looked alike. 
 She could not even pick out the councilors, for 
 they all looked about the same age. The others 
 joined heartily in the singing, but the strains of 
 the hymn sent her thoughts toward home, and 
 during the Scripture and prayer she was lost to 
 
36 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 everything except the trees outside and the lake. 
 She was thinking about a letter she meant to 
 write to her mother, and was trying to decide 
 something. 
 
 The voice of the leader brought her back to 
 something pleasant, and she started up to listen 
 to the announcements. The leader was explain- 
 ing the camp schedule which offered all sorts of 
 interesting things all through the day. They 
 were the things she came to camp for — swimming 
 and crafts and riding — and she mentioned any 
 number of things that would be pleasant to look 
 forward to for the days to come. 
 
 When she was through, the song leader struck 
 up a lively serenade, which they all sang in in- 
 creasing volume to each councilor and new girl 
 in turn, and when they came to Betty's name, and 
 sang "Ain't she neat, ha-ha, sweet ha-ha, hand- 
 some and fair," she blushed and looked pleased. 
 Then almost before the last one was finished they 
 burst forth with "Oh, here 's to every camper girl 
 that wears the brown and white." As they went 
 on with "She may be sad and lonely, reduced to 
 skin and bone, but we '11 feed her up and fatten 
 her, for isn't she our own?" she grinned and 
 was very much amused. Next they brought on 
 
FITTING INTO ENVIRONMENT 37 
 
 an extra lively one with many verses telling about 
 a gypsy trip, and ending with a rousing war- 
 whoop. Betty grew more and more excited, and 
 catching the thrill joined heartily in the final war- 
 whoop. They kept on singing until it was past 
 time for dismissal, and after a winding march 
 in and out and around the room, with hands on 
 each other's shoulders, they went out to the tune 
 of a lively marching song, and scattered hur- 
 riedly to the various handcrafts, some to basketry, 
 some to pottery, others to needlecraft. Betty 
 selected jewelry work — she had always wanted to 
 "take'' jewelry — and found it so interesting that 
 she was not ready to leave when the bugle blew 
 for swimming. Nevertheless, she started with 
 the others at the first blast, and hurried into her 
 bathing suit. 
 
 Swimming hour was great fun, but that will 
 be described in another chapter. Suffice it to say 
 that the swimming master watched Betty's strokes, 
 and gave her some words of approval that sent 
 a glow to her face. As she picked her way back 
 to her tent, like a number of others, she made the 
 resolve to take the canoe test at the very first op- 
 portunity. 
 
 On the whole it was a wonderful morning, full 
 
38 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 of many interesting experiences. She had met a 
 number of girls at swimming and crafts and felt 
 much better acquainted. She had found so 
 much to do that was novel and exciting that she 
 had had no time to think about herself. When 
 at dinner time the girls filed into the dining-room, 
 she found they did not look so much alike after 
 all, but were quite individual. She was 
 able to pick out quite a number of friends, and 
 she was surprised to find how quickly she had be- 
 gun to feel at home with them. So when Table 
 Three started a serenade to the swimming master 
 she joined in with all her might and felt as 
 though she belonged. 
 
 That afternoon curled up on her cot in rest 
 hour, she started a long deferred letter to her 
 mother. All the tents on the lakeside were quiet, 
 and there was no sound except the lapping of the 
 waves. Before she had finished one page . . . 
 It was half an hour later. 'Terkie," the coun- 
 cilor, stood laughing while she rubbed her eyes. 
 *'Bugle 's blown," she said, ''don't you want to 
 come for a hike?" 
 
 That evening after supper while waiting for 
 some new friends to go out in a rowboat, she fin- 
 ished that letter to her mother. It was not quite 
 
FITTING INTO ENVIRONMENT 39 
 
 as she had once planned it, for it said nothing 
 about being homesick. In fact, it said very little 
 about herself, but it described a romantic walk 
 over lovely country roads, and glorious impres- 
 sions of hills and fields and blue sky, viewed 
 from a hill top. The greater part, if the truth 
 be known, was filled with glowing accounts of a 
 fascinating young person named Perkins, and 
 frequent mention of a '^peachy" honor girl named 
 Sue, and it wound up with "You 'd LOVE camp. 
 Your loving Betty." 
 
 The first few days the newcomer is kept busy 
 getting her bearings in her new environment, and 
 learning how to be a camper. This involves 
 some things that are difficult. Always being on 
 time for appointments is one. When the bugle 
 calls for assembly just as you are struggling with 
 an unruly tent flap, or for dinner when your hair 
 is still wet, it is not easy to act on the instant. 
 Yet this is a test of the good camper, and the girl 
 who goes trailing in after the hymn has begun, or 
 after the diners have been seated, is not making 
 an enviable record. Her experiences with camp 
 discipline are somewhat like those of the rookie. 
 Like the rookie also she learns to meet certain 
 camp requirements with regard to order and per- 
 
40 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 sonal neatness. On this she is ''jacked up" at 
 once. One day she leaves her sweater on a bench 
 under the trees. Returning half an hour later 
 she is puzzled to find it is gone, until a girl 
 near by calls out, "Say, Betty, was that your 
 sweater? It 's in the pound." Every stray thing, 
 she finds, is spirited away to the pound, and can- 
 not be gotten out until the next auction, and then 
 only by paying a fine. Which is not merely in- 
 convenient but embarrassing. A camper who 
 usually has her things in the pound does not rank 
 very high in the estimation of her fellow camp- 
 ers. In the same way when she sends an un- 
 marked middy to the laundry, she finds after a 
 troubled investigation that it is also in the 
 pound for unclaimed articles. All this is a new 
 experience for the girl who is used to having 
 things picked up for her. As to personal neat- 
 ness, she has a feeling of chagrin to find one day 
 on her tent shelf, a little note from the inspector, 
 saying ''B plus. Hair in the brushes." It brings 
 a little flush to her face to think that but for her, 
 the tent might have been marked "A." 
 
 All this matters much to a camper, because the 
 responsibility rests with her to make good. The 
 camp offers only rewards, no punishments, and al- 
 
Starting out on a hike 
 
FITTING INTO ENVIRONMENT 41 
 
 though it may be called discipline, it is of the 
 kind that is known as self-discipline. The value 
 of all this she realizes even more fully if she goes 
 to college. 
 
 It requires some adjustment too, to the city girl 
 to become accustomed to living out in the open, 
 remote from trolley cars and department stores, 
 and to make the transition from the noise of ele- 
 vated trains, and the whirr of a great city to a 
 stillness broken only by the flutter and twittering 
 of birds, the scurrying of chipmunks, or the bark- 
 ing of a faraway dog. It takes time too to get 
 rid of her fears — her fears of strange noises, of 
 wild life, and imaginary dangers, and her 
 squeamishness about bugs and lizards and cater- 
 pillars. 
 
 Another element in making good is to go in for 
 things and work with all your might and main, 
 to achieve something; to count for something; to 
 be a good sport ; to take your part in the camp ac- 
 tivities, and your share in the things to be done. 
 For a slacker is no more popular with camp girls 
 than with rookies. 
 
 Adapting one's self to new ways and customs 
 may be a little bothersome at first, but behind all 
 the effort is a wonderful motive that is known in 
 
42 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 all camps as camp spirit. This Camp Spirit is 
 a magical something that is recognized at once 
 by the new girl in the genial, friendly atmos- 
 phere of camp, and more particularly in the spirit 
 of the girls. One girl says, "What I think is the 
 finest of anything in camp is the spirit of the 
 girls. For instance, when the new girls come 
 they are taken into everything and made a part 
 of the camp immediately." This girl came to 
 know later that this friendliness is a part of camp 
 spirit, which every true camper tries to cultivate. 
 It is the spirit that makes everybody look out for 
 others; that prompts one to put aside her own 
 wishes in the interest of the whole community. 
 She may not feel like staying in bed for an hour 
 after she is awake but she would not think of 
 getting up and disturbing other people. That 
 would be poor camp spirit. The same way with 
 neglecting your share of the tent duties or being 
 late to meals. "It is not good camp spirit," is 
 enough for a true camp girl. One of the finest 
 things about it is the spirit of loyalty to the camp. 
 Watch Betty Brown after two weeks in camp, 
 cheering herself hoarse at the first basketball 
 game, or when the camp is out together, catch the 
 
FITTING INTO ENVIRONMENT 43 
 
 spirit of those snappy camp songs that ring forth 
 the praises of old Camp B. 
 
 Another thing about it that is a surprise to the 
 serious girl is the way the campers make light 
 of difficulties, and at first she scarcely knows 
 what to make of it. The very first week the girls 
 in her tent agree one afternoon to pull their cots 
 out of doors that night and sleep under the stars. 
 But when bed-time comes there are no stars, and 
 the councilor, foreseeing rain, makes a protest. 
 Finally she gives in and lets them have their way. 
 
 The new girl is afraid to venture. Waking 
 up next morning before the bugle and looking 
 down from her tent upon an open space below, 
 she sees a row of cots covered with rubber blan- 
 kets and fastened at the head of each one an open 
 umbrella, while a gentle rain patters down on the 
 sleepers. 
 
 They joke about everything — the mud, the 
 rain, the bugs, and all sorts of vexatious things 
 which have always fretted her. Unlike other 
 girls she has known they like to joke about them- 
 selves, and a favorite subject is getting fat. 
 They are such good sports. They never complain 
 about anything. On the contrary, if the rain 
 
44 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 keeps up for days at a time, they write a droll 
 song about it. They have songs about all sorts of 
 troublesome things, even mosquitoes; and droll 
 names for everything just as college boys do. 
 For example, an old riding horse in one camp 
 which bore from the days of its long lost youth on 
 the western prairie, the markings ''E. W." was 
 dubbed ''Ever Weary," and one day at table 
 someone started a birthday song to him. She 
 also finds them remarkably good-natured and 
 easy-going about borrowing and lending. It is 
 not that way at home. 
 
 The new girl admires this spirit tremendously 
 and to make good with these girls is her chief aim 
 in life. But this is not always the easiest thing 
 in the world, learning how to get on with other 
 people, to rub elbows, so to speak, with fifty or 
 a hundred young people of your own age and to 
 make good. Some girls need to learn how to 
 mix, and they have to find themselves first before 
 they can make a place for themselves in the com- 
 munity. One of these was Rosamund, a rather 
 self-satisfied girl who had everything she wanted 
 at home, and she changed her tent mates three 
 times before she found out that the trouble was 
 with herself. Another girl who had once chosen 
 
FITTING INTO ENVIRONMENT 45 
 
 her tent mates with great care wrote to the camp 
 leader that she wanted to "take a chance on her 
 tent mates. '^ This girl had learned by her camp 
 experience that any girl at camp makes a good 
 comrade, and that by narrowing her circle to a 
 few chosen friends she would be missing a val- 
 uable part of the camp experience. 
 
 A great many stories might be told of the ex- 
 periences of different types of girls in fitting into 
 the camp environment. Of the shy, sensitive 
 girl who only needs to be brought out, and who 
 responds at once to the friendliness of camp; of 
 the over-confident girl who has a great many jolts 
 before she finally finds herself, and wins the 
 friendship of others ; of the self-centered girl and 
 the spoiled darling; and the girl who is just nat- 
 urally lovable and is sure to find a warm place in 
 the hearts of everybody. One of those who had 
 a hard time at first and won out was a homesick 
 girl who decided to "stick it," as the English say. 
 She was a timid child and had never been away 
 from home before. She was really having a des- 
 perate time. She had wept for three days and 
 finally sent a telegram to her mother. And she 
 told her councilor that she was going home. 
 
 "Oh, no," said Miss B. "I would n't do that. 
 
46 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 You may be sorry. Give camp a fair trial — say 
 two weeks." 
 
 "But Ruth went home," sobbed Kathleen. 
 
 *'Yes, but do you know what happened?" said 
 Miss B. 
 
 Now Ruth was a girl who at the first touch of 
 homesickness had acted like a baby and gone 
 home. Once there she had immediately wanted 
 to come back, but could not get up her courage 
 to face the girls. Kathleen raised her head from 
 the pillow. This was something to think about. 
 She sat quite still for several moments. Finally 
 she straightened up, and brushing away her tears 
 said, "I '11 try to stay for a month. Then the 
 girls won't think I 'm a baby, will they?" 
 
 ''No, indeed," said Miss B. 
 
 So Kathleen "stuck" it, though it took real 
 grit and a mighty effort. The hardest part was 
 when she got the answer to her telegram telling 
 her she might come home. But she had fine 
 courage and won her battle, and when the month 
 was up this camper was so in love with camp, 
 and so well liked by the girls that nothing could 
 induce her to go home until the end of the season. 
 
 The diary of many a camp girl tells about the 
 wonderful outdoor life at camp — of the trees, the 
 
FITTING INTO ENVIRONMENT 47 
 
 birds, the color in the sky and lights and shad- 
 ows on the mountains, and shows the intimate 
 acquaintance of a camper with all outdoor things. 
 A college girl writes, 'T am lying under a butter- 
 nut tree, watching fluffy white clouds floating 
 over a clear blue sky." Another one says, *T can 
 lie in my cot, and see in the lake a reflection of 
 a fire on a mountain twelve miles away." An- 
 other thirteen-year old says, 'Tt seems strange af- 
 ter being up four floors in the midst of a rush- 
 ing city to be able to reach a fern as you lie in 
 bed." And a girl from the South writing from 
 New Hampshire tells of the wonderful daisy 
 fields "like those you read about." It would 
 take too long to tell the whole story of the new 
 girl in relation to the outdoors — of her impres- 
 sions from hikes through the country, of sunny 
 slopes and gleaming meadows, and of bright col- 
 ored flowers, to say nothing of the friendly far- 
 mer folk who are always ready to give aid to 
 young people out for a good time, and over whose 
 kitchen stove she has cooked many a breakfast, 
 and in whose pasture fields she has spread out 
 her blankets for many a night in the open. This 
 intimate acquaintance with simple life and whole- 
 some people for nine long weeks changes one's 
 
48 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 outlook, so that it is no wonder that at the end of 
 the summer it is a confused and frightened band 
 that lands into the turmoil at the Grand Central, 
 and follows the green line in the subway. It ex- 
 plains the first homesick days at home, when 
 houses seem stuffy and city clothes intolerable, 
 and why it takes a camper some time to find her- 
 self all over again in the strange artificial sur- 
 roundings. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 CAMP ACTIVITIES SPORTS 
 
 EVERY girl goes in for sports at camp. 
 And many of those most enthusiastic 
 over swimming, basket-ball, or tennis, 
 are the girls who never do any of these things at 
 home. The reason is that sports at camp are 
 more fun. The camp girls put something into 
 their games that even their brothers miss. A 
 good illustration of this is the story of a trip, com- 
 ing from a camp in Vermont: 
 
 It was midsummer, and a party of eight had set 
 out from camp on a gypsying trip through the 
 Green Mountains. With a wagon along for the 
 blankets and supplies, they had traveled many 
 miles from home, slept four nights in their pon- 
 chos, and climbed a mountain. It was on the 
 last day, while traveling over hot and dusty roads 
 on an average of twenty miles a day, that they 
 began to look around for some fun. They soon 
 found that the combination of a small potato, a 
 
 49 
 
50 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS^ CAMP 
 
 walking-stick, and a country road produced a 
 beautiful game of golf ; tiiat the lid of a saucepan 
 and a lemon resulted in a dubious game of ten- 
 nis; and that any water, from four inches in 
 depth to four feet, gave opportunity for a per- 
 fectly good swim. They might leave their ath- 
 letics behind them in camp, the councilor de- 
 clared, but never their sports. 
 
 You see, the camp girls know how to play. 
 They would rather go out for a good time in their 
 games than to win. They may work for the 
 camp letter in swimming, tennis, riding, or walk- 
 ing, but when they play basket-ball, baseball, 
 and other athletic games that boys take so se- 
 riously, they play for the sake of the game and 
 the fun there is in it. 
 
 Take basket-ball, for example — an impromptu 
 game, when two tables challenge each other at 
 supper-time, call themselves the Reds and the 
 Blues, and come out a few minutes later in 
 fantastic garb and line up against each other for 
 a game. The cut of the costumes, the wild plays, 
 the songs made up for the occasion, and the spirit 
 of the crowd cheering them on, furnish as much 
 real sport as any competitive game with the reg- 
 ular, qualified teams. And when it comes to com- 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— SPORTS 51 
 
 petitive games with another camp, or two chosen 
 teams from the same camp, the fun is by no 
 means dependent on whether they win or lose. 
 
 An occasional afternoon of field sports is some- 
 thing like an impromptu game of basket-ball. 
 The girls enter the races and the throwing and 
 jumping contests for the fun of doing it, under 
 the impulse of the moment. Many a timid girl 
 who has never had any experience in this kind of 
 play is persuaded to go in and try for the fun 
 of the thing. 
 
 In many of the large camps at the beginning 
 of the season the entire body of campers is di- 
 vided into two sides, as the Blues and the Whites, 
 or the Blacks and the Reds. This stimulates 
 competition, not for the individual, but for the 
 camp. Each team has its captain and the sides 
 are evenly matched. On a field day like the fol- 
 lowing, the two teams enter into lively competition. 
 
 The first event is Dodge Ball, which proves 
 very exciting and scores points for the blues. 
 The next is an obstacle race. This is very close 
 and the cheering for both sides is deafening, un- 
 til, by the brave effort of an ardent member of 
 the Whites, her team wins. Next comes a fifty- 
 yard dash, which is even in the semi-finals. A 
 
52 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 three-legged race furnishes fun, and scores once 
 more for the blues. The next event, a Basket 
 Goal Relay is full of excitement, for the Whites 
 make five more baskets than the Blues, but the 
 Blues finish first and make ten points, scoring 
 five more than the Whites. In the last, a stick 
 race, where the players prolong the suspense by 
 dropping the sticks, the Blues come out ahead. 
 Summing it all up, the Blues have won the day. 
 
 One game the girls love to play at camp is base- 
 ball. Some one once asked the venerable pres- 
 ident of a well-known women's college if he 
 did not think that playing baseball had a ten- 
 dency to make girls "mannish.'' His reply was, 
 "My dear sir, did you ever see the girls play?" 
 Well, if the bat is a trifle heavy and the mitt in- 
 clined to drop off, nevertheless with hard work 
 and a gifted pitcher these disadvantages can be 
 more than matched by our enthusiasm, and we 
 can put up a game that will hold the side-lines in 
 suspense through a long summer afternoon. 
 
 A camp of younger girls, who were devoted to 
 baseball, once challenged a team of college girls 
 from a neighboring camp. The college girls 
 were known to play a good game, but the juniors, 
 nothing daunted, practised hard and came out 
 
A swimming party making the camp letter 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— SPORTS 53 
 
 to meet their rivals with high spirits and a new 
 song for the occasion which st§Lted frankly that: 
 
 Camp has a ripping team, 
 
 And they will win the day. 
 
 Before the game opened, rain began to fall, and 
 as the college girls proceeded to roll up the score, 
 the rain kept coming down faster and faster, but 
 neither side was willing to quit, and a loyal band 
 of ^' rooters'^ stayed on under cover of rubber 
 blankets. They played to the finish, and the 
 juniors were badly beaten and thoroughly soaked, 
 but they took it all with such fine spirit and such 
 good humor that the college girls stopped to give 
 them a rousing cheer before making a dash for 
 their own camp quarters. The juniors, by this 
 time headed for their own camp and nearly out of 
 
 sight, were heard singing merrily, "Camp 
 
 has a dripping team, dripping team!'' which they 
 kept up until they came splashing into camp. 
 
 There are other games which camp girls may 
 go in for, such as hockey, or archery, or rifle- 
 practice. Many girls use their spare time in 
 keeping up their tennis. In most camps the ten- 
 nis-courts are never idle. Ladder-tournaments 
 keep the whole camp alive to the game, and when 
 
54 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 the time comes for final try-outs, the courts are 
 worked overtime and the side-lines are always 
 thronged with excited spectators. 
 
 Riding, always a popular sport at camp, is 
 stimulated by excursions into the surrounding 
 country, over wood-trails and logging-roads, or 
 over the hills and through the villages of the 
 main highway. Time was when the spectacle of 
 a line of girls in bloomer costume on horseback 
 used to astonish the countryside. On one occa- 
 sion a small urchin of three was seen to go into 
 convulsions of laughter; but now not even the 
 children turn to look, and the small boy's sister 
 has adopted the bloomer costume for herself. 
 The beginner has her lessons in the ring, until 
 she learns to feel at home in the saddle and make 
 friends with a certain horse. Before the end of 
 the season she has learned to ride them all; and 
 when the time comes for the try-outs for the camp 
 letter, she knows all about saddling and bridling, 
 feeding and watering, and the general care that 
 a horse should have. 
 
 When a camp girl goes in for anything, she 
 works at it heart and soul, and one thing she al- 
 ways goes in for is swimming. She would ra- 
 ther miss anything else in the day's round — even 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— SPORTS 55 
 
 dinner. In a typical camp, swimming-hour is 
 something like this: 
 
 As soon as the first horn blows, groups of 
 thinly clad figures hurry down the path to the 
 dock, picking their way with as much speed as 
 bumpy ground and unprotected soles will allow. 
 At the signal for ''All in!" there is a series of 
 splashes, loud gurgles, and shrieks, followed by 
 ''Wow! This water is wonderful! Really, it 's 
 not a bit c-o-o-old!" (splash) ''No! I said it 
 was warm!" (chattering) "Come on in!" 
 (splash) "Ow! Who said it was warm?" 
 (splash) ''Wonderful!" And so on, until the 
 space between the shore and the life-boat and 
 raft is alive with bright-colored caps bobbing up 
 and down on the surface of the water. In many 
 camps the color of the cap indicates the grade of 
 the swimmer. 
 
 The beginners take fewer risks, and crawl or 
 wade in with even more to-do until the water is 
 above their waists, and then the swimming-mas- 
 ter on the pier gets a rapid fire of questions from 
 all directions. "Mr. B., did I get that right?" 
 "Oh, Mr. B., will you watch my side stroke?" 
 "Here, Mr. B., over here. Watch me! did I get 
 my head under that time?" "Oh, Mr. B., did 
 
56 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 you see me? I floated that time!" Then, from 
 the more advanced swimmers: ''Mr. B., do I 
 get the breathing right?" "Please, Mr. B., show 
 me the angel dive ! " "Yes, I want to try it, too ! " 
 "Mr. B., now will you pass me on the crawl?" 
 "Oh, Mr. B., how long before the bugle? Shall 
 I have time to go down the chute just once?" 
 
 Now and then you can hear the swimming- 
 master: "Easy now, don't hurry. C-o-a-s-t." 
 "Bend the elbow there!" "That's it; you're 
 doing finely! " "Try again and close the fingers 
 — stretch — that way!" "Watch the breathing — 
 out— in!" 
 
 For relaxation from this effort, some are play- 
 ing around the raft and an overturned canoe, and 
 others are sliding down the chute — the joy of 
 some camps — into the water. The swimming 
 period lasts about twenty minutes for each divi- 
 sion, and then the bugle sounds for "All out! " 
 
 What camp girl will ever forget the canoe-test, 
 which meant keeping up in deep water, swim- 
 ming or floating, with a boat alongside, for 
 twenty minutes? To pass this was the goal of 
 her first few weeks at camp, especially as every 
 one else was trying for it, and without it no one 
 was allowed to go out in a canoe. What excite- 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— SPORTS 57 
 
 ment as one after another passed it — some girls 
 who had never been able to swim a stroke before ! 
 One of those who had never before tried to 
 swim was Janet, an only child, from a town in 
 Indiana. Here at camp was her opportunity, 
 for, with a life-boat on one side and a strong 
 swimmer on the pier, there was really nothing for 
 her parents to worry about, especially as a fatal 
 accident in the water has never been heard of 
 in a girls' camp. So Janet made the most of her 
 opportunities. She was a girl of keen observa- 
 tion and good nerve. For the first few days she 
 watched carefully from the dock everything the 
 others did, until she had it firmly fixed in her 
 mind. Then she practised it by herself, on her 
 cot first and then in the water. She found she 
 could swim a few strokes. She did the same way 
 with floating. Then one day she found herself 
 out in deep water ; she lost her nerve and thought 
 she was swallowing the lake. She had to be res- 
 cued and brought ashore, but the next moment, 
 to everybody's surprise, she was back in deep wa- 
 ter, trying it again. Before the end of the first 
 month, Janet had passed the canoe-test. Later, 
 when she came to take the further tests for the 
 full use of a canoe, swimming fifty yards in camp 
 
58 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 clothes, undressing in deep water, and keeping 
 up for half an hour, she used the same methods 
 with the same courage, but nothing ever gave her 
 quite the same satisfaction as passing the canoe- 
 test. And that experience opened up for her a 
 new sport, loved of campers — the sport of pad- 
 dling. 
 
 There are many such cases of pluck and perse- 
 verance as girls keep advancing from one class 
 in swimming to the next by passing various 
 strokes and dives. Keen excitement is added to 
 this by the record-chart, a bulletin, kept hanging 
 in a conspicuous place, which records the ad- 
 vancement of every girl in camp. To see an- 
 other star opposite your name is surely a great in- 
 centive to keep on working at the over-arm, 
 crawl, or back dive. 
 
 The requirements for the advanced grades in- 
 clude such strokes as over-arm, crawl, trudgeon, 
 and spiral, the various holds and breaks in life- 
 saving, and any number of dives, from the straight 
 dive to the jack-knife, the amount and kind de- 
 pending upon the policy of the camp. The ideal 
 of the girls' camps is to emphasize good form, ra- 
 ther than speed or long-distance swimming, and 
 the ability to met any emergency in the water, ra- 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— SPORTS 59 
 
 ther than ^'stunts" which put a strain on the heart 
 and lungs. 
 
 To get the right form has tested the spirit of 
 many a girl. Mary Louise was one who proved 
 game by keeping on with a difficult stroke when 
 all the girls told her she did it well enough. 
 Mary Louise had been working on the crawl. 
 She got the motions all right, but still the swim- 
 ming-master was not satisfied. He urged her to 
 keep on until she was able to breathe naturally 
 and to feel relaxed while doing it. This was 
 not so easy as it looked, and it required a great 
 deal of patience, but Mary Louise was deter- 
 mined to get another star. One day she found 
 herself cutting through the water with scarcely 
 any effort at all. She felt like the muskrat she 
 had watched from a canoe. She knew that it was 
 because she was relaxed and was filling her lungs 
 at natural intervals. It had surely paid to get 
 it right. In the final try-outs for endurance, 
 there was keen competition, but Mary Louise won 
 the camp letter. 
 
 Pauline was a girl who could swim well, but 
 could n't get up the courage to dive. One day 
 the girls were practising the racing dive, for the 
 water-sports meet with another camp, and the 
 
60 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 swimming-master urged Pauline to come in and 
 join the team. Pauline was a girl who had not 
 "found herself," and had not the secret of mak- 
 ing friends, but there was a chorus at once of, 
 "Oh yes, Pauline, come on in!" "But how 
 could I?" protested Pauline. "I never made a 
 dive in all my life ! " 
 
 Just then an adored councilor came along to 
 watch the fun. "Pauline," she said sternly, "if 
 you don't try that dive and make that team, I 
 shall not speak to you again." 
 
 Pauline went in. She took the water in splen- 
 did form, and swam with the team against the 
 other camp. At the critical point in the relay- 
 race she heard the crowd shouting, "Pauline! 
 Go it, Pauline ! Oh, oh ! Pauline ! " and she com- 
 prehended that the race now depended upon her. 
 With her opponent closing in behind, she swam 
 as she had never done before, spurred by an in- 
 centive entirely new to her. She touched the pier 
 first and won the day, and the shore fairly rang 
 with her praise. From that day she has never 
 hesitated to go in for things. She has now won 
 for herself a good place in her camp. 
 
 The rescue work, or life-saving, with the re- 
 quirements of the United States Volunteer Life- 
 

 The joy of the shde 
 
 A war canoe iully manned 
 
Knitting as a handicraft 
 
 A popular place for craft workers 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— SPORTS 61 
 
 savers or even more difficult ones, puts a great 
 deal of zest into the swimming. In order to pass 
 the tests you must know at least three different 
 holds which a drowning person would be likely 
 to make while struggling and how to break them. 
 You must also be able to dive to the bottom and 
 bring up a supposedly drowned person in proper 
 form — head first — and tow her ashore, using any 
 one of three approved methods of carrying, as, 
 for example, crooking the elbow under the chin 
 of the victim and swimming on the side. You 
 must then demonstrate an approved method 
 of resuscitation, usually the Schaeffer method, 
 which requires only one person to apply it. The 
 first thing on reaching shore is to empty the water 
 from the lungs; — which, by the way, would sel- 
 dom be more than two or three teaspoonfuls in 
 amount, — and induce breathing by pressure on 
 the ribs. If you have ever been called upon to 
 be the victim for some one's practice, you will un- 
 derstand why it is still a question in some camps 
 which form of death is to be preferred: life-sav- 
 ing or mere drowning? 
 
 In a camp where there had been a lively inter- 
 est in passing the life-saving tests there was one 
 girl who had an opportunity to show how well 
 
62 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 she had learned the most important thing — how 
 to keep her head. It was a carnival day, and the 
 crowd on the shore and in the boats were watch- 
 ing the canoe stunts. Now came one where a 
 girl had to jump overboard and get back again 
 while her partner steadied the canoe. Peggy was 
 in the canoe nearest shore. With her was a girl 
 who had not learned the great lesson of camp — 
 that the way to prove a good sport, when not 
 strong, is sometimes to stay out. Beatrice had 
 gone in under protest, and now, as Peggy struck 
 the water, to her surprise her canoe capsized and 
 Beatrice tumbled after her. The crowd cheered, 
 thinking it had been done for effect, but Beatrice 
 was not striking out. She had lost consciousness. 
 The only one in the crowd who realized the se- 
 riousness of the situation was Peggy. In an in- 
 stant she was at Beatrice's side, and, supporting 
 her under the waist, began towing her toward 
 shore. She was met half-way by a strong swim- 
 mer, and the crowd cheered again, this time for 
 the real heroine of the water sports. 
 
 At the end of camp there come the days of the 
 try-outs, with contests in riding, tennis, and field 
 sports. 
 
 On the carnival day there are flags flying, 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— SPORTS 63 
 
 crowds of gaily dressed people from the neigh- 
 borhood, much shouting and camp singing, and 
 the lake is alive with boats and canoes. There is 
 a program of water sports, including swimming 
 singles and relay-races, canoe doubles and sin- 
 gles, tub-races, diving for form, obstacle-races 
 and canoe stunts. When it is all over, some girls 
 will wear on their sweaters the coveted camp let- 
 ter. 
 
 But there are some things worth more than the 
 camp letter, which every girl will carry home. 
 These are the things which she gained at camp 
 and which will always be with her — a sense of 
 achievement, joy in newly found muscles, the feel- 
 ing that she can do more and more, and, possibly, 
 show her older brother some things he can't do. 
 Added to this is the recollection of blissful sum- 
 mer days, of sunny shores, and association with 
 care-free comrades. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 CAMP ACTIVITIES — CRAFTS 
 
 THERE are two sides to the camp girls' 
 program — sports and occupations. This 
 is the story of the occupations, which 
 have a great fascination for the average camper. 
 First, there are the handcrafts, that keep one 
 busy for a part of every day and develop imagi- 
 nation and skill in making things. Each girl 
 chooses for herself what she wants to work at, 
 and since they are all so appealing it is hard for 
 a beginner to decide. The question is, is it to 
 be the bead work, where the girls are making at- 
 tractive head bands and necklaces; or basketry 
 work in reed and raffia ; or shall she join the pot- 
 tery class out doors and learn to make some of 
 those bowls and jars that make such lovely gifts 
 to take home; or shall it be stencilling or block 
 printing or wool embroidery, studies in color and 
 design to be applied to table runners and pillow 
 covers that will be nice to take to boarding 
 
 64 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— CRAFTS 65 
 
 school; or shall she take carpentry and wood 
 carving and make a letter rack for a table; or 
 weaving; or rug making; or metal work in cop- 
 per or jewelry of silver? Not all of these, to be 
 sure, are offered at any one camp, but there are 
 sure to be three or four, and the choice between 
 any of these is difficult. So it is a good thing 
 that in a good camp one is advised to take the one 
 best suited to her capacity and not to undertake 
 the more advanced work such as jewelry making 
 until she has mastered some of the simpler arts, 
 such as basket making. Also, to make good in 
 crafts she must use her own originality and put 
 her best work on her design rather than on a 
 great quantity of hand work. One piece with an 
 original design is worth more than half a dozen 
 that are copied from some one else. 
 
 In one camp the girls of the crafts department 
 did an interesting thing when they combined all 
 their efforts in working out a problem in interior 
 decorating. There was a dingy attic room in 
 the camp, and they undertook to decorate and 
 furnish it, under the inspiration of the crafts 
 councilor. They had a good time doing it, be- 
 cause every one had a part. Using light tinted 
 wall board to cover the ill-matched boards and 
 
66 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS^ CAMP 
 
 applying stain to the strips used for joining, and 
 also to the floor, one squad furnished the back- 
 ground. Another squad contributed the furni- 
 ture, which consisted of an old-fashioned bed, bu- 
 reau and chair, pulled out from the dust and cob- 
 webs and made fresh and new with French gray 
 paint and a lovely design in color, which had 
 been chosen from a competition by the whole 
 class. The bed spread, made of unbleached 
 muslin, with the chosen design appliqued in 
 lovely colors in the center, the colored hangings 
 of dyed muslin, the screen and heavy curtains 
 of burlap decorated with the same design in wool 
 embroidery, the scrap basket, candle sticks and 
 tray for the dressing table were all the hand work 
 of the rest of the craft workers. So it was no 
 wonder that when it was all finished, every girl 
 in camp was eager to show visitors the new guest 
 room. 
 
 In another camp the girls, wanting to add a 
 touch of color to their living room, furnished cur- 
 tains and pillows of dyed muslin with designs in 
 oriental tied work, which the craft workers had 
 dyed out of doors. 
 
 At the end of the summer all the finished work 
 is arranged in the most attractive form for an ex- 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— CRAFTS 67 
 
 hibition and the effect is like a Red Cross bazaar, 
 with visitors from the village and hotel. Judges 
 are appointed to decide upon the merit of 
 the work. The guests are filled with admiration 
 and surprise, that all this lovely display is the 
 work of the campers. And the girl who has put 
 herself, heart and soul into her work, who has 
 used her own originality, who has stuck to what 
 she has begun, has a little thrill of pride as she 
 hears a visitor say "What! You don't mean 
 that a camp girl made THAT! " 
 
 Now there is another kind of craft, known as 
 camp craft, or wood craft, which is the romantic 
 part of camp life. It has to do with birds and 
 trees, stars and trails, open fires, camping out 
 parties and over-night hikes. Camp craft be- 
 gins with the things near home — short hikes to 
 find flowers or ferns or study the birds. One girl 
 was astonished to find that there were thirty-two 
 kinds of flowers to be found without leaving the 
 camp grounds, and among them members of fa- 
 miliar families, as the lily and the rose and the 
 orchid. A visiting specialist makes all these 
 things very interesting and in one walk with a 
 person who can show you what there is to see in 
 the woods you can learn to know any number of 
 
68 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 different kinds of maples and pines and beeches 
 and find all sorts of interesting things as you go 
 along. The most fascinating and romantic part 
 of this nature work is at night, studying the stars, 
 lying on your back on the grass while some one 
 points out the Hunter, the Great Bear and Cas- 
 siopeia. If the astronomer has a telescope, he 
 shows the stars to an eager crowd about bed time, 
 and the craters of the moon. And the campers 
 who are most interested go to bed with alarm 
 clocks and get up at two o'clock in the morning 
 to see the heavens at a more favorable time. 
 
 In these days a part of the business of being 
 a camper is to know camping and trailing. To 
 make good in this part of the camp program one 
 must know how to make and break camp, to pitch 
 a tent, to make different kinds of fires required for 
 heat and for cooking and know something about 
 trail blazing and outdoor cooking. So for the 
 newcomers there is a camp craft walk, to learn 
 about sensing directions — to know which is 
 southeast and which northwest — trail blazing 
 and outdoor cooking. On starting out, one girl 
 is appointed to lead the way and find the trail. 
 The party is in her hands. If she loses the trail, 
 no one must help her out. She must find it her- 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— CRAFTS 69 
 
 self. Margaret leads out bravely following the 
 little path into the woods, and is followed by five 
 other girls and the councilor, all equipped with 
 knapsacks carrying the supper. When they get 
 into the deep woods, all at once the trail seems 
 to vanish. Margaret is stuck, and the party is 
 held up. A few yards beyond there is a blaze 
 on a tree, which is discovered by a pair of bright 
 eyes behind Margaret. But she must not tell. 
 The party must wait for Margaret. They sit 
 down on a log while a puzzled girl wanders 
 around getting nearer all the while to the tree. 
 All at once there is a shriek of joy and the trail 
 is found. They go on without difficulty till they 
 come to the open. By the shore of a lake they 
 make a fire and have their first experience in 
 cooking a camp supper, not a small part of which 
 is to clean up the grounds, put out the fire and 
 burn or bury all rubbish. For a good camper 
 always leaves the spot as beautiful as she found 
 it. 
 
