Shohola moments

snippets and Shohola moments

the boat race

The Cardboard Boat Race
On the fourth of July we had a boat race. Each cabin got duct tape, cardboard and a Working Senior to hopefully build a boat that could travel from the H-dock to the floating dock and back. There was a prize for the boat that could make it back and forth in the quickest amount of time. The prize was an ice cream party. There were also different prizes for the best design, the best decorations and other things like that. The ice cream party went to cabins six and seven.
Adam Lerner

Cool things light the Shohola S
On the fourth of July Camp Shohola went down to the lake and got to see Counselors and campers do all sorts of cool things like lighting a Shohola “S” with a bow and arrow. There were cool kayak tricks, wave boarding and a synchronized swimming act. Afterward there were some exciting fireworks. Happy fourth of July and I hope next year will be just as fun.
Nick Mower

Boat race voted best
On the fourth of July there were a lot of fun events at Camp Shohola, but the one that many other campers and I voted the best was the cardboard boat race. You had to build a boat out of cardboard and duck tape.
All the cabins put in a great effort. There were a lot of great designs, including one like a normal boat and cardboard kayaks. All the cabins had a great race. Some cabins made it and others did not. Cabins six and seven were the winners and won the ice cream party, but what really counts is that all of us had a lot of fun!
Juan-Jose Jimenez

campfire time

Speaking of burning onward and up …
A quick focus on the weekly campfire is a great way to draw this edition to a close.

Shohola special time
Every Sunday camp Shohola is brought together by a special time called campfire. During campfire we show off talents, sing silly songs, announce Camper of the Week and top it off with an action filled story read by Duncan. It begins with a muster in the middle of the evening. We then walk to the magical site and the fun begins.
We usually start with Camper of the Week for land sports. After every activity has recognized a campe, we share a few stupid human tricks, magic tricks, or a few rounds of ‘Brother, brother, where art thou brother’? This is where brothers hit each other with no hard feelings (and a very hard newspaper). After the entertainment we go to another bunch of activities such as waterfront's Camper of the Week.
Then we sing. If you want campfire songs, Alberto is the person to sing. Everybody likes his style and songs, especially one called "A le le" (included below). After some songs, another department announces Camper of the Week.
Once all campers have been recognized, the light is perfect for a story. Duncan gets up and begins. This month he has read a story called Lenagin versus the Ants. It is a story about a plantation owner, Lenagin, trying to protect his plantation against killer ants that can "eat a buffalo before you can spit three times." After he has read a good amount and leaves us with a cliffhanger, we all gather around the campfire and sing TAPS. Then we go down to our cabins for sleep.
Sam Selub

campfire songs

Mexico
Whoa
A le le
Al le le kita tonga
Masa masa masa
Oh a le le, a le le, a loa

Repeat three times with hand movements getting bigger and louder. On the fourth repetition the movements and voice shrink to high pitch, followed by an over the top and hilariously large encore!
Alberto Orozco

Three Jolly Fisherman
There were three Jolly Fishermen
There were three Jolly Fishermen
One half yells…
Fisher! Fisher!
The other...
Man Man Man!
Repeat parts of the two groups. This pattern follows for the remainder of the song.
The first one’s name was Jacob
Repeat and into two rounds of Ja! Ja! and Cob Cob Cob!
The second one’s name was Isaac
Repeat and into two rounds of I! I! and Sac Sac Sac!
The third one’s name was Abraham
Repeat and into two rounds of Abra! Abra! and Ham Ham Ham!
They all went down to Amsterdam!
Repeat and into two rounds of Amster! Amster! and Shhh Shh Shhh!
You must not say that naughty word
Repeat and into two rounds of Naughty! Naughty! and Word word word!
We’re going to say it anyhow
Repeat and into two separate rounds of Any! Any! and How how how!
They all went down to Amsterdam
Repeat and into two separate rounds of Amster! Amster! and Dam dam dam!
They all went down to Amster DAM! (together, loud)

enter the texan

Hi, I'm Lee Power Littlefield and I'm a Texan. This year is my first year at Shohola and first time to be away from home. This is also my first time being a Camp Counselor, although at home I worked with troubled kids one-on-one as part of a city program called PALS.
I come from a town in east Texas called Longview, which is one hour west of the border of Louisiana. I've been given the opportunity to come to Shohola via Duncan and my sister, Holly Barger.
In Texas I was Chief of the kitchen in an Italian Restaurant until I quit to come and work at Shohola. I also completed my first year in college, studying Commercial Art and Graphic Design at Kilgore College.
I have played drums for my church worship team on Sundays. I've been playing the drums for 6 and 1/2 years and been in and out of several garage bands.
After being here for almost 6 weeks now, I've come to miss my friends, my 92 Nissan Stanza and my room.
Camp thus far has been an amazing and changing experience for me. I've had the luck of making close friends and numerous other friends. One of the coolest things to happen here is my chance to be in a little band known as the Shohodown Funk Band. I love the taste in music up here.
I had my doubts about coming up to ‘Yankee Land’ but I've been warmly received. This is like a home away from home. Even with the numerous differences between the northern and southern cultures, I still feel comfortable here. I've made some very close attachments to my Dorney Park Friend.
Work camp was a really big part of bonding even though it was physically taxing. The other day I referred to my cabin as ‘home’. Shohola has become so dear to me. Cabin life is excellent and I've grown attached to the ten little guys in cabin two. I always look forward to the evenings when we talk and wind down.
Teaching has been a challenge and a lot of fun. Digital art and photography are two things that I love to do, so I'm really happy to be educating kids about my passions. Watching the guys learning photography and taking great pictures is a blast.
Being a Counselor, being away from home, being a friend and meeting brand new people is the greatest thing that has happened in my life.
Lee Littlefield

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playtime!!

