Dear Parents,

Glorious, warm, sunny, soothing, ---weather--- I’m so happy, we are going full speed ahead and have been on the go since my last newsletter, What a wonderful week we’ve had-- Our Senior Softball team won the rubber match in their contests against Camp arrowhead. Then we had a Riding Contest against Camp Red Arrow on Friday and I waited for the boys to return--- we had lost 4 straight years in a row---honk, honk, honk, beep, beep-- in came our cars and the boys were straining at the bit to jump out and present me with the beautiful riding trophy they had won as we swamped Red Arrow, 401 (that’s 4-1)... I took a movie of the trophy presentation. Then at night, our staff played Red arrow in basketball and last year they had demolished us, so we were the underdog. It was a really rugged contest and our campers screamed themselves hoarse as we scored a real upset win 38-30. We have a good team this year in all divisions and have the best overall camp record that we’ve ever had.

Today, we will be at Three Lakes, Wisconsin with some of our boys entered in a big horse show in which Mike Rolnick, Joel Garten, and some of our other riders will be competing. We’re having most of the boys in our riding program cheer on the boys and we’ll serve southern fried chicken during the lunch period of the horse show. On Monday, we meet Camp Ohtanogan in an important riding contest which measures ability in handling of horses, posture, etc. and not so much on speed, etc. Our Timberbats will put on a special Waterski show at a girl’s camp this Thursday evening. The reason I’m up so early this morning is that we sent our advanced Scuba Divers for a two day trip to Lake Superior in which they will scuba dive at the Madeline Islands, visit cultural areas, and camp overnight in the area. It is an exciting trip and one that the boys have spent a great deal of time planning for. We are out full force right now in our tripping program and we have two canoe trips out on the river comprising 18 boys, and cabin overnights are out each day at Pickerel Lake. This has been the best tripping year we have ever had, and I know that the boys have enjoyed their tripping this summer.

Last night we all watched the Packer-Bear football game debacle, and the odds in advance made the Bears 3-2 favorites. A bet was made by many of the campers on who would win and as a result, the bet will have to be paid off by the losers getting bags of water dumped over their heads by the winners. It should be a very nasty affair. Tonight, we have movie night, and it will be a cinemescope showing of “SERGEANTS THREE” and since it is so warm outside, we’ll be showing the movie outdoors using a system that we have set up with an outdoor speaking unit, and we’ll serve peanuts and cokes. Tomorrow night is infiltration night, and the whole camp will be overdressed for the affair with the guys trying to escape through enemy lines clothed in extra outfits and hiding special clues in their clothing attire. Tuesday night is campfire night, and we have a special reading of the wills that were written by the boys last year. We also have a guitar playing camper that should really set the mood for the campfire. Last campfire night, I told the boys Jack London’s story of “For the love of a Man,” which is about a dog, Buck, who loves and is devoted to his master, and I got so involved in the story that I suddenly could sense, as I was telling the story, that each boy was caught up in the mood and was spellbound by the tale, and as I came to the climax of the story and the dog is trying to pull a 1000 lb. load in a special contest, each camper was rooting for Buck and I know that they just loved the story. So, this week, I’ll tell another one and it’s so good to get back to story telling. I might add that we’ve worked hard trying to teach our boys to sing songs, and they are very good at singing and seem to love it so much.

Special congratulations to our Timberlane Sailing group who finished 6th out of 14 yesterday in a sailing regatta at Lake Kewagasaka. Sailing a sunfish in the race was Ron Bamberger and Ed Leifer, and they did a great job utilizing the wind during the race... Remember, “SAMBO” that dumb crow of ours---well, yesterday we had quite a scare... Sambo was on the roof of a building when a paper bag came brushing up against him from the wind--- he grabbed it., checked it out, and it ended up around his head...in his confusion he got entangled in the paper bag and came tumbling off the roof onto the ground. A bunch of campers scooped up the bird and rushed him to the infirmary where Mary Donavan, our nurse, looked him over. This dodo bird had his head in a droopy position, and he seemed to be gurgling like something was stuck in his throat. As Mary bent over to see if he had a broken wing, the bird suddenly perked up, started to coo, cuddled against Mary, pecked her on the cheek, stole our rectal thermometer and scooted out of the infirmary, with a sudden cackling cry of triumph, Sambo soared into the air and took his stolen goods to his nest high up in a tree. This is the only crow with a rectal thermometer....

I went to watch Jimmy Hiken swim yesterday, and he was trying out the sidestroke. Every time he’d stroke he’d murmur, “Bend a tree”--(then he’d move his arms)--and then He’d yell, “Pick an apple, Put it in the basket.” I couldn’t understand what he was doing, and I stopped him and asked what he was doing, Well, it seems that his teacher had taught him to think of these things as he was doing each phase of the side stroke in swimming, and since he had trouble thinking of it when he was trying it, he felt it would be easier saying it out loud, Imagine what mixed company would think, if Jimmy would be saying these things while swimming at a public pool or lake.