 Bye and bye one knows all the trails around 
 camp and it is time for a camping out party, an 
 experience of romance and adventure that has 
 been handed down from the earliest days of 
 camps. Get together half a dozen hikers who 
 
70 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 are good for ten miles, invite a councilor, each 
 girl taking her blankets and some food in a knap- 
 sack, and we set out in the middle of the after- 
 noon. Our path leads us through the woods, 
 around the lake and across the fields, skirting the 
 edge of the village, till it brings us to a narrow 
 country road that leads in general direction 
 toward far off blue mountains. We hike along 
 briskly, shifting the blanket rolls now and then 
 over our shoulders and stopping only for a few 
 minutes at the spring by the roadside. Bye and 
 bye we turn off from the road and follow a rocky 
 trail, a sign that we will soon be there. A few 
 minutes later we come upon the chosen spot 
 where a little brook bubbles up among the rocks 
 and boulders at the edge of the woods and then 
 spreads out over the meadow below. It is late 
 afternoon and yellow rays from the setting sun 
 are shedding a fantastic light over the rocks and 
 trees and even changing the color of our mid- 
 dies and knapsacks. 
 
 We cast off the blanket rolls and throw down 
 our knapsacks and divide up for camp duty, some 
 gathering wood and building the fire, some get- 
 ting the water and others going to the little farm 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— CRAFTS 71 
 
 house down below for milk. In the glow of the 
 setting sun we cook supper and make camp for 
 the night. We find nice level places to spread 
 out the blankets and double up — two girls to a 
 bed. First we lay a rubber blanket, then a 
 woolen one, and for the top, a woolen then a rub- 
 ber one. Pinned tightly together they form a 
 sleeping bag for two, while the sweaters rolled up 
 serve as pillows. 
 
 Supper in this enchanted spot, looking off over 
 meadows and woodland to distant purple moun- 
 tain peaks is like a fairy tale, and so is the later 
 evening after the fiery sunset glow has faded and 
 darkness begins to gather, when the fire has set- 
 tled down to a steady glow, reflecting only the 
 ruddy faces of the campers seated around. We 
 linger till long after time for Taps, and when 
 finally the spell is broken by the councilor telling 
 us to go to bed, we add one thing more to this 
 wonderful day by going out into the meadow to 
 study the stars. But at last we find our camping 
 place, roll up our sweaters and crawl into our lit- 
 tle pockets on the ground and pull up the blan- 
 kets over us. And while the campers of far 
 away yesterday are fast asleep in their cots with 
 
72 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 a roof overhead and a floor below, we are thrilled 
 as we lie down among tall grasses that wave on 
 every side to sleep under the open sky. 
 
 We are awakened at an early hour by the thud 
 of hoofs in a pasture near by and the piercing 
 rays of the early sun. We get an early start and 
 have finished breakfast before the sound of rev- 
 eille has awakened the campers at home. Then 
 we hurry to break camp, rolling up the blankets 
 quickly, packing the knapsacks, and after clean- 
 ing up the beautiful camping ground, we are off. 
 We bounce along the rocky trail and are soon out 
 on the open road swinging along with an even 
 pace on the way back to camp. We cover the ten 
 miles without blisters, and though hot and dusty 
 come into camp in fine style — with firm step and 
 singing a marching song. The stay-at-homes 
 are there to greet us, and we reach the porch steps 
 just in time to hear the welcome call of the horn 
 for swimming. We lose no time in getting into 
 bathing suits and crown the adventure with a 
 swim in the cool smooth waters of the lake. 
 
 In the older camps this romantic side of camp 
 life is being more and more emphasized, thus 
 going back to the customs of the early days. 
 For there was a time when a camping party 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— CRAFTS 73 
 
 thought nothing of staying two or three days, 
 though only a few miles away from camp. In a 
 group of camps on the Vermont-New Hampshire 
 border, the arts of real camping are stimulated by 
 inter-camp competition in camp craft, teams from 
 two or more camps meeting every now and then at 
 some camping place half-way and entering into 
 a contest in making and breaking camp, fire mak- 
 ing and cooking. First Aid contests are held at 
 one camp or the other and judged by outside doc- 
 tors and Red Cross nurses. 
 
 One of the most interesting things attempted 
 by this group of camps is an inter-camp trail 
 which is designed to connect the camps with 
 each other and to enable the hikers to leave the 
 highway as much as possible. The six miles of 
 this inter-camp trail already made by three or 
 more camps lead the hikers by a lake and over 
 hills and through the woods on their visits to 
 each other, and it is hoped that in time it will be 
 extended to link all the camps in the group for a 
 distance of about a hundred miles on each side of 
 the Connecticut River. Along this trail will be 
 shelters for the hikers, after the example of the 
 Dartmouth College Outing Club and the Appa- 
 lachian Mountain Club, the hospitality of whose 
 
74 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 trails and shelters these campers have long en- 
 joyed. The first of these shelters or inter-camp 
 shacks was built in 1917 at the foot of Mount 
 Cube in central Vermont, and the camps having a 
 part in it came together at the beginning of the 
 next summer for a christening party. Perhaps 
 you would like to hear about it. 
 
 In choosing this site for the first inter-camp 
 shack, girls from several camps met together 
 and cooked and spent the night. Way up on the 
 side of the steep slope that leads to the foot of the 
 mountain, in the pasture field right at the edge 
 of the woods near where the rocky trail begins, 
 they found a lovely spot that commands a rare 
 view of hills and meadows and mountain peaks 
 and which looks way off over the summit of Moo- 
 silauke to the projecting peaks of the Presidential 
 range. Nestled at the foot of the slope are the 
 house and barns of a friendly farmer, while off to 
 the left and not far away is the Mount Cube 
 cabin of the Dartmouth Outing Club. 
 
 In the fall the shack was built — a long build- 
 ing of logs in the form of an Adirondack lean-to, 
 with the side looking off toward the mountains 
 entirely open. The interior is divided by a 
 great stone chimney into two parts, one for a 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— CRAFTS 75 
 
 sleeping shelter in case of rain and the other for 
 a living room and a place to cook. Meeting 
 here together one late afternoon at the call of the 
 chairman, delegations from the various camps 
 had supper together and a beautiful house warm- 
 ing ceremony. 
 
 After an outdoor supper in the glow of a mag- 
 nificent sunset which glorified the view of the 
 hills and mountains the presiding camp leader 
 called the camps together around a camp fire and 
 the ceremony began by singing the ''Long, Long 
 Trail." The chairman of the committee then 
 was called upon to tell this group of campers — 
 who by the way were chosen for proficiency in 
 camp craft to represent their camps at this gath- 
 ering — something of the history of building the 
 shack and the obstacles overcome, after which 
 they all joined in singing ''Keep the Home Fires 
 Burning." At this point there was a most im- 
 pressive ceremony of a patriotic nature, without 
 which no program was ever complete in war 
 times, introduced by two camp girls. These 
 girls, one of whom was popularly known in her 
 camp as "Libs" and the other in hers as "Just 
 Betty" had gone out on the mountainside before 
 supper and out of materials found there had im- 
 
76 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 provised an American flag. As you have never 
 seen, and perhaps never will see, a flag like this, 
 I will try to describe it. In the first place, its 
 colors were the true red, white and blue of our 
 national banner. Its materials were leaves and 
 birch bark. For the stripes there were bright red 
 maple leaves, touched by a summer frost alter- 
 nated with white birch bark. The field of blue 
 was furnished by dark blue wild flowers. The 
 stars were white clover. As this flag was 
 brought on by the two girls the company rose and 
 joined in singing ^'Columbia, the Gem of the 
 Ocean." There have been many patriotic dem- 
 onstrations in these times, but few have been more 
 simple and impressive than this one with its ban- 
 ner of freedom furnished by the mountainside 
 and its expression of patriotism out under the 
 open sky and witnessed only by themselves and 
 the stately trees that grow on the side of Mount 
 Cube. 
 
 The christening of the shack was the next 
 thing on the program. As the leader called the 
 roll of the camps one after another their represen- 
 tatives came forward and threw fagots into the 
 fire, each fagot bearing the sentiment or mes- 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— CRAFTS 77 
 
 sage of the camp. First came Aloha, oldest of 
 the group, and threw in the fagot of Love — Aloha 
 meaning Love — Next was Hanoum, whose 
 fagot was taken from an historic poplar tree 
 around which are woven many of the traditions of 
 the camp. The fagot bore the message of strength 
 and beauty. Aloha Club came next, with the 
 fagot of Fellowship. Then Tahoma, who threw 
 in fagot of Memory and Aloha Hive, who stood 
 for Keeping Step. Then Serranna, whose fagot 
 expressed Vision. An extra fagot was thrown in 
 for Wyoda, a camp that had been detained. At 
 the end of the christening ceremony the campers 
 joined hands in a big circle around the fire and 
 sang in parting ''Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 On the walls of the Mount Cube shack are in- 
 scribed the names of the camps and the meaning 
 of the fagots which in the years to come will be 
 cherished by the hundreds of girls who will have 
 come to know the value of inter-camp fellow- 
 ship through camping together at the foot of 
 Mount Cube. 
 
 The work of this group of camps in relation 
 to camp craft has only begun, and we hope that 
 each year may see more and more interest on the 
 
78 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 part of all the camps in this fascinating side of 
 camp life. And we hope that camp girls every- 
 where will turn from the more artificial type of 
 camping and learn to love more and more the 
 simple life in the out of doors. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 CAMP ACTIVITIES TRIPS 
 
 GOING on any of the trips?" an "old" 
 girl asks Hilda, as they meet at break- 
 fast the first morning in camp. But 
 Hilda is so taken up with the new surroundings 
 that she has not begun to think about trips. Be- 
 fore many days have passed, however, she finds 
 herself thinking more and more about them, es- 
 pecially if she is a girl who is strong enough to 
 stand three or four days on the mountain or a 
 canoe journey down-stream. And as time goes 
 on and she hears the others talk, the trips loom 
 large on the summer's horizon. 
 
 One trip that hundreds of girls encamped 
 "somewhere in New England," look forward to 
 each year, involving from two to four days on 
 the trails of the Presidential Range, with the 
 nights spent in mountain huts, is the climb up 
 Mount Washington. Any girl who has been for- 
 tunate enough to take this trip has gained some- 
 
 79 
 
80 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 thing from her summer to last the rest of her life. 
 The opportunity comes about the middle of the 
 season, after the campers have been tested by the 
 short tramps near camp as well as some shorter 
 climbs. A party is made up, of ten or a dozen 
 girls, with a councilor or two and a guide — per- 
 haps the swimming-master. These lucky indi- 
 viduals are called together the night before to 
 confer about food, the time for starting, the 
 proper foot-gear for guarding against blisters, 
 and other little details. By this time the whole 
 camp is carried away by their enthusiasm. 
 
 Next morning, near dawn, as Betty is dream- 
 ing lightly, tucked away in her cot on the hillside, 
 she feels a stealthy whack across her covers and 
 starts up with a thrill, knowing it is the signal 
 to get up and get ready to start. She hops out 
 of bed and proceeds to dress quickly, and with as 
 little noise as possible for fear of wakening her 
 tent-mates. Down along the line she can see the 
 others going through the same motions in their 
 tents — divmg into trunks for clean middies, 
 scrambling up to the swinging shelf overhead for 
 sweaters, and rummaging through their tent- 
 mates' things for hair-pins. She tiptoes about 
 cautiously, but why is it, when you are trying to 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— TRIPS 81 
 
 be so careful, you are bound to stumble over some- 
 body's trunk, or drop the mirror on the floor? 
 By and by she gives her hair a final pat before 
 the glass, gathers up her sweater, slips out of her 
 tent, and runs down the path to where an early 
 breakfast is waiting and where some friends with 
 true camp spirit, who have been up since dawn 
 buttering sandwiches, are stuffing the last 
 oranges into bulging knapsacks. 
 
 Breakfast is choked down in great excitement; 
 and before the last knapsack is buckled on, the 
 bugle routs out the rest of the camp, who come 
 running from every direction to say good-by. 
 Some of the girls are fully dressed, others — well, 
 not so fully. But what does it matter so long as 
 one gets there in time to get into the fray? Ev- 
 erybody helps it along — jostling and crowding, 
 embracing their tent-mates, and calling and 
 shouting good-by. And when the party finally 
 breaks away and starts out on the run in sheer 
 self-defense, the stay-at-homes line up and sing 
 to them until they are away down the road and 
 out of sight. 
 
 The party sets out in good camp costume — 
 that is, all just alike. Each girl wears a clean 
 white middy and spotless white duck hat ; bloom- 
 
82 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 ers and tie in true camp color; and pinned to her 
 blouse somewhere with a huge safety-pin, a tin 
 cup and a tooth-brush. A song which comes 
 from a camp in New Hampshire describes them: 
 
 When you wore a tin cup and I wore a knapsack, 
 And each wore a tooth-brush too, 
 We 'd scarcely a penny, and troubles not any. 
 For we went out for a view. 
 
 Thus equipped and in high spirits, they swing 
 along the road to the station, and, with the aid of 
 passing automobiles or their own good muscles, 
 reach there in time for the train, which is soon 
 bearing them far away from camp and everyday 
 scenes into a new world of rare and wonderful 
 experiences. 
 
 It is noon when they reach the little station at 
 the foot of the great mountain, and they lose no 
 time in finding a place beside a brook, where 
 they lighten the knapsacks for the first meal. 
 After that, a few minutes to stretch out on the 
 grass, and the long climb begins. 
 
 Perhaps you have heard about that long climb 
 up the steep trail on Mount Madison, where, in 
 spite of your brave start, your steps soon begin 
 to lag, and you develop a longing for a cool drink, 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— TRIPS 83 
 
 that increases with each half-mile; how you toil 
 on, with a camper's dogged determination, drag- 
 ging one weary foot after another, until at last, 
 with parched throat, you come to a place that 
 looks like the end, only to find that it is the sign- 
 post that marks the half-way point of the trail. 
 This trip, we are told by a seasoned camper from 
 one of the older White Mountain camps, affords 
 a good opportunity to develop character. Per- 
 haps so. At any rate, it serves to bring out the 
 hidden qualities of a camper as many weeks in 
 camp might fail to do. To be sure, the trail is 
 hard. But which one would think of going back, 
 or of wishing she had not come? And as for the 
 unfailing good humor we hear about, it is just 
 such occasions as this that call it forth. In fact, 
 the greater the discomfort, the funnier the situa- 
 tion. So right here somebody's sense of humor 
 is sure to rise to the occasion, and the effect is ir- 
 resistible. It is even reflected in the song taken 
 back to camp. 
 
 Moreover, that quality called "camp spirit" in- 
 evitably comes to the fore and impels you to think 
 of the other fellow — the one who is having a 
 harder time than yourself. Perhaps the others 
 are getting far ahead, but you wait for your tent- 
 
84 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 mate, who cannot acquire your pace. Or one of 
 the stragglers is having trouble with the loose 
 ground, and you wait to help her over a hard 
 place. By and by you reach the spring, but here, 
 alas ! your good judgment and self-control forbid 
 you drinking enough to quench your thirst. Yes, 
 it calls for camp spirit, a sense of humor, and a 
 grim resolve to be a good sport. But who has 
 ever failed on a mountain trip? 
 
 Then at last, late in the afternoon, you emerge 
 from the scrubby bushes and find yourself on the 
 rocks of Mount Madison. When you first turn 
 to look, you are held entranced. So far, your 
 eyes have been on the trail; now you look out on 
 a scene of vast wonder and beauty. Standing on 
 the bare top, you look down on an immense gulf, 
 with a great ravine which opens out into a valley 
 beyond. Far, far down below, in the world from 
 which you came such a short time ago, are minia- 
 ture fields like little green patches, and the lakes 
 are tiny pools of water. Away out beyond, vast 
 mountains circle you and stretch on and on, away 
 to the horizon. Just across the way, and facing 
 you, is a gigantic mountain, a craggy peak with 
 queer black rocks and enveloped in gray mist. 
 It is all wild and eery, as though peopled by hid- 
 
O 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— TRIPS 85 
 
 den giants and Titans, who might at any time 
 stride across the opening and seize you. 
 
 Strange to say, you are not at all tired now. 
 You linger over the view until the sun sets over 
 an ocean of mist, and then make your way, with 
 a feeling of exhilaration, down to the Madison 
 Huts. These huts of the Appalachian Moun- 
 tain Club are built of native stone near the top of 
 Mount Madison. Hundreds of tourists each 
 year enjoy their hospitality through the courtesy 
 of the club. One hut contains sleeping-quarters, 
 the bunks, filled with balsam, being surprisingly 
 comfortable after the trail. The other contains 
 the dining-room and kitchen. Oftentimes the 
 hut is crowded, when two or three camps, besides 
 some tourists, arrive on the same night. But 
 what if the crowd is bigger than the accommoda- 
 tions? Who should be better qualified to meet 
 the emergency than a lot of rugged campers out 
 for a lark? Up here on the mountain one is 
 thankful for half, or even one-third of a bunk; 
 and as for food, you find yourself fairly gloating 
 over a two-days-old sandwich or a charred piece 
 of bacon. 
 
 After supper, your spirits revived with food 
 and the exhilarating mountain air, you climb up 
 
86 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 over the rocks once more. The tourists may pre- 
 fer the fireside, but you want to take in all you 
 can of the cold strange beauty of the great moun- 
 tain. So, in spite of the chilly air, you linger on 
 to watch the moon light up the valley below, un- 
 til at last the councilor insists upon going to bed. 
 
 "We did not sleep much," one girl writes home, 
 "for every one was having too good a time." But 
 the fact is, you sleep more than you realize, — the 
 councilors can prove it, — and the next morning 
 finds you up, bright and fresh, scrambling once 
 more over the rocks. Were there ever so many 
 rocks deposited in one place as there are up here 
 on the mountain-top! Just rocks and mountain 
 peaks in every direction! In fact, that is all 
 you see that day ; for after breakfast, cooked over 
 an open fire, you start on the journey — around 
 Adams, both John and Quincy, along by the 
 Great Gulf, around Jefferson, where you have the 
 unique experience of "caching" your name in a 
 little cylinder which is kept hidden away in the 
 ground, and over Clay, where you make the stop 
 for lunch from the fast-dwindling supplies in the 
 knapsacks. 
 
 Then at last you strike the trail that leads up 
 the slopes of Washington, and follow the lead 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— TRIPS 87 
 
 of the little engine on the cog railway. Nobody 
 is tired now. You begin to feel all the physical 
 exhilaration of the climb and the inspiring views. 
 
 If you were on the top in clear weather, you 
 carried away impressions of wide sweeps, of su- 
 perb views, extending far down to the fields be- 
 low. But have you ever looked down from 
 Mount Washington on the clouds — clouds all 
 around, so full and white that they seem like the 
 sky? Over yonder you can see what looks like 
 the outlines of an Aladdin's palace. While you 
 watch it, with a growing fascination, it slowly 
 rises out of the mist and becomes a mountain 
 peak. And it is not above you at all, but straight 
 ahead on the horizon. There is another whole 
 line of these; and obscured by the mist, the sug- 
 gestion is far more enchanting than the bare out- 
 line. As you stand gazing at it, you have a new 
 feeling of physical power and achievement that 
 has been growing all the while. You might say, 
 a whole new outlook on life. One girl said, 
 when she looked off from the top of this moun- 
 tain, she felt as though she ''could never again 
 say anything mean." 
 
 Down on the side of Mount Washington, near 
 the Lake of the Clouds, is another A.M.C. hut, 
 
88 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 a very popular place for the second night. Be- 
 sides the attraction of a hot supper prepared by 
 the hut-masters, the berths here have real springs. 
 On the whole, a night at the Lake of the Clouds 
 is a fine experience, especially if you climb to the 
 top of Mount Monroe after supper to sing camp 
 songs and watch the moon rise. Better still if, 
 in place of the moonlight, there is a thunder-cloud 
 moving about below, which in turn gives place 
 to brilliant northern lights, as one party had the 
 good fortune to witness. 
 
 Next morning, after a dip in the Lake of the 
 Clouds for the more ambitious, comes the begin- 
 ning of the end of this wonderful trip. Yes, 
 just when you are having the finest kind of a 
 time, you have to say good-by to the rocks and 
 the views and the kindly hut-masters and start 
 down the Crawford trail, in order to catch the 
 noon train for camp. That is, unless you hap- 
 pen to be fortunate enough to have an extra day 
 and make the excursion into Tuckerman's Ra- 
 vine, or return home some other way. But yet 
 the trip is not over. For have you not enough 
 to carry away to last forever — the wide sweeps, 
 breaths of exhilarating air, the wonderful clouds, 
 and, best of all, the good old friends, grown 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— TRIPS 89 
 
 dearer through the days together on the moun- 
 tains ? And although the dusty roads and smoky 
 trains make you long for the top, still you are 
 not unwilling to go back to your camp home and 
 the good friends awaiting you there. In fact, 
 you keep growing more and more impatient to 
 get there and see them all again. The fact is, 
 the welcome prepared by the stay-at-homes is a 
 fitting climax to the whole glorious experience. 
 But that would require another story. 
 
 Another trip that is a close rival to Mount 
 Washington in some New England camps is the 
 climb up Mount Moosilauke, including a visit to 
 Lost River, the Flume, Agassiz Basin, and the 
 Old Man of the Mountain. The campers usu- 
 ally climb by the beautiful Glen trail, and spend 
 the night on top, where there are entrancing 
 views in every direction — on one side, the broad 
 fields of the valley of the upper Connecticut, with 
 that winding stream in the foreground and the 
 Green Mountains beyond, and on the other lofty 
 peaks of the White Mountains. From Moosi- 
 lauke's broad summit one can see into four States, 
 and away beyond to the Adirondacks and Can- 
 ada. The night at the Tip Top House, with the 
 wind howling by, has been written up in many 
 
90 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 a camp log, as well as the gypsy days that fol- 
 low, down on the other side of the mountain, ex- 
 ploring the mysteries of Lost River's spooky caves, 
 which offer such strange, fascinating experiences 
 as sliding through the Lemon Squeezer, the Rat 
 Hole and the Forty- foot Crawl, and looking into 
 the Cave of the Shadows, the Bottomless Pit and 
 other weird places among the rocks, sliding down 
 over the slippery rocks at the Flume, and walk- 
 ing the long miles to the Old Man of the Moun- 
 tain — that strange face chiseled out of the top- 
 most rock, — while gay tourists hail you from lux- 
 urious automobiles with, "Have a good time, 
 girls!" 
 
 One of these days we shall hear, also, of the 
 trips of the campers in the far West, over prec- 
 ipices and into deep cafions in Colorado; or from 
 one of those younger camps in Wisconsin, where 
 their trips take them out to explore new lands, 
 while they live like trappers, with a branch camp 
 as a base. From the South we have an account 
 of a unique trip, taken by the campers in Ken- 
 tucky from their camp home on a farm in the 
 Blue Grass country to their cabin in the moun- 
 tains. 
 
 The start is made in a big launch, into which 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— TRIPS 91 
 
 they pile the provisions, blankets, and the whole 
 camp besides, for every soul goes along. This 
 launch trip of eighty miles up the Kentucky 
 River lasts about three days. They take an easy 
 pace and have a royal good time on the way. 
 Each day's program includes a swim, and the 
 campers do their own cooking over an open fire 
 on shore. At night they camp out — on clear 
 nights on the river bank, and when it rains, in 
 a hay-loft. When they reach the end of the river 
 trip they leave the launch and start across the 
 mountains on mule-back, a ride of twenty-five 
 •miles. A few make the trip in the wagon which 
 carries the baggage and provisions. They all ar- 
 rive at the cabin in time for a hot supper, pre- 
 pared by the mountaineer cook, named ^'Red 
 Moll." This is the country about which John 
 Fox, Jr., has written several short stories. Dur- 
 ing their stay the campers make excursions into 
 the mountain country, one of which is to Hell-fer- 
 Sartin Creek. The campers in their bloomers 
 are as much of a curiosity to the quaint moun- 
 taineers as they themselves are to the camp girls. 
 Another trip that appeals to camp girls every- 
 where is the canoe trip. Only those who have 
 passed the swimming tests and demonstrated their 
 
92 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 ability to handle a canoe may sign up for this. 
 Down in Maine or in northern New Hamp- 
 shire the canoes go from lake to lake with short 
 carries between; while on the Vermont-New 
 Hampshire border they drift for many miles 
 down the beautiful winding Connecticut. 
 
 The story of a canoe trip from a popular camp 
 in Maine, on the shores of Lake Sebago is full of 
 interest. It was a four-day trip, over a sixty- 
 mile stretch of beautiful clear waters of mountain 
 lakes and was made in war canoes, each one 
 manned by a practised crew of a dozen or more. 
 After prolonged good-bys from the whole camp, 
 assembled at the dock the crews pushed off from 
 shore, leaving the stay-at-homes to wave them 
 out of sight and record the picture in their click- 
 ing cameras. The early morning sun gleamed 
 brightly on the waters and the long canoes shot 
 out across the lake, the blades of the paddles re- 
 sponding regularly to the count ^^one-two, one- 
 two," from the councilor in the stern. After a 
 little while they rounded an island, and the wind 
 stiffened, roughening the surface of the waters. 
 But these crews were organized, trained and 
 drilled for such weather, and as the girls said, 
 ''the more our water horses leaped, the more we 
 
if 
 
Hi 
 
 k .1 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— TRIPS 93 
 
 shouted for joy." So, pushing on gaily the 
 morning soon passed and noon found them pass- 
 ing the mouth of the Songo, where they found a 
 landing place. Here they stopped for lunch and 
 — not to be omitted on any occasion — a swim. 
 Setting out once more, with all hands at the pad- 
 dles the canoes danced merrily over the waves, till 
 they spied an inviting place along the shore for 
 another stop, this time for rest hour. So it was 
 late afternoon when they finally reached the end 
 of the first day's journey, and under the wing of 
 a sister camp found a good camping place for 
 the night. 
 
 Next morning, after a night under the stars and 
 a good breakfast cooked over the camp fire, they 
 glided out once more into the open waters and all 
 paddling well together, sped along past the Im- 
 ages and into Jordon Bay. The first stop that 
 day was at a small town which these girls say is 
 "a metropolis which you can see for miles away 
 but which you can never come to nor get at." But 
 at last they found the landing place, and an hour 
 or two later were on their way and having great 
 sport paddling up the winding rivulet called 
 Panther Run, which, they declare, is so winding 
 
94 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 in its course that the stern paddler has to keep 
 her eyes open lest she lose sight of the bow pad- 
 dler. Leaving this stream by a short carry 
 around the Falls, they entered Panther Pond and 
 all drew up on the beach for a swim. Crossing 
 this lake they came to Rattlesnake Pond and at 
 sunset their eyes rested on a lovely pine grove, 
 where they promptly decided to make camp for 
 the second night. This was a wonderful night, 
 just made for a canoe trip, for after supper the 
 moon came up, and even though all hands had 
 been plying the paddles all day, who could resist 
 the appeal of a paddle in the moonlight? It 
 proved to be a lovely adventure, for in their 
 course they met three strange canoes. On greet- 
 ing them heartily, in true camp fashion, they 
 found that they too were out from a camp near 
 by, which the Sebago girls were invited to visit. 
 Before stretching out between the blankets for the 
 night they all went in for a moonlight dip, which 
 made a perfect ending to the second day. 
 
 The trip home was not without interesting ad- 
 ventures — back over the same course, through 
 Rattlesnake, across Panther and out into Lake 
 Sebago. After the third night spent with a 
 friend of the camp, they set out on the last lap of 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— TRIPS 95 
 
 the journey, heading straight across the lake for 
 the camp, all singing merrily and swinging their 
 blades to the ever recurring "one-two," till at last, 
 directly in front of them their own camp grounds 
 brightened the landscape. Coming in three 
 abreast singing the camp's paddling song — for 
 every trip must finish in style — ^they landed on 
 their own beach amid the greetings of camp 
 mates. 
 
 The trip down the Connecticut is somewhat 
 different. The start is made in the early morn- 
 ing, when the canoes are taken to the bank of the 
 stream by wagon, shoved over the bank, and 
 loaded with blanket-rolls, food, and campers, 
 then shoved out into midstream and started down 
 with the current. It is the most care-free day 
 of the summer, that first day on the river. Each 
 canoe has a councilor and at least two good pad- 
 dlers. The rest of the crew settle down on the 
 blanket-rolls on the bottom, and the seasoned 
 camper pulls her hat down over her head and 
 gives herself up to the hours of pure enjoyment 
 ahead. For it is pure enjoyment to feel yourself 
 floating on and on down-stream, now passing 
 grassy banks with white farm-houses and with 
 cows in the distant pasture ; now skimming along 
 
96 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 in the shade by the bank and watching the turtles 
 or a sly muskrat slide into the water below, now 
 out again in midstream, drifting close to the 
 other canoes in order to read aloud or to sing 
 camp songs. The gleam of the paddles in the 
 sun, the open sky, the cool breeze as you round the 
 bend, and the deep pools and shady banks, leave 
 impressions that come back to you months later 
 with the first hot days of spring. 
 
 At noon you leave the canoes for a grassy bank 
 near a spring, where you have lunch and a good 
 romp; then, with a new set of paddlers, you start 
 out on the last stretch in order to reach the camp- 
 ing-place before night. Now and then a party 
 has the good fortune to pass a crew from another 
 camp on the way, and the canoes stop to exchange 
 friendly greetings. 
 
 The late afternoon finds you at the island, 
 where the canoes are drawn up on the beach and 
 unloaded, and preparations are made for supper, 
 which is cooked over a beach fire. Then, after 
 sunset, a big camp-fire, with songs and stories 
 and all the good friends, adds a finishing touch 
 to the picture, and you go back to tell the camp 
 that it was the "best time in all your life! " 
 
 We will leave it to your imagination to picture 
 
> 
 
CAMP ACTIVITIES— TRIPS 97 
 
 the long cruise which the girls take at the sea- 
 shore camps. The moonlight nights on deck or 
 on the beach, the dinners of fresh sea-food, and 
 the ever increasing fascination of sailing on and 
 on over inland waters, are some of the charms 
 the trips hold for their campers. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 WAR TIMES IN THE SUMMER CAMPS 
 
 SOMETIME before the opening of the 
 camps in the spring of 1917, the National 
 Association of Camp Directors for both 
 boys' and girls' camps met in New York to dis- 
 cuss the part the camps were to play in the pres- 
 ent world crisis, and what was to be the contribu- 
 tion of the boys and girls in summer camps 
 toward winning the war. 
 
 We had heard rumors here and there that the 
 camps would be closed, or offered to the Govern- 
 ment for military purposes, but that would have 
 been a great mistake. For the Spanish War 
 taught us that every man can help his country by 
 guarding his own health. Besides, the summer 
 camp is the very best place in the world to develop 
 patriotism among boys and girls, for the spirit of 
 the camps has always been the spirit of service, 
 and if any other place can produce more genuine 
 enthusiasm, we have not yet heard from it. 
 
 98 
 
WAR TIMES IN CAMPS 99 
 
 When the girls' camps opened, they were fuller 
 than ever, and every one was committed to a 
 program that included war-time activities besides 
 the regular schedule of work and play, and which, 
 in spirit at least, was not far behind the army 
 camps. For while the boys in the military 
 camps were occupied with patroling, signaling, 
 marching, and hiking, the girls were following a 
 similar program with trail-making, wigwagging, 
 hiking, and scouting, and for ^'detail" Red Cross 
 work, first aid, gardening, canning and preserv- 
 ing, home nursing and dietetics. 
 
 Everywhere the spirit of patriotism was in the 
 air. For example, a visitor driving up in the 
 early evening to a certain camp on a Vermont 
 hillside tells how he was arrested by a sharp note 
 from the bugle, and instantly every figure on the 
 grounds, whether in the tents or on the verandas, 
 on tennis-courts or piers, drew up taut and stood 
 at attention while the bugler played to the colors 
 and the flag was lowered. Next morning before 
 breakfast the camp assembled around the pole at 
 a call from the bugle, and after two honor-girls 
 had raised the flag they all pledged allegiance 
 with equal ceremony. Many of the camps have 
 always used the regulation army bugle-calls for 
 
100 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 the daily schedule, and some have had on their 
 program the raising and lowering of the flag; 
 but now that we are in the war, these ceremonies 
 have been instituted in many more and have be- 
 come a part of the daily program. 
 
 The Fourth of July was a memorable occasion 
 for camp girls. On that day, by common con- 
 sent, the flag-raising ceremony was to take place 
 at about the same hour in all the girls' camps 
 throughout the land. Any further program was 
 to be a matter of choice. In one place a group 
 of camps which are near neighbors in a beautiful 
 lake region combined for an all-day celebration. 
 The exercises began in the early morning with 
 the raising of a fine new flag at Camp B. At a 
 given hour all the campers assembled by the side 
 of the big flagpole by the lake shore and stood in 
 waiting. Then a burst of song came through the 
 woods beyond, and soon a double line of girls in 
 brown and white from Camp A swung down the 
 path, marching in close formation with marshals 
 at their sides. Guides from Camp B went out to 
 meet the visitors and conducted them to their 
 place on the other side of the pole. When all 
 were in place they joined in pledging allegiance 
 to the flag and in singing the national anthem. 
 
WAR TIMES IN CAMPS 101 
 
 After that, Camp B'^^s hymn was sung, and both 
 sides formed in line and marched back to the 
 shore of another beautiful lake, where Camp A's 
 flag was raised with the same ceremony, followed 
 by their camp hymn. 
 
 The effect was beautiful and inspiring — the 
 setting of woodland and lake, the loyal campers 
 in brown and green, the expression of their al- 
 legiance in word and gesture, and the sight of 
 Old Glory floating out above it all, under the blue 
 of the open sky. 
 
 But that was not all. A series of patriotic 
 tableaux followed, enacted by the camps jointly. 
 The first represented Betsy Ross leaning over a 
 balcony and presenting the flag to General Wash- 
 ington, who was stationed below mounted on a 
 fine steed, with his aide by his side. The next 
 began with the entrance of "Paul Revere," who 
 dashed by on a spirited steed with a shout that 
 the British were coming. Another, representing 
 the "Spirit of 76," with men, women and children 
 in the procession, ended the morning program. 
 
 In the afternoon. Camps A and B were enter- 
 tained by the third camp of the group. Camp C, 
 about two miles away. The program consisted 
 of a lovely pageant, representing the wakening of 
 
102 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 America at the call of her sister countries, given 
 in a romantic setting of green lawn with a line of 
 mountains in the background. Outside visitors 
 were admitted, and a generous offering was made 
 for the Red Cross. After the pageant and a bas- 
 ket-ball game between Camps A and C — no camp 
 program is ever complete without sports — they all 
 made merry through the evening with supper, 
 songs, and games in the light of a prodigious 
 bonfire. 
 
 Intercamp celebrations have been held each 
 year in this region, sometimes with ten camps 
 uniting. In the summer of 1916, even before we 
 entered the war, a stirring patriotic celebration 
 was held, when ranks of campers in blues, 
 browns, and greens, nearly a thousand strong, 
 marched side by side under the shadow of a great 
 mountain — a part of the program of the annual 
 Intercamp Frolic. What the celebration will be 
 in 1918, you can imagine for yourself. 
 
 Although patriotic demonstrations make their 
 appeal to the campers, there are more practical 
 expressions that have a bigger place in camp 
 life. Last year a great deal of honest effort went 
 into the camp gardens. What came out of them, 
 we are not exactly prepared to say: but since the 
 
WAR TIMES IN CAMPS 103 
 
 seasons in New England are extremely short and 
 the campers leave early, perhaps the good coun- 
 try-people who stay on after the campers have 
 scattered to all parts of the country could tell us 
 more about harvesting the crops. For the rest, 
 we have but to turn to the various camp periodi- 
 cals to find spicy allusions to the war-gardens and 
 the well-meaning efforts of the workers. One 
 tells of a camp girl who was visiting her brother's 
 camp, and, being shown through the garden, be- 
 came suddenly interested in one of the plants. 
 ''Oh ! " she exclaimed, pulling off a stalk, "what is 
 this plant?'' Her brother's answer — he was a 
 younger brother — was brief, and his tone some- 
 what withering. The answer was ''potato." 
 
 Another tells of a set of determined camp girls 
 who tackled a rocky field on a barren New Eng- 
 land farm, although everybody told them the sea- 
 son was too far advanced for planting. The 
 rocks certainly were baffling and farm help well 
 nigh impossible, but the girls set out to remove 
 them themselves. This aroused the sympathy of 
 a man in the neighborhood, and he offered his 
 help. They cleared a little space, and succeeded 
 in setting out what proved to be a very fair gar- 
 den. With the aid of an expert in transplanting 
 
104 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 they had the satisfaction of eating their own vege- 
 tables before the end of the season. Their own 
 account of it, however, is not strictly in accord- 
 ance with the facts, but rather shows that, as 
 camp girls always manage to do, they had a good 
 time out of it. It runs in a song, set to the tune 
 of "That's a Peculiar Thing": 
 
 I planted a radish in my garden, 
 
 And reg'larly every morn, 
 
 I got up sharp at five o'clock, 
 
 To water it 'fore the dawn. 
 