Shohola ‘play’ at its best
Shohola camper and counselor from 1950 to 1961 and Shohola Head Counselor from 1987 to 2001, Larry Aaronson added his magical touch to camp when he visited for the fourth of July weekend. He wrote …
Camp at its best is about play! You guys and girls surely know how to fearlessly make wholesome play. I say fearlessly, because true to Shohola traditions, you people know how to be fearlessly silly. All the activities that went into making your fun-packed, fourth of July celebrations spoke volumes about how you have mastered the art of silly playfulness.
I witnessed each and every cabin sit down in front of their respective cabins and thoroughly devise and construct those silly cardboard boats. Counselors were fully engaged with their enthusiastic campers discussing, then designing and then developing that cardboard flotilla.
The cardboard boat race was utterly and totally crazy! Even more ridiculous was the fact that so many of the boats not only floated, but they were navigable!
All fourth of July you guys ‘worked’ the magic. You ‘worked’ the meals! You certainly ‘worked’ the chicken barbecue! You ‘worked’ the boat race. You ‘worked’ the evening waterfront activities. The synchronized kayaking was masterfully executed. The mock ‘in sync’ swimming was totally hysterical! The fourth of July song ditty was brilliantly conceived and the song production itself was sensational. I totally loved the magic of shooting the flaming arrow that lit the fire on the flaming Shohola ‘S’ target anchored up the lake.
There could not have been a more perfect metaphor that the Shohola tradition burn onward and upward into the night!
Larry Aaronson

snippets

Hungry?
Two turkeys showed up at Camp Shohola. At dinner, Duncan decided to make the turkeys our camp mascot. At lunch the next day we had a competition to find out the best name for the two turkeys. During the lunch, Duncan said a name and whichever name received the most applause won. The winning names were Lunch and Dinner!
Mac Ackerman

Favorite moments
One of my favorite moments at Camp Shohola was when I learned how to play Ga Ga and now I really love the game. PhillipTreisman taught me how to play it.
PhillipTreisman is my favorite person at camp. He is my favorite person at camp because he has been one of my best friends for as long as I can remember.
My favorite period that I take is Archery. I always wanted to use a bow and arrow and I finally used them this summer. The teachers are nice in every period. Camp Shohola has a very good variety of activities. I suggest Camp Shohola to anyone who is looking for a sleep away camp. Camp Shohola is awesome!
Sam Fishman

Getting into the groove
The two dances with Netimus were great, that is, if you dance. The music at Netimus was not great, but you could dance to it. The food is good, but at Netimus you need a girl to get a brownie (which we always had). Overall, dances are great. I wish we had more! The best part about dances is that you can write to girls afterwards!
Ian Slater and Jared Shcwartz

The Red Barons Game
The Red Barons game is an annual event at Camp Shohola. The Red Barons are the "AAA" affiliate baseball team for the Philadelphia Phillies. The Red Barons play their home games in Scranton, which is about an hour away from camp. This is always lots of fun for campers because they get to show their spirit and watch a fantastic baseball game.
In addition, each camper gets $7 to spend on tasty ballpark food and souvenirs. This year we went with the girls from Netimus.
Aaron Fine

The story of Jack Mac

This story is a story that was written many years ago by a childrens writer. A ex-counsellor at Shohola named Bruce Fralick used to tell this story at campfire, and he tells it with great skill. It is hiliarious when read out properly!

"There was once a Scotsman who was named John MacDonald. Now, Scotsmen usually don't like to use much of anything and this man was no exception, he liked to be called Jack, or Mac. But usually people called him Jack Mac.

"Now Jack Mac liked to travel a lot, and when he did he carried sack with all his belongings. So Jack Mac travelled the length of countries with his sack on his back. The sack was of Mongolian origin, a beautiful jet black colour, and when he walked to the Himylayas with tired feet he realised that walking was not so smart, and took a liking to a yak. from then he rode everywhere on his yak. so when he passed people in his travels, people would say: "There goes yak backed black sack back Jack Mac."

"What did he have in his sack? He had a tin tack, a toy train track, and a terribly trick and somewhat sticky rickety-rackety knick-knack.

"Where was he going? Well, he was usually travelling to his somewhat slack summertime haystack, or to his wintertime jim-crack shack. So when people would ask of his wherabouts, they would say: "Is yak back black sack back Jack Mac at his somewhat slack summertime haystack or at his wintertime jim-crack shack, or is he somewhere on the trail or on the track, him and his yak, having a snack, eating a big Mac, or playing with the things in his sack, namely his tin tack, toy train track, and his terribly tricky and somewhat sticky rickety-rackety knick-knack?

"Last I heard, he moved off the beaten track, become a political hack, eaten too many of those big Macs and had a heart attack. And thats a fact, Jack."

Bruce Fralick