YOU THINK YOU’VE GOT TROUBLE DEPARTMENT---Here’s one for the most expensive garbage run I’ve ever had...It seems that each day we send our garbage truck to the public dump to get rid of the refuse. Well, the other day I sent out our garbage to the dump, and I got a call asking me to call a tow truck service to retrieve our “Garbage” truck...It seems that the boys were emptying the truck and the signal was to back up the truck closer to the dumping grounds. Well, the truck got backed up right into the dump, and we ended up having to get at tow truck (cost---$25.00) to remove the truck from the dump. Every time I see the staff members who made this goof with the truck, I yell out “BACK IT UP.” They all turn beet red... Oh, well, it’s only money. (Yours)

Today it’s such a nice day that in the afternoon, we’re going to go with a lot of blue and white active games such as softball, football, basketball and European Handball, Then we’re going to have a water carnival and it will consist of a series of races in the water and will also include underwater swim contests, searching for plates underwater, pajama races in which each boy has to try to untie wet pajamas, and we’ll wrap all up with a greased watermelon contest in which each boy will be on a team, and they will try to move a greased watermelon from one goal to another while the watermelon slides around and perhaps might break in the water. It should be a lot of fun for the boys.

Next Wednesday afternoon we’ll be starting our next series of Porcupine mountain over night trips and we’ll carry this on during the next six days and these are probably the most beautiful trips of the year. On Wednesday evening we’ll be having a social with Camp Agawak, and they really have a bevy of beautiful girls. Here’s something cute---last Thursday evening we had a social with Chippewa Ranch Camp, and our younger boys went to the other camp. Young Wally Posner was kind of shy during the first couple of dances but by the third dance he had set his eye on a young damsel with golden hair. He set out to ask her for a dance but was accosted by one of the older boys from our camp who told him that this gal was going to be his personal property. Wally didn’t say anything, but got Norm Wolf to call the boys name on the P.A. (Public Address System) with the announcement that there was an important call for the boy. When the older boy went to see Norm about the message, our young gallant, Wally, moved in on the girl and took over. When the other boy came back, Wally and his girl were occupied for the rest of the evening. I predict that Wally will someday be a whiz in the business field.

Thursday, we’ll be having a treasure hunt and the whole camp will be looking for clues hidden throughout the camp grounds. They’ll be split into six teams and it should be a lot of fun. On Friday, we start our parents weekend, and all Parents, Children, and Grandmas and Grandpas are invited to come to camp and visit the kids from Friday evening, Aug. 13th Starting at 7:00 P.M. and running through Saturday, Aug. 14th. You will be our guests at lunch on Saturday afternoon and on Saturday at 4:30P.M. you will be able to take your sons out for dinner. For all boys whose parents will not be visiting camp, we have a fabulous program planned for them and for some it included a special porcupine mountain trip during the weekend. I don’t want any parent to come up and surprise his child without notifying us first, or you may come up to camp and find your son gone from camp on a trip. We will also be having a special dinner on Saturday evening for those boys whose parents don’t come up for the visiting weekend, so don’t worry about your boys. If you are coming up from Milwaukee, you can take hiway 41 to Appleton to Hiway 45 then to Hiway 47 to Woodruff, Wis. Then turn right on Hiway 51 and go 4 miles until you see a sign that says Airport Road. Then left and come in two miles and you’ll see our camp sign. Turn right and come in about 1 mile and you’ll be at camp. Our telephone number is 715-356-6022.

For those of you that have never heard of it---we have the most fabulous Camp Timberlane Family Post Camp Program available from Friday afternoon, Aug. 20th through Thursday afternoon, Aug. 26th. We had our entire camp filled with Post Camp families, but have received two cancellations, and there are two openings available. We offer individual cabins with washroom facilities for all and special bedrooms in each cabin to provide privacy in a family. I keep on over 60% of the staff and we have all of our activities available plus keep on over 60% of the staff and we have all of our activities available plus we serve all the meals. If you’d like to be a part of this Post Camp period call me me immediately and if we haven’t filled up the time I hear from you we welcome you to our Post Camp. Aug. 20th-Aug. 26th. Remember it’s best to call me at 715-356-6022, and it’s on a first come, first serve basis.

Camp will be over on Friday, Aug. 20th and our Milwaukee contingent will be coming home via chartered Greyhound bus. All other boys will be coming home via special transportation and I will send you a letter shortly letting know how each boy will be getting home. Six weeks are gone---what happened to the time. I’ve never known time to fly by so quickly. How I’ve loved it so far...If this is the kind of year I could have each season, then I’d always like to be a camp director. Sometimes it doesn’t pass as quickly and then it isn’t such a great job. I got five letters yesterday, and each one was nicer than the previous one--each one said the same thing---our boys loved camp, they miss it, they miss you, H.H. Yeah, so do I miss them.

Bye Bye
HH