 I raked and weeded and spaded and hoed, 
 
 Though told to let it alone, 
 
 But, after weeks of labor spent. 
 
 All that came up was a stone. 
 
 Chorus 
 
 Now that 's a peculiar thing. 
 
 Now that 's a peculiar thing. 
 
 I planted a radish, I planted a bean, 
 
 But neither of these has ever been seen. 
 
 Now that 's a peculiar thing, 
 
 Now that 's a peculiar thing, 
 
 If any one here does n't hear what I say, 
 
 I say it 's a peculiar thing. 
 
 The most popular war activity in all the camps, 
 as it is at home and school, was the Red Cross 
 
WAR TIMES IN CAMPS 105 
 
 knitting. The gardening had its regular hours, 
 but knitting went on all day. Like Mary's lamb, 
 it went everywhere the campers went. It occu- 
 pied morning assembly and crafts-hour; it went 
 to the ball games and held the side-lines; and 
 even at competitive water-sports it was found on 
 the shore-line or in the waiting canoes. One girl 
 became so absorbed in knitting a sweater that she 
 walked off the edge of the pier with her knitting 
 in her hand, and, as the story goes, the dropped 
 stitches had to be picked up by a diver from the 
 bottom of the lake. At the end of the summer a 
 good supply of comfort sets was turned in to the 
 Red Cross from the summer camps. 
 
 Work in the line of Red Cross bandages, com- 
 presses, and dressings was done also in many of 
 the camps under the direction of a Red Cross 
 nurse. First-aid courses were given, and proved 
 very popular. All of this was optional, but, in 
 the camp atmosphere, made a special appeal, and 
 many a girl learned bandaging or treatment of 
 fractures and worked for hours on compresses 
 who would never have thought of such a thing 
 at home. 
 
 In first-aid work, the camp girls learn not only 
 the first principles of treating fractures, burns, 
 
106 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 and simple wounds, but above everything they 
 are taught to keep their heads and remain cool in 
 an emergency. Instead of flying around and 
 shrieking hysterically, "Oh; did you see the awful 
 gash on Dorothy's foot?" she is expected quietly 
 to set about binding it up and keeping others from 
 exciting Dorothy. One camp has an interesting 
 way of testing this kind of head-work. By a 
 seemingly strange coincidence a series of acci- 
 dents occur on the same day. Some one appears 
 to be in danger of drowning, and the life-savers 
 rush out to her rescue. They apply restoratives, 
 and no sooner is she made comfortable than some 
 one is reported to have fainted. Another, later in 
 the day, meets with a rusty nail; and so on 
 throughout the day, until it finally dawns upon 
 the campers that it is all a "put-up job" to test 
 them and to give them an opportunity to put into 
 practice methods they have been learning. 
 
 Even the hikes last year had a patriotic turn. 
 Parties camping out overnight tried to aid in food 
 conservation by picking berries in the early morn- 
 ing, which they brought home to be preserved out 
 of doors under the direction of a domestic science 
 councilor. Many, especially among the older 
 girls, were interested also in canteen cooking and 
 
WAR TIMES IN CAMPS 107 
 
 lessons in food values. In fact, there was 
 scarcely any kind of work in which a girl might 
 want to engage that the camps did not offer. Not 
 all, to be sure, offered the same things, but the girl 
 who wanted to be of service was sure to find 
 something that appealed especially to her. Some 
 of the larger camps also gave training in running 
 automobiles and motor-boats as a preparation for 
 war emergencies, and signaling and wigwagging 
 proved interesting to the girls in a chain of camps 
 lying near enough together to permit signaling to 
 each other from the high hills between. 
 
 Thrift, we are told, will win the war. Judg- 
 ing from some of the camp periodicals, however, 
 ^'Hooverizing" made a stronger appeal to a hun- 
 gry camper than doing without candy. Some, 
 too, had original ways of raising money for re- 
 lief work. This advertisement appeared in one 
 of the camp papers : 
 
 HANYE 
 
 The Famous Oriental Palmist will tell you 
 
 everything about your life 
 
 ONLY IOC. 
 
 For the benefit of the Red Cross 
 
 Hours: — 5.00 and after supper till dark. 
 
108 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Another advertises shampooing under the head- 
 ing, ''Why Kill Your Tent-Mate?" 
 
 The effort to raise funds has gone on and on, 
 by means of self-denial, entertainments by groups 
 of girls, and in many other ways. One camp, 
 which has adopted three French orphans besides 
 making generous contributions to the Red Cross 
 and American Relief Fund, talks of adopting a 
 whole French village. And now a beautiful plan 
 has been set forth by the New York Section of 
 the National Camp Directors' Association by 
 which every camp girl can have a part in sending 
 to the girls of France not clothing nor food, how- 
 ever important these may be, but something that 
 no one else, perhaps, had thought about before. 
 Through the camp girls of America the girls of 
 camp age in France are to have what the sad ex- 
 perience of the past few years has taken from 
 them — the chance to play. 
 
 Thus they will be able to share the spirit that 
 characterizes our camp girls everywhere — the 
 spirit of play and of laughter and of making the 
 best of every situation, so that these girls may 
 carry to their newly restored homes the kind of 
 good cheer that American girls are bringing into 
 theirs in these trying times. 
 
WAR TIMES IN CAMPS 109 
 
 The plan is set forth in the following letter 
 which went out last fall to all the girls through 
 their camp leaders : 
 
 To Camp Girls, Councilors, and Friends: 
 
 There is a girl in France of precisely your age, not 
 many miles from Paris, who, until a few weeks ago, 
 had not played a game in three years. 
 
 She would like to exchange places with you at your 
 summer camp next year. Are you willing to exchange 
 places with her? 
 
 This girl is playing games now. She is playing be- 
 cause seventeen young women, nearly all of whom are 
 graduates of Smith College, heard of her. Her sad 
 plight touched not only the purses, but also the hearts 
 of these seventeen young women, and they decided to 
 give up the comforts of their American homes to go abroad 
 and help the little French girl and scores of her sisters. 
 These seventeen young women are now living in the 
 stable of a ruined chateau, which by their own labor 
 they have made fit for habitation. Among the group are 
 nurses, a social worker, a doctor, a kindergartener, and a 
 cobbler, all of whom speak French. They procure and 
 furnish supplies for housekeeping and farming. They 
 are getting the people together for social life, and re- 
 cently arranged for the first service held since 1914. 
 
 A unit of Wellesley graduates will leave America very 
 soon to bring renewed hope, life, and joy to a second 
 group of French villages. Would you like to join this 
 Wellesley unit? Since you are an American girl with 
 
no SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 red blood in your veins and with camping experience, of 
 course you would; yet at the present time there is some- 
 thing more suitable for you to do. Will you, therefore, 
 be one of the members of your camp to cooperate with 
 several hundred members of other camps in sending a 
 proxy to France with this Wellesley unit to do work for 
 you? This proxy is a young woman, specially fitted for 
 the work, who will act in the nature of a "councilor" to 
 French girls. She will send you definite word while your 
 camp is in session next summer, so that you may hear of 
 the work she is doing in a particular village for a special 
 girl. Every penny that you give will be devoted directly 
 to the support of your representative. 
 
 . . . The girls' camps in America will join in a friendly 
 rivalry to see which one will contribute the greatest sum 
 per capita. Here, then, is an opportunity for you to show 
 not only your camp spirit, but likewise your patriotism to 
 our country and your desire to do a piece of constructive 
 work in the present war. 
 
 The response to this appeal from the camp di- 
 rectors was generous and fine and was but one 
 more expression of the patriotism, the spirit of 
 service, and devotion to the needs of humanity 
 to be found in the summer camps. 
 
 A little camp girl in New Hampshire heard 
 some one remark that the world war would prob- 
 ably bring the end of the world, and she ex- 
 
WAR TIMES IN CAMPS 111 
 
 claimed indignantly: ^'Well! I think it's a 
 mighty poor ending.'' 
 
 The campers all agree with you, Betty, but 
 never fear! The end is not yet, and so long as 
 there are such loyal, patriotic souls as the girl 
 campers of this land, we can still hope to live to 
 see the dawn of a lasting peace. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 ARE YOU A LIFE SAVER? 
 
 ONE day in the summer of 1917, a girl of 
 seventeen was sitting on a cottage porch 
 on the coast of Maine watching the 
 bathers down at the shore. Few swimmers were 
 out at that hour, but by and by three girls in 
 stylish bathing-suits came dancing out from a 
 near-by cottage and ventured forth into the surf. 
 
 The girl on the porch watched them with great 
 interest, for she herself was a camp girl, and at 
 that moment wore on her sweater a big gold letter 
 that told of honors won in water sports. So, as 
 she sat there waiting for a friend, her eyes fol- 
 lowed the girl swimmers till they were well out 
 beyond the breakers. 
 
 Then something peculiar happened. One of 
 the girls disappeared, and the others went after 
 her. Soon they were beyond their depth and be- 
 came frightened. One gave a cry for help. In- 
 stantly two men appeared, and put off from the 
 
 112 
 
ARE YOU A LIFE SAVER? 113 
 
 shore toward the spot where the girls were now 
 struggling. And while one went on in search of 
 the missing girl, the other came rapidly back, tow- 
 ing the other two, and brought them safely to 
 shore. But the other man. The camp girl stood 
 up to watch. What was the matter out there? 
 Something was wrong. All of a sudden she saw 
 him throw up his hands in a signal of distress. 
 The man on shore returned quickly to his rescue. 
 The camp girl saw them start back, and then 
 something made her heart come up into her 
 throat. The rescuer was lagging. He was 
 plainly becoming exhausted, and the first man 
 was unconscious. 
 
 Now this young swimmer, who had won the 
 laurels of her camp, lost no time in deciding what 
 to do. In an instant she had reached the shore, 
 cast off skirt and shoes, and with a few long, 
 skilful strokes, alternated with easy breathing, 
 reached the scene of peril. Then transferring 
 the heavy, unconscious subject to her own grasp, 
 she began, by a method practised many times at 
 swimming-hour and demonstrated before the 
 camp, to tow him back to shore, leaving the ex- 
 hausted man free to struggle back to safety. 
 
 The missing girl was never found, but the 
 
114 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 drowning man was saved. One life-saver had 
 made good. A camp girl had proved that she 
 knew what to do, that she could keep her head, 
 and that she could be counted on in an emergency. 
 Could you have done as much ? 
 
 When this girl came back to camp for the clos- 
 ing week, there was a big surprise for her at the 
 end. Amid the toasts and songs at the final ban- 
 quet, a loving-cup was brought in, inscribed with 
 the facts and date of the rescue, and presented to 
 her as a token of recognition from all the girls. 
 
 Perhaps that was one reason for the action of 
 the girls of that camp in starting a life-saving 
 club. They wanted to reach out beyond the mere 
 working for their own records on a chart in swim- 
 ming and life-saving. Then, too, they recog- 
 nized that, in learning to safeguard human life, 
 they might be able to render service to their coun- 
 try in time of war as valuable as that of the Red 
 Cross and the Land Army. It could well be 
 called a war activity, but nevertheless it was or- 
 ganized on a permanent basis, so that the girls of 
 this summer and the next and the next may be- 
 long to it, though the war is over. Perhaps you 
 would like to hear about it. 
 
 In the first place, the more advanced swimmers 
 
ARE YOU A LIFE SAVER? 115 
 
 of the camp, including the girls of the "life- 
 guard" — those girls who had a whole string of 
 crosses opposite their names on a chart that hung 
 on the wall just inside the door of the bungalow, 
 extending over into the columns of the section 
 marked "Advanced Class," showing a formidable 
 amount of work for improved form on crawl and 
 other strokes, diving, life-saving and ornamental 
 swimming, — came together near the end of the 
 season and drew up the constitution, which was 
 modeled somewhat after that of the life-saving 
 clubs of the colleges. The club was to be man- 
 aged by the girls themselves, with their own offi- 
 cers, and every girl in camp would be eligible for 
 membership, provided she could pass the tests. 
 Those who qualified in 1918 would be charter 
 members. 
 
 Now constitutions usually deal, first of all, 
 with the objects of the organization, and this one 
 had five. The first was, to safeguard life in the 
 waters in the vicinity of the camp by developing 
 sentiment and facilities toward this end. 
 
 Perhaps this sounds very ambitious for a group 
 of girls in their 'teens, but had it not been proved 
 already what a girl can do if she is only ready? 
 Of course, for the campers themselves there was 
 
116 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 no special need of safeguarding. Not only does 
 the camp take care that the swimmers are at all 
 times surrounded with safeguards, but in the best 
 camps each girl, as she learns to swim, is taught 
 to take care of herself and then of others, in the 
 water. The result is very gratifying, for in all 
 the history of girls' camps, covering a period of 
 nearly twenty years, there has never been reported 
 a drowning accident. 
 
 But in the vicinity of that camp there are sev- 
 eral lakes and a wide river which afford fishing- 
 grounds for the countryside. Men go fishing in 
 big flat-bottomed boats, and few of them know 
 how to swim. The country girl is afraid of the 
 water, having no opportunity to learn how to 
 swim, and seldom knows how to handle a boat. 
 So every now and then a drowning accident oc- 
 curs, usually in the current of the river. Would 
 it not be a fine thing for a camp to help to over- 
 come these conditions in their own countryside? 
 
 The second object is to prevent drowning by 
 the following methods: 
 
 A. By teaching precautions that should be ob- 
 served in swimming and boat-handling. In 
 camps where water sports are well developed, the 
 girls are taught to right an overturned canoe; to 
 
ARE YOU A LIFE SAVER? 117 
 
 go out into deep water, jump overboard and get 
 in again ; to tow in to shore an overturned canoe ; 
 to empty one after capsizing, within a given time. 
 The highest record for the latter is said to belong 
 to the camp in Maine which is the home of the 
 Camp Fire Girls' movement. 
 
 B. By holding swimming and life-saving ex- 
 hibitions — an excellent way to stimulate interest. 
 
 C. Promoting swimming and life-saving com- 
 petitions. 
 
 D. By giving instruction in the various meth- 
 ods of performing artificial respiration. The 
 method most approved by the camps is the Schaef- 
 fer method, which requires only one person to 
 apply it. But it is well to know others also. 
 
 The third object is to rescue those in peril of 
 drowning. 
 
 Last summer, near a summer camp, an acci- 
 dent occurred which might have been avoided had 
 any member of such a club as this been near at 
 hand. A man was allowed to drown in the river, 
 a few miles away, only because there was no one 
 at hand who knew how to swim. The neighbors 
 tried to get into communication with the camp, 
 but it was more than an hour before any one 
 could reach the spot. Had an onlooker had the 
 
118 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 knowledge of swimming of a fifteen-year-old 
 camp girl, the man might have been saved. 
 
 The fourth object is to resuscitate persons ap- 
 parently drowned. 
 
 This camp was asked a few years ago to join 
 with a near-by hotel in the purchase of a lung- 
 motor to have on hand in case of an accident. 
 But the swimming master, while not discouraging 
 the project for the hotel, felt that, as far as the 
 camp girls were concerned, they would be far 
 better equipped in case of emergency if they could 
 use the Schaeffer method of resuscitation which 
 was taught them. 
 
 The fifth and last object is to study and con- 
 duct research work on the most modern and scien- 
 tific strokes and methods of rescue, in an en- 
 deavor to lift swimming to its very highest stand- 
 ard of efficiency and enjoyment. 
 
 You will agree with me that these are no mean 
 standards for a club, and if they sound a trifle 
 ambitious for camp girls, then they are so much 
 more worth while striving for. The girls who 
 belong to this club are not satisfied with medals 
 than can be won too easily because the standards 
 are adapted to the greatest number. And if these 
 standards are too easy to require effort, then they 
 
ARE YOU A LIFE SAVER? 119 
 
 are willing to make more difficult ones of their 
 own. 
 
 So much for the objects of the club. The next 
 thing in the constitution is membership. As we 
 said above, any camper who can pass the tests is 
 eligible for membership. What are the tests? 
 Well, here they are, though we submit them with 
 the explanation that they were made up by a 
 committee and are subject to revision. 
 
 There are three sets of tests for three distinct 
 classes of members. The first class are called 
 Junior Life-savers, and any girl, after the ma- 
 jority vote of approval of the club members, may 
 become a Junior Life-saver by passing the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 A. Swim 200 yards without becoming ex- 
 hausted, i.e., 100 yards on back, using legs only, 
 and 1 00 yards using single over-arm, double over- 
 arm, or crawl stroke, with correct breathing. 
 
 Now I can hear some one say, ^'That 's easy. 
 I can do all those strokes." No doubt. You 
 can do the back strokes and the crawl. But what 
 about the breathing? Can you execute the crawl 
 stroke, inhaling and exhaling at the proper inter- 
 vals and with relaxed muscles? For that is the 
 test in this life-saving club. 
 
120 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 B. Plunge or dive from landing and swim ten 
 yards well under water — eyes open. 
 
 C. Surface dive in six feet of water, bringing 
 up human subject in first position of carry — that 
 is, in a good position to be towed ashore, which 
 the life-saver has already been taught. 
 
 D. Swim fifty yards in camp costume, undress 
 in deep water, and swim fifty yards. 
 
 E. Use the following carries — or methods of 
 towing a drowning person — each twenty-five 
 yards (the life-saver has been taught all this as 
 part of her swimming instruction) : 
 
 (1) Tired-swimmer's carry. 
 
 (2) Side-stroke carry, without submerging 
 
 the subject's head. 
 
 (3) Struggling-person's carry. 
 
 F. Execute the following releases — this means 
 methods of breaking away from the grasp of a 
 struggling person whom you are trying to rescue: 
 
 (1) Wrist-hold. 
 
 (2) Front strangle-hold. 
 
 (3) Back strangle-hold. 
 
 G. Resuscitation. Execute the Schaeffer 
 method effectively for at least five minutes. 
 
ARE YOU A LIFE SAVER? 121 
 
 These are the tests for a Junior Life-saver. 
 But when a girl has met all these requirements 
 successfully, the club does not then pronounce 
 her a life-saver. She is merely a junior, which 
 means that she is learning to be a life-saver, and 
 that she has climbed a few rounds of the ladder 
 and is ready to go on. The next thing is to be- 
 come a Senior Life-saver, and the next clause in 
 the constitution says that a Junior Life-saver is 
 qualified to become a Senior Life-saver by passing 
 the following: 
 
 A. Swim 440 yards, using single over- 
 arm, double over-arm, or crawl, with correct 
 breathing. 
 
 B. Carry a person seventy-five yards, using 
 three typical carries, each twenty-five yards. 
 
 C. Releases. Execute three typical breaks as, 
 for example, the wrist- and strangle-holds of a 
 drowning person mentioned above, three times in 
 rapid succession on some one your superior in 
 weight and strength. 
 
 D. Give written, answers to five questions on 
 after-treatment of resuscitated persons and on 
 any other phase of life-saving — passing mark 
 75%. 
 
 Perhaps you would be interested to have some 
 
122 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 typical questions which might be asked. Take 
 this one, for example: 
 
 "What directions would you give to two inex- 
 perienced persons, who happened to be the only 
 ones on shore, when you had just effected a suc- 
 cessful rescue of one unconscious subject, and 
 needed to return in haste to the other subject, 
 who was clinging to an upturned boat far out 
 from shore?" 
 
 Another one: "Give procedure after natural 
 respiration has been restored." 
 
 Or this: "Explain in detail how one would 
 approach and seize a person struggling in the 
 water." 
 
 Now there is just one more round of the ladder. 
 After a girl has demonstrated these points in 
 swimming and rescuing and has been admitted to 
 the rank of a Senior Life-saver, she is supposed 
 to be capable of meeting any sort of emergency 
 in the water and proving herself valuable in case 
 of need. But one thing remains, and that is to 
 do it. And that is the one and only qualification 
 for the next class of membership. This is what 
 the constitution says: 
 
 "Any member of Camp Life-saving 
 
 Club is entitled to become a Master Life-saver 
 
ARE YOU A LIFE SAVER? 123 
 
 after saving some one in peril of drowning.'' 
 
 You may be sure that this club, organized by 
 the girls of one camp, is proud to have one mem- 
 ber who has qualified as a Master Life-saver. 
 And as the girls grow older and pass out into the 
 world, who knows when an emergency may add 
 another? 
 
 In place of a president the club has a captain 
 for the presiding officer. It has also a secretary- 
 treasurer and a sub-captain, each elected in mid- 
 summer for a term of one year. The captain, an 
 experienced girl, besides presiding at meetings 
 and supervising the work of the club, is author- 
 ized to pass on candidates' tests, in the absence of 
 a more experienced life-saver or swimming in- 
 structor, and it is her duty to organize and train 
 the members of the club for active duty. 
 
 The uniform adopted by the charter members 
 consists of a one-piece bathing-suit in the stand- 
 ard colors of the camp, with a special club em- 
 blem. 
 
 During the summer a daily drill, in breaks and 
 other forms, is to be conducted by the captain for 
 all the members. As one of the club's activities, 
 a morning was spent in experimenting with all 
 the known methods of towing and carryinor a per- 
 
124 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 son in the water, each member choosing, among 
 the approved methods, those that were best 
 adapted to her and to a given set of circumstances. 
 This proved valuable in requiring a girl to think 
 for herself and to understand thoroughly the rea- 
 son for each thing she did. 
 
 This is the record of the work of only a single 
 camp. To-day, hundreds of camps are doing 
 splendid work in teaching boys and girls to swim, 
 to keep their heads, and to feel at home in the 
 water. A great many also are conducting drills 
 in life-saving, and a great many more will in the 
 future. There are big opportunities for the boys 
 and girls of the camps for usefulness in a land 
 where only too few know how to swim. 
 
 Although life-saving means serious business, 
 there is a good story told in this camp about one 
 girl who took things perhaps too seriously. She 
 was a rather timid girl, and she had been dream- 
 ing about life-saving. One morning she was 
 awakened about dawn by a low, steady cry which 
 seemed to come from the lake. She lay rigid for 
 a moment, and then heard it again. It was a 
 man's voice. Jumping up, she flew to the tent 
 of the camp leader, who was still sleeping. 
 "Miss Wood!" she gasped, "wake up, a man is 
 
ARE YOU A LIFE SAVER? 125 
 
 drowning in the lake and calling for help!" 
 Just then another cry broke the stillness. ^'Lis- 
 ten!" she urged; ''he's getting desperate now!" 
 Miss Wood sprang up and listened. What she 
 heard was '^Co-o-o-o boss, co-o-o-o boss, co-o-o-o 
 boss ! " and it came from the opposite shore, where 
 a farmer was calling his cow. 
 
 Not long ago, on the page devoted to sports in 
 the ''New York Times," an announcement was 
 made that a committee was being formed to work 
 out a plan for uniting the forces of the Red Cross, 
 the Y. M. C. A. and the Intercollegiate Athletic 
 Association for a nation-wide movement for the 
 universal teaching of swimming and life-saving. 
 It was said to be a campaign to encourage mass 
 instruction in swimming and life-saving. This 
 mass instruction has proved so successful among 
 the sailors that it may be adopted in schools also. 
 
 During the past few years the Swimming Com- 
 mittee of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association 
 has made great strides toward standardizing 
 swimming in the colleges. It has produced a 
 "Swimming Guide," and has gone a long way 
 toward eliminating from the water-sports compe- 
 titions of the colleges feats or "stunts" that con- 
 tain an element of danger, — as, for example, div- 
 
126 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 ing from high towers or executing dives that are 
 dangerous to the ear-drum, as the side or cork- 
 screw dives, — and are therefore not to be recog- 
 nized by good sportsmen. 
 
 It is said to be the pl^n of this committee to do 
 further standardization — to adopt new rules to 
 govern swimming and life-saving contests in the 
 schools. By combining the forces of these three 
 strong organizations, we may hope for great re- 
 sults in stimulating the whole country to the need 
 and importance of having all children learn to 
 swim. The war has stimulated many good 
 things, and this is not the least. 
 
 In the colleges great interest has been manifest 
 for some time. They have their water-polo and 
 their life-saving clubs. The Y. M. C. A., too, 
 with its fine pools, has made a great feature of 
 swimming. All pulling together, much can be 
 done. And let them not forget the campers. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 
 
 "Do you believe, oh, cityites, 
 With all your clothes and fuss, 
 That you can have as good a time 
 As any one of us?" 
 
 From a camp song book. 
 
 ' T^UT what do you find to do all day long?" 
 1—^ asks the troubled parent. *'What do you 
 JL^J do when it rains?" The latter in a final, 
 semi-hopeless tone. 
 
 As a matter of fact, the daily schedule might 
 well answer these questions, but it may be as well 
 also to let in a little light upon some of the things 
 that go on in a girls' camp that do not belong 
 in the schedule, and are never set forth in cata- 
 logs, but that break into the routine from time to 
 time and give a thrill to an ordinary day. 
 
 The very first week brings a Fourth of July 
 celebration, described in another chapter. Fol- 
 lowing close upon this is the initiation party for 
 
 127 
 
128 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 the new girls, which varies in form in different 
 camps. The one we are about to describe fol- 
 lows somewhat wild traditions, and is looked for- 
 ward to with mingled feelings by the new girls. 
 
 The affair is announced at supper time by the 
 old girls, as follows: ''All new girls come to the 
 bungalow at seven-thirty with hair done in thir- 
 teen pigtails and middies worn backwards!" 
 Which announcement is followed by suppressed 
 groans and an exchange of glances between tent 
 mates. 
 
 Let us follow the little dark-eyed new girl from 
 Ohio, who has had little to say, but has been tak- 
 ing in everything. Her eyes are dancing and she 
 gives her tent mate from home a vigorous punch 
 under the table. After supper they make straight 
 for their tent and proceed (with much giggling 
 and suppressed excitement) to carry out instruc- 
 tions. At seven-thirty they turn up at the bunga- 
 low door looking properly demure, and are ad- 
 mitted somewhat grudgingly through a crack in 
 the door by a forbidding-looking individual in 
 masculine attire wearing a mask. 
 
 The room is darkened, and by the faint light 
 from a lantern or two they are ushered to one 
 side of the room, where one or two of the vie- 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 129 
 
 tims, entirely unrecognizable in the strange dis- 
 guise, are already seated. Directly opposite is an 
 array of strange-looking beings in all sorts of dis- 
 guises — mostly queer varieties of ghosts — who 
 are, in camp life, known as ''old girls," and who 
 are trying to heighten the weird effect of the sur- 
 roundings by loud "Sh — s" and deep-throated 
 groans from time to time. These are empha- 
 sized, when, every minute or two the door is 
 opened, admitting a little light and one or two 
 misguided individuals in the backward costume. 
 The solemnity of the occasion would be really ef- 
 fective, were it not disturbed every now and then 
 by a fit of giggling — sometimes, but not always — 
 from the row in pigtails. 
 
 When the last one has been ushered in through 
 the crack, and all accounted for, a few grown-ups 
 slide in and take seats in the corner and the cere- 
 monies begin. The presiding officer, a pompous 
 figure in a ghost costume, is seated in Arab fash- 
 ion on a high table, flanked by three or four other 
 cross-legged ghosts who help to support his dig- 
 nity by means of impressive chants and groans. 
 
 His Majesty then proceeds to read off the pig- 
 tails by name, and as they are called forward, he 
 challenges them, after a rather arbitrary cross- 
 
130 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 examination, to perform some kind of stunt. 
 When the girl from Ohio is called, her chum is 
 called with her, but they are both so ^'full of 
 laugh" which no efforts will repress, that they are 
 reprimanded for levity. When the Great Mogul 
 orders them to sing a duet, consisting of two dif- 
 ferent camp songs in different keys, they are over- 
 come once more. They are ordered to try it 
 again, and finally succeed in going through one 
 line, and are excused. 
 
 The rest of the Order of the Pigtails are called 
 by ones and twos to perform various feats. One 
 big girl who cannot swim at all is ordered to bal- 
 ance herself on the piano stool, face downward, 
 and demonstrate the various strokes. Another 
 has to feed her tent mate from a dish of dry cereal, 
 both blindfolded. Councilors are not spared, 
 for the nurse has to make up a cot with hospital 
 corners and the athletic councilor is asked to give 
 an exhibition of the setting-up drill. 
 
 When the last name has been called, the lights 
 are turned up brightly, the song leader takes her 
 place at the piano, and while the crowd on one 
 side of the room join loudly in singing 
 
 "Where, oh where is Mary Brown" 
 Safe now in Camp" 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 131 
 
 to each new girl by name, she is transferred to the 
 "old girl" side of the room, and all seated to- 
 gether, they wind up with 
 
 "Where, oh where are the campers 
 
 Safe now at camp." 
 
 Then with a rush, at the first strains of the 
 piano, each old girl takes a new one for a part- 
 ner, and the dancing begins, which ends only 
 when the bugle calls for bed time. 
 
 However, this is not the end of it. The party 
 is returned with interest within a day or two by 
 the new girls, and neither girl nor councilor is 
 spared when it comes to the stunts. And in the 
 end, it is hard to say which crowd gave the better 
 entertainment. 
 
 Not all initiation parties are on this order. 
 One camp has a beautiful lantern ceremony as a 
 welcome to the new girls, which is a part of the 
 traditions of the camp. The new girls meet 
 around a big, unlighted campfire out in the field, 
 just as the twilight darkens. Then comes a faint 
 sound of singing and the fire is lighted, sending 
 a huge blaze and a shower of sparks into the dark 
 blue sky, as the old campers come marching and 
 singing down the field, with swaying lighted Ian- 
 
132 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 terns on their shoulders. After marching around 
 the camp fire they sing to the new girls: 
 
 "New girls, we welcome you gladly 
 
 To share with us all in our camp and her charms. 
 Come, join with us in our family. 
 
 Camp opens her welcome arms." 
 
 Then each old girl gives to a new girl an un- 
 lighted lantern, which the camp leader, after some 
 words of welcome, lights from the campfire, and 
 all join in the first ''camp sing" of the season. 
 
 In another camp, in place of the customary 
 initiation party, this entertainment was given to 
 the new girls by the old ones: 
 
 The girls were invited into the assembly hall 
 which was decorated for the occasion, and softly 
 lighted. A-t the end of the hall, in the midst of 
 a woodland scene stood a huge cauldron of Camp- 
 Magic Water set over burning coals and tended 
 by two shrouded wizards. The Queen of the 
 Fairies danced in with her attendants, and with 
 her wand summoned a long procession of queer 
 individuals from the rear. One by one they were 
 seized by the merciless wizards, and hurled into 
 the seething water and mashed to a pulp; then 
 pulled out again, strangely transformed. The 
 thin girl grew surprisingly fat; the Fluffy Ruffles 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 133 
 
 came out in middie and bloomers; the latest 
 Vogue bathing creation became a commonsense 
 bathing suit ; the waitresses all merged into a tray 
 of dishes; the noisy girls into a dozen tennis 
 racquets. A bit of humor was furnished at the 
 end by putting in the dog who came out a string 
 of sausage. 
 
 Then the Queen summoned all the new girls 
 before the stage, where they knelt, while one of 
 their number asked the fairy for the spirit of the 
 camp. She granted the request, and at a mo- 
 tion from the wand, the Spirit rose from the caul- 
 dron. Then they all sang their joy at receiving 
 the greatest of all gifts from the camp. 
 
 After the Fourth of July celebration and the 
 initiation party, when the new girl is beginning 
 to get used to the schedule, the next thing is a 
 masquerade. Any camp girl will tell you this 
 is great fun, especially when you have to get 
 up a costume with nothing to draw on except 
 your bedding and the contents of a little steamer 
 trunk. 
 
 Let us look in upon a campers' masquerade. 
 It is seven-thirty. There has been a wild flurry 
 of preparations, and now draped figures in sheets 
 and kimonas, go slipping stealthily up the path. 
 
134 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 and are admitted through the bungalow door. 
 At a signal, the ball room opens. The formerly 
 bare bungalow is now transformed into a fairy- 
 land, aglow with Japanese lanterns, and the ef- 
 fect is quite dazzling. Under the soft light a 
 most remarkable crowd is assembled — a crowd 
 of strange folk from every land — Hawaiian, Chi- 
 nese, Indian, Gypsies, Spanish ladies, man and 
 maid, young and old, all dancing away together, 
 in a beautiful medley of color in a merry whirl. 
 As they brush by to the strains of the music, let 
 us get a closer look at this crowd. Here goes a 
 sailor with one tooth and a tattooed emblem on 
 his arm; over there are some pirates screwing 
 their faces in an effort to look fierce; come 
 Pierrettes and Pierrots dancing with oriental 
 ladies; Dutch boys and girls; Boy Scouts; Peter 
 Pans; clowns; babes in rompers with lolly-pops 
 to keep them amused; the Spearmint man who 
 looks "good enough to chew"; and swept along 
 with the moving crowd Charlie Chaplin with his 
 flattened derby, waving his whisk-broom and 
 waving his cane to the music. How did they do 
 it? Ask any camp girl. 
 
 It is the same way with a circus. One of the 
 most successful that I can recall was gotten up in 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 135 
 
 about an hour, although it sometimes occupies a 
 whole rainy day. This one came about through 
 a sudden inspiration at the supper table. There 
 was a hasty pinning of blankets, diving into 
 trunks, and borrowing from neighboring tents, 
 and within an hour, behold, the circus was ready ! 
 Now this was a circus, as one camp girl says, 
 whose equal Barnum & Bailey, Ringling Broth- 
 ers, and Buffalo Bill, in their greatest moments, 
 never put on. First came the animals; leading 
 the procession was a giraffe, of wonderful pro- 
 portions, which, if the truth be known, was made 
 of figured blankets combined with a tall and a 
 short girl. Treading along behind him, in typi- 
 cal clumsy fashion was an elephant, externally 
 made of blankets and internally — we promised 
 not to tell. His broad back was ornamented with 
 a howda made of an oriental middy tie. Behind 
 him crawled a pair of seals who flopped their 
 tails to "tell the lady's age," their propelling 
 power fully covered by rubber blankets tied at 
 each end. These all, together with other animals, 
 pranced around the hall, followed and teased by 
 two tumbling clowns. After the parade the ring- 
 master came out into the center, pompous in a 
 riding suit and a high hat, and cracking his busi- 
 
136 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 nesslike whip, and put the performers through 
 the events of the evening. An event of great style 
 was a trapeze performance by a dazzling lady in 
 a ballet costume of sheer mosquito netting and 
 pink tissue paper who did her stunt in a man- 
 ner that would wring tears from a gravestone. 
 As she bowed to the wild applause, she was dis- 
 covered to be the trained nurse. 
 
 One thing more is a stunt party. One morn- 
 ing the campers wake up to the patter of a steady 
 rain — one of those downpours that last all day. 
 After breakfast the clouds lift, and then darken 
 again, and the rain sets in for good. A few 
 campers get their heads together and a stunt party 
 is announced. A stunt party is like vaudeville; 
 you not only have to get your costumes, you act 
 the part. All day long there are secret meet- 
 ings in the tents, planning the stunts while in be- 
 tween are the regular activities, — swimming and 
 crafts. A rainy day, by the way, is a lark in 
 camp. Put on your waterproof, for instance, and 
 go to walk in the rain. And swimming! Feel 
 how warm the water is, and how good it feels to 
 have the rain pattering down on your face. In- 
 side is the log fire, inviting you to write letters 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 137 
 
 and read aloud, with dancing for exercise and 
 altogether it is a rare chance to sit still and enjoy 
 yourself. 
 
 Then comes the evening with the stunts, which 
 may be anything you like. 
 
 All day girls have been getting together by 
 twos, threes or fours and sometimes more, to plan 
 the stunt and contrive the costume. The result 
 outrivals the latest hit of Broadway. Here, for 
 example, comes a Mary Pickford scene from the 
 movies; next is an Egyptian dance; a perform- 
 ance by stiff -jointed dolls of the different nations; 
 the Mad Cook scene from "Alice in Wonder- 
 land"; and last on the program is a stunt that 
 shows the greatest ingenuity in the matter of cos- 
 tuming, for every one of the five costumes is made 
 entirely of middle ties. The stunt is a presenta- 
 tion of the song, "And along comes another little 
 girl." They are introduced by a grave looking 
 manager in a man's costume. First comes the 
 Hawaiian girl, in a garment of purple, completed 
 by an overskirt made of yellow raffia from the 
 craft room. Then the Spanish lady, in a marvel- 
 ous gown of yellow and red, fashioned cleverly 
 from half a dozen squares of these colors. Next 
 
138 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 is the Irish lass, who has managed to find enough 
 of these ties in the emerald hue to furnish an ef- 
 fective though somewhat scant frock. And so 
 with the Italian and the American girl, and as 
 they all join together in an original dance, they 
 show the same cleverness in the performance as 
 in the costuming. 
 
