After a one year hiatus, the Camp Shohola Cyber Newsletter is happily back on line. We hope with this effort to keep all those fortunate, "on-line" Shohola families up-to-date and informed about all the comings and goings on in this our 59th season at Camp Shohola. We are sending this Newsletter for each of the next three weeks to Shohola families of both the first and second month session. It is our intention to inform everyone about the multiplicity of activities, both old and new, offered this summer at Shohola, and to describe briefly how campers and counselors experience all new and old skills and thrills of camp life. We very much encourage your comments and cheers.
The following are e-mail instructions from "CommTech" director Tom Gibson. If you want to reply, send your e-mails to director@campshohola.com "The correct procedure to write an e-mail to a camper at Camp Shohola is not very difficult. To start, every camper has an e-mail address which is his fullname@shohola.com An example is "jamalprice@shohola.com". Also, please include the name and cabin number on the subject line. Tom also asks that you not include any attachments to your e-mail as we are unable to tell if it contains a computer virus and attachments are also difficult to print. Please go to our E-Mail web page , for more information.
Genoa, and G-9 diplomats, eat your heart out! Globalization at Camp Shohola is a total "win-win situation." This 59th two-month season brought more than 263 boys to Camp Shohola, when counting the additional "staff's children" who each year join in all our festivities. The international flavor of both our camper and counselor body has never been more richly diverse.
As always there are a significant number of boys from Spanish speaking countries. Twelve from Mexico (Diego Cabeiro, Jaime Duarte, Santiago Garcia, Juan Manuel Jimenez, Fernando Laposse, Joaquin Muriel, Pedro Orozco, Xavier Ramos, Gustavo Rodriguez, Tomas Ruiz, Patricio Silva