 The middie tie in camp serves a great many 
 uses, and is second only to the camper's blanket 
 and mosquito netting, in getting ready for a 
 show. One councilor who happened to have a 
 tie with a Turkish design counted twenty different 
 purposes for which it had been loaned for dra- 
 matics, from the howda for an elephant to a table 
 cover in a society drawing-room. 
 
 In the same way skirts are made into fetching 
 capes for the men in a Colonial dance; petticoats 
 serve as shirts, scarfs or sashes; and mosquito 
 netting makes either a ruff for Pierrette or a 
 bridal veil. 
 
 To quote from a poem that appeared a few 
 years ago in the Log of a camp in Vermont : 
 
 "A string of beads and a crimson feather 
 And several blankets sewed together 
 Transform one beyond all belief 
 Into the fiercest Injun chief. 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 139 
 
 A ruffle or two, and a pin or two 
 
 Layers of black upon their skins 
 
 A dish pan, duster or a broom 
 
 And we have the fetching Gold Dust Twins. 
 
 In ribbons, sashes, cloaks and caps, 
 Of every kind, we are arrayed. 
 It takes but little to produce 
 Most any kind of man or maid. 
 
 We 've learned by much experience 
 
 That we can get most anywhere 
 
 With a needle and thread and a little skill 
 
 And a rag and a bone and a hank of hair." 
 
 Visitors and parents are always filled with 
 wonder and admiration at such resourcefulness, 
 while the girls are unconscious of having 
 achieved anything unusual. In the same way 
 they give original plays and moving picture sce- 
 narios, many of which are quite as creditable as 
 their costumes. The councilors enter into the 
 dramatics and add their college experience, some- 
 times by giving a play or a minstrel of their 
 own. 
 
 Before leaving the subject of camp dramatics, 
 let us not forget the evenings of good old-fash- 
 ioned charades, that bring out all sorts of unsus- 
 
140 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 pected talent by their very impromptuness and 
 the stirring element of competition. 
 
 Several years ago, in one of the older White 
 Mountain camps of the Vermont-New Hampshire 
 region, the leader one evening during supper rose 
 and threw out this challenge: ''The even tables 
 will please prepare for charades, to be given in 
 the Recreation Hall at seven-thirty. The prize 
 for the best table will be a five-pound box of 
 marshmallows." A general buzzing followed, 
 among the even tables, out of the depth of which 
 could be heard plans — but not for charades. 
 They were talking about a marshmallow roast! 
 The odd tables smiled grimly and said nothing. 
 They knew their turn was coming. 
 
 During the next hour, the buzzing was trans- 
 ferred to various tents, and the diners at the 
 even tables were seen darting here and there, root- 
 ing in the depths of trunks and borrowing from 
 the neighbors of the odd tables. At seven-thirty 
 in the Recreation Hall there was an expectant au- 
 dience awaiting the first charade, which was pre- 
 sented by Table 11. There were three acts, with 
 elaborate costuming, then the whole word. The 
 acting was clever, and the audience had a hard 
 time guessing the word. Finally some one called 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 141 
 
 out ''Hospitality" and everyone joined in the 
 hearty applause. 'Tt was very well done," said 
 one of the councilors. The even tables ex- 
 changed looks. Marshmallows ! 
 
 When the curtain rose on Table IV, the audi- 
 ence had quite a surprise. No one would have 
 guessed that they would have hit upon anything 
 so clever. As the curtain rose on the first act, 
 everyone recognized in the familiar scene a splen- 
 did local hit. It was a part of the pageant that 
 had monopolized the attention of the whole camp 
 for nearly three weeks. There stood two of the 
 councilors, one a woman of mature years, look- 
 ing strangely helpless and grotesque in a most ab- 
 surd costume, leading by the hand a young man 
 in equally grotesque garb, with a sheepish and 
 downcast look. At the familiar lines, ''And the 
 lovely Minnehaha looked more lovely as she stood 
 there" — with two absurd raffia braids on each ear, 
 and eye glasses upon the bridge of her nose, — 
 and "Neither willing nor reluctant, placed her 
 hand in Hiawatha's, saying, 'I will follow thee,' " 
 the audience broke forth, and became more hilari- 
 ous each moment. Table IV then promptly exe- 
 cuted the other syllables and ended by rendering 
 the word Cadillac in fine style, with real lights. 
 
142 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 a door that opened and shut, and a real Klaxon. 
 Now whose were the marshmallows ? 
 
 Table VI gave them nothing to fear, for the 
 word was too simple, the acting too obvious and 
 the whole performance lacked originality. So 
 Table IV and their friends began to see visions 
 of a glowing camp fire in the ravine, long sharp- 
 ened sticks, good company and an evening of 
 stories. 
 
 But wait for Table VIII. Here was a dark 
 horse. They too had a local hit, and one that 
 was more dramatic, because . . . well, we shall 
 see. It happened this way. During the previous 
 act there had slipped quietly into the back of the 
 room a delegation from a camp of little boys, 
 which we shall call Camp B, who were out for a 
 hike and quartered for the night in a barn near 
 by. No one else seemed to notice them, so seizing 
 the unexpected situation, table VIII quickly 
 changed its word, and by means of a class in 
 school — the one idea serving for all three acts — 
 they missed and erred in the first two syllables 
 and were finally able in the last to give the cor- 
 rect answer to the teacher. 
 
 "What river divides the United States in half?" 
 Missed. 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 143 
 
 '^What ocean is north of us?" Wrong — an 
 error. 
 
 ^'Where is Camp B?'' 
 
 'Tleath, teacher," said a shy member of the 
 class, with light bobbing curls, ''Camp B ith at 
 Camp A." 
 
 There was a puzzled moment, followed by a 
 rapid turning of heads toward the back of the 
 room, where the semi-darkness covered the con- 
 fusion of a group of shy little boys huddled to- 
 gether in the corner. Then an outburst of ap- 
 plause that shattered the confidence of Table IV 
 till it fell all in a heap. And to add to the tri- 
 umph of Table VIII, no one guessed the word. 
 
 The following day at dinner the even tables 
 were pleasantly surprised by the announcement 
 that they were invited by Table VIII to a marsh- 
 mallow roast at seven-thirty in the ravine. At 
 that one of the odd tables, not to be outdone, rose 
 to the occasion and announced a marshmallow 
 roast for the odd tables down on the Point. The 
 camp log says that the Ravine party had marsh- 
 mallows and watermelon and stories, while the 
 party at the Point had marshmallows, a great deal 
 of watermelon, games and an evening not soon to 
 be forgotten. 
 
144 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Evening at camp brings up memories to old 
 campers now scattered far and wide, of many a 
 group around a campfire. To one it is on the 
 top of a high hill, to another down by the shore. 
 But in either case the round of stories, the singing 
 and the fire-lit faces will always remain in the 
 foreground of camp experiences. Others may re- 
 member how they used to love to get out on the 
 lake in the early evening in a canoe and just do 
 nothing but float around in the twilight, now 
 close by the dark shore, where the mountains 
 seemed to rise right out of the lake, now out in 
 the open, watching the color fade from the sky 
 and the moon coming up, or the lights beginning 
 to twinkle on shore, which latter was a signal that 
 it was time to go in. 
 
 It is a popular custom in one camp to hold a 
 Sunday evening service out on the lake, with the 
 canoes and row-boats grouped around the raft, 
 where there is sometimes a visiting speaker and 
 always a song leader. The campers love these 
 "sings" out on the water in the soft glow of the 
 evening sky, and so do the neighbors. Sometimes 
 they walk for a mile or two to a place where they 
 can watch the moon come up over the distant hills 
 and sing to the accompaniment of a guitar. 
 
Scene from "Every-Camp," a play written and performed by 
 campers in a New Hampshire camp 
 
 A tow of canoes on the way to Field Day at a neighboring 
 
 camp 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 145 
 
 These same campers have a tradition for slip- 
 ping away in small parties to some romantic spot 
 to spend the night without being discovered by the 
 rest of the camp. The greatest excitement is 
 in dodging curious friends or tent-mates. The 
 plans are whispered around, a councilor secured 
 and the blankets and food smuggled off into hid- 
 ing in the early afternoon, and then the party 
 watch their chance to escape. To make a good 
 get-away sometimes involves lugging blankets up 
 and down or around hills, or dragging canoes off 
 to a lonely place, but once out of danger, with sup- 
 per over and a good glowing fire there is much 
 satisfaction in the feeling that you have ''put it 
 over." And after a night under the stars and a 
 hasty breakfast, to stroll into camp about time 
 for assembly and hear the excited "Where you 
 been?" is all very gratifying. So they say. 
 
 In the afternoons there are sometimes crafts, 
 swimming, dancing, riding or field sports, but 
 other times one is left to find her own amusement. 
 If it is hot she likes to get a canoe with a friend, 
 fill it with pillows, take books or writing mate- 
 rials and find a shady place along shore to spend 
 the afternoon. Or, starting somewhere near 
 camp, take off shoes and stockings and follow up 
 
146 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 a brook, wading and stepping from stone to stone 
 as far as she can go. Other days when it is cool 
 there are more exciting things to be thought of. 
 The girl who is city-bred and accustomed to 
 asphalt pavements and skimpy back-yards, finds 
 a good game of Hare and Hounds a complete 
 novelty. Whether she belongs to the fleet band of 
 Hares led by the Rabbit-in-chief and goes on 
 ahead, leading the hounds on a desperate trail, up 
 hill, through bogs, brooks and barbed wire, or 
 whether she has to follow their lead for a good 
 part of the afternoon, and in the end lands back 
 at camp chagrined to find the Hares all sitting 
 there waiting, there is a thrill in it from start to 
 finish that makes her want to have another one 
 soon. 
 
 Most camp girls are not dependent upon their 
 councilors for their amusement, but are quite 
 capable of furnishing their own. And if any one 
 thinks that fastidious city-girl brought up on 
 ready-made excitement, like the movies, motor- 
 trips and teas, will not fit into the life at camp, 
 they should see her come in after being caught 
 in the rain, dripping from every seam, and watch 
 her thrill of joy when she jumps into the lake 
 with all her clothes on; or watch her rigging up 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 147 
 
 a sail out of a rubber blanket, to go out in an 
 old tub of a row-boat; or chasing through the 
 woods after a runaway fowl. This kind of a life 
 is a joy to her because it sets her free to develop 
 unused powers, and to give free play to her own 
 originality. A part of a camper's creed is, "If 
 you don't see anything to do, go out and find 
 something." 
 
 To illustrate this a crowd of younger girls in a 
 certain camp in New Hampshire found thrilling 
 sport one afternoon in connection with a small 
 island or point of land out in the middle of the 
 lake. This island suggested to their ripe imagi- 
 nation Pirates and Hidden Treasure, so they went 
 out on a secret expedition, setting forth in an old 
 flat bottom row-boat — they were not allowed ca- 
 noes — with a poncho hoisted for a sail, and an 
 excited crew hanging over the sides in their ef- 
 forts to keep it up. They pushed off from shore 
 very cautiously, but half way up the lake they 
 started up the bold Pirate song, "Ho, Ho, Ho, and 
 a bottle of rum." Back on shore a councilor 
 was watching them from a tent ; otherwise all was 
 well. She saw them land on the shore of the 
 island, and look about furtively. Then they be- 
 gan digging in the sand. In about an hour they 
 
148 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 came back, landed carefully, and with an air of 
 suppressed excitement. Next day they went out 
 again in the same way. The councilor kept it 
 to herself. But someone else must have spied 
 them, for after a few days, some of the older girls 
 caught on and dragged their secret out into the 
 limelight. This gave rise to a fierce conflict in 
 this small camp which was waged for several 
 days, and in which some of the older girls almost 
 lost some of their treasure which was hidden 
 by the Pirates. But in the end it all came out 
 peaceably, through the confessions of one of 
 the Pirates, who, tied to a tree with middy 
 ties, was obliged to tell about the missing slip- 
 pers. 
 
 In regions where camps lie near together, there 
 is likely to be a pleasant interruption almost any 
 day in a surprise visit from another camp. 
 Comes the sound of tramp, tramp, tramp, down 
 the road or perhaps it is horses' hoofs, and all 
 the camp comes running from every direction to 
 take a stand in front of the porch. At the mo- 
 ment the visitors appear in sight, they start a song 
 of welcome. The newcomers answer in a sere- 
 nade of their own. Then each home girl adopts 
 one of the visitors, and hurries her off to her own 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 149 
 
 tent and a bathing suit, the highest courtesy to 
 offer a camp girl. The visiting camp has brought 
 lunch, which they enjoy out under the trees, the 
 hostesses sending out something extra in the way 
 of ice-cream or cool drinks. A short period of 
 visiting after dinner, and then comes rest hour, 
 which not even a visit interrupts. So the visitors, 
 having planned to spend theirs in a quiet spot fur- 
 ther on, prepare to start off and the girls at home, 
 making their way to the tents on the hill, wave 
 good-by, as the guests march out of sight around 
 the bend in the road. 
 
 Another nice surprise that the girls of some 
 camps enjoy is the welcome home, that is given 
 to the climbers returning from the mountains, 
 after two or three days away from camp. One 
 such occasion that stands out in memory was the 
 return of a party from a camp in Vermont after 
 climbing Mount Moosilauke. They came in on 
 a late train, and reached camp after dark. For 
 after reaching the station they had to walk a mile, 
 and take a little steamer down the lake. The 
 stay-at-homes, after an early supper, spent a busy 
 hour getting everything in readiness for their wel- 
 come. Inside, the dining hall was a mass of dec- 
 oration, of lovely fern and goldenrod, while an 
 
150 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 extra hot supper waited in the kitchen. The ta- 
 ble was made festive with candles, and at each 
 person's place was the mail that had accumulated 
 while she was gone. 
 
 Outside, the campers, each with a Japanese lan- 
 tern fastened on a stick, were forming two lines to 
 reach from the house to the pier. Between these 
 lines the climbers were to pass. The porches 
 were aglow with colored lights that made a con- 
 tinuous line clear out to the end of the pier. 
 
 When all was ready there was a long wait. 
 Anxious individuals ran out every little while to 
 the end of the pier or down the road to listen; 
 others hummed over the new song. It seemed as 
 though they would never come. By and by a 
 sound came floating over the water, that sounded 
 like the camp cheer. The watchers strained their 
 ears, then came a familiar camp song. They 
 were coming. Each light bearer held high his 
 glowing torch. Near and nearer came the sound, 
 and soon the little steamer hove in sight, showing 
 in shadowy outlines a dozen pairs of feet, dan- 
 gling over the sides. As the word of command 
 was passed along, the line on shore straightened 
 up. Then the big hulk of the steamer grazed the 
 little dock, and in another moment a dozen soiled 
 
OUTSIDE THE SCHEDULE 151 
 
 and bedraggled figures fell into the embraces of a 
 mob of shrieking, struggling friends. In the ex- 
 citement that followed the pretty tableau of the 
 lantern procession was forgotten, as everybody 
 flocked around the incoming travellers, and all 
 unconsciously, trailed their bits of paper in the 
 dust. But the song was not forgotten, and later 
 on, as the climbers were enjoying the good hot 
 supper, and the attentions of a few selected help- 
 ers, it was sung by a band of loyal friends outside 
 the window. 
 
 "We 're waiting on the docks 
 To greet the Moosilaukes 
 
 For we 've missed you sadly while you were upom 
 those awful rocks. 
 
 Each Camp girl added to what you Ve got makes 
 
 just a little girl more." 
 
 If you want to know how good it is to have a 
 welcome like that, you will have to take the trip 
 from such a camp. 
 
 These are some of the things that go on in a 
 girls' camp, and if there is anyone who is not con- 
 vinced that they have a better time than the folks 
 in the city, with their round of social engagements, 
 we will challenge them with the rest of the song 
 quoted at the beginning: 
 
152 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 So leave hotels and parties 
 And get right into line 
 
 Come to Camp 
 
 And you '11 have a jolly time. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE COUNCILOR 
 
 THE first impression of a crowd of girls in 
 camp costume is that they are all alike — 
 even the same age. So it is not uncom- 
 mon for a visitor to mistake a councilor for a 
 camp girl and to ask her what time she has to go 
 to bed and who chaperones her on her trips. 
 This young person known as a councilor is usu- 
 ally a college girl chosen for certain qualities 
 which will be discussed later, for whom camp life 
 has a strong appeal and who enjoys playing the 
 part of big sister to the younger girl. If the visi- 
 tor were to look more carefully into the group he 
 might find some gray hairs, for older heads have 
 a place in the organization. But the average 
 councilor in the girls' camp is a young person 
 possessed of fine spirit and enthusiasm and who 
 is the guide, philosopher and friend of the 
 younger girl. 
 
 In girls' camps, the organization, or camp coun- 
 cil, consists of one or more executives, or head 
 
 153 
 
154 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 councilors and a staff of assistants, a certain 
 number of whom are specialists in the various 
 camp activities. One of these is a registered 
 nurse. In the best camps it is her duty, not so 
 much to look out for sickness as to guard the 
 health of the campers. In such camps she is 
 known as the health councilor, and mingles 
 freely in the camp activities, avoiding the role of 
 a nurse, but keeping an eye upon her charges for 
 signs of colds or fatigue or any symptoms that 
 might lead to illness. Under her direction the 
 girls themselves learn the principles of First Aid 
 and the simple rules of hygiene that are so im- 
 portant in maintaining throughout the year the 
 health standards gained at camp. In case of ill- 
 ness the camp nurse is at hand to give the neces- 
 sary care so long as the patient remains at camp, 
 but in most camps cases of illness are rare. 
 
 Another important member of the camp council 
 is the director of athletics. A great many camps 
 have a man in charge of water sports, and a young 
 woman graduate of one of the schools for physi- 
 cal education for general athletics. The athletic 
 councilor, with a pleasing personality comes in 
 for a good share of popularity, since she is the 
 playmate of the campers as well as their guide in 
 
THE COUNCILOR ISS 
 
 sports. With her also rests considerable respon- 
 sibility for the health and physical well-being of 
 her fellow campers. In camps of the more care- 
 ful type she keeps a physical record of each girl, 
 including her weight and measurement on en- 
 trance and maintains a careful oversight of each 
 individual's activities, to see that she does not 
 overdo and that her record shows physical im- 
 provement. In the large camps there are several 
 councilors trained in athletics, who are assigned 
 to the various sports, and take their share in 
 coaching basket-ball, baseball, tennis, hockey 
 and other field sports, teach folk dancing or give 
 the setting-up drill. 
 
 Another specialist is the crafts councilor, who 
 must be more or less of an expert in her line 
 whether it be basketry, pottery, work in leather, 
 J3welry, block printing, embroidery or any other 
 of the great variety of problems in hand work of- 
 fered by the camps in these days. In the very 
 large camps half a dozen councilors are kept busy 
 with enthusiastic classes during the craft hours. 
 
 In nearly all the camps, too, a special councilor 
 is engaged for nature study, whose duty it is to en- 
 courage nature walks; to open the eyes of camp- 
 ers to the great variety of plant life to be found 
 
156 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 in the neighborhood; to direct their attention to 
 the trees, birds or stars according to the extent of 
 her own knowledge and training. 
 
 There are other specialists for dancing, for dra- 
 matics, for domestic science ; a camp secretary and 
 a dietitian, and as many others as the standards 
 — or perhaps the size — of the camp demands. 
 Besides these there is the average college girl who 
 has no special qualification to offer except a 
 strong character and a winning personality. 
 This girl, known as a general councilor, holds an 
 important place in the camp, since upon her de- 
 pends largely the spirit of the camp and the wel- 
 fare and happiness of the girls. Aside from look- 
 ing after the girls placed in her care the general 
 councilor usually has assigned to her some du- 
 ties connected with the camp management, such 
 as the Pound or the laundry or the dining-room, 
 or picnic lunches. 
 
 The relation of the councilor to the girls is 
 quite different from that of a teacher. In a sense 
 she is a teacher, but at the same time she is an 
 intimate companion, in many camps sharing the 
 same tent with the girls in her care. By playing 
 the same games and sharing the same interests 
 she gains a more or less unconscious influence 
 
THE COUNCILOR 157 
 
 and if she is the right kind of a girl enjoys the 
 intimate confidence of the girls under her care. 
 Some girls will talk things over freely with their 
 councilors that they would not mention to their 
 mothers. The councilor who exerts this kind of 
 leadership has a great opportunity. 
 
 As an example of the kind of leadership re- 
 sulting from this relation, a young councilor, the 
 delight of the campers by reason of her dry hu- 
 mor, was sitting one hot afternoon among a group 
 of girls in a village store, after a long hike, en- 
 joying an ice cream soda. It was about time for 
 the second round, and this, in the interest of sound 
 hygiene, she wished to avoid. So at the critical 
 moment she lifted her glass and observed in the 
 most casual way, ''Barbara and I had TWO of 
 these the other day, and believe me, before we got 
 to the top of the hill we regretted it." Although 
 nothing more was said on the subject, there were 
 no "seconds" when the girl came around again 
 for orders, and the crowd that climbed the hills 
 back to camp came in with good appetites for sup- 
 per. That off-hand observation from a person 
 with an unquestioned reputation as a ''good fel- 
 low" was far more effective than any amount of 
 precept from the camp leader. 
 
158 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Aside from this direct or indirect influence, each 
 councilor owes to the girls under her care very 
 definite guidance as to such matters as participa- 
 tion in sports ; periods of rest ; care of belongings ; 
 personal neatness; gentle manners; the habit of 
 promptness; writing letters home; and in every 
 way upholding the ideals and standards of the 
 camp. 
 
 Since a camp is judged or rated by its council- 
 ors, the most careful directors give more con- 
 sideration to the selection of the right kind of 
 leaders for their girls than to any other point in 
 camp management. The councilors are chosen 
 for certain qualifications which the director finds 
 important to the success of his or her particular 
 camp. Not long ago a questionnaire was sent 
 out by the National Association of Camp Direc- 
 tors to a large number of its members throughout 
 the country, asking what qualities in their opinion 
 were most desirable in a councilor. The result 
 brought out three leading qualifications upon 
 w^hich all seemed to be agreed. These were, in 
 order, ( 1 ) ability for the particular kind of work 
 for which she is chosen, (2) personality, and (3) 
 leadership. 
 
 Some of the leading camp directors have a care- 
 
THE COUNCILOR 159 
 
 fully worked out plan for the selection and en- 
 gaging of councilors. A plan like this, outlined 
 by the director of a large and successful camp 
 for Jewish girls is contained in a manual called 
 Instructions to Councilors, which is given to 
 each person who is a candidate for a councilor- 
 ship in the camp. In this manual the qualifica- 
 tions are outlined as follows : 
 
 ^'The candidate must ( 1 ) have passed her nine- 
 teenth birthday; (2) have had a college education 
 or equivalent; (3) be ready to take the oath of al- 
 legiance to the United States; (4) be in robust 
 physical condition; (5) possess six qualities — 
 Ability, Devotion to Duty, Loyalty, Promptness, 
 Justice, Courtesy. It will be helpful also if she 
 has had training and experience as a teacher and 
 leader of girls in outdoor activities, and is a 
 strong swimmer, a skillful canoeist and a good 
 hiker. Her value is determined by whether she 
 puts forth the maximum effort to advance the in- 
 terests of the campers, as to health, pleasure, ed- 
 ucation and character. She has failed if she 
 has not put forth her best effort." 
 
 In other camps many of these things are taken 
 for granted before the candidate is considered at 
 all. In some cases, too, the qualifications are en- 
 
160 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 tirely different. Each leader has his or her own 
 standard. For example, the director of an 
 equally successful camp says, "I care little how 
 many your diplomas, and but slightly which end 
 of the class you led, except as it represents char- 
 acter and endowment." 
 
 Whatever the differences of opinion, the qual- 
 ities demanded of the camp councilor in the av- 
 erage camp are, in the main, the same that she in 
 turn expects of the camp girl. And all these 
 qualities — cheerfulness and good sportsmanship, 
 dependableness, thoughtfulness for others and de- 
 votion to the general good — might all be summed 
 up in the term Camp Spirit. But perhaps after 
 all the most important quality in the councilor 
 is a genuine love for girls. Not long ago a col- 
 lege girl was asked her honest opinion about an- 
 other girl at college, as to how she would fit in 
 at camp. The girl was honest, and her verdict 
 was something like this. "Jan is a very attrac- 
 tive girl with lots of 'pep,' but somehow I can't 
 see her at a camp. If she liked it, all would be 
 well, but if she was uninterested — . She does n't 
 seem to care very much for children." 
 
 Another girl, a young councilor in a well- 
 known camp, who was chosen for her fine lead- 
 
THE COUNCILOR 161 
 
 ership in college, said to the camp leader about 
 the middle of the summer, ''Don't you sometimes 
 feel like running off somewhere to get away from 
 the girls? I get so tired of them sometimes. I 
 wonder how you stand it." The older woman 
 looked at her in amazement. ''My dear!" she 
 exclaimed. "If you feel that way you have no 
 place in a girls' camp. I love the girls. I am 
 sorry when they go away and can hardly wait till 
 they come back again. When I feel otherwise I 
 shall not be the head of a girls' camp." Need- 
 less to say, that councilor was not invited to come 
 back. 
 
 From personal observation there is one quality 
 above many others that seems to me to be neces- 
 sary in a councilor, and that is joyous enthusi- 
 asm. A case comes to mind of a councilor who, 
 among her set at home had gained somewhat of 
 a reputation for humor, but tested out in the camp 
 environment she showed that she really knew lit- 
 tle of the joy of living. Everything she under- 
 took was a task. So it was small wonder that 
 when she set about rehearsing for a play with 
 "Come now, girls, you have to go to rehearsal," 
 she met with a feeble response. "Have to" is 
 foreign to the camp vocabulary and fails to call 
 
162 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 forth the best effort. So the dramatics, the joy 
 of camp activities and the outlet for free self-ex- 
 pression became an effort and a bore. Down in 
 the garden, on the other hand, a band of volun- 
 teers with an enthusiastic councilor were tackling 
 real difficulties day after day with true camp 
 spirit and having such a good time over it that 
 for all the hard work the gardening gained more 
 and more in popularity. Yet it was not until the 
 end of the season that the first councilor came to 
 see that the difficulty was with herself and not 
 with the campers. 
 
 Still another important qualification for a 
 councilor is the one referred to in the manual 
 of instructions to councilors mentioned above as 
 ''justice," which is defined as an impartial atti- 
 tude toward all, or absence of favoritism. This 
 is of extreme importance to the young and pop- 
 ular councilor, for it is here that she meets a 
 great temptation. She is apt to be sought after 
 by special groups, to be admired by the popular 
 girls. It is hard to make a stand — to withstand 
 this kind of flattery, to refuse to be drawn into 
 narrow circles and to give herself to the whole 
 camp. But failing in this she has not made good, 
 for the councilor who spends her time with a few 
 
THE COUNCILOR 163 
 
 chosen friends is not upholding the standard of 
 the camp. 
 
 In a letter to her own councilors, a camp di- 
 rector of long experience and one of the pioneers 
 in the Girls' Camp Movement has set forth with 
 great clearness what is expected of a councilor 
 and at the same time has expressed some of the 
 ideals that are held by every camp of the highest 
 type. By the courtesy of this camp leader, the 
 letter is quoted in full. 
 
 Dear Aloha Councilors: 
 
 You are such a goodly number that I fear many 
 days will pass after camp opens before I have a long 
 full talk quietly with each one of you. Accordingly 
 I am writing this letter to help you start camp life just 
 right. I hope you are all bubbling over with enthusiasm 
 and joy as you think of the nine weeks of life close to 
 Mother Nature that is before us. 
 
 When you reach Aloha — be it the camp, club or the 
 hive — you will drop your distinctive dress, don our ideally 
 comfortable uniform and become one of the merry party 
 in Lincoln green. But just what are we expecting from 
 you besides the special service for which many of you 
 have been secured? 
 
 That you are all women of sterling worth of character; 
 that you will quickly give whole-hearted loyalty to Aloha 
 
164 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS^ CAMP 
 
 ideals and Aloha management; that you love young peo- 
 ple, and girls in particular with a big-hearted, warm- 
 hearted appreciation is all expected as a matter of course. 
 I hope you also have excellent health, for it often pads, 
 so to speak, the sharp elbows of mal-adjusted companions. 
 I hope you have a great sense of humor, for this helps 
 mightily by -showing us true values and proportions. 
 
 Besides the crafts and arts in which many of you will 
 be giving instruction, there is the great art — the Fine Art 
 of Living, in which each one of you will be giving daily, 
 constant lessons to our Aloha daughters all summer long. 
 Come to us with the heart of youth but the judgment of 
 years. Learn to distinguish between preference and prin- 
 ciple and teach the girls to do so, too. In slighting a 
 few of the conventions of society, let no one set aside the 
 courtesies of the well-bred. Teach the girls to be gen- 
 erous but not lavish, orderly but not fussy, methodical 
 in planning their time, and always careful not to en- 
 croach on that of others. 
 
 If you have a complaint, remedy it; if you can't, report 
 it to headquarters; but if it can't be remedied, forget it. 
 If you hear good of a camper, tell it to others; if evil, 
 tell it not, doubt it — forget it. 
 
 On a raw, rainy day make your own sunshine, on a 
 sunny day, keep it up. If you have not learned the joy 
 of service, learn it now. If you cannot throw yourself 
 wholeheartedly intc^ the life of the camp and completely 
 forget your own self in the delight of doing for the com- 
 
THE COUNCILOR 165 
 
 munity, don't come. If you are thinking of what you are 
 going to get, instead of what you are going to give, don't 
 come. It is the givers, not the getters, that are the happy 
 ones in this queer world of ours. 
 
 Remember that the girls of today are the women of 
 
 tomorrow, and that you have the blessed opportunity of 
 
 moulding to some degree a few of these future women. 
 Let this ennoble and inspire your work. 
 
 If ever>' Aloha daughter is not a little finer for her 
 summer with us it may be your fault or mine! If you 
 find a homesick girl, give her a job to do for camp. The 
 ideal councilor always leads her group. Her attitude 
 is — "Come on, girls, let 's do this line thing." Be a help- 
 ful, kindly sister of the older girls and the loving, 
 motherly guide of the little lassies. 
 
 Every camp should have excellent water, perfect sani- 
 tation, delicious and abundant food, beautiful and noble 
 scenery. But these alone do not make a perfect camp. 
 It is the people, the spirit and ideal that rule a camp that 
 make it perfect. 
 
 Help us to make the spirit of Aloha that which will 
 truly make the Aloha camps ideal. 
 
 Sincerely your friend and co-worker, 
 
 Harriet Farnsworth Gulick. 
 
 The remuneration of a councilor is usually a 
 summer free of expense and the same opportunity 
 for a good time out of doors as the girls with 
 
166 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 whom she is associated. There is usually little 
 or no financial remuneration except in the case 
 of those with special training, who receive a sal- 
 ary in proportion to the quantity and quality of 
 their services. The relation of the councilor to 
 the camp, although it may be based on a contract 
 for service, is one of such happy and loyal co- 
 operation that it breaks down the barriers of a 
 mere business arrangement. And judging from 
 the number of applications that flood the mails 
 of the camp director from young women all over 
 the country who want such a connection for the 
 summer, it is a thing most eagerly sought after 
 and much to be desired, to be a councilor in a 
 girls' camp. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 INTER-CAMP DAYS 
 
 ' T TTERE they come! " suddenly shouted the 
 I 1 outposts from away down the road. 
 A JL For a long time they have been watch- 
 ing there, these two trim figures in dark-brown 
 bloomers and fresh white middies, stationed 
 along a certain country road in New Hampshire 
 on that important day in August, known as Inter- 
 camp Day. 
 
 Farther back, close by the entrance to the ath- 
 letic field, were the rest of the crowd, likewise in 
 the brown-bloomer, white-middy costume of Ta- 
 homa, drawn up in a waiting line by the roadside, 
 ready to welcome — whom, we shall see later. 
 
 ^'Here they come!" The word came like a 
 shot, and the next moment the air was charged 
 with the explosion, ''Here they are, girls! It's 
 Hanoun!" as a big automobile could now be 
 plainly seen reeling on its way toward them down 
 the long woods road. "Hey, hurry up! 
 
 167 
 
168 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 They 're coming ! Clear the way, everybody ! 
 Back from the road! Yes, over there, Sue, with 
 the megaphone!" 
 
 The swaying car was very near, now, and 
 not far behind was another. The song-leader 
 stepped out in front, her hand poised in air. 
 ''Everybody, now! It's 'Whoop her up!' for 
 Camp Hanoun!" 
 
 Then, just as the serenaders began to "whoop 
 her up ! " the heavy machine drew up by the road- 
 side, and six or eight fit-looking young women in 
 a costume of khaki and red hopped out. With- 
 out waiting for the finish, they started an an- 
 swering cheer. 
 
 Into the midst of this the second machine stole 
 swiftly, and in its wake was another. Looking 
 down the long road, one could see still more com- 
 ing, car after car rocking along on its uneven 
 course, all filled with waving crowds of camp 
 girls. Their voices, laughing and singing, came 
 gaily through the woods. On they came, nearer 
 and nearer, in a long procession, like the auto- 
 mobile section of a holiday parade. Swiftly they 
 drew up to the entrance, one after another, de- 
 posited their lively fares, and turned back to the 
 parking place to make room for more. This was 
 
INTER-CAMP DAYS 169 
 
 an important occasion, like the big college game. 
 
 The occasion was, as a matter of fact, an an- 
 nual gathering of a dozen or more girls' camps 
 located in this part of the White Mountain re- 
 gion — on the Vermont-New Hampshire border — 
 for a celebration known as the Inter-camp Frolic. 
 As they piled out of the cars, a hundred or more 
 girls in the blues, greens, and browns of their 
 several camps, they were given a noisy welcome 
 by the reception committees from three camps lo- 
 cated near together here on the Lake Tarleton 
 plateau. 
 
 ''Hello, Wynona!" went up a shout to a dele- 
 gation in brown with white-lettered head-bands 
 that had just tumbled out of their cars. 
 ''There 's Farwell! " burst forth, as a load in blue 
 costumes rolled in. "This way, Hokomoko!" 
 designated a band wearing bright red ties. And 
 so on, as they kept on coming. It was all most 
 exciting. "Where 's Quinnibeck?" was asked 
 by and by — one camp seemed to be missing. 
 "Oh, they must have stopped down at Aloha 
 Club," some one said. The reception force, it 
 seemed, was divided, and one half of the crowd 
 was landing a mile or so below, where they were 
 given a similar reception by the girls in green 
 
170 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 from Aloha Club. This crowd was considerably 
 swelled now by the arrival of two more camps in 
 green, who were met with a shout, and who com- 
 pleted a reunion of three camps bearing one name, 
 Aloha, and united in devotion to one leader. 
 
 Up by the athletic field, the singing and cheer- 
 ing kept right on growing noisier and noisier as 
 each newly arrived camp came in. Frolic sing- 
 ing, by the way, is as much a feature of a camp 
 gathering as of a college reunion. One after an- 
 other they broke forth in college serenades or 
 camp songs — original songs, with clever hits, 
 many of them at this time referring to war work 
 and Mr. Hoover. Perhaps the most dramatic 
 were from Serranna, the other hostess-camp, who 
 was quarantined on account of a mumps scare 
 and stood off by herself on the edge of the woods 
 holding some big placards, which, like her songs, 
 explained the situation. 
 
 For a while the hostess song-leader attempted 
 to lead, but one broke in to answer another, and 
 sometimes there were two or three going at once. 
 Which was no matter, and all the more exciting. 
 Finally, above the cheerful noise, shouts could be 
 heard from the megaphone, giving directions 
 about visiting near-by camps before lunch, and 
 
INTER-CAMP DAYS 171 
 
 the singers dispersed. This started the day's pro- 
 gram, which held its bigger events for the after- 
 noon. 
 
 The custom of celebrating this Inter-camp Day 
 began back in the early days when there were only 
 two or three camps in this region, and not many 
 more in the entire country. In those days, about 
 one hundred girls met together for an afternoon of 
 competitive sports, and, as they all sat down at 
 the end of the day on the Aloha or Quinnibeck 
 green for supper, it seemed like a big crowd. To- 
 day they number nearly a thousand, and they 
 march on a broad field in inspiring lines to the 
 music of a brass band. This latter was the ef- 
 fect of the war upon inter-camp celebrations. In 
 place of the usual program of sports, there was 
 to be a patriotic parade, with several divisions 
 representing war activities, in which all the camps 
 were taking part. 
 
 Since there must always be some place in the 
 day's plan for visiting together and getting ac- 
 quainted, everybody, great and small, was now 
 urged to come along and pay a visit to the hostess 
 camps. Since there were two hostesses — there 
 should have been three — the company divided up 
 and some went that way to Aloha Club and some, 
 
172 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 in the other direction, to Tahoma. There were 
 guides for each group, who walked importantly 
 ahead and tried to act as though they were not 
 showing off their own camp. Though they took 
 a proper pride in conducting these rather unusual 
 and sympathetic visitors through the rows of neat 
 tents, with their tightly made cots — extra tightly 
 made for the occasion — and their rows of trunks 
 down the center, draped with good-looking 
 steamer rugs, and every shelf in what the in- 
 spector would pronounce "Al" order. The time 
 was limited, but like guides from Cook's they 
 hurried them through everything, including the 
 dining-room, fresh with flowers ; the living-room, 
 in faultless order; the recreation hall and porches, 
 somewhat decorated; and the crafts room, where 
 some special hand-work was on exhibition. And 
 finally they gave them time and a swimming-suit 
 to "go in" and try the spring-board and the 
 chute. 
 
 Many of these girls, who had never seen any 
 other camp than their own, and had certain nar- 
 row convictions about its superiority, found it 
 illuminating to know that the other girl had the 
 same convictions about her camp. All this makes 
 for a spirit of inter-camp friendship, a fact which 
 
INTER-CAMP DAYS 173 
 
 the camps in this union are coming more and 
 more to appreciate. 
 
 After an hour or more spent in these visits it 
 was lunch-time, and the crowd came together 
 again at the athletic field, where each camp found 
 its own place, assigned on arrival and easily rec- 
 ognized by its name in big letters, posted there 
 by the reception committees. Each camp had 
 brought its own luncheon, in big hampers, which 
 were soon unpacked, but none too soon for the 
 poor famished mortals who were beginning to 
 feel the effects of a long, eventful, and "eatless" 
 morning. 
 
 Immediately after luncheon the various divi- 
 sions of the parade began to line up, at certain 
 intervals, from the luncheon-place to the Lake 
 Tarleton green, and into each division were hur- 
 ried the delegations assigned to it from each camp. 
 
 At two-thirty the camps began the march to 
 the Lake Tarleton green. The procession poured 
 down the long, over-arched roadway to a point 
 beyond the Lake Tarleton Club, turned, came on 
 to the green, and advanced half-way across to 
 where stood the statue-like figure of a camp mar- 
 shal, thence straight up the center in squads of 
 four. It was a stirring sight. Again, at a point 
 
174 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 held by another rigid figure in bloomer costume, 
 they turned, separated, and went down the side of 
 the field, uncoiling and spreading over the green 
 like some huge snake. Now they seemed to fill 
 the green, but still they kept coming on, turning, 
 up the center, down the sides, now in fours, now 
 in eights, each figure in perfect alignment, and 
 each foot in step to the spirited airs played by the 
 band. 
 
 As the line marched on to the green, there was 
 a flutter of applause from the crowds of spec- 
 tators gathered from the country round and 
 grouped on the side-lines. In the front came a 
 drummer, a member of the orchestra in her own 
 camp; then the marshals, four abreast, then the 
 five patriotic divisions. Ahead of the first divi- 
 sion, holding high the famous war-poster, called 
 "Joan of Arc Saved France," marched a row of 
 standard-bearers in bright bodices of red, white, 
 and blue, their company representing War Sav- 
 ings. The second division pressed on close be- 
 hind, its standard-bearers carrying another fa- 
 miliar war-poster, representing peasant women 
 engaged in plowing, and urging us to food con- 
 servation by saving wheat. The third division 
 bore the banner and insignia of the Red Cross. 
 
INTER-CAMP DAYS 175 
 
 In each division were pressed the khaki, blue, 
 brown, and green in an each-for-all-and-all-for- 
 each arrangement ; for the keynote of this wartime 
 demonstration was cooperation and community 
 action. Each division was distinguished by the 
 particular color of its caps and insignia. 
 
 After the war-garden section, which completed 
 the line of war-time activities of camp girls, came 
 the last division, representing the camp girls' own 
 peculiar contribution to the war. Its original 
 poster, featuring a big banner labeled "health," 
 displayed by a sturdy-looking girl in a camp cos- 
 tume of bright colors, was carried by four repre- 
 sentatives from as many camps, who were well 
 chosen for the part. 
 
 In these four divisions the procession swept 
 on across the field, with not a single pause or a 
 hitch, now down, then right about and up; now 
 in diagonal lines across the green, then back and 
 up the sides, until, at a wonderful moment, they 
 came down the field in the final formation, sixteen 
 abreast, every line as straight as an arrow and 
 every foot coming up in perfect time to the music. 
 It was then that the crowd on the side-lines broke 
 into noisy applause, and a spectator said some- 
 thing to his neighbor about "West Pointers." 
 
176 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 But there was more to it than simply a drill 
 well executed. There was something inspiring 
 in the way these eight hundred girls, who had 
 never met together before, fell into line in mixed 
 companies and marched in perfect unison with 
 never so much as a rehearsal, something that re- 
 vealed a real inter-camp spirit and a comradeship 
 not unlike that of the barracks and the trenches. 
 It was like the unity of the Tommies, the Aus- 
 tralians, and the Canadians, that Phillip Gibbs, 
 in his wonderful war-correspondence, tells about. 
 It is a unity that bars group jealousy, or even 
 group consciousness. For although every indi- 
 vidual girl marching along in her place in the 
 ranks was a type of her particular camp, yet all 
 these types were submerged, so that there was no 
 distinction of camp, but a mass of girls number- 
 ing up toward a thousand, coming from points as 
 remote as Maine and California, Ontario and 
 New Orleans, tramping side by side in the cause 
 of — well, something big for women and girls that 
 the camps stand for, a new kind of freedom and 
 a new comradeship of life in the open. 
 
 The solid mass moved slowly down the center. 
 At a signal they turned ; marked time, then moved 
 toward the road. Across the way stood the huge 
 
o 
 
 s 
 
At a point held by a figure in bloomer costume, they turned 
 
 Down they went in the midst of the puddles 
 
INTER-CAMP DAYS 177 
 
 flagpole on the Lake Tarleton Club lawn. Three 
 buglers stepped out from the ranks and four 
 standard-bearers, and took their places around the 
 pole. The company stood at attention while the 
 buglers played in unison "To the Colors" and 
 the standard-bearer raised the flag. In the exer- 
 cises that followed was the pledge of allegiance 
 to our flag and the singing of national airs, that 
 never seemed more significant than now, out un- 
 der the summer sky with such a wonderful com- 
 pany and the mountain background. 
 
 When it was all over, the company dispersed 
 quickly in every direction: the cars began to roll 
 up, the riders galloped away in a hurry, and little 
 groups here and there were taking a hasty fare- 
 well. Within half an hour the green was vacant. 
 The flagpole stood alone on the club-house lawn, 
 and beyond the lake the sun cast purple rays on 
 the bare top of grand old Moosilauke. 
 
 Back in the annals of Inter-camp Days there 
 are records of a glorious day of sport on the farm 
 lands of Camp Quinnibeck, on the shore of Lake 
 Fairlee in Vermont, when Quinnibeck's hospital- 
 ity was nobly expressed by big dish-pans full of 
 doughnuts and wells of lemonade. There were 
 relay races in the roadway; a tennis tournament 
 
178 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 and games in the field; and competitive swim- 
 ming and diving down at the lake; every one 
 working heart and soul for the honor of her par- 
 ticular camp, but all united later on by a supper 
 together on the hillside. 
 
 Father Time could tell, too, if he would, of 
 other happy days, spent by little new camps on 
 the shore of old Lake Morey near Fairlee, in 
 Vermont (where tradition has it that the first 
 steamboat was tried out and then sunk), when 
 the camps came together at the call of Aloha, the 
 oldest of them all. He could tell of that par- 
 ticular day when the celebration was first called 
 a ''frolic," of the stunts in the water and on land; 
 how chosen teams amused the crowd with canoe- 
 tilting, with pillows lashed to their paddles, and 
 other teams were challenged to "mess up" a tent 
 and put it in order in double-quick time. There 
 were the handicap races, and the free-for-all 
 swim, and the supper out of doors, generously 
 supplemented from Aloha's kitchen; and finally 
 the parting in the summer twilight, some going in 
 hay-wagons, some on horseback, — these were the 
 days before automobiles began to pour in their 
 hundreds, — all singing and cheering until long 
 
INTER-CAMP DAYS 179 
 
 out of sight around the bends in the lovely road 
 that winds its way around Lake Morey. 
 
 Or, coming down to later times, who can forget 
 the lovely Totem-pole ceremony at Camp Hanoum 
 in 1914? There, near the scene of the famous 
 Thetford Pageant, the camps assembled in the 
 early afternoon of a lovely day in midsummer, 
 and, falling into line on the plain below, filed up, 
 up, up to the top of a high hill, where they en- 
 tered a pine wood and followed a path which led 
 out onto a grassy circle. There stood the huge 
 symbolic pole, made by Hanoum's craft-workers. 
 Made in sections, eight in all, and put together 
 to represent the eight camps uniting for the cele- 
 bration. As they emerged from the woods in sin- 
 gle file, the campers marched in a spiral round 
 and round the pole, singing the festival song 
 made for the occasion and accompanied by an 
 inter-camp orchestra in the center, while a crowd 
 of spectators from the city and the country round 
 about looked on and gave their applause. Then 
 came each camp in turn to the center of the stage, 
 and in the allotted ten minutes presented their 
 pantomime or ''stunt" prepared for the occasion. 
 For the most appropriate one, the big banner, con- 
 
180 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 taining the inter-camp dragon, now floating from 
 the top of the totem, was the reward. 
 
 When it was all over, the campers rushed to 
 the center for a final song together, then, almost 
 as quickly, scattered and made their way by vari- 
 ous paths down the hillside to mingle again on 
 the plain. Hanoum, at the top of the hill, massed 
 together and sang a farewell. Down below, a 
 score of riders started away toward the setting 
 sun; automobiles bore away another delegation; 
 and then the north-bound train steamed into the 
 little station, swallowed up the last of the crowd, 
 and disappeared around the bend; and one splen- 
 did Inter-camp Day was over. 
 
 The frolic of 1915 was marred by a persistent, 
 unreasonable, and finally pouring, rain. In the 
 early morning the signs had been unpromising, 
 but later it had cleared, and by ten o'clock the 
 country lanes leading to Camp Farwell were alive 
 with automobiles, flying big banners, passing each 
 other on the way to and from the station at Wells 
 River, while a single hay-wagon and a few riders 
 joined on to the procession at the cross-roads. 
 At the entrance to Farwell's grounds they all fell 
 into line and marched in under the pine-trees 
 along the shore of the lake. Farwell was lined 
 
INTER-CAMP DAYS 181 
 
 up to greet them, and there was the usual round 
 of singing and cheers. All was going well until 
 the program started — a program of "stunts," each 
 camp having arranged for her own. 
 
 The stage was Farwell's tennis-court, banked 
 on one side with fir-trees, rustic benches being 
 arranged here and there among them. The first 
 camp to come on was the hostess of the year be- 
 fore, in a pantomime and song in camp costume. 
 As they made their entrance, some rain began to 
 fall, small drops at first, and not very disturbing. 
 They went right on. The first act represented a 
 mountain hike, and kept them moving rapidly 
 around the court. Meanwhile, the drops grew 
 bigger and bigger and came faster and faster. 
 By the time for the second act, the stage was flow- 
 ing with little streams from the banks above, and 
 the audience had begun to move under the trees 
 for shelter or found refuge in the automobiles. 
 
 Now the next verse of the song described a night 
 on the mountain-top, and the singers had to lie 
 down. What would they do? The other camps 
 looked on with sympathy, thinking of their turn. 
 Some sighed over their dainty costumes. There 
 was a moment of suspense, while Hanoum hesi- 
 tated. Then, with the game spirit characteristic 
 
182 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 of campers, down they went, and snuggled to- 
 gether in the midst of the puddles as in a moun- 
 tain hut, forming a tableau that was very dra- 
 matic indeed. The rain kept increasing, but they 
 went right on. And after them the camps, one 
 after another, came on in the midst of the down- 
 pour and presented their lovely tableaux, dances, 
 and masques, with a loyal audience looking on 
 from the inadequate shelter of dripping trees. 
 
 One camp had prepared a beautiful flower pan- 
 tomime — a whole garden in color, the costumes 
 made of crepe paper. Out in all the downpour 
 they went through the scenes, as game as the 
 others, kneeling in the puddles ; and when they got 
 through, the once beautiful costumes were drip- 
 ping color over everything, and of course, com- 
 pletely ruined. 
 
 The rain continued and increased all through 
 the afternoon, and Farwell met the situation with 
 a blazing hearth-fire and hot refreshments. 
 Neither was there any let-up on the way home, 
 yet, remarkable as it may seem, not a girl there 
 was known to have taken cold! 
 
 Out of these inter-camp celebrations has come 
 the Inter-camp Association, comprising these 
 camps located in the valley of the upper Connecti- 
 
INTER-CAMP DAYS 183 
 
 cut River in Vermont and New Hampshire, which 
 now number fourteen. Besides the big celebra- 
 tion in mid-summer, the camps are united in mak- 
 ing trails and building shacks, following the ex- 
 ample of the Appalachian Mountain Club and 
 Dartmouth's Outing Club, whose hospitality they 
 have enjoyed on mountain trips. There are fre- 
 quent meets for water sports, basket-ball and 
 tennis. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE SHORT VACATION CAMP 
 
 WE have heard about the life in the 
 girls' camps far away among the 
 hills of New England. Coming 
 nearer home, within an hour's ride from the big 
 city is another type of camp, where a girl with 
 only two or three weeks' vacation and a limited 
 pocket book can go any time during the summer 
 months and have all the fun and freedom of camp 
 life and association with other girls. There are 
 numbers of these camps scattered all over the 
 country, and we wish there were twice as many 
 more. To hundreds of girls who are facing the 
 question of summer vacation after a hard year at 
 work or at school, these camps stand for a real 
 rest, a good time, a big vision and new friend- 
 ships. 
 
 The biggest and oldest of all of these, and one 
 of the oldest girls' camps in the country, is Camp 
 
 Altamont, in the Heldeberg Mountains in New 
 
 184 
 
THE SHORT VACATION CAMP 185 
 
 York, which is under the care of the Northeast 
 Field Committee of the Young Women's Chris- 
 tian Association. Girls come to this camp in big 
 delegations from nearly all the eastern states — 
 girls from high school and college, from business, 
 industrial and professional life and mingle to- 
 gether around the camp fire, in hikes and straw 
 rides and ''bacon bats" in the big free democracy 
 of Altamont. 
 
 To get a good picture of the life at Altamont, 
 it would be well to follow one of these delegations 
 through their two weeks at camp. This party 
 of eighteen are all members of girls' clubs in a 
 New Jersey town. They are all friends, and way 
 back in the winter they planned to spend the va- 
 cation together at camp. It required some ma- 
 neuvering to arrange to have their vacations at 
 the same time, but here they are, bag and baggage, 
 piling up the gangway of the Albany day boat, 
 on a bright morning in mid-summer, all ready to 
 start. A few minutes later the ropes are cast off 
 and the merry party is settled on the forward deck 
 for an all-day sail up the beautiful Hudson, leav- 
 ing the heat and dust of the roaring city for the 
 high, wind-swept fields and tent rows of camp. 
 
 Some girls spend days and sometimes nights 
 
186 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 toiling over white skirts and fluffy ruffles for a 
 two weeks' vacation. In order to have everything 
 fresh at once, one girl wore a wool dress to busi- 
 ness in the heat of mid-summer. But the girl in 
 this gay crowd is free from the thought of dress, 
 and all her baggage is done up in a single suit- 
 case. 
 
 A day in this company passes quickly, and the 
 sights along shore claim much attention, and so 
 almost before they know it they have entered the 
 narrow part of the river, the sun is far in the 
 west, and the next thing they are landing at Al- 
 bany. There is a wild rush for the train and a 
 minute more would have lost it. On board there 
 are other girls who "look like Altamont," and 
 after a short ride they all pile out together with 
 boxes and suitcases on a little narrow platform. 
 A hack is waiting to take them up the mountain. 
 The old vehicle creaks and groans as the sturdy 
 horses plod along up the hill with their heavy 
 load, telling of the strain of other years and of the 
 hundreds of girls it has borne up that steep slope 
 in the early light or the gathering darkness of the 
 summer night. It is growing dark now, and as 
 they land safely on the top of the hill a great 
 building looms up before them and a light shines 
 
THE SHORT VACATION CAMP 187 
 
 out from one of the windows. Coming nearer, 
 they can see outlined in the semi-darkness the 
 big tower and the stone walls of the Castle, an 
 imposing relic of the. past history of a rich capi- 
 talist, now serving as headquarters for two hun- 
 dred camp girls. At the sight of the light from 
 the castle, there come cheers from the hack, an- 
 swered by the councilors stationed at the door- 
 way. The horses trot briskly around the winding 
 roadway and land their crew in front of the door. 
 They follow a councilor with a red badge 
 across a rustic bridge, to an open field where rows 
 of white tents are visible through the half dark- 
 ness. Each tent, with board platform, has two 
 cots and a set of shelves. Here and there among 
 them are shacks, or little bungalows. To one of 
 these, close to the edge of the woods and looking 
 out over the field, six of the party are assigned to- 
 gether, while the others are paired off in tents near 
 by. Dropping their baggage they are conducted 
 back to the castle for supper in a big dining-room 
 with openings on all sides to the out-of-doors — 
 and then to bed. In these strange surroundings 
 the newcomer lies awake for a long while watch- 
 ing the wind waving the tops of the big trees on 
 the edge of the woods, but at last dozes off, and 
 
188 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 knows nothing more until the sound of the camp 
 bell comes booming through her slumbers, re- 
 minding her of an oncoming train. And while 
 still rubbing her eyes she is routed out of bed by 
 a mischief-making member of her own party and, 
 dressing as quickly as possible, is only just in 
 time to join the crowd in middle blouses that 
 comes trooping at the call of the next bell toward 
 the dining-room. 
 
 The camp routine begins at once with tent in- 
 spection, and the newcomers fall right in and do 
 their part in keeping up the camp discipline. 
 The camp is divided into five tribes, with two 
 councilors each, and the responsibility rests with 
 each girl to make good not only for herself but 
 also for her tribe. For there are honors to be won 
 in this camp, and everyone must do her best dur- 
 ing two short weeks to make the record high. If 
 she makes good in the care of her tent, in personal 
 conduct and in nature work, she wins honors for 
 herself. If she maintains quiet after Taps and 
 before the rising bell; if she turns out for games 
 and songs and cheers; if she cultivates the tribal 
 spirit, entering into the spirit of the ''stunts" and 
 campfires, she is helping to win for her tribe, and 
 when her tribe wins she wears a green and white 
 
THE SHORT VACATION CAMP 189 
 
 ribbon. Then she is in the way of advancement 
 and can go on and on to win higher honors known 
 as recreational honors, in swimming and hiking 
 and nature work and further tribal honors and 
 wear a red ribbon, and at the end of a very short 
 period she feels like a seasoned camper. And 
 well she may, for in these two weeks of outdoor 
 sports she gains more physical development than 
 in a whole winter of work in the gymnasium. 
 And if she is shy and needs a little encouragement, 
 a councilor is there to help. 
 
 So the new campers work to be ready for in- 
 spection. From their tents they go to the ap- 
 pointments — to enter into the baseball and basket- 
 ball for the honor of the tribe, to learn to play 
 tennis with a college girl for instructor, and in 
 the afternoons have glorious times going out a 
 little way from camp for bacon bats, or for longer 
 hikes to distant points of interest, or for hay rides ; 
 and in the evenings meet together around the 
 camp fire with the tribe and hold council and 
 award honors and sing camp songs. So the two 
 weeks roll along so rapidly that they seem like 
 but two days. And yet they are packed so full 
 of new experiences and good times that the two 
 weeks' camper, like the girl in the all-summer 
 
190 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 camp in Maine, goes home imbued with the spirit 
 and traditions of the camp. And when the time 
 for the winter reunion comes, two hundred and 
 fifty girls come together in one city to renew the 
 friendships, sing the camp songs and exchange 
 reminiscences, calling to mind the all-day trips 
 and straw rides, the bright summer days, the view 
 from Altamont's plateau of the gleaming valley 
 below, and a thousand and one little incidents of 
 camp life that are still vivid after months of city 
 life. 
 
 There is another camp that sounds out its call 
 to hundreds of school girls to come away for real 
 camping for three weeks in the summer time, and 
 that is the Girl Scout camp. One of the largest 
 of the organized Scout camps is at Central Valley, 
 New York, on the shore of a lake about eleven 
 miles from West Point. A rustic headquarters 
 building with big porches, a colony of tents in a 
 semicircle on the edge of the woods, a field for 
 drills and a lake all to themselves make up the 
 background for a hundred and fifty Girl Scouts 
 between the ages of twelve and eighteen. The 
 troops come in succession for three weeks of camp- 
 ing. The Scouts are assigned to the twelve tents 
 — eight girls to a tent — that face the drill ground, 
 
THE SHORT VACATION CAMP 191 
 
 with 'the councilors' tents near by. Each coun- 
 cilor is responsible for the girls in two tents. 
 
 The Scout camp begins its day with a bugle call 
 and setting-up drill and then a flag raising cere- 
 mony, while the bugler plays ^'To the Colors." 
 Then the company marches in to breakfast, which 
 is prepared by a professional cook and served by 
 a special squad detailed for the day to ^'fatigue 
 duty." For the Scouts do real camping, and each 
 day twelve girls — two from each table — are as- 
 signed to clear the table, wash and wipe the 
 dishes, put the mess hall in order, clean up the 
 grounds and rake the driveway. The duties of 
 the Fatigue Squad begin at three-thirty in the 
 afternoon and end at three-thirty the next day, 
 in time for a swim. Whatever happens, the Girl 
 Scout never misses her swim. 
 
 Breakfast over, they have the next half-hour to 
 get ready for inspection, while the Fatigue Squad 
 are busy elsewhere, and after a brisk competition 
 in making cots, putting away clothes and "picking 
 up" tents comes the tent inspector. As she ap- 
 proaches a tent, seven girls take their places and 
 stand at attention at the foot of the cots, while the 
 Scout Honor Girl, who has been chosen by her tent 
 mates to take the responsibility for the tent, stands 
 
192 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 at the front, ready to receive the verdict of the in- 
 spector and pass it on to her mates. What the 
 inspector has to say is full of significance for 
 these eight Scouts, for upon her verdict hangs the 
 question of winning the camp banner, which is 
 awarded for order and discipline and attendance 
 at the camp appointments, to the tent having the 
 highest record. 
 
 The inspector goes, and the day's activities 
 begin. Divided into three groups they spend the 
 morning out under the trees, learning Signalling, 
 First Aid, Home Nursing, tying knots and other 
 scout work, alternated with games and drills and 
 swimming, each Scout finding the assignment for 
 her division posted on the bulletin board. Each 
 girl belongs to a group that takes in three tents, 
 and all day long she has her games and swimming 
 and scout work at the hours assigned for that 
 group. But tomorrow she has her swimming at 
 another hour, for the grouping is changed, and 
 Tent One instead of being in the same division 
 with Three and Four is now with Seven and 
 Eight. This arrangement is designed to do away 
 with the dulness of routine, and add variety to 
 the daily program. The Scouts, like all other 
 girl campers have a rest hour after dinner and 
 
The Ice Cream Shack, Altamont 
 
 Getting ready for inspection 
 
THE SHORT VACATION CAMP 193 
 
 the rest of the afternoon is spent in periods of 
 work and free play with an opportunity to visit 
 the canteen before the supper call comes, at five- 
 thirty. The Honor Girls appointed by their tent, 
 hold a court in the afternoon, — and a part of each 
 day is devoted to talks on the Scout law and spirit. 
 
 The evening is full of interesting games, and 
 hikes and rowing and campfires have their place 
 too, and singing around the fire, till at eight- 
 thirty the call comes to go to bed and ten minutes 
 later Taps sounds out for quiet and sleep. 
 
 All this sounds like routine, but every week 
 there is an afternoon entertainment, when each 
 tent contributes a number to the program. Two 
 or three times during the summer there is a big 
 field day, that has been worked up in advance 
 with much enthusiasm for the teams. There are 
 frequent hikes, too, and camping-out parties by 
 tents or by tables, and one day the schedule is set 
 aside for an all-day hike. Everybody goes out 
 of camp, different groups starting out at ten 
 o'clock in the morning, going in different direc- 
 tions and returning at five in the afternoon. 
 Then at the end of the summer there is one fancy 
 dress party that is the big event in closing. 
 
 Now this is only one of the camps for Girl 
 
194 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Scouts. Throughout the country there are others, 
 not so big perhaps, but some of them organized 
 and offering all these camp activities. There are 
 local camps for the troops of certain cities, and 
 some day there will be more, under the direction 
 of the Girl Scout Movement, that will include the 
 girls of many cities. For we are only beginning 
 this business of camping in this country of ours. 
 It is encouraging to know that there are several 
 big National movements that are concerned over 
 the question of camps for girls. For a number 
 of years the Young Women's Christian Associa- 
 tion has been interested in providing camps for 
 girls, and now in different parts of the country 
 there are other big organized camps like Alta- 
 mont. One is a seashore camp, at Vineyard 
 Haven, Massachusetts, known as Camp Ma- 
 koniky. Here for five summers girls from all the 
 eastern states have been enjoying the combination 
 of country and seashore, the swimming, sailing, 
 tramping, tennis, basket ball and picnics of the 
 salt water camp, with the same kind of spirit and 
 leadership as Altamont, so that now the name Ma- 
 koniky stands for the same kind of care-free 
 vacation to hundreds of other girls. 
 
 Another of the large Y. W. C. A. camps is 
 
THE SHORT VACATION CAMP 195 
 
 Nepahwin, at Canton, Pennsylvania, under the 
 direction of the East Central Field Committee, 
 for Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania. 
 Nepahwin means '^House of Rest" and this camp, 
 situated in the midst of rolling hills and fertile 
 valleys, is maintained by the committee as a place 
 of rest and recreation for the girls of their several 
 states. The management at Nepahwin is differ- 
 ent from that of Altamont and Makoniky. For 
 in place of councilors there is a committee of 
 girls called the Recreation Committee, who plan 
 all the camp activities. And although there are 
 more than a hundred girls there is no division into 
 groups or tribes, but all belong to one big family. 
 Every girl has a chance to become acquainted 
 with every other girl, for the places at table are 
 changed every day. The season opens with a 
 club conference for girls of the private schools. 
 There is a later one for the high schools and an- 
 other for industrial clubs, and then the camp is 
 open to all girls for the regular vacation and 
 sports. 
 
 Pennsylvania has another organized camp un- 
 der the same committee. California also has a 
 large and successful one, and here and there are 
 camps maintained by the local Associations. 
 
196 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 These camps of the Young Women's Christian 
 Association are open to all girls regardless of sect. 
 
 Another camp with a religious basis is Camp 
 Pinnacle, also in the Helderberg Mountains, not 
 far from Altamont, under the Young Women's 
 Bible Training Movement. Besides a program of 
 recreation, Camp Pinnacle conducts Bible study 
 courses and missionary lectures, and each summer 
 provides for the vacation of hundreds of girls. 
 
 As we have said before, there are several big 
 National movements that are interested in the 
 question of camping for girls. Not the least of 
 these is the organization of Camp Fire Girls 
 which has done so much for the cause of out door 
 life for girls all over the country. Ten years 
 ago the number of girls who went camping dur- 
 ing the summer vacation might have been counted 
 by the hundreds. Today, under the leadership 
 of the Camp Fire Girls alone, about fifty thousand 
 girls — girls from east and west and north and 
 south — enjoy the experience of sleeping out; 
 cooking over an open fire; learning the ways of 
 the trail and how to know the birds and trees; 
 holding council around a camp fire; and cement- 
 ing friendships by sharing the common experi- 
 ences of the life in the open. And while these 
 
THE SHORT VACATION CAMP 197 
 
 girls may not have had the advantage of perma- 
 nent organized camps, yet many of them by their 
 own efforts and those of their friends, were able 
 to establish all-summer camps with tents, loaned 
 for the summer, pitched on a vacant farm or other 
 site contributed by some interested owner. And 
 these camps conducted by the guardians are the 
 joy of hundreds of girls who come and go for the 
 two weeks' vacation. One of the largest of these 
 at Crete, Nebraska, last summer was attended by 
 three hundred and fifty Nebraska girls. An- 
 other, conducted by the Camp Fire Girls organ- 
 ization of Chicago, was attended by large num- 
 bers of Chicago girls. 
 
 The Woodcraft League of America is another 
 National organization that is calling us to live 
 out of doors and helping the camper to learn more 
 of the ways of the woods, and its influence is to be 
 felt in the winter months in the city as well as in 
 the summer days in camp or on the trail, by girls 
 of the all-summer and the short vacation camps 
 alike. 
 
 There are many other local organizations in the 
 big cities throughout the country that include 
 summer camps for their girls in their program. 
 In New York, the United Workers, the Girls' Pro- 
 
198 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 tective League, the League for Women's Service, 
 the settlements and department stores are some of 
 the agencies that are maintaining summer camps. 
 
 All these are but the beginnings of a movement 
 that is bound to grow, as our nation, receiving 
 back its boys with new gains from their camp life, 
 in physical development and broader mental out- 
 look, will come to realize that we owe as much to 
 our girls. For one of the greatest needs for the 
 growing girls of our nation is the opportunity to 
 get away from the artificial restraints of our mod- 
 ern city life — away from the noise and heat and 
 dust of the big city for a period in the summer 
 time to the freedom of life out of doors. And 
 not the least valuable part of this experience is 
 the opportunity to live with other girls in a com- 
 munity of common interests. A club girl who 
 went to a Y. W. C. A. camp said to the councilor, 
 ^'Before I went to camp I used to live in a little 
 world of my own, with the door shut." But when 
 she went home after her two weeks' vacation, the 
 girls who worked next to her found the door wide 
 open, and before long they made her president of 
 the club. 
 
 Another older girl who enjoyed hugely her two 
 weeks at camp, in trying to tell how much it had 
 
THE SHORT VACATION CAMP 199 
 
 meant to her said it was as though she ''had gotten 
 a college education in two weeks." This girPs 
 whole spirit was changed, for she had fifteen girls 
 working under her, and before going to camp her 
 attitude had been to see how much she could get 
 out of them ; now it was how much she could give 
 them. 
 
 With all these movements interested in camping 
 for girls let us hope that the number of camps 
 will grow and increase till there is not a girl in 
 the land who can not have the opportunity to 
 spend her vacation in camp. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SINGING 
 
 IT was the last day of a White Mountain trip. 
 All through the morning the clouds had 
 hung low, but now in the early afternoon a 
 heavy rain had set in and a dozen bedrenched and 
 bedraggled campers, far from home, swished 
 along the seven-mile road leading from Lost 
 River to North Woodstock in the midst of a merci- 
 less downpour. Having already come seven 
 miles since dawn down the mountain trail, and 
 spent the morning climbing up and down the 
 ladders of Lost River's caves, worming their way 
 like caterpillars through the narrow openings, 
 they were now on the last stretch toward home, 
 hurrying along to catch the train at North Wood- 
 stock, when along came a cloudburst. What 
 did they do? Well, they might have stopped at 
 a wayside shelter and waited in the hope of a 
 passing vehicle. Or they might have decided to 
 go back to the cabin and wait till next day. But 
 
 200 
 
SINGING 201 
 
 then they would not have been true campers. 
 They did neither of these things. They did what 
 camp girls always and everywhere do under like 
 difficulties. They sang. And as they splashed 
 along through the mud, past shelters, every gar- 
 ment sopping and then dripping, they made a new 
 song to suit the occasion, a song that has since 
 been handed down in camp through each succeed- 
 ing summer. The tune was from a Harvard 
 football song: 
 
 So with a song 
 
 We march along 
 With sturdy step and strong; 
 
 In rain or shine 
 We keep a steady line, 
 
 We 're from Camp 
 
 We 're from Camp . 
 
 Camp singing is a means of meeting any kind 
 of a situation, but a situation of discomfort or 
 difficulty is apt to bring out more humor and 
 originality. Mosquitoes, rain and mud are the 
 themes of some of the cleverest camp songs. The 
 summer of 1915 will long be remembered for 
 its steady, continuous downfall of rain. This 
 was a distinct disappointment in the camps. 
 Every hike or excursion was held up by the 
 
202 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 weather. But what camp had a single complaint 
 to record ? Instead, the weather was only a stim- 
 ulus to a fresh crop of songs, some celebrating 
 the rain, and others dedicated to the mosquitoes, 
 which it brought in its train. 
 
 In one camp's collection there is a song that 
 brings to mind a vivid picture of a party of hikers 
 rambling around in a field in a pouring rain, try- 
 ing to get back to the road leading to another 
 camp they wanted to visit, but finding themselves 
 going round and round in a circle, while they 
 were becoming more and more soaked every min- 
 ute. While in this predicament, one girl, through 
 whose head kept running the lively tune of the 
 "Irish Washerwoman" started up with these 
 words : 
 
 Is the longest way round the shortest way home? 
 Is the shortest way round the longest to roam? 
 Is the wetter the rain the drier your dress? 
 And if you should ask us, the answer is — yes! 
 
 Catching the lively air they all took it up and 
 some minutes later, having found the road they 
 came marching — or rather jigging — to its accom- 
 paniment in to the grounds of their camp neigh- 
 bors. 
 
 Another song came from a party coming down 
 
SINGING 203 
 
 Mount Moosilauke, who lost the trail at the foot, 
 leading back to camp, where they were expected in 
 time for dinner. And while they were rambling 
 around in the bushes for two hours, with no trail 
 to be seen, a hot dinner was slowly getting cold 
 back at camp and their appetites growing keener 
 with each passing minute. There was nothing 
 left but to sing. So, with a Princeton football 
 song in mind, one of the party started, and the 
 others finished, the ^'rambling song," a part of 
 which goes: 
 
 And when they did come down they got completely off 
 
 the track, 
 And did n't they ramble, they rambled, they rambled all 
 
 around. 
 They rambled till they found how far they had rambled 
 
 in brambles. 
 The way they got to camp again 't was fine ! 
 
 Another time, a mountain party, who had spent 
 an uncomfortable night in a barn that was some- 
 what short of hay, added this song — to the tune 
 of "Funiculi, Funicula" — to the camp collection: 
 
 Chorus : 
 
 All night long you hear the voices cry 
 "Do not put your hay into my eye, 
 
204 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 I want to sleep, I want to sleep, 
 I want to sleep, I want to sleep. 
 
 How I wish the hay 
 
 Were just a little bit more deep." 
 
 Singing in girls' camps is like that in the col- 
 leges, except that the college songs are perhaps 
 more formal and occasional, while the camp songs 
 reflect every experience of every-day life. For 
 example the colleges have little outside of the 
 songs celebrating athletic. Alma Mater and class 
 spirit, while the camps go beyond general themes 
 to individual experiences and adventures. Of 
 these there are all kinds — epic as well as lyric. 
 Most of them are dramatic. The best thing 
 about them is the enthusiasm and spirit with 
 which they are sung. The camp girls enjoy sing- 
 ing their own songs. They sing them with en- 
 joyment because they like to sing about experi- 
 ences that are new and fresh, just as the boys 
 going overseas preferred to sing about ^'hanging 
 the Kaiser to a sour apple tree" rather than about 
 the men of Harlech, out of a remote past. Some 
 of these songs that deal with adventure or indi- 
 vidual experiences make a permanent appeal and 
 live on year after year, while others die, or lose 
 their popularity and are finally dropped from the 
 
SINGING 205 
 
 collection. The reason for this is that in the lat- 
 ter case the song merely tells of a dramatic inci- 
 dent, as time goes on that incident, or the char- 
 acters in the drama are forgotten. While an- 
 other song recording the same experience lives on 
 and grows more and more popular because it re- 
 flects the spirit — of endurance or cheerfulness or 
 whatever it may be, that is recognized by the 
 campers of all times. For example, here is a 
 song to the tune of Dixie, that made a decided 
 hit in a certain camp, because of a funny inci- 
 dent, but was afterward dropped and forgotten: 
 
 Up Moosilauke we were crawling, 
 
 Puffing, scrambling, sometimes caUing, 
 *'0h where, oh where, oh where is the top?" 
 Fair Helen slips and then goes sprawling, 
 
 Cries out faintly as she 's falling, 
 
 " Oh when, oh when, oh when shall I stop?" 
 
 Another one, recording the same experience, is 
 as popular today as it was ten years ago : 
 
 Onward and up we tramp today, 
 No trouble or toil our feet can stay. 
 
 Full of the true Camp grit 
 
 We 're of the sort that never quit. 
 Stony and steep may be the trail, 
 Hearts and voices will never fail; 
 
206 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Our spirits are light 
 For we know that tonight 
 Our Camp we '11 hail. 
 
 Besides singing about everyday experiences the 
 campers have special songs for special occasions 
 as well as the colleges. One type of these is the 
 serenade which is used for every kind of occa- 
 sion — for greetings and good-byes; to express 
 good-will and comradeship with other camps ; and 
 to celebrate achievement of individuals. They 
 indulge in extravagant expressions, such as, "We 
 shall never find your equal," which vary in degree 
 from formality through admiration to burning 
 affection. The camp serenade has been borrowed 
 for the most part from the colleges, but the best 
 camps are getting away from the more hackneyed 
 type to those that are more genuine, borrowing 
 less from the colleges and drawing upon their own 
 originality. The following is one which is en- 
 tirely original and a genuine tribute to the one to 
 whom it was written : 
 
 Not your twinkling eye, sir, 
 
 Not your wit so keen; 
 Not your manner jolly, 
 
 Finest ever seen; 
 
SINGING 207 
 
 Not your store of knowledge, 
 
 Not your friendship true 
 If you ask the reason, 
 
 Mr. G., 'tis you. 
 
 Another example is Camp Quinnibeck's sere- 
 nade to Aloha Hive, a junior camp newly come to 
 settle on their own lake : 
 
 Aloha Hive, Aloha Hive, 
 
 Come let us whisper in your ear; 
 
 Quinnibeck is glad you 've come 
 To buzz so near. 
 
 Sweeter than the honey 
 
 To the honey bee 
 I love you, say you love me. 
 
 Neighbors true on Lake Fairlee 
 Honey bees a-buzzin' near, 
 
 Buzzin' that we love to hear 
 Dear Aloha Hive. 
 
 Among the college serenades that are sung in 
 all camps perhaps the most popular are these two : 
 
 Ain't she neat, sweet, ha ha, ha ha, handsome and fair? 
 
 She is a daisy, the girls all declare. 
 She 's a high rolling lassie as well, 
 
 Here comes 
 
 Say don't she look swell? 
 
208 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 They say that she ain't got no style, 
 
 She 's got style all the while, she 's got style all the 
 while. 
 They say that she ain't got no style, 
 
 She 's got style all the while, all the while. 
 
 There are many others, brought by the coun- 
 cilors from their colleges and adopted by the 
 campers to express the same spirit of good-will 
 and fellowship, such as the following from Smith : 
 
 There is a girl that 's known in all parts, 
 Her name is and she 's won our hearts. 
 
 Oh ! we 'd like to know a girl with more go. 
 We '11 all stand by her to the end, oh ! 
 
 and 
 
 Whoop her up, whoop her up, whoop her up some more, 
 is the girl Camp does adore. 
 
 She 's such a peach, she 's won our hearts, 
 She certainly plays the game. 
 
 She is not rough, she is not tough, 
 She gets there just the same. 
 
 And from Vassar : 
 
 There 's a girl we 're thinking of, 
 H'm h'm h'm, ha! ha! ha! 
 She 's a girl we surely love, 
 And her name we '11 not forget, 
 you can bet. 
 
SINGING 209 
 
 Occasional songs at camp are used for celebra- 
 tions like Intercamp day, birthdays and athletic 
 events. The following represents the formal 
 songs and was awarded the prize at the Intercamp 
 celebration of 1916 to Camp Hanoum at Thet- 
 ford,Vt.: 
 
 Yo ho, girls! yo ho, girls, for all our camps today, 
 
 We know, girls, we know, girls, we come each year to play. 
 
 We skip and we hop with a jolly good will, 
 
 We dance till we drop, having fun to our fill. 
 
 Yo ho, girls ! yo ho, girls ! it 's Intercamp today. 
 
 (Repeat.) 
 
 Together, together, we join in hearty song. 
 
 Forever, forever good campers we belong. 
 
 We meet to compete for the fun of the game, 
 
 We treat a defeat or a vict'ry the same. 
 
 And never shall sever the ties that bind us strong. 
 
 (Repeat.) 
 
 Another Intercamp festival song: 
 
 We join our voices now in song, 
 
 Our hearts beat high v\dth joy that lives, 
 
 And thrills, inspires and makes us strong, 
 
 The joy that only Nature gives. 
 
 We love the woods, the birds and flowers. 
 
 The thirsting sun and the quenching rain. 
 
 We '11 count with pleasure all the hours, 
 
 Till with joy our camps may meet again. 
 
210 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Intercamp marching song: 
 
 From the hills and the woods far and wide, 
 From the camps that we each love the best, 
 We are met here to march side by side, 
 In the friendship of East and West. 
 
 Chorus : 
 
 Then, come, join our glad company, 
 
 Good comrades a-frolicking together, 
 
 We '11 sing to our life in the free 
 
 As side by side along the road we march forever. 
 
 March on, campers, march in array, 
 Through all the bright years of endeavor. 
 United in heart as today, 
 Never parting our ranks shall sever. 
 
 Another example of occasional songs is Aloha's 
 Pledge to the U. S. A., as follows: 
 
 Oh! Uncle Sammie, so tried and so true, 
 
 We pledge the green and the white 
 
 To the red, white and blue. 
 
 And as we sit at home and knit 
 
 (Why every minute) we will do our bit, 
 
 But — ere we begin it. 
 
 We will all give three cheers 
 
 For our brave soldier boys 
 
 As they go sailing far away. 
 
 My country — oh! 'tis you. 
 
SINGING 211 
 
 That Aloha girls true, 
 
 Give their pledge to the old U. S. A. 
 
 Reunions are occasions for special songs, as 
 the following : 
 
 We are a band of Alohaites, 
 When summer comes around, 
 Upon the shore of Morey's lake 
 We '11 one and all be found. 
 We meet together here today 
 To greet the friends so true 
 And give the cry, "Aloha banzai!'* 
 Aloha, here 's to you. 
 
 And though in festal garb we 're here, 
 
 It v^rill be no surprise, 
 
 If in the summer we appear 
 
 In very different guise. 
 
 We 're ready then for Moosilauke 
 
 To reach its summit blue, 
 
 And easily talk of a hundred mile walk 
 
 And swimming Lake Morey too. 
 
 When Tahoma's daughters gather anywhere 
 There 's a place they think of, longing to be there; 
 It 's the one and only place that they desire. 
 Situated and celebrated in New Hampshire. 
 
 Chorus : 
 
 Going back, going back, going back from the spring to 
 the fall, 
 
212 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Going back, going back, to the best old place of all; 
 Going back, going back, to answer Tahoma's call, 
 We '11 clear the track, as we go back, 
 Going back is the best of all. 
 
 Let 's go to Tahoma on the B (& M, 
 
 Watching for old Connicut to appear around the bend, 
 
 Rambling round the old place, full of jollity. 
 
 Our location for celebration is there, you see. 
 
 They are great at swimming, all those girls in brown, 
 Likewise on the diamond they have won renown. 
 Soon we '11 see them gathering, yelling every one, 
 Something doing when we 're returning to Armington. 
 
 Team songs are of the same character as the 
 men's football songs from which many of them 
 are borrowed, as: 
 
 March, march on down the field, cheering Camp 
 
 We 're out to win the game, so play hard and fast. 
 We '11 give a long cheer for the brown and white. 
 We 're out to win tonight 
 
 Camp may fight to the end, but we will win. 
 
 Yale song. 
 
 Here is one sung to a rival team in the same 
 camp: 
 
 Blue team, blue team, I 've been thinking. 
 What a good team you would be 
 
SINGING 213 
 
 If you did n't let the white team 
 Beat you up so easily. 
 
 Another : 
 
 Here comes the team of Camp, 
 
 And a very, very good team too; 
 
 They 're wonderfully good, and be it understood 
 
 They Ve won victories not a few. 
 
 Though they have n't been long here 
 
 They can shoot and pass and cheer, and take a turn at 
 
 umpiring the game. 
 And they never, never make a foul. They 're never 
 
 known to quail at the rattle of a yell. 
 
 Spoken : 
 
 What! Never? No, never. 
 
 What! Never! Well — hardly ever. 
 
 They never, never make a foul. 
 
 Then give three cheers and one cheer more, 
 
 Just watch our team rolling up the score; 
 
 Then give three cheers and one cheer more. 
 
 Watch Camp rolling up the score. 
 
 In a typical camp collection are to be found a 
 certain proportion of sentimental songs, express- 
 ing loyalty to the camp, to the teams and love of 
 the out-of-doors. Since many of the camps have 
 not put their songs into print, only a few of these 
 are available. 
 
214 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 CAMP LOYALTY j 
 
 Music— The Tale of the Turtle Dove— "Woodland" 
 
 Oh, sing Wyonegonic, 
 
 Fond memories be thine; 
 Upon thy silver waters 
 
 The stars of heaven shine. 
 The music of thy breezes, 
 
 What harmony more fine; 
 Our loved Wyonegonic, 
 
 Jewel of the pine. 
 
 Beneath thine arching shadows 
 
 The jeweled moonbeams play, 
 Upon the verdant meadows 
 
 Fair flowers greet the day. 
 To thee thy loyal daughters, 
 
 Their loving hearts resign, 
 Our loved Wyonegonic, 
 
 Jewel of the pine. 
 
 (Tune: "All Through the Night") 
 Gather, Girls of Winnetaska, at the close of day; 
 Set the woodland echoes ringing, for the Green and Gray; 
 'Round our campfire's flick'ring brightness. 
 Join our songs with joy and lightness. 
 Then, when stars are shining o'er us. 
 Sing we Goodnight. 
 
 (Tune: "Underneath the Stars") 
 Through the whispering pines the stars are gleaming 
 O'er the lake we hear the bugle calling, 
 
SINGING 215 
 
 Silver moths are flying, 
 Pals of mine, I 'm sighing, 
 
 Sighing for the camp of which I 'm dreaming. 
 Jack-o-lanterns on the birch tree branches, 
 Soft light from the bungalow entrances, 
 Campers sing and echo softly answers, 
 
 In the bungalow Tahoma sings. 
 
 In the bungalow the fire is gleaming, 
 Glowing embers set us all a-dreaming. 
 
 Now the night is growing, 
 Taps are softly blowing, 
 
 Campers to your tents you should be going. 
 In the white tents campers all are sleeping, 
 Brighter yet the smudge fire flames are leaping; 
 Overhead the moon her watch is keeping. 
 
 Underneath the stars Tahoma rests. 
 
 (Tune: "Barcarolle"— Key of D) 
 Our Aloha, dearest of all. 
 
 It is to you we sing; 
 Best of camps we come at your call 
 
 And loud your praises ring. 
 May we in the years to come 
 
 Be ever loyal, true. 
 
 Friendships of our summer home 
 
 Bind us fast to you. 
 Your spirit may we bear 
 
 Through all the years of life. 
 
216 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Your influence may we share 
 
 In work or play or strife. 
 Praise we '11 bring to you, 
 
 Aloha, we '11 sing to. 
 Our Aloha, etc. 
 
 (Tune: "The Orange and the Black"— Princeton) 
 When the spell of lake and woodland 
 
 And the glory of the sky, 
 And the friendships of Tahoma 
 
 Shall raise our spirits high; 
 Then from camp shall grow our purpose 
 
 To give what here we gain. 
 For the world shall never call 
 
 On Tahoma girls in vain. 
 
 (Sung with fine effect to "Reveille" call) 
 Oh, Camp QuinniWck! oh. Camp Quinnibeck! oh. Camp 
 
 Quinnibeck forever! 
 Oh, Camp Quinnibeck! oh. Camp Quinnibeck for aye! 
 Here the sun shines longest. 
 Here love grows the strongest, 
 Here the summer hours 
 Pass happiest away. 
 Oh, Camp Quinnibeck, etc. 
 
 (Tune: "Dear Old Horace Mann") 
 On the shores of Lake Sebago, 
 
 Nestling close among the trees. 
 With its rolling lawns and woodlands 
 
 Fanned by every gentle breeze. 
 
SINGING 217 
 
 Lies the camp where we are joyful 
 
 In our wholesome life so free, 
 Where we work and play together, 
 
 Lies our dear old H. N. C. 
 O ! 't is here we grow athletic. 
 
 Here we paddle, swim and row, 
 And we spend our happy summers 
 Round the genial camp-fire's glow; 
 And we cheer with lusty voices, 
 
 And we sing aloud in glee. 
 For our hearts are ever loyal 
 
 To our dear old H. N. C. 
 
 (Tune: "Tipperary") 
 Tired of dodging jitneys up in Roger William's town, 
 
 Weary of Manhattan and of Boston's fair renown; 
 Finding Dixie rather sultry, Texas pleasures few; 
 
 I checked my trunk to Wellfleet, and I sang as I came 
 through : 
 
 Chorus : 
 
 It 's a long way to Camp Chequesset, 
 
 It 's a long way to go. 
 
 It 's a long way to Camp Chequesset, 
 
 And the dear old Bungalow. 
 
 Good-by to the jitneys, farewell noisy town. 
 
 It 's a long, long way to Camp Chequesset, 
 
 But I 'm going down. 
 
218 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Coney Island 's lovely and old Dixie 's hard to beat, 
 San Francisco's pleasant and the movies are a treat; 
 
 Life is jolly anywhere on Narragansett Bay 
 
 But I think of Camp Chequesset and I leave them all 
 
 and say, — 
 (Repeat Chorus.) By Pat. 
 
 An anthology of songs of the various camps 
 would comprise as many different subjects as an 
 anthology of modern verse. Some of these, in- 
 cluding trips and hikes, and everyday experi- 
 ences are to be found in the following collection: 
 
 SWIMMING 
 
 (Tune: "Rufus, Rastus Johnsing Brown") 
 
 I'm going to learn how to dive, that's all; 
 
 I don't care how flat I fall, 
 
 I don't care how tired I get, 
 
 I 'm going to keep on trying till I 'm called Annette; 
 
 I don't care if they laugh at me 
 
 Or if my legs go flopping round so gracefully, 
 
 I don't care how flat I fall, 
 
 I 'm going to learn how to dive, that 's all ! 
 
 NATURE STUDY 
 
 The mushroom is a vegetable, 
 
 To select them few are able; 
 
 You can't tell them when you meet them, 
 
 You can't tell them till you eat them. 
 
SINGING 219 
 
 If in heaven you awaken 
 Then you '11 know you were mistaken, 
 And the kind that you have eaten 
 Were n't the kind you ought to eat. 
 
 The violet demure and pretty 
 Grows in bunches in the city, 
 Where young men with six-inch collars 
 Pay for them their papa's dollars. 
 What they spend for them and roses 
 Gracious goodness only knows-es; 
 Roses vanish when you marry, 
 Better get them while you can. 
 
 LAUNDRY 
 
 (Tune: ''All Through the Night") 
 
 One lone middie I Ve been wearing 
 
 All through the week, 
 Other people's duds I 'm sharing, 
 
 All through the week. 
 When my wash comes back tomorrow, 
 
 There will be an endless borrow 
 And I '11 view my pile with sorrow 
 
 All through the week. 
 
 (Tune: "My Harem") 
 Oh, our laundry, our laundry, 
 
 That lives across the sea, 
 And there never is a minute 
 
 That our middies are not in it. 
 
220 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 'Cross the lake we row, and get back 
 
 Late for dinner time, 
 But at last we have clean middies 
 
 And each middie costs a dime. 
 Oh, our laundry, our laundry, 
 
 It 's shocking to believe 
 But the streaks of blue 
 
 Would make you wish that you — 
 Tra-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la. 
 
 GETTING FAT 
 
 (Tune: "Good-bye, Girls, I 'm Through") 
 
 Come on, girls, get thin, 
 Train down that double chin; 
 Your waist must shrink each day, 
 Your hips must fade away. 
 We 're through with Ely ices 
 The captain can't entice us. 
 To exercise we 're bound, 
 We 're losing, we 're losing, 
 Zip! There goes another pound. 
 
 Come on, girls, get fat! 
 You can't go home like that; 
 Your arms must be more round, 
 Your face needs one more pound. 
 Let 's take a walk to to\vn 
 To drink a soda down. 
 And buy an ice-cream cone. 
 
SINGING 221 
 
 We 're gaining, we 're gaining, 
 Zip! Here comes another pound. 
 
 THE FORD 
 
 A bed without a mattress, 
 
 Or an iron without a board, 
 
 Is not so bad, I Ve often heard, 
 
 As a camp without a Ford. 
 
 There is speed, there is speed. 
 
 In Camp 's Ford there is speed, great speed. 
 
 SINGING 
 
 (Tune: "Way Down Yonder in the Cornfield") 
 
 Oh, some folks say dat a camper can't sing, 
 Way down yonder at Camp 
 
 But dat fellow he don't know anyt'ing, 
 Way down yonder at Camp , 
 
 Chorus : 
 
 So it 's, amen, sing on, 
 
 Way down yonder at Gamp . 
 
 Oh, one takes the tenor, and the other alto, 
 Way down yonder at Camp ; 
 
 If dat ain't singin', why I don't know, 
 Way down yonder at Camp . 
 
222 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 BUGS 
 (Key of F— from "Pinafore") 
 
 Every night upon my wall 
 
 Species of genus spiders crawl, 
 And thfey all seem to pick me 
 
 When they choose their haunts, 
 And so do their sisters and their cousins and their aunts. 
 And so do their sisters and their cousins and their aunts; 
 Their sisters and their cousins. 
 Whom they reckon up by dozens, 
 And their aunts. 
 
 (Tune: "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp") 
 
 Tramp, tramp, tramp, the bugs are marching, 
 Up and down the tents they go, 
 
 Some are green and some are black, 
 
 And the spiders do not lack. 
 And the daddy long-legs they go marching too. 
 
 RAIN 
 (Tune: "Clip Clop Clop"— Key of B minor) 
 
 Drip drop drop, drip drop drop, 
 
 Hark to the rain! 
 It leaks through the tent flaps 
 
 And you tie them in vain 
 Trickle, trickle, trickle, clammily 
 
 Right down my neck, 
 For my rain hat and slicker don't just quite connect. 
 
SINGING 223 
 
 Slip slop slop; slip slop slop, 
 
 Right through the mud, 
 Till you land on a rock 
 
 With a dull sickening thud; 
 Never mind your troubles 
 
 Just come to the Hive 
 There 's a big fire to cheer you 
 
 If you 're still alive. 
 
 ("Rain Song"— Key of C) 
 Every day we Ve been in camp it 's been raining, 
 
 It 's been raining almost all the time; 
 But we wear a rubber hat and a raincoat 
 
 And we slip as up the hill we climb. 
 
 Chorus : 
 
 So we walk, slush, slush. 
 
 And we dance and we sing a cheerful song; 
 
 For the rain may fall by day, 
 
 And the rain may fall by night, 
 
 Our shoes may leak 
 
 But our feet are water tight. 
 
 For we 're from Aloha 
 
 And we 're all right. 
 
 Every mom at 2 a. m. we Ve been awakened 
 
 By the patter, patter of the rain, 
 But by day we never know it 's raining. 
 
 And we keep on going just the same. 
 
224 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 CONSERVATION 
 
 Gin a body feed a body 
 
 On a loaf of rye, 
 Should a patriotic body 
 
 Disconsolately cry. 
 Ilka loaf that 's fifty-fifty 
 
 Is bringing victory nigh; 
 So save the wheat in fashion thrifty 
 
 And glory in the rye. 
 
 In conservation's train there 's comin' 
 
 Freedom for the world, 
 Food that 's saved is food that 's fightin' 
 
 Where the flag 's unfurled. 
 What 's discomfort to a body 
 
 If we our wants supply? 
 Behold a world democracy 
 
 Comin' through the rye. 
 
 We Ve got to feed the men now fighting 
 
 And feed their babes and wives, 
 We 've got to give a word of comfort 
 
 Where Teuton outrage thrives. 
 Right cheerfully our men and women 
 
 Will now their wants supply, 
 We '11 save the wheat and then see freedom 
 
 Comin' through the rye. 
 
SINGING 225 
 
 HONORS 
 
 I have a little headband that is made of ribbon green, 
 And on the band the things I Ve done are plainly to be 
 
 seen 
 I 'm very, very proud to have it placed upon my head, 
 I can hardly bear to take it off before I go to bed. 
 
 ADVENTURE 
 (Tune: "Old English Air"--Key of D) 
 
 Come, Ruth and Sue, 
 
 And Helen and Lou, 
 
 The river trip 's today; 
 
 Come leave your hut, 
 
 The Connecticut 
 
 Is calling you away. 
 While we are singing the country round 
 Echo is answering back the sound, 
 Naught but mirth and joy be found 
 
 On Aloha's holiday. 
 With a hey for the paddle ! 
 
 Ho for the Manor, 
 Hey for Aloha, too! 
 Heigho, heigho. Aloha! 
 
 (Tune: "Put on Your Old Gray Bonnet") 
 
 Put on your old camp sweater. 
 
 With its big white letter 
 
 And we '11 all go out for a climb. 
 
226 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 For no matter what the weather, 
 When Aloha 's out together, 
 There will be one jolly time. 
 
 We *re off for a t-r-a-m-p o 'er the h-i-1-l-s, 
 In bloomers green and middies gray, our d-r-e-s-s, 
 So get your can-t-e-e-n, why don't you come along, 
 We Ve our 1-u-n-c-h in our packs and we 're a merry 
 throng. 
 
 We *re off for a paddle on the lake, in our gray canoes so 
 
 trim. 
 We '11 cruise among the islands there, and then we '11 take 
 
 a swim; 
 We '11 cook our lunch on a sandy beach, we '11 cook our 
 
 supper too. 
 We '11 pitch our tents in a shady grove, — ^We 're a Win- 
 
 netaska Crew! 
 
 We climbed up Moosilauke 
 
 And spent the night on top, 
 And then next day came down again 
 
 That lengthy six mile drop. 
 There is height, there is height, 
 To that mountain climb. 
 There is height, great height. 
 
 We climbed up and down 
 
 The ladders of Lost River's spooky caves, 
 We would have gone to Hades, 
 
 But our lives we wished to save. 
 
SINGING 227 
 
 There were thrills, there were thrills, 
 
 In Lost River's caves, 
 
 There were thrills, great thrills. 
 
 We went to Mr. Johnson's 
 
 And we slept up in the hay. 
 And after spending a prickly night 
 
 We all resumed our way. 
 There was rest, there was rest, 
 In the Johnson bam there was rest, great rest. 
 
 We started at the top of the flume 
 
 And slid down to the foot. 
 And when we did get up again, we were soaked, much 
 soaked. 
 
 How all the tourists looked. 
 You just bet your life we were soaked, much soaked. 
 
 We tramped along the dusty road 
 
 And often asked, "How far 
 To reach the Old Man of the Mount?" 
 
 We hailed each passing car. 
 Some said, "Ten," some said, "Six," 
 Some said, "Three or four," 
 But at last, no more. 
 
 Forgetting all our blisters. 
 
 And our knees and ankles sore, ' 
 You bet that we were glad to be 
 
 At Camp again once more. 
 
228 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 We are glad, we are glad 
 To see you all again, 
 We are glad, most glad. 
 
 (Tune: "The Last Long Mile") 
 
 Oh, it 's not the pack that is lighter going back, 
 
 Nor the paddle that you handle, 
 Nor the gray canoes in which you make your cruise, 
 
 That makes your camping life seem worth the candle; 
 And it 's not the sup from the old tin cup. 
 
 Nor the butter without ice, 
 Nor the smoky cocoa, stirred with a burnt- wood poker, 
 
 It 's the last boiled rice ! 
 
 — /. B. M. 
 
 STAYING AT HOME— *'SOUR GRAPES" 
 
 (Tune: "Cheer up, Liza") 
 
 You went away and thought you left us, 
 Sad and alone. 
 
 But you bet your boots that we were 
 Glad to stay home. 
 
 Chorus : 
 
 Cheer up, hikers, 
 Make no mistake. 
 Don't be jealous, 
 M'm — M'm-m. 
 
 You rode to Woodsville in a day-coach 
 Chuck full of grime. 
 
SINGING 229 
 
 We in a Packard went there also, 
 Gee! It was fine! 
 
 You were bunking in close quarters 
 In stuffy huts, 
 
 While we had six beds apiece 
 And slept de Luxe. 
 
 You were eating beans and sinkers, 
 
 All the time, i 
 
 While Aunt Delia cooked us specials 
 
 That were divine. 
 
 You were slackers, you were pikers, 
 All the day. 
 
 While as farmerettes we sweated 
 Pitching hay. 
 
 You saw the sunset from the summit 
 Of Mount Monroe. 
 
 We played the uke (ukelele) and from the spring- 
 board 
 Saw it — also. 
 
 You went away and thought you left us, 
 
 Lonesome and blue, 
 
 But you bet that we were glad to 
 
 Get rid of you. 
 
 Chorus : 
 
 Cheer up, hikers, make no mistake. 
 Don't be jealous, 'T was sour grapes! 
 
230 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 LEAVING CAMP 
 
 (Tune, "Tramp, tramp, tramp") 
 
 Groan, groan, groan, the girls are groaning, 
 
 And we '11 tell you who they are. 
 
 They 're the campers all in skirts 
 
 And the dressed-up feeling hurts 
 
 And we hear the sound of wailing from afar. 
 
 Pack, pack, pack, the girls are packing. 
 
 And we'll tell you who they are. 
 
 They 're the girls of Quinnibeck, 
 
 Piling clothes up to their neck 
 
 And we hear the words they 're using from afar. 
 
 These selections, taken from the collections of 
 a few camps, will serve to show the spirit of the 
 campers as reflected in their songs. The singing 
 of camp girls is utterly spon^neous and breaks 
 forth at the most unexpected times and places. 
 One of my strongest recollections of a certain sum- 
 mer is being greeted at the call of the early bugle 
 with the strains from a near-by tent of ''These 
 Bones Shall Rise Again," sung with surprising 
 spirit for such an early hour. Singing helps to 
 cheer the dull spots and to pass the time while 
 waiting for the train. A party from one of the 
 older camps who were travelling in Europe with 
 
SINGING 231 
 
 their leader before the war, tell of finding them- 
 selves alone in an empty train in Bavaria going 
 toward a quaint medieval town and singing camp 
 songs for an hour. Another time they gave their 
 camp cheer from the top of St. Paul's Cathedral 
 in London. Thus the spirit of camp singing has 
 travelled around the world. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 WHAT COUNTS WITH CAMP GIRLS 
 
 IN the first place, there are many things that 
 have great value elsewhere that do not count 
 at camp. For example, what you have 
 counts not at all. What you can do counts for 
 but little unless you bring it out for the good of 
 the camp. Who you are at home makes not the 
 slightest difference, and as to what you wear, you 
 are in nowise different from the girl next to you. 
 What matters chiefly to the newcomer is to make 
 good with her fellow-campers, for upon that, after 
 all, depends very largely her rating at camp. 
 There are certain definite things that camp girls 
 stand for, and the girl who fails in these is not 
 likely to win a big place for herself in the camp. 
 Among the foremost of these is achievement. It 
 is not what you can do at home, but the way you 
 go in for things and win out, at camp. Kathleen 
 knows this, and that is why she spends every 
 
 spare moment on the tennis court, or going around, 
 
 232 
 
WHAT COUNTS 233 
 
 racquet in hand looking for a partner. She wants 
 to work up her stroke, so that she may count for 
 something at camp. 
 
 The fact is, camp girls like a girl who goes out 
 to win in much the same way that their brothers 
 do at college. It is the best way for a camper to 
 show what is in her. For if she keeps herself in 
 the background, how is anyone ever going to know 
 her? She may be a fine girl all right, but if 
 other people do not know it, she will have but few 
 friends. This all but happened in the case of 
 Alice Jones, a quiet but forceful girl, when she 
 suddenly came into prominence through her plays 
 in basket-ball. She came on the team to help out 
 in an emergency, and the cool way in which she 
 made basket after basket suggested to the girls 
 that there must be more to Alice than they had 
 yet discovered. When they came to know her 
 better and found her a good sport as well as a 
 good friend, she became one of the most popular 
 girls in camp. So the new girl is encouraged to 
 come out and try things, even though she has 
 never done them before, and show what is in her. 
 
 What counts with camp girls more than a great 
 many other things, is whether you are a good 
 sport. By that they mean whether you can keep 
 
234 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 good natured whether you win or lose; whether 
 you can take whatever comes with a smile; and 
 whether you can think enough about the other 
 person when you are out to win for yourself. 
 Little Peggy, who came near winning the junior 
 honor for walking, had a hard lesson on this 
 point. All summer long Peggy was nip and tuck 
 with Dorothy in her walking records. And for 
 that reason, she never wanted Dorothy to be out 
 of her sight, for fear she would add a few more 
 miles to her credit. Peggy was determined she 
 was going to win the letter. But the trouble was 
 she forgot to be a good sport. She not only kept 
 Dorothy in hot water all the time but she forgot 
 that to win honors in walking one had to be a 
 good sport all the time. She must walk in good 
 form, keep an even pace and not keep sprinting 
 every little while to get ahead of the others. She 
 must be good company on a trip and finish up in 
 style, coming in to camp with head erect and a 
 smile. Peggy had failed in all this. So it was 
 a hard blow to her when the honors were given 
 out to hear the camp leader announce that Doro- 
 thy had the junior honor in walking, because of 
 her record for good form and fine spirit on every 
 trip as well as the number of miles. 
 
WHAT COUNTS 235 
 
 Another kind of a good sport is a person who 
 has plenty of grit and sticks to a thing with a 
 camper's determination, no matter what the ob- 
 stacles, like little Ann Louise — a plucky little 
 soul, though no one has suspected it — who won 
 the whole camp by going out in deep water and 
 trying it again just after she had been rescued 
 from a frightful experience where she thought 
 she was swallowing the lake. 
 
 Another way to show what a good sport you 
 are is to practise self-restraint. In one camp the 
 best sport was a girl who had to go everywhere in 
 a wagon. A very popular older girl in another 
 camp was ^'game" about refraining from candy. 
 A good camper knows the danger of too much 
 candy, and besides this girl had just recovered 
 from an illness and advised not to eat any at all. 
 About this time some well-meaning friends who 
 did not understand sent her more than ten pounds 
 of bon bons. Now that was a real temptation — 
 ten pounds of candy in your tent. But it hap- 
 pened to be in the hands of the right girl, for she 
 was game to tHe finish and never touched a piece, 
 but brought it all to the table and passed it around 
 the camp. 
 
 In camp life there are many opportunities to 
 
236 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 show what kind of a sport you are, not only on 
 trips and camping parties, but right along every 
 day in your tent, you are put to the test as to 
 whether you are a good tent mate. 
 
 The girl who is liked by the camp is one who 
 dares to be herself and who stands on her own 
 feet. She is not swept along by the crowd, nor 
 does she try to be like someone else. Her friend- 
 liness is natural. She is not like the girl about 
 whom one camper was heard to say to another, 'T 
 can't seem to like Gladys. She 's a nice girl, all 
 right, but she tries too hard.'' 
 
 Another thing that counts is whether you are 
 dependable, for a slacker is never popular. The 
 girl who is put on a committee and then never 
 shows up when the committee meets, is not likely 
 to get very far in her camp life, nor is the girl 
 who leaves putting her tent in order to her tent 
 mates while she offers her services to a councilor 
 for something a little more conspicuous. If you 
 begin a thing you are supposed to finish it, and if 
 you take responsibility you must make good. 
 One girl who had a splendid record and was very 
 popular fell down on this very thing, and because 
 she went off on a trip when she had taken re- 
 sponsibility for some domestic work without find- 
 
WHAT COUNTS 237 
 
 ing a substitute, she failed to be elected as an 
 Honor Girl. 
 
 Another thing that counts if you want to get on 
 at camp is to be a good mixer. A girl who is a 
 good mixer has a friendly and broad-minded at- 
 titude toward people. She likes people, and she 
 can be good friends with more than one girl at a 
 time. She is not afraid of what people are going 
 to think of her, but she goes right ahead and takes 
 it for granted that they will be friendly. Some 
 girls are too self-conscious to be friendly. At 
 camp a girl learns to overcome that feeling and 
 to forget herself, and one of the finest things she 
 gains from the whole summer is the power to 
 make friends. She gains a great deal too from 
 working with other people, and after a whole 
 summer of intimate association with other girls 
 in work and play she knows more about how to 
 get on with people than many a college girl. The 
 whole secret of it is in learning to forget herself 
 and think of other people. 
 
 That leads up to another mark of a good 
 camper, which they call community spirit, that is 
 doing things for the camp. A real camper is 
 always on hand when there are things to be done, 
 without waiting to be sent for. She volunteers to 
 
238 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 make sandwiches, helps with meals on the trips 
 instead of wandering off to see the country while 
 somebody else does the work ; and is ready to take 
 responsibility without having it thrust upon her. 
 Every day brings some opportunity to contribute 
 something for the good of the community, whether 
 it is writing for the paper, taking part in a play 
 or helping with the costumes, or merely joining in 
 with the songs and cheers that help to hearten the 
 team or add to the joyousness of the camp life. 
 
 All these things that are the marks of a good 
 camper might be summed up in the one term, 
 Camp Spirit, which has a world of meaning for 
 camp girls everywhere. A college girl once said 
 at a camp reunion that camp spirit means more 
 than college spirit. It is hard to define camp 
 spirit. It means loyalty, but it is bigger than 
 that. A camp girl once said that if we could take 
 the best qualities of all of us and put them into 
 one girl, we would have camp spirit personified. 
 But I 'm afraid we would n't like her. A girl 
 who has camp spirit is very human. She may 
 fail in some points, but she has qualities that en- 
 able her to contribute to the happiness of the 
 whole camp. 
 
 It is the custom in nearly every camp to give 
 
WHAT COUNTS 239 
 
 some form of recognition for camp spirit in con- 
 nection with the final honors at the end of the 
 summer. In some camps it is a loving cup 
 awarded to the best all-round camper, the quali- 
 fications for which include camp spirit. In 
 others it is the camp letter. In one camp the 
 honor for camp spirit is a big camp letter of spe- 
 cial design, to be worn on the sweater, which is 
 awarded by the girls and councilors by popular 
 vote. The girls in this camp understand that it 
 is not the popular girl they are voting for, nor for 
 a particular ffiend, but for the girl who has added 
 the most to the life of the camp. And often the 
 girl who wins the vote has the surprise of her 
 life, for a girl with true camp spirit is usually un- 
 conscious of any such attainment. 
 
 Among these girls who have won the honor for 
 camp spirit in the past there are many different 
 types. For it makes no difference whether a girl 
 is athletic or gifted or popular or whether she is 
 not any of these things, if she has the qualities 
 that will make her a fine influence in the camp 
 life. Here are a few examples. 
 
 Eleanor Barber was a girl who was not ath- 
 letic. On the contrary, she was not allowed to 
 go in swimming, by the doctor's orders, she was 
 
240 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 restricted to two miles in walking, she was ad- 
 vised not to ride, and all because of a weak back. 
 Of course she could not climb mountains. Yet 
 by the unanimous vote of the girls and councilors 
 she was awarded the honor for camp spirit. If 
 you knew Eleanor you would not wonder. The 
 chief thing about her was that she was such a 
 good sport. She longed to do the things the 
 others did. Her back troubled her a good deal, 
 and at times she was quite discouraged. But no 
 one ever knew that but herself, for she joked her 
 way along through the whole summer, and her 
 dry humor made her a delight to the camp. Her 
 droll remarks are quoted yet in that camp. While 
 she was teasing the others she was only amusing 
 herself, and trying to forget her troubles. So she 
 was the most surprised person in miles around 
 when they gave her the vote for the highest honor 
 in camp. 
 
 Another girl who won the same honor the next 
 year was decidedly athletic. Barbara Sands was 
 a girl who went in for everything, and she did 
 everything well. She worked hard for things, but 
 at the end of the summer she won honors in two 
 sports and had an array of lovely things to take 
 home that she had made in the crafts department 
 
,^ 
 
 
 
 ' ^ '^ 
 
 H 
 
 
WHAT COUNTS 241 
 
 that would excite the envy of any camper. She 
 was always a stand-by, too, when there was any- 
 thing to be done, from making posters to taking 
 the life Boat. If only achievement counted, then 
 the honor might well have gone to Barbara. But 
 that was not what did it. The best thing about 
 Barbara was that with all her achievements, she 
 was just a simple, natural girl of sixteen, who put 
 her best into everything she did and was friendly 
 to everybody. The whole camp loved her, but 
 she was entirely unconscious of her popularity. 
 And that was what the campers of that summer 
 decided was true camp spirit. 
 
 Among the votes cast there are always some 
 for the quiet, thoughtful type of girl, though she 
 may not be out-going enough to make an impres- 
 sion on the whole camp, especially a large one. 
 However, this kind of a girl was once the choice 
 in a small camp. It was Lois Carr, a girl who 
 was quiet and steady, always dependable, doing 
 things for others in a quiet way and never think- 
 ing of herself. It is always a pleasure to see a 
 modest girl gain recognition, and it was quite a 
 tribute to the discriminating power of the camp- 
 ers that they recognized her as the one who best 
 exemplified camp spirit. 
 
242 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Just the opposite type was Jean, a girl who 
 went into everything, head over heels, and was 
 the personification of everything that is lively and 
 gay. Yet she won the hearts of everyone by her 
 winning personality and her willingness to give 
 herself to the crowd, and was voted the one whp 
 had brought the greatest happiness to her fellow 
 campers. 
 
 Frances Gray, the choice in a large camp not 
 many summers ago, is perhaps the most nearly 
 typical camp spirit girl of them all. Frances was 
 chosen by more than a hundred girls and coun- 
 cilors because she was a person whom everybody 
 could understand. She appealed to the older and 
 younger element alike, because she was the most 
 human, the most like themselves of the whole 
 crowd. Now this was not merely popularity. 
 Frances was genuinely friendly and interested in 
 other people. She did become popular, it is true, 
 but it only served to test her character. For as 
 she became popular, various cliques tried to pull 
 her in, but she steadfastly refused and gave her- 
 self instead to the whole camp, to the shy little 
 girl and the popular big girl alike. She went 
 in for sports heart and soul, encouraged the 
 younger girls and was so genuinely beloved that 
 
WHAT COUNTS 243 
 
 her name has been handed down in that camp 
 for several summers. 
 
 If we had time we might tell of hundreds of 
 girls who made good at camp, who had real camp 
 spirit, but never won an honor. For after all it 
 is only one girl out of fifty or a hundred who car- 
 ries away this expression from the camp, while the 
 other forty-nine or ninety-nine have all been con- 
 tributing their share to its happiness and it is 
 their camp spirit that makes the camp such a joy- 
 ous happy place for all. And in the end the girl 
 who carries off the honor has no real advantage 
 over the everyday camp girl who keeps on striv- 
 ing and growing more lovable and more depend- 
 able every day. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 HONORS 
 
 IT is a dramatic moment at Camp B, the cli- 
 max of the whole summer. The leading 
 person in the drama is the camp leader, who 
 holds in her hand the symbols of honors about to 
 be conferred. The scene is a gaily decorated ban- 
 quet hall and the time about eight-thirty in the 
 evening of one of the closing days of camp. The 
 room is resplendent in a mass of decoration. 
 Green boughs are hung from the ceiling and a 
 wealth of clematis, fern and golden glow fill in 
 the formerly bare spaces and form center-pieces 
 on the festive looking tables. Seated all the way 
 up and down these long tables are rows of sun- 
 burned faces and sparkling eyes reflecting the 
 soft glow of the candle light. The singing and 
 toasts that have kept up with vigor between 
 courses, from grape fruit to ice cream, have come 
 to an end. The last applause has died away. 
 In this tense moment there is a silence that the 
 
 244 
 
HONORS 245 
 
 guest at the head table would have thought un- 
 believable a moment ago. Up and down the uni- 
 form rows of white middies, backs straighten up 
 and ears are strained. Friends of Marion Gray 
 cast significant glances in her direction, while 
 Marion wears an anxious, strained look. In a re- 
 mote corner of the room sits Mary Hill, her close 
 rival in swimming, trying to look unconscious, 
 her hand clenched tight in one of her tent mates\ 
 Then in one brief instant the tension is released. 
 A name is called, there is a stir at a certain table, 
 and Marion Gray is pushed forward amid a storm 
 of applause and advances with beaming face to 
 the head table to receive the camp letter for water 
 sports. And as she comes back to her seat, grasp- 
 ing the prize of a whole summer, her name rings 
 out in a serenade, ^'Ain't she neat, ha ha, sweet, 
 ha ha, handsome and fair." And Marion, blush- 
 ing at the ovation and overcome with the honor, 
 sinks hastily into her seat among admiring 
 friends. Now that the spell is broken, other 
 names follow, in more or less rapid succession — 
 for honors in crafts, in riding, in walking, in ten- 
 nis, in camp craft and life saving; and the un- 
 painted rafters of the old dining-room that have 
 looked down on many a scene like this in the 
 
246 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 past, ring with shouts and outbursts of joy as one 
 camper after another is called out, it may be from 
 obscurity into the limelight of camp favor through 
 some attainment. And when the last one to be 
 called comes forward to receive the honor known 
 as Camp Spirit, the highest honor of all, when 
 Marie Stearns, a sunburned, happy-looking girl 
 at the end table, startled at the sound of her name 
 is thrust out by her friends and comes forward 
 half puzzled to know what it all means, the ex- 
 citement and applause reach the highest pitch. 
 It rises and falls and rises again, and then the 
 benches are pushed back and a crowd swarms 
 around the half-laughing, half-crying Marie, and 
 the banquet is over. 
 
 The custom of having a banquet at the end of 
 the summer began away back in the days when 
 camps were new. When you first come to camp 
 it is a far away event at the end of the summer 
 that is looked forward to by old and new girls 
 alike as the goal of all their efforts. It is in 
 their minds as they work at crafts, as they watch 
 their records grow in swimming and walking and 
 as they strive for neatness in tents and bunga- 
 lows. This is because the banquet symbolizes 
 the honors for which they are striving. 
 
HONORS 247 
 
 The final week in such a camp is full of ex- 
 citing events. Days of field sports and water 
 sports, tennis tournaments, try-outs for riding, a 
 craft exhibition and a final play follow one an- 
 other in rapid succession. It is then that tardy 
 craft workers stay overtime and ambitious swim- 
 mers try to pass off another stroke with the hope 
 of winning a high rank or the coveted letter. 
 
 Not all camps have banquets, nor have all the 
 same form of honors; but nearly every camp has 
 some form of recognition at the end of the season 
 for those who have made good in the camp's ac- 
 tivities, though the form may be different in every 
 camp. There are loving cups for the larger 
 achievements ; medals and ribbon badges for ath- 
 letics; head bands as emblems for character at- 
 tainment; paddles for proficiency in canoeing; 
 and banners or sheepskins for order in tents or 
 bungalows. Many of the older camps have held 
 to the custom of awarding the camp letter to be 
 worn on the sweater, after the example of the col- 
 leges, in recognition of attainment in sports and 
 crafts and in character development. This honor 
 is held in high esteem in certain camps and to 
 wear the camp letter is as great an honor as to 
 have been decorated. 
 
248 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 The ways of measuring success vary in differ- 
 ent camps, too, for each one has its own standard 
 of values. One camp, for example, awards its 
 honors for a different thing every year, so that 
 the honor may always be given for achievement 
 unconsciously gained. Some camps merely give 
 prize awards at the end of the season, based on 
 general observation of the camper's progress. 
 Others have try-outs at the end of the season and 
 base the honors on the results of competitions on 
 water sports day and field day. While many of 
 the best camps have adopted the point system, by 
 which they keep a record of each girl's progress 
 and achievement, either on a chart, posted in 
 sight or in a book kept for the purpose, or as in 
 the case of Camp Sargent, one of the older camps, 
 make use of both. But whatever the method, the 
 history of camps shows that the honors are usually 
 based on achievement in three distinct lines — in 
 sports, in crafts and in character development. 
 And it is significant of the character standards of 
 the girls' camp that in most camps the highest 
 honor is awarded to the girl who has made good 
 in spirit as well as attainment. 
 
 Since the point system will be of interest to 
 many readers, examples are given below from 
 

 
 
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HONORS 249 
 
 camps having charts worked out in detail. Ac- 
 cording to this plan a certain value is attached to 
 each activity — ^that is, a certain number of points. 
 Each unit of work, for which a girl receives a 
 cross on the chart represents a point, points, or a 
 fraction of a point, according to the place of the 
 activity in the scale of values adopted by the 
 camp. An example of scales of values is shown 
 on the Report of Individual below. Perhaps 
 these charts will explain themselves, but in mak- 
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 matic record of definite achievement. In making 
 the complete record there should be recognition of 
 effort and improvement. In some activities, too, 
 the spirit of the competitor counts. Take for ex- 
 ample, walking. Two girls have covered the 
 same distance and have the same record on the 
 chart. But one girl has not improved in form in 
 her walking, and she has allowed her eagerness to 
 add to her record to make her an indifferent com- 
 rade on the road and a ^'poor sport. '^ So the real 
 test of a girl's attainment is what she has gotten 
 out of the activity — how it has developed her, as 
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 Haughton, F. x 
 
 
 
 X 
 
 
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 XX 
 
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 ^ 
 
 XXX 
 
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 Hill, Q. 
 
 X X 
 
 X 
 
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 Hurlbut, H. X 
 
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 X 
 
 
 
 
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 Each unit of! 
 cross on the ct 
 fraction of a pi 
 activity in the' 
 camp. An exar 
 on the Report 
 these charts wil 
 ing up the comple 
 there are other 
 tion. The chart 
 
 matic record of dei 
 
 the complete record] 
 
 effort and improver 
 
 the spirit of the com| 
 
 ample, walking. 
 
 same distance and 
 
 chart. But one girl 
 
 her walking, and she i 
 
 add to her record to _ 
 
 rade on the road and a "poor sport. 
 
 test of a girl's attainment is what sh 
 out of the activity-how it has devel 
 
 well as how she has mastered it. 
 
 indi 
 
250 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 sports she has not learned the lessons of fair play 
 and good sportsmanship : if she cannot respect an 
 opponent and smile at victory or defeat, she has 
 not won the honor, however high her record on 
 the chart. 
 
 Few camps have gone so far as to send home 
 a detailed record of the attainment of the indi- 
 vidual, but we have some examples, one of which 
 is given below. This is not sent in the same spirit 
 as that of a school report, but merely to give the 
 camper and her friends a written record of what 
 she has accomplished; and it has proved very 
 gratifying to both. 
 
 REPORT OF INDIVIDUAL 
 
 No. Points 
 Attainable Attained 
 
 ARTS AND CRAFTS 
 Hand Crafts 5 
 
 Basketry, Wool Embroidery 
 Block printing, Miscellaneous 
 
 Dancing 5 
 
 Nature Work 2 
 
 Identification 
 
 Leaf printing 
 
 Camp Craft 4 
 
 Making and breaking camp 
 Cookery 
 
HONORS 251 
 
 No. Points 
 Attainable Attained 
 
 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT 10 
 Order 
 Hygiene 
 Posture 
 
 SPORTS 
 
 Tennis ] 
 
 Baseball ^Any 2 5 
 
 PaddlingJ 
 
 Basket Ball 5 
 
 Riding or Walking 5 
 
 fForm Canoe Tests 
 
 SwimmingJ Ornamental Diving 5 
 
 1 Speed 
 
 NATIONAL SERVICE 
 
 Gardening 5 
 
 Wigwagging 1 
 
 Life-saving 5 
 
 Forestry 2 
 
 Red Cross 12 
 
 Knitting 
 
 Gauze 
 
 COMMUNITY SERVICE 
 
 Dramatics 3 
 
 Spark 3 
 
 General Service 
 
 Directors : 
 
252 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Next to the honor for Camp Spirit the greatest 
 distinction in some camps is to be elected to be an 
 Honor Girl, a rank signifying that a girl has 
 proved herself trustworthy; that she has good 
 judgment; that she can take responsibility; and 
 that she stands for the camp ideals and can be 
 counted on to uphold its discipline. To be an 
 Honor Girl a girl must possess natural leader- 
 ship. These qualities are recognized by other 
 girls and she is elected, in some camps by other 
 honor girls, in others by a joint vote of honor 
 girls and councilors. The election of new honor 
 girls in the middle of the summer is almost as 
 thrilling as the banquet itself. 
 
 Having given an account of the honors and the 
 banquet, we have now come to the end of the sum- 
 mer, when, all the trunks having been swept away 
 to the station and breakfast choked down in ex- 
 citement, the campers are packed into automobiles, 
 piled high with suitcases and tennis racquets, 
 and whirled away to the station. On the hot little 
 platform they await the down train. Most un- 
 natural they look, as they stand there in groups, 
 uncomfortable in skirts that are too tight and heels 
 that are too high; a contrast to the few girls in 
 
HONORS 253 
 
 bloomers, who are staying behind. It is not ex- 
 actly a cheerful occasion, and there are teary eyes 
 when it comes time to say good-by, and clinging 
 arms as the train appears in sight. It is most 
 affecting, and so it is no wonder that a mere man, 
 connected with one camp, deeply moved, but un- 
 able to be of any help, resorted to a stray sign 
 which he found near the station, and walked up 
 and down the platform holding out its warning, 
 
 KEEP COOL AND DRY. 
 
 As the train pulls out from the station, half a 
 dozen figures in bloomers run down to the farthest 
 end of the platform and mount a ladder leading 
 to a tower, from which they can wave till the last 
 minute. One girl has brought the bugle. On 
 the rear platform of the last car, a loyal band 
 stands huddled together, and as the train passes 
 by the tower they give the camp cheer. And as 
 they glide on into the narrowing distance, they 
 wave the camp banner, and keep on waving until 
 the train rounds a bend and they are lost to sight. 
 And this, at last is the end of the summer in the 
 girls' camp. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 CAMP PERIODICALS 
 
 THE story of a camp season in almost any 
 kind of a camp is to be found in its log. 
 The log is a record of the camp activities 
 written faithfully day by day by the girls and 
 councilors. In many camps, however, the liter- 
 ary ambitions outgrow the mere record of events, 
 and then there appears the camp paper, which in 
 some camps takes the form of an annual, and in a 
 great many others with which we are familiar, it 
 is a weekly sheet devoted to various accounts of 
 the camping events, written by girls and council- 
 ors, reviewing the week from all sorts of angles, 
 and often giving one a chance to see oneself in 
 the eyes of others. In some camps the paper is 
 preserved in its original form and read aloud 
 around a camp fire, or in canoes out on the lake, 
 or in some other romantic spot. In the larger 
 camps it has of late expanded into a formidable 
 news weekly, with a variety of departments, such 
 
 254 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 255 
 
 as editorial; sporting page; head-lined articles; 
 jokes; advertisements; advice to campers. 
 
 The periodicals have a variety of names. 
 Some have significant titles such as "Wyone- 
 gonic Loon"; ^'Sargent Half-Moon"; ^'Tahoma 
 Spark"; "Cowassett (Sea-Shore) Netha"; "Alta- 
 mont Echo"; ''Waldon Splash"; ''Highland Na- 
 ture Campfire"; or humorous, as ''Aloha Scamp 
 Spirit," and "Aloha Club Wash" (everything 
 comes out in the wash). The subjects for spe- 
 cial articles in their columns have to do with every 
 phase of camp life. A few of them are presented 
 below. 
 
 GOING TO CAMP 
 
 It was the tug Columbia 
 
 That sailed the summer sea. 
 
 And the campers were merry and brimful of joy; 
 
 Their voices rang out with glee. 
 
 Blue was the sea on that summer's day, 
 And blue was the sky above. 
 A fast true blue were the hearts of girls 
 As they drew near the camps they 'd love. 
 
 At last to its port the Columbia came 
 And glad were those maidens there. 
 For on went bloomers, middies and ties 
 And down went the campers' hair. 
 
256 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Quickly they learnt what things to do 
 The rules and the regulations, 
 And it wasn't long ere these city girls 
 Relished the camp's good rations. 
 
 The tests they passed with int'rest keen 
 In boat, canoe and lake. 
 In tennis, and track, and basketball, 
 They strove all the records to break. 
 
 The hikes around the charming lake. 
 
 The trips in our canoes 
 
 Were some of the jaunts that gave us great joy — 
 
 Which most, it is hard to choose. 
 
 The water fete, the pageant fine, 
 The works of Campers' Day, 
 Were all a success, so 't is often said, 
 The very best way to play. 
 
 And there were times as happy too, 
 Times we '11 ne'er forget, 
 Campfires, an Upside-down Day, 
 Remain in our memories yet. 
 
 But all too soon the summer ends, 
 Comes all too soon the night; 
 We 're sorry and glad for the great event, 
 The night at the campfire bright. 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 257 
 
 We sit around the crackling blaze 
 
 We list, with hearts aglow 
 
 While medals and honors, and head bands are won. 
 
 And we are glad that it 's so. 
 
 So sped the times at H. N. C. 
 
 In the summer just gone by; 
 
 May our friends and comrades join in our song 
 
 With their hearts, so loyally. 
 
 "Long may the camp, where we learn to live, 
 Where we meet and make friends so dear; 
 Enjoy the success it so richly deserves 
 And continue to spread good cheer!" 
 
 Highland Nature Campfire. 
 
 INITIATION 
 
 July 11. — The eventful day dawned bright and clear. 
 The old girls racked their brains for things to make the 
 new girls do, for this was their last chance. . . . When 
 the new girls arrived at the dining hall for supper they 
 found that only old girls were admitted. After a long 
 wait they were compelled to lock-step into the hall where 
 they were entertained by a kind of buffet supper. After 
 supper came ceremonies too sacred to be mentioned in this 
 book and read by other eyes than our own. Dancing 
 followed until nine-thirty, when sleep and A. B. called us. 
 
 Chequessett Log. 
 
258 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS^ CAMP 
 
 "CAL" 
 
 Just when the second bugle toots, 
 The dread of dripping bathing-suits 
 Will bring reluctant girl recruits 
 To cal. 
 
 They struggle with dishevelled hair, 
 And oh ! the kidding that they bear 
 About peculiar clothes they wear 
 For cal. 
 
 It 's sprint as none has run before 
 Or you may reach the Halle door 
 Too late — the lines are on the floor 
 In cal. 
 
 Hips firm: head firm: fill up your space: 
 Arms circling backwards till Her Grace, 
 With mercy says "Class rest in place!" 
 Phew, cal! 
 
 Outside the frigid water gleams 
 And as you hear the dippers' screams, 
 You say, "It 's nicer than it seems — 
 At cal!" 
 
 Aloha Scamp Spirit. 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 259 
 
 REST HOUR 
 
 "Now, girls," remarked the Councilor, 
 
 "We '11 have a little rest; 
 We '11 all lie upon our backs 
 And dream of cheese and railroad tracks; 
 
 I think that will be best." 
 
 II 
 
 "I doubt it," said the maidens three, 
 
 Making a face or two, 
 "After such dinners that would be 
 
 A dismal thing to do. 
 Our times to write our letters in 
 
 Are far between and few. 
 
 Ill 
 
 "Besides, we want to knit a scarf 
 
 And gobble up a book; 
 We hate to rest, we want to talk" — 
 
 Then courage them forsook. 
 For the Councilor said nothing, but — 
 She gave a frightful look. 
 
260 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 IV 
 
 **My dear girls," said the Councilor, 
 
 "The hour now is done; 
 You may arise and talk and play" — 
 
 But answer there came none, 
 And this was scarcely odd, because 
 They were sleeping, every one. 
 
 I. 
 Wyonegonic Loon. 
 
 INSPECTION! 
 
 WITH APOLOGIES TO KIPLING 
 
 When the camp's last tent has been dusted. 
 
 And the bathing suits wrung out and dried; 
 When the walls have been cleared of all spiders. 
 
 And the youngest mosquito has died : 
 We can rest, and Faith, we shall need it; 
 
 We '11 have peace for a moment or two, 
 Till the bugle that 's blown by a camper 
 
 Shall set us to work anew. 
 A councilor comes to inspect us: 
 
 She may praise, and yet she may blame. 
 We ardently long for her praises; 
 
 Her censure brings only red shame. 
 It 's not for the fun of the cleaning 
 
 That our tents are made orderly then: 
 It 's because the inspector examines. 
 
 And we hope she '11 mark down a ten. 
 
 Pinewood (Michigan) Camp Log. 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 261 
 
 A DAY'S LOG FROM CAMP CHEQUESSETT 
 
 Sunshine and breezes and Luke's morning sneezes 
 Awoke Camp Chequessett, where each prospect pleases! 
 We charged up the hill — with a last frantic snatch 
 At neckties and shoe strings. With pep and dispatch 
 We went through the stretching and balancing stunts 
 A. B. 's been inflicting upon us for months. 
 Then breakfast — My stars! How the food disappears 
 'T would bring all our city relations to tears ! 
 
 The brainy ones went to the old bungalow 
 Prepared all their sea-faring knowledge to show. 
 Cap'n Bill very sternly called out the sea terms, 
 Each nautical lass chews her pencil and squirms. 
 "What 's a jib and a boom and the top gallant mast? 
 Heave Ho! and belay there — about and avast!" 
 And then came the shell test. They say Cap'n Bill 
 A victim of shell shock — is suffering — still! 
 
 The rest of the campers were hunting up blacking, 
 And parts of their costumes most woefully lacking; 
 From the hall came a giggling and shuffling of feet 
 That proved that the Minstrel Show 's almost complete ! 
 Above all the uproar we heard Pat appealing 
 For a little more ginger, expression and feeling. 
 Dinner went in a manner exceedingly hasty, 
 As usual 't was plenteous, toothsome and tasty. 
 
262 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 Now Scotti and Noelie go out on the bay, 
 Their skill as true sailor-men for to display! 
 Cap'n Bill and one passenger went as the crew, 
 Mighty risky — say I — for a passenger too ! 
 Noelie hit all the sticks Cap'n Bill pointed out — 
 Sailed close to the wind — ^tacked, and brought her about. 
 But whew! when our Scotti got hold of the tiller 
 We clung to our seats — Sure we thought she would spill 
 her! 
 (The boat of course — pardon the interruption.) 
 She let out the sail and we went around curves 
 In a way most upsetting to stomachs and nerves ! 
 Pshaw! that trig little ship lost all sense of propriety; 
 Cap'n Bill ducked and dodged with a look of anxiety. 
 Sometimes we were sailing due east by northwest. 
 But we stuck to the craft — so are here like the rest. 
 
 Three o'clock all the campers with clean shoes and faces 
 Looked on while the tennis fans went through their paces 
 At Baker's. You see the whole camp was invited — 
 A real tennis party and were n't we delighted ! 
 The punch was exquisite and all the camp rookies 
 Ate more than enough of those awful good cookies! 
 
 I 'm sorry to say that our precious A. B. 
 Cheered the other side, purely politeness, you see! 
 For supper the Lookouts and Angels departed 
 For steak on the back shore — in elegance carted 
 By a real Cape Cod horse and that 's about all 
 That happened — took place, or to us did befall 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 263 
 
 Oh, no — ^there 's another thing I must confess 
 
 J bestowed upon D her usual caress, 
 
 Then all lights went out and high over the pines 
 Like a big magic lantern the August moon shines! 
 
 NATURE STUDY 
 
 What bird is most common at Altamont? Ans. The 
 Bacon Bat which could be classified in the bird book as 
 follows : 
 
 Habitat: A ravine not far from camp. Migrates to 
 cities during winter. 
 
 Song : All Altamont camp songs and yells. 
 
 Food: Coffee, bacon, eggs, with a spider. 
 
 Eggs: Always fried. 
 
 Habits : Lives in tent colony. More or less quiet dur- 
 ing the day, but starts activities about four-thirty P. M. 
 each day, and continues very noisy for several hours until 
 hunger is satisfied. 
 
 Varieties: There are several varieties of thi£ bird, but 
 they all belong to the Altamont family. 
 
 Altamont Echo. . 
 
 RECIPE FOR A GOOD CAMPER 
 
 Select a good, healthy girl, remove city dress, silk 
 stockings and high-heeled shoes, dress in a middy, bloom- 
 ers and sneakers. 
 
 Stir at six-thirty, blend in a little rowing, paddling, 
 tennis, basketball and horseback riding. Dip in the lake, 
 remove, and bake in the sun until a rich brown. Fill 
 
264 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 with three hearty meals a day, spread thickly with Cit- 
 ronella, cover with a piece of clean netting, and store in a 
 cool, dry tent in the midst of the pine woods at eight- 
 thirty. 
 
 Repeat daily for eight weeks; then pack and ship to 
 waiting parents, who will hereafter always insist upon 
 goods bearing the Wyonegonic trademark. 
 
 Wyonegonic Loon. 
 
 MILITARY DRILL 
 
 "Do fall in," the order came and, "Dress your lines quite 
 neatly; 
 
 Pray do not say a single word, pray don't act indiscretely." 
 
 And though a fifteen-minute drill impended, no one 
 wilted. 
 
 "Squads right!" A tender voice spoke up, "Pray sergeant 
 pause a little. 
 
 My squad 's not nearly yet completed, with none to act 
 as pivot." 
 
 At length the drill began with zeal, the lieutenant apolo- 
 getic, 
 
 Twixt pauses long and panting breath, gave forth com- 
 mands so hectic — 
 
 "Er — forward march — ^no — as you were . . . squads left 
 — I 'm undecided — " 
 
 Conclusions of a hasty sort she always had derided. 
 
 "How many of the crowd," she asked, "would like a 
 platoon motion?" 
 
 "What only three? — well, let me see, I have another no- 
 tion—" 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 265 
 
 This story could go on for good, but what 's the use of 
 
 telling — 
 How Sargent drills kept Sargent girls from every sort of 
 
 ailing. 
 The winter days with work — not ease — will find them 
 
 each a "hummer," 
 And you can bet, they '11 not forget a well-spent, glorious 
 
 summer. 
 
 Sargent Half Moon. 
 
 THE CAMPY THING TO DO 
 
 '*What is that bugle blowing for?" asked the little city 
 maid. 
 
 "That 's the campy way to welcome you," the veteran 
 camper said. 
 
 "And does the bugle often blow?" said the little city 
 maid. 
 
 "We hear it mom and noon and night," the veteran 
 camper said; 
 
 "For it calls us in the morning, when it 's time to rise 
 and shine; 
 
 It summons us to work, to play, to breakfast and to dine. 
 
 Before the bugle's piercing note the old clock must re- 
 sign; 
 
 It 's the campy way of keeping time, you see." 
 
 "What makes the girls all live in tents?" asked the little 
 
 city maid. 
 "It 's the only campy way to live," the veteran camper 
 
 said. 
 
266 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 "And is there room for one to dwell?" said the little city 
 
 maid. 
 "There 's room for four and oft a dog," the veteran 
 
 camper said. 
 "But all your clothes you must hang up, and put each 
 
 scrap in place. 
 For four short cots and four large trunks must have their 
 
 own floor space; 
 And your tent flaps must be rolled up so the air can tan 
 
 your face, 
 For it 's the campy way to do, you see." 
 
 "What are the girls all singing for?" asked the little city 
 maid. 
 
 "It 's the campy way to let off steam," the veteran camper 
 said. 
 
 "Is the table now the place to sing?" queried the wonder- 
 ing maid. 
 
 "Why, every place and every time we sing in camp," she 
 said. 
 
 "When we go off a-hiking there 's a song for every mile; 
 
 When visitors arrive at camp, we sing to them awhile. 
 
 When citizens would merely clap, speak a word or two or 
 smile, 
 
 The campy thing to do is sing a song." 
 
 "And were you always wise as this?" asked the little city 
 
 maid. 
 "No, even I was once as you," the veteran camper said. 
 "And do you think some day I '11 learn?" asked the little 
 
 city maid. 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 267 
 
 "In time, my child, of course you will," the veteran 
 
 camper said. 
 "If you are quiet and subdued, and mind your councilors 
 
 dear; 
 Listen carefully to what you 're told, but believe not all 
 
 you hear, 
 And let the campy atmosphere soak in from year to year, 
 You '11 be a veteran camper, too, some day. 
 
 S err ana Year Book. 
 
 WATER SPORTS 
 
 "Bur-r-r, isn't it freezing? Imagine swimming to- 
 day!" "I 'd rather die than go into that meet, wouldn't 
 you?" 
 
 These are the exclamations heard at the breakfast table 
 while everyone clings madly to cups of hot chocolate. 
 
 "Gee! I don't know what I '11 do, I 've signed up for 
 relay, side stroke, and plunge for distance, and don't 
 know a thing about what we 're to do" — "Oh, I 'm 
 worse off than you. I 'm signed up for everything even 
 the dash"— 
 
 Out on the porch after breakfast 'mid cries of "Reds 
 this way" and "Blacks over here," girls are rushing over 
 to the board to sign up for rowing and paddling. 
 
 "I just must qualify before the next canoe trip! — oh, 
 they had such a marvelous time on the last one!" 
 
 How can one blame them, for those who have been 
 on canoe trips (cheese-dreams, did you say!) are the envy 
 of the unfortunates who have missed such a glorious time. 
 
 At ten o'clock from the bungalow porch comes the call 
 
268 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 — "All out for crew ! " and across the campus recruits rush 
 
 lakeward for a half hour's practice to Miss M 's and 
 
 Miss R 's cries of "Stroke — ^together — stroke." To 
 
 one watching they seem to cover so much space in a few 
 minutes that you wonder that "Fac" hasn't put a speed 
 limit on crews. 
 
 Ere this, the inevitable hour has rolled around and, 
 Ding ! Dong ! goes the bell for swimming — yes, 't is time 
 to don "Annettes" and await the call to rally to the color 
 in a mad effort to make a few points. Down by the pier 
 and float and along the ropes stretched from one to the 
 other are canoes filled with eager "rooters" and boats bear- 
 ing the honored judges. "Everybody on deck?" "On 
 your mark," "Get set!" Bang!!! goes the pistol (if it 
 works). 
 
 Thus the first heat starts; then follows a series of ex- 
 citing and peppery races of various kinds, while screams 
 like "That's right. Max, keep it up!" "Go on Al- 
 berta!" penetrate the air. 
 
 But wait, the excitement isn't over yet, for there is a 
 diving contest in the afternoon. This, not as exciting 
 and noisy as the swimming meet, attracts much attention, 
 and again a big crowd braves the windy shore and 
 waves of Half-Moon to witness the wonderful skill ex- 
 hibited in diving, with which Annette alone might com- 
 pete. Every one stares awestruck as Izzie does a won- 
 derful hand stand from the top of A float. Max, also, 
 thrills the crowd with her beautiful dives in perfect form. 
 Toward the end of supper excitement waxes keen, for 
 then it is that the announcement of the points made by 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 269 
 
 each team and the winners of the individual contests is 
 made. 
 
 July Water Meet 
 Won by Blacks. 
 
 August Water Meet 
 Won by Blacks. 
 
 Sargent Half-Moon. 
 
 FIELD DAY 
 
 Field Day is a weekly event of great interest, for it is 
 then that each girl shows her athletic abilities. How else 
 would we know what dandy high-jumpers Marcella, Ellie 
 and Blanche are, but for the Field Day events? 
 
 There is the 50 yard dash. The girls go off in heats 
 of four, and the winner of each heat is run off again. 
 And each Field Day we hear the same yell: "Go it, 
 Elsiel" "Beat her, Marce!" "Good, Olga!" 
 
 There is the shot-put. Cheers go up as Olga puts 
 the 8-pound shot 21 feet. Ruth Brindze is always a 
 close second. 
 
 At last we come to the obstacle race. Almost every girl 
 signs up for this. Miss Rothberg fixes up some easy- 
 looking, but tricky device to have us rush over or through, 
 while the spectators laugh at us. Don't they, Frankie ? 
 
 Last week for the first time the standing broad jump 
 was introduced. Many of the girls are just great at this. 
 Elsie beat Olga by one-fourth of an inch. Olga jumped 
 6 ft. 2^ inches. Question: What was the first-place? 
 
270 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 And then, to top off all this excitement on the field, the 
 points that each team has made, and then the total, are 
 announced at dinner. 
 
 The teams have made a good showing this year. The 
 competition was close, with a final score of: Green — 
 147. White— 112. 
 
 Highland Nature Campfire. 
 
 SWIMMING 
 
 TOAST TO THE SWIMMING MASTER 
 
 July the first and all Tahoma races madly to the lake. 
 In they jump, with shouts and laughter. You can see the 
 springboard shake. 
 
 And always at the hour set, these we find their occupa- 
 tions — 
 
 Breast stroke, side stroke, back stroke, crawl and fancy 
 dives with salutations. 
 
 Single and double over-arm, with proper ex- and in-spira- 
 
 tions. 
 Screams and yelps, then down the chute with necessary 
 
 exclamations. 
 
 Nor has enthusiasm waned, or interest diminished. 
 Since the day that George announced "Well, now, the 
 chute is finished!" 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 271 
 
 But someone 's standing on the dock who waves his arms 
 in demonstration, 
 
 He wears a very earnest look as he makes each explana- 
 tion; 
 
 "Easy now, don't hurry, coast — don't forget that, Helen 
 
 Tower, 
 Bend the elbow, Mary Bell. You 're doing finely, Marion 
 
 Brower!" 
 
 "Big scissors, kick now — ^that 's the way — left arm 
 
 straight, and stretch it. No, 
 That isn't right. Now try again and close the fingers. 
 
 That way— So!" 
 
 All summer long Tahoma practised while he taught with 
 
 great success. 
 If any one should doubt, there 's much to say about our 
 
 progress. 
 
 Before July came to an end so many girls had passed the 
 
 test. 
 And during August many names were added — ^nearly all 
 
 the rest. 
 
 He taught us how to hold the neck and pull the victim out 
 
 alive. 
 You see, it was our natural bent to strangle first and then 
 
 revive. 
 
272 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS^ CAMP 
 
 We learned to breathe the proper way — out when in and 
 
 in when out. 
 And this one wish is in the heart of every girl without 
 
 a doubt — 
 
 That he may know our gratitude and deep appreciation. 
 
 So — here 's to Mr. L our greatest inspiration. 
 
 Tahoma Spark. 
 
 IODINE 
 
 If perchance you should be sniffling, 
 
 After walking in the rain, 
 If you step upon a splinter. 
 Or your wrist or ankle sprain. 
 
 This certain cure the nurses bring, 
 We know you '11 find the very thing 
 Is I-o-dine. 
 
 If your hands are full of blisters, 
 
 Or, alas, you eat too much, 
 If you stump your toe so sadly 
 
 That you know you '11 need a crutch; 
 Just seek out the nurse and then 
 They '11 surely make you well again 
 With I-o-dine. 
 
 If you have a little grouch on 
 And are feeling rather blue, 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 273 
 
 If the people all seem crabbed 
 (When the trouble is with you) 
 Take just a little, not too much, 
 But give yourself a little touch 
 Of I-o-dine. 
 
 Quinnibeck Log. 
 
 THE THOUGHTS OF A WALDENER 
 SLEEPING OUT 
 
 First Spirit — "I am the embodiment of the thoughts that 
 
 a Walden camper sleeping out should have." 
 Second Spirit — "And / am the embodiment of the thoughts 
 
 that a Walden camper sleeping out does have." 
 First Spirit — "Oh, Mother Earth makes a wonderful bed." 
 Second Spirit — "Gee! there's a rock right under my 
 
 head." 
 First Spirit — "How gently the summer breeze over me 
 
 blows." 
 Second Spirit — "Ding bust that mosquito, nibbling my 
 
 nose." 
 First Spnrit — "Hark to the sound of the rippling lake." 
 Second Spirit — "My limbs are asleep but / 'm still 
 
 awake." 
 First Spirit — "To watch the starlets I simply adore." 
 Second Spirit — "Gee! but that councilor sure can snore." 
 First Spirit — "How high and bright the watch-fires 
 
 leap!" 
 Second Spirit — "I wonder if the * stay-at-homes* are al- 
 ready asleep!" 
 
274 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS^ CAMP 
 
 First Spirit — "The pine trees are whispering soft and 
 low." 
 
 Second Spirit — "My blanket has slipped and I 'm freezing 
 my toe." 
 
 First Spirit — "Mom's rosy glow soon must appear." 
 
 Second Spirit — "Beans! there's that bug again tickling 
 my ear." 
 
 First Spirit — "A glorious sunrise there '11 be, without 
 doubt." 
 
 Second Spirit — "You fib, it 's the flap- jacks you 're think- 
 ing about." 
 
 First Spirit — "I could n't get hungry with what 's in my 
 tummy." 
 
 Second Spirit — "Watermelon and flap- jacks sure are get- 
 ting chummy." 
 
 First Spirit — "My, but our voices are getting weak." 
 
 Second Spirit — "It 's time now to die for our charge is 
 asleep." 
 
 W olden Splash. 
 
 AS SLEEPING OUT FEELS 
 
 Your friend has all the covers: 
 
 You wakened with the cocks: 
 Your brain is full of cobwebs, 
 
 The ground is full of rocks! 
 
 AS SLEEPING OUT IS 
 
 Wrapped up in all the blankets, 
 
 You 've snored the whole night through : 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 275 
 
 Your friend has almost frozen — 
 What COULD the woman do? 
 
 Aloha Scamp Spirit. 
 
 AN ODE TO MY KNAPSACK 
 
 I have a little knapsack 
 
 That goes in and out with me 
 
 On all my trips and hikes it is 
 As faithful as can be. 
 
 All day upon my back it rests, 
 
 At night it 's by my bed ; 
 And if the pillow 's lacking, 
 
 Why, it goes beneath my head. 
 
 I pack it very carefully. 
 
 So many things it holds, 
 And spectators gasp with wonder 
 
 When its contents it unfolds. 
 
 There 's a little jar of bacon, 
 
 By a little cake of soap, 
 My toothbrush and some ginger cake, 
 
 They have not mixed, I hope. 
 
 Behold my comb and washcloth 
 With some chocolate in my shoe. 
 
 And there 's my extra middie blouse 
 With butter oozing through. 
 
276 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 That 's where I spilled the pickle juice — 
 
 Those fuimy little spots; 
 And mercy me ! my sneaker strings 
 
 Are in a thousand knots. 
 
 But what 's this goo-y looking thing ? 
 
 All smeared with bacon, too! 
 O, no! here! don't throw that away, 
 
 That 's a souvenir for you. 
 
 Quinnibeck Log. 
 
 PADDLING 
 A Song from Winnetaska 
 
 When first I saw Winnetaska, 't was on a rainy day; 
 
 The rain came down in torrents there, it washed me most 
 away; 
 
 I saw a little gray canoe, a paddle strong and light, 
 
 I tried to paddle up the hill, for the craft looked water- 
 tight! 
 
 Next morning we went swimming, I thought I 'd take a 
 
 ride; 
 The gray canoe, it wiggled so, I could not stay inside; 
 Then Miss Van N said do this, and Doctor said do 
 
 that,— 
 I thought the safest thing to do, would be to lie down flat ! 
 
 They told me kneel I surely must, and keep stroke with 
 the crew, 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 277 
 
 Must never stop and look around, 't was not the thing to 
 
 do; 
 And if I held my paddle so, and kept my head up straight, 
 I 'd find that I could steer my craft with any kind of 
 
 freight. 
 
 But when a month was over, I 'd learned a thing or two; 
 I 'd learned to dip my paddle right, and to steer that gray 
 
 canoe; 
 I 'm not afraid of motor boats, or waves that splash and 
 
 curl, 
 I Ve won my Class A Honors now, I 'm a Winnetaska 
 
 Girl! 
 
 HONOR GIRLS 
 
 Our Honor Girls, we homage pay 
 
 To you from every heart; 
 We reverence the leadership 
 
 In which you play a part. 
 
 With you you hear your symbol, 
 
 Your magic letter Q, 
 That you have honored Quinnibeck 
 
 And she has honored you. 
 
 And all the best that 's in us. 
 
 Knows just what the service meant; 
 
 We salute you and pay tribute 
 To the things you represent. 
 
 Quinnibeck Log, 
 
278 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 A CANOE TRIP 
 
 'T was such a glorious morning we set out on our trip, 
 Then followed our canoe drill and the signal, "nine-ten- 
 dip" 
 We sang and paddled gaily till at last there came in 
 
 sight, 
 A little group of houses and we cheered with all our 
 
 might; 
 A great big white lake steamer made the rippling waves 
 
 roll high, 
 And we rocked as if in cradles till the boat had passed 
 
 us by. 
 Ere long we saw White Mountain with its tiny huts of 
 
 wood; 
 One thing we 'd like to tell you : the sight of men looked 
 
 good: 
 And then around the comer Wohelo hove in sight, 
 Cordially did they welcome us, our colors, green and 
 
 white. 
 Our friends, the shipwrecked sailors, were glad to see 
 
 us, too. 
 And came right out in boats with a friendly, "How 
 
 dy-do" 
 Wohelo's fame for diving, made us glad the hour was 
 
 near 
 For us to see their daring stunts and sing to them and 
 
 cheer. 
 They did full credit to their name and when we went 
 
 away 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 279 
 
 We sang a "thank you" song to them; we 'd had a lovely 
 day. 
 
 A dandy beach we found at length, so that is where we 
 landed, 
 
 Our nice cool dip refreshing us; in little groups we 
 banded — 
 
 A yum-yum lunch was relished, of Ziegenbacher's fame 
 
 But soon some paddlers realized their sunburn made them 
 lame. 
 
 The waves were high when next we launched 
 
 A staunch and goodly crew and paddled through the roll- 
 ing waves 
 
 While winds our frail crafts blew. 
 
 At last we saw our island and we knew that we were 
 home. 
 
 And camp looked good, I tell you, tho' we always love to 
 roam. 
 
 We were as happy as could be, and after we had landed 
 
 We gave a cheer and sang a song — then merrily dis- 
 banded. 
 
 Highland Nature Campfire. 
 
 THE BANQUET 
 
 We all dreamed a lot the night before. Before what, 
 you ask? Why the banquet, of course. Two hours to 
 eat and all the food we wanted. Turkey and ice cream 
 was our first dream. And after that the whole night was 
 one dream of the cup. That was the night before and the 
 Banquet next day was no less wonderful than our dreams. 
 Of course, we had to have a peek at what was going on 
 
280 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 before dinner started. So after swimming we all looked 
 in the dining-room. I got the best window and I saw 
 a wonderful hollow square of tables. Each one had cups 
 full of flowers and greens on it and all the odd corners of 
 the room were bright yellow with golden glow. Only 
 some decorations were ready then and our hearts filled 
 with joy of them. But later when we were all seated 
 around the tables the food brought even more delight. 
 Before we could begin to eat a queer man in black cap 
 and gown strutted across to his seat opposite Dr. Sargent. 
 His cape was covered with funny tags, "Green Apple 
 Dreams" and "Tennis Thoughts." We all kept quiet 
 when he began to talk: "Listen, my children, and you 
 shall hear, who I am that looks so queer." He then said 
 he was the mystery man but we all knew that it was 
 
 Amy E , the toast-mistress. After she had carefully 
 
 adjusted her glasses she introduced all the Directors. 
 Each one spoke to us and we enjoyed hearing them. 
 When we had eaten all the ice cream we could Dr. Sar- 
 gent talked to us and announced that the Reds had won 
 the cup, which was the climax of the whole dinner. As 
 a closing, we sang "Up in the Hills of Old New Hamp- 
 shire." 
 
 Sargent Half-Moon. 
 
 GOING HOME 
 
 My skirt is full of wrinkles and a sight. 
 
 Some chipmunks ate the trimming off my hat, 
 
 My shirtwaist caught upon its hook and tore, 
 But, oh, if only I were not so fat! 
 
 
CAMP PERIODICALS 281 
 
 My sole is flapping wildly from my shoe, — 
 I do not mind a little thing like that, 
 
 Or having rims by dozens in my hose — 
 But, oh, if only I were not so fat! 
 
 My arms are freckled beyond all repair, 
 
 Alas, one glove was eaten by a rat. 
 My nose is blazing like a shining light. 
 
 But, oh, if only I were not so fat ! 
 
 Quinnibeck Log. 
 
JESTS 
 
ADVICE TO THE FORLORN 
 
 BY KATHERINE CAMPER 
 
 Dear Neatness — I should suggest your writing poems 
 to the tent inspector to get an A. This has been suc- 
 cessfully tried in one tent. 
 
 Perplexed — Certainly one should not play tennis in 
 just a bathing suit. Modesty is woman's crowning glory, 
 without it she becomes merely — a camper. 
 
 Etiquette — It is not considered proper to answer a 
 young man's letters the day you receive them. At Camp 
 however, it is a sure way of having your mail box full. 
 
 ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN 
 
 BY EXCUSE MY IMPERTINENCE 
 
 Dear Miss Impertinence: We are all crazy about 
 the handsome, golden-haired athletic councilor. But it 
 is very discouraging; she shows no one any particular 
 favor, though she is always sweet to all of us. Tell us, is 
 there any way of telling which one she likes the best? — 
 I. C, E. C, L. G., etc. 
 
 Dear I. C, E. C, L. G., etc. — Now, my children, it is a 
 very delicate question which you ask me, and I should 
 advise you to go slow on the matter. Probably the golden- 
 haired Venus in question really likes you all in the same 
 
 285 
 
286 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 degree. If this is so, don't risk forfeiting her good opin- 
 ion by trying to make her like any one of you the best. 
 
 Dear Miss Impertinence: "I live on Hillside, but on 
 Lakeside dwells a person I adore. I spend most of my 
 days in the tent next to hers, or visiting her own tent- 
 mates, but still she seems to go on "playing around" with 
 several girls of whom I am dreadfully jealous. Why 
 can't I make her like me better? Give your sage advice 
 to lovelorn. — Alice F. 
 
 Dear Alice : It is quite possible that your goddess does 
 like you immensely. Goddesses don't usually stoop to tell 
 their worshippers of their likes and dislikes. It seems 
 to me that you will just have to go on being satisfied by 
 being near her. If you truly love her, this should be 
 enough. 
 
 Aloha Scamp Spirit. 
 
 ADVICE TO THE NEW GIRL 
 
 When you 're fast asleep in bed 
 
 And you don't feel much like waking, 
 
 Don't get scared if you hear a noise. 
 For it 's just the day that 's breaking. 
 
 When you wake up in the morning 
 
 And you hear the bugle ring, 
 Just catch the little tune it plays 
 
 And tie it with a string. 
 
 When you go in for your breakfast 
 Eat all that you are able, 
 
JESTS 287 
 
 For it 's our patriotic duty 
 To clean up every table. 
 
 Take hold of the hand of the law, 
 But don't step on the foot of the hill, 
 
 If you should bump into the head of the class 
 Just do it a la Jack and Jill. 
 
 Tahoma Spark. 
 
 HEARD AROUND CAMP 
 
 An inkling is a little ink. 
 
 The bear came out to get her bearings. 
 
 The flatter the plate, the few the soup. 
 
 She cut herself when she tried to write on the spur of the 
 
 moment. 
 ''Eat, drink and be merry, for to-morrow we di"-et. 
 "Everybody in the second row in back of everyone in the 
 
 front row." 
 "Squads left and forward — right through the post." 
 
 Sargent Half-Moon. 
 
 THINGS NEW GIRLS ASK 
 
 How long is quiet hour? 
 Why do they call them sinkers? 
 Child — Mother, I hate camp, may I come home? 
 Fond Parent — ^Try it for two weeks, dear, and then 
 you may come. 
 
 Child — But mother, I 'd love it if I stayed that long. 
 Jerry, at the auction, tries to sell a "bathing suit to 
 
288 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 take your last swim in" — that 's all very well from a Life 
 Saver, but who 's going to bid $1.75 for a watery grave? 
 
 Aloha Scamp Spirit. 
 
 WHAT SHE TAKES ON HER FIRST TRIP 
 
 Blankets (four pair), poncho, rubber blanket, pillow, 
 mirror, towel, tooth brush, hair brush, cold cream, tooth 
 paste, soap, drinking cup, fountain pen, field glasses, 
 kodak, clean middy, sweater, night gown, other shoes, 
 trunk key, money, chocolate, talcum powder, raincoat, hat, 
 and dogged determination. 
 
 WHAT SHE TAKES ON HER TRIPS 
 AFTER THAT 
 
 Blankets, friends, and a smile. 
 
 Aloha Scamp Spirit. 
 
 CAMP LIFE, OR LIFE IN A SUITCASE 
 
 She opened the valise, took out the soap, shut the valise, 
 sat down, opened the valise, took out her purse, shut the 
 valise, opened the purse, took out a stamp. Shut the 
 purse, opened the valise, put in the purse, then wrote the 
 following : 
 
 Oh, the camp life, the tramp life 
 No fancy ribbons or laces. 
 But many sunburned faces. . . . 
 Altamont {Short Vacation Camp) Echo. 
 
JESTS 289 
 
 An artillery charge is upon me, 
 
 The shrapnel bursts all round about, 
 
 A bomb is now landing behind me. 
 
 There 's another, good gracious, watch out ! 
 
 No! truly I am not demented, 
 
 I 'm really as sane as can be. 
 But this is the general impression 
 
 If you sleep *neath the old apple tree. 
 
 Quinnibeck Log. 
 
 OVERHEARD BY A CAMP DIRECTOR 
 
 First Maine Native: — "If you had such a bunch to 
 take care of, would you rather have girls or boys?" 
 
 Second Maine Native: — "Boys, every time, for me. 
 
 Third Voice: — "Waal, I do 'no. As if you 'd ask me 
 whether I would ruther take a sound licken or have 
 charge of those gurls, I would take the sound licken every 
 time." 
 
 Highland Nature Camp Fire. 
 
 THE ARMY AT ALOHA 
 
 General-in-Chief — General Confusion 
 
 General Nuisance 
 
 Colonel Nut 
 
 Major Bed Major Look 
 
 Sergeant Camp Sergeant School 
 
 Corporal Punishment 
 
 Private Opinion Private Affairs 
 
 Private Way Private Property 
 
290 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 SUDS FROM THE ALOHA CLUB WASH 
 
 AN ANNOUNCEMENT AFTER PRAYERS 
 
 Perkie (rising and energetically pulling down her 
 middy) : — "The minister over at Bradford wants some of 
 us to come over and entertain his congregation — sacred 
 music or selections with a moral. Four girls went over 
 last year and gave a duet." (Luther facetiously suggests 
 "trio.") 
 
 LIGHT JOKES IN TENT 15 
 
 Frank (discovering that putting out the lantern had 
 
 fallen to her lot that night) : — "Give me the lantern. I '11 
 
 take all the light jobs." 
 
 Nancy: — "I learned all my part in the middle of the 
 
 night." 
 
 Frank: — "Did you turn on your bug light?" 
 Helene: — "Oh, no. she just turned her brain on." 
 Nancy (brightening) : — "Yes, I really did." 
 Frank: — "I always knew your brain was light." 
 Helene (after a tongue twisting remark) : — "I declare I 
 
 just can't talk any more." 
 
 Ned :— "Hurrah ! ! Is n't that fine." 
 
 The Club seems divided into two parties — those that are 
 
 dieting, and those whom we fear will die eating. 
 
 Aloha Slang. 
 
JESTS 291 
 
 FASHIONS 
 
 From Altamont: — Skirts are worn short — very short and 
 caught in at the knee. Blouses are worn long — very long, 
 and cover the knee. 
 
 From Tent 8: — For morning wear, Smocks and 
 bloomers. 
 
 For the afternoon: — Smocks and bloomers. 
 
 For the evening: — Smocks and bloomers. 
 
 The above costume might be varied by wearing bloomers 
 with a smock. 
 
 From Paris: — Veils will be worn this fall. There will 
 be face-veils, bridal veils and veils of tears. The season 
 for the latter opens Saturday, August 26. 
 
 Altamont Echo. 
 
 SMILES 
 (From Tahoma Spark) 
 
 Miss C, basketball in hand: — "Come on, let's go up 
 to the field and make some baskets." 
 
 New girl, running along behind: — "But what are we 
 going to make the baskets out of. Miss C. ?" 
 
 F. is a devoted friend. She said the other day: — "I 've 
 GOT to go home. I can't leave my teeth so long." 
 
 M. : — "Dot sure is a strong girl. I saw her tearing up 
 the stairs the other day." 
 
292 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 B. : — "Oh, that 's nothing. You should have seen 
 Betty pulling up Mount Washington." 
 
 Tent Six, going to bed without a light. Eleanor to 
 Bob: — "Say, let's make Miss D.'s bed up pie!" 
 
 Miss D., from her bed in the comer: — "Do by all 
 means, girls. Shall I get up while you do it?" 
 
 There is a young lady named Jean 
 
 Who tries very hard to be lean, 
 
 It 's her duty, she feels 
 
 To diet at meals, 
 
 But Gosh, what she eats in between! 
 
 Now Tommie is a maiden quite lean, 
 
 Who desires to be more like Jean. 
 
 At table, 't is swore. 
 
 Her helpings are four 
 
 But the fat, well that 's yet to be seen. 
 
 KATHERINE KAMPER'S KOLUMN 
 
 Stylish: Yes, colored hair bands are very stylish. 
 Lavendar and cerise, scarlet and magenta, or- 
 ange and pink are some of the newest com- 
 binations — particularly affected by the Cub- 
 ists. 
 
 Bitter: Revenge is sweet. Yes, cold water is just as 
 effective as a dagger in the back. 
 
 Sally: I fear you have a temper to overcome. No, I 
 
JESTS 293 
 
 do not think it wise to ever get mad! Culti- 
 vate a sweet and forbearing disposition. 
 "Seconds" are always in style. Even a third 
 and fourth helping is advised by some of the 
 best counsels in the country. A healthy appe- 
 tite is an excellent thing. 
 
 Anxious: No, "Lizzie" is no longer a stylish name. I 
 would advise you to change it, certainly. It 
 may be hard at first to accustom others to 
 your new title, but I am sure if you explain it 
 to them carefully and kindly, they will be 
 only too glad to do as you want them to do. 
 
 Dyspeptic: Yes — ^too much pie — especially just at bed- 
 time is bad for the digestion. It encourages 
 insomnia. 
 
 Vain: Curly locks certainly are becoming to your style 
 of beauty. If you do not like to fix your hair 
 before breakfast, why not wear a dainty cap? 
 There are some lovely ones of white duck on 
 display in our leading store. I have seen 
 them fetchingly decorated with ink sketches. 
 Aloha Scamp Spirit. 
 "Do you know, Miss C, you have a fortune in your 
 
 voice?" 
 
 "How do you mean — Grand Opera singing?" 
 "Oh my, no, peddling fish." 
 
 C. was watching her first baseball game. 
 Miss H.: — "Do you understand it all?" 
 
 C. — "Oh yes, perfectly, but why does B run so hard 
 
 when no one is after her?" Cowassett Netha. 
 
294 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 FLAPPERS FLAPPING FLAP-JACKS 
 
 Sing a song of flap- jacks, 
 
 Flapped judiciously, 
 Swimming in molasses, 
 
 Awaiting you and me. 
 
 Sing a song of Walden girls, 
 Who like to lend a hand; 
 Their flap-jacks would be very good, 
 If it was n't for the sand. 
 
 Rose H. Schwarz. 
 
 Walden Splash. 
 
 THE OPTIMIST AND THE MOSQUITO 
 
 The unexpected calls to me 
 
 And swarms about my head; 
 Why should I swat the fly that flees, 
 
 Or strike a skeeter dead? 
 
 His little legs are frail and thin — 
 
 Emaciated skeeter — 
 And "Hodgy" is a robust girl; 
 
 What matter if he eat her? 
 
 Wyonegonic Loon. 
 
 OUR NEWSTAND 
 
 Harpers Bazaar The store 
 
 Cosmopolitan The campers 
 
JESTS 295 
 
 Physical Culture Morning Exercise 
 
 Life At the H. N. C. 
 
 Every Week Sunday Morning talks 
 
 Vogue Beaded Headbands 
 
 Youth's Companion Jr. Counselors 
 
 Literary Digest Campfire 
 
 Review of Reviews Log 
 
 Independent . Mrs. Z 
 
 Current Opinion Dining-room 
 
 Variety Meals of the H. N. C. 
 
 Vanity Fair Canoe Bracelets 
 
 Saturday Evening Post News Report 
 
 Country Gentleman Grandpa M 
 
 Town and Country Naples and North Sebago 
 
 Outlook Disinfected Mail 
 
 Little Folks Juniors 
 
 Smart Set Editorial Staff 
 
 Highland Nature Campfire. 
 
 Who was it broke three buglights and almost ruined a 
 
 lamp? 
 Who was it wore her "T" shirt on the hottest day in camp? 
 Who is it blows the bugle, when e'er she gets a chance ? 
 Who has to say, "Yes, you can have the fifty-second 
 
 dance?" 
 Who is the Queen of Sheba, and of Heba who 's the king ? 
 Who bows so very sweetly when she thinks her name we 
 
 sing? 
 
 These are all different people. Each sentence is a clue, 
 Tell me, pretty camper, which one of them is you? 
 
 Quinnibeck Log. 
 
296 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 PUZZLE 
 
 If three men from the club, three from camp, together 
 with four campers for assistants, drag the float 500 yards, 
 breaking an oar, and anchor it fifty feet out from the 
 dock, how long will it stay put if a wind rises during the 
 night and blows eighty miles an hour ? 
 
 Send all answers to Magazine Editor before Wednesday. 
 
 JUICY BITS 
 
 A cruel-hearted camper 
 Pursued a green worm fine; 
 It crawled inside a clock to hide, 
 And cried, "I 'm just in time!" 
 
 And then she chased a spider 
 All on a summer's day; 
 It rushed upon the scales and cried, 
 "I 'm glad I got a weigh!" 
 
 CONTENTMENT 
 
 If you are intent 
 Upon the content 
 Because of the extent 
 Of your own tent. 
 Could you be content 
 When not in tent — 
 And to what extent? 
 
 Serrana Year Book. 
 
JESTS 297 
 
 TO A MOSQUITO 
 
 O gentle little creature of the air, 
 
 What can I say in praise of your small self? 
 
 Could I do justice to a sprite so fair, 
 
 To such a dainty, airy little elf? 
 
 Did dancer ever trip with finer grace 
 
 Than that with which you lightly, gently sway? 
 
 Did lover e'er imprint upon her face 
 
 A kiss that can be felt for many a day? 
 
 When in my bed at sleeping time I lie, 
 You come to me and sing with voice so sweet, 
 That through the night I dare not shut an eye 
 For fear that I may miss so rare a treat. 
 
 For then I heard music (a beautiful strain) 
 "You 're at peace with the world" was the soft refrain. 
 
 Walden Splash. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 EDUCATIONAL VALUES AND THE SUMMER CAMP 
 
 THE whole idea of the organized summer 
 camp has taken on a new significance in 
 our American life since the boys have 
 been coming home from the army camps, bring- 
 ing new gains in health and efficiency. Besides 
 this, there is another reason. Before the war we 
 were living under an awful delusion. We 
 thought we were a healthy nation. And so it 
 was that the revelations of the selective draft woke 
 us up with a start, when we found that one out 
 of every three of our young men was unfit to 
 bear arms because of physical defects. 
 
 Camps for girls were never more popular than 
 today. The camp idea has grown into a great 
 movement that has lately gained a new impetus 
 by the cooperation of the leaders of the private 
 camps, the Girl Scouts, the Campfire Girls and 
 the Woodcraft League, and is making great 
 strides toward definite standards and greater 
 
 298 
 
EDUCATIONAL VALUES 299 
 
 efficiency. Recognizing its educational value, 
 Teachers College, Columbia University, joining 
 forces with these organizations, recently offered 
 a course of lectures on Camping for Girls, with 
 the expressed purpose of training leaders for the 
 new educational work. 
 
 One of the chief reasons for the increasing 
 popularity of the summer camp is its program of 
 physical training. It seems remarkable that this 
 phase of educational work should be ignored by 
 the schools when fifty per cent of the children of 
 school age in America, according to a recent study 
 made by the Public Health Association, are 
 found to have physical defects that impede their 
 normal progress. "The pity of it!" said a 
 prominent educator not long ago, in addressing a 
 meeting of camp directors. And he went on to 
 say that a child could go all the way through the 
 school system without raising his hands above 
 his head except to thumb a piece of chalk. The 
 force of all this is not lost on the camp leaders, 
 whose physical examinations, made in the camps 
 of the best type, show so many cases of bad 
 posture, narrow chests and other physical defects 
 that have to be assigned to special classes in cor- 
 rective exercises — exercises that need never have 
 
300 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS^ CAMP 
 
 hampered the freedom of the camper^s summer, 
 had the schools been equally concerned. 
 
 The girls' camp goes further than physical 
 training. It is helping to solve a difficult prob- 
 lem in the social life of the school girl. For the 
 average high school girl is greatly hampered by 
 her environment. With her round of teas, 
 dances, lunches, movies and motor trips, she often 
 has as many engagements as her mother. Her 
 only sport is driving a car. Life for her is so 
 complex — no matter how much she may wish it 
 otherwise — that she actually has difficulty in 
 keeping up her work at school. We hear a great 
 deal about the problem of simplifying the social 
 life of the school girl, and the summer camp 
 seems to be the most welcome solution because it 
 offers not only a good time but a system of train- 
 ing as well. 
 
 This training is away from the academic or 
 formal instruction of school. A camp girl is not 
 taught theories, but how to do things. At camp 
 she is taught to meet the real issues of life. An 
 example of this came to the notice of a woman 
 touring in the White Mountains last summer. 
 Near the entrance to the Flume she came upon a 
 party of camp girls in the usual middle and 
 
EDUCATIONAL VALUES 301 
 
 bloomer costume, having a glorious time sliding 
 down over some slippery rocks beside a gushing 
 stream that comes down from the canyon above. 
 It was an attractive picture, and she stopped a 
 moment to watch the sport, when all at once some- 
 thing happened. One of the girls, coming down 
 swiftly over a flat boulder, struck a sharp piece 
 of stone below and cut her foot. The fun 
 stopped at once and all the girls came running to 
 the spot to offer their help. There was no 
 thought of running for a doctor, but in an in- 
 stant a First Aid Kit was produced and without 
 any ado, or even suggestion from the councilor, 
 these girls, a moment ago all fun and frolic, pro- 
 ceeded to take care of the injured foot themselves. 
 They cleansed the cut with the cool water; ap- 
 plied iodine and put on bandages, as though it 
 were an every day experience. Then they re- 
 moved their patient to a shady spot and made 
 her comfortable with pillows made from their 
 own sweaters while the councilor went off to make 
 arrangements for taking her home. All this was 
 a revelation to the visitor, herself the mother of a 
 fifteen-year-old daughter and she was completely 
 won over to the girls' camp. 
 
 The following year this lady sent her own 
 
302 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 daughter to a camp, hoping for great results, but 
 to her great disappointment she found at the end 
 of the summer that Dorothy had gained nothing 
 but a good time. For there are camps and 
 camps, and this one happened to be of the type 
 that had not advanced beyond the idea of recrea- 
 tion — their aim was merely to give the girls a 
 summer of outdoor play, without any more seri- 
 ous purpose with regard to training. 
 
 But there is another type of camp, one that is 
 committed to a system of sound training based on 
 a program of camp activities that has been de- 
 veloped by educators through more than fifteen 
 years' experience. The camp activities consist 
 of outdoor sports under trained leadership and 
 carefully directed occupations. Although the 
 occupations are a part of the daily routine, there 
 is enough variety to give each girl the freedom 
 of choice, so that everyone can find something 
 suited to her taste. 
 
 In the best type of camp as we have said before, 
 a record is kept of each girl's accomplishments 
 throughout the summer. In a typical camp of 
 this kind there hangs just inside the door of the 
 rustic bungalow or recreation hall, a chart of the 
 camp's activities with the record of each girl's 
 
EDUCATIONAL VALUES 303 
 
 achievements, indicated by crosses, or points op- 
 posite her name. For each unit of work accom- 
 plished, whether it be in swimming, land sports, 
 hand crafts, nature work, camp craft, Red Cross 
 work or war gardening, dancing, dramatics, neat- 
 ness of tent or any other phase of camp life, a 
 point is added to the record on the chart. This 
 form of recognition of achievement is a great suc- 
 cess, for with camp girls achievement counts for 
 much. It is not what you have, nor what you 
 have done, nor who you are at home that counts, 
 but what you can do at camp. So having elected 
 from the chart the occupations in which she wants 
 to engage, the average camp girl is greatly inter- 
 ested in watching her record grow. 
 
 Outdoor sports naturally have the first place 
 on the camp program, .and the most popular of 
 all is swimming which has been described else- 
 where. The camp girl is not content with merely 
 going in for a swim. All through the swimming 
 hour she is striving with all her might to master 
 one more stroke or dive that will add another 
 point to her record on the chart, and she even 
 works at it in the morning dip. What she is 
 striving for, it should be known, is no small am- 
 bition. For the swimming requirements in a 
 
304 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 camp of this type are being place^ oxl a par with 
 the men's colleges. Each swimmer, after master- 
 ing the fundamental strokes in good form is re- 
 quired to pass the canoe test, which involves 
 keeping up in deep water, swimming or floating, 
 for twenty minutes. After this, the camp girl 
 goes on to work on the more difficult strokes with 
 emphasis on correct breathing and relaxed mus- 
 cles, and after passing further tests she is trained 
 in methods of life saving, with tests that are more 
 and more difficult and that develop a feeling of 
 at-home-ness in the water and self-confidence in 
 an emergency that a grown-up might well envy. 
 Yes, and even her college brother. For what 
 member of the college swimming team could have 
 done more in the way of keeping his head and 
 meeting an emergency than did the seventeen- 
 year-old camp girl who swam out to the rescue 
 of an exhausted swimmer on the Maine coast and 
 towed her unconscious subject — a man of heavy 
 build — with easy strokes back to safety? More 
 than one college boy has had quite a surprise to 
 find that his small sister at camp could outdo 
 him in form swimming. 
 
 As in her sports, so it is in the whole program 
 of camp activities, the camp girl works with all 
 
EDUCATIONAL VALUES 305 
 
 her might and main, and in the end she has some- 
 thing to show for her summer, whether it be a 
 loving cup, a medal, or the camp letter to wear 
 on her sweater, or merely a satisfactory record 
 on the camp chart. And while each of these 
 occupations has value in itself, they are all the 
 while helping to develop essential qualities of 
 mind and spirit that are perhaps after all the 
 greater assets. Through her sports she gains 
 firmer muscles, the capacity to breathe deeper, 
 to stand straighter. But she also learns to obey 
 orders, to act instantaneously, to respect an op- 
 ponent and to work with and for others. And 
 it is this that adds to the value of all the occupa- 
 tions. As one camp girl said, she never learned 
 so much in all her life and had such a good time 
 doing it, as in her summer at camp. 
 
 But perhaps the greatest of all values comes 
 through the experience of community living. 
 The girl in college looks back and sees how her 
 early experience in camp, of rubbing elbows with 
 other people taught her how to understand peo- 
 ple. It taught her right values — what things to 
 care about and what were unimportant; how to 
 look beyond the externals to what was in the 
 girl herself. By sharing a tent with three others 
 
306 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 she could not fail to learn something of toleration 
 and consideration for others. And all the while 
 she was forming the habit of making light of 
 difficulties and seeing the humor in any kind of 
 situation. For this spirit always prevails in the 
 girls' camp, no matter what the difficulties — of 
 rain; or mud; or mosquitoes; or heat; or dust; 
 or a steep trail. For example, one party coming 
 in from a long hike developed blisters, and as 
 they neared camp every step became painful. 
 But it is the tradition of camp that every party 
 must "finish in style," so they formed a line and 
 made their entrance into camp marching in step 
 to "Bliss! Bliss!! Blister!!!" 
 
 The gains from community living are respon- 
 sible for more than most people imagine. The 
 mother of a fourteen-year-old daughter who was 
 somewhat of a problem at home, greatly puzzled, 
 wrote back her thanks to the camp for sending 
 home "such a lovable child," and declaring that 
 Janet's disposition "had been completely trans- 
 formed. Said another mother, whose daughter 
 had taken honors at camp for all-round improve- 
 ment, "What I can't understand is, why they are 
 so trying at home and such little angels at camp." 
 Neither of these mothers realized that what was 
 
EDUCATIONAL VALUES 307 
 
 really responsible for the change was the ex- 
 perience of living in a community made up of 
 girls of the same age. For the camp is a sort 
 of Junior Republic. When a girl comes to camp 
 she finds herself an important part of the com- 
 munity. The government comes from herself, 
 not from outside. For example, she goes to bed 
 at nine o'clock, not because she is told to, but 
 because she wants to be a good camper. And 
 the reason she wants to be a good camper is 
 largely because of Mrs. Grundy, who in this en- 
 vironment is a group of girls of her own age, in 
 place of a set of tiresome older people, and she 
 cares a great deal what they think of her. She 
 also wants to be like other girls. As a fifteen- 
 year-old girl, who was broken-hearted at being 
 refused a party on a school night, said to her 
 mother, "Oh, dear! I have to be queer among 
 all the other girls, just because you won't let me 
 go to the party!" So, because these things be- 
 long to the traditions of the camp made by the 
 girls themselves, she works to uphold the disci- 
 pline by being prompt at all her appointments, 
 keeping her tent neat and taking good care of 
 her belongings and trying to be a valuable mem- 
 ber of the camp. Then, too, it is easier to make 
 
308 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 good in this free joyous community, where cheer- 
 fulness and humor and singing are the very 
 breath of life, than in an atmosphere of grown-up 
 seriousness, perhaps repression and underlying 
 fear. And after" nine weeks of this life it is no 
 wonder that a camp girl is a good person to live 
 with. 
 
 Now since the experience of the summer camp 
 has come to be a real part of a girl's education, 
 the wise parent will exercise great care in the 
 choice of a camp. In these days when the ad- 
 vertising pages of the magazines are filled with 
 enticing pictures and announcements, showing 
 lovely mountain views, fine buildings, piers, 
 chutes, war canoes and other attractions, this is 
 becoming increasingly difficult. One woman 
 who chose a camp for her daughter on the basis 
 of equipment — because she preferred shacks or 
 little bungalows to tents — found that she had 
 made a mistake. She had neglected to look 
 further into the question of ideals and leadership, 
 which she found before the summer was over is 
 the first consideration. 
 
 ^'Oh, but the camps are all alike," said an- 
 other woman, ^^as I can see by the catalogs. It 
 is simply a question of whether you know some- 
 
EDUCATIONAL VALUES 309 
 
 one going to this one or that one." The answer 
 is, "Yes, camps are all alike and so are people. 
 All persons go to bed at night, eat three times a 
 day, wear the same clothes; hence it really 
 does n't matter which person you choose for a 
 friend.'' The fact is, camps have even more in- 
 dividuality than persons. A camp reflects the 
 personality of its leader. Now some persons 
 have a pleasing personality; others are forceful 
 but unpleasing; still others are insipid or color- 
 less. And these things influence us in selecting 
 our friends. Why not even more in selecting a 
 camp? 
 
 **How did you decide," I asked the mother of a 
 camp girl, "where to send Grace to camp?" 
 "Why," she said, "I sent for a number of cata- 
 logs and lined them up before me and looked at 
 the faces and chose the one I liked best." 
 
 There are several considerations in choosing a 
 camp, but none more important than leadership. 
 Since every camp reflects the personality of its 
 leader, the first question is, whose personality, 
 and what are the ideals that are expressed in the 
 camp? Is the aim to develop the girl or to give 
 her a good time ? Are things made easy or is she 
 encouraged, like the girl scout, to overcome ob- 
 
310 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 stacks? What is the spirit of the camp as re- 
 flected by the girls and councilors? Its attitude 
 toward service and the thought of others? Does 
 it stand for the principle, made popular by the 
 Camp Fire Girls, of glorifying work? In some 
 camps a certain proportion of the members earn 
 a part of the tuition by helping with the domestic 
 work, after the example of women's colleges, and 
 these are usually the most popular girls in camp. 
 What are the camp's standards of values as ex- 
 pressed in the honors or recognition of achieve- 
 ment? In the best camps, spirit is recognized as 
 well as attainment and the highest honor goes to 
 the girl who has shown the greatest consideration 
 for others. Is there recognition of effort as well 
 as accomplishment? What is the attitude of the 
 camp toward religion ? Are the ideals and tradi- 
 tions well-defined? This is difficult in a camp 
 which changes its leaders frequently, as is some- 
 times the case in camps owned by corporations of 
 business men. 
 
 While these things concerning leadership are 
 of first importance, there are other considerations 
 in choosing a camp. One of these is the per- 
 sonnel of girls and councilors. Since comrade- 
 ship of girls with girls is one of the finest prod- 
 
EDUCATIONAL VALUES 3 1 1 
 
 ucts of the girls* camp, and the friendships 
 formed are lasting friendships, the careful parent 
 will want to know what sort of companions they 
 are who are to share this life in intimate associa- 
 tion with the girl at the most impressionable 
 period. 
 
 Another consideration is the type of camp best 
 suited to the individual girl. For there are vari- 
 ous types. There are the large and tKe small 
 camps, there are camps for Jewish girls and for 
 girls of the Roman Catholic faith. There are 
 camps for Christian Scientists, there are camps 
 for girls of college age and for little girls. There 
 are some that specialize in music, some in dancing 
 and some in physical training. But to the aver- 
 age parent in these days the first question is the 
 choice between the large and the small camp. 
 This question as to their relative values is one 
 that has been much discussed by parents and 
 camp leaders. In the view of some prominent 
 educators, the large camp — ^of a hundred or more 
 — affords greater social development, through 
 competitive games and sports; a wider acquaint- 
 ance and a larger experience in democracy and 
 community living. On the other hand, an in- 
 creasing number of parents are attracted to the 
 
312 SUMMER IN THE GIRLS' CAMP 
 
 simpler, more intimate life of the smaller camp. 
 As one woman of experience observes, the desire 
 of girls in their 'teens is for intimate association 
 and their interest centers around the individual, 
 and in her opinion — somewhat biased — the tend- 
 ency of the larger camp is toward complexity 
 and superficiality, of the smaller toward sim- 
 plicity and intensity. 
 
 There are further considerations as to site, 
 proper drainage, sanitation and equipment, 
 which should be looked into carefully in choosing 
 a camp. Most important are the health condi- 
 tions, dependent on an intelligent application of 
 the principles of modern sanitation. It matters 
 little whether a camp has a twenty mile view, if 
 it be careless about its water supply or the dis- 
 posal of waste. The choice between shacks and 
 tents is of little importance except as a matter of 
 personal preference, though tents have been 
 found to be most popular — ^the army tent, allow- 
 ing all sides to be open and with a raised plat- 
 form — with bungalows a close second. 
 
 Proper management is also essential to a good 
 camp — ^organization, business method, efficiency 
 in councilors and department heads, though it is 
 unfortunate that these things should be placed 
 
EDUCATIONAL VALUES ;513 
 
 first in judging a camp, as did one mother, whose 
 daughter was completely made over in body, 
 mind and spirit through her summer at camp, 
 who overlooked all this to complain about towels 
 lost in the laundry. 
 
 With the growth of the girls' camp movement, 
 a National Association of Directors of Girls' 
 Camps has been formed with the purpose of 
 bringing the work of all camps to a greater 
 standard of efficiency. A notable beginning has 
 been made in standardizing the camp activities 
 by a normal course for swimming councilors con- 
 ducted by the National Association under the 
 direction of a representative of the Physical Edu- 
 cation Department of one of the leading colleges. 
 This course embraces the fundamental strokes in 
 swimming, form swimming, diving, ornamental 
 swimming and life saving. This association, 
 whose membership comprises the leaders of many 
 of the best camps of east and west, many of whom 
 are themselves educators, has an opportunity to 
 make a most valuable contribution to the cause 
 of education and to many other phases of our 
 American life. 
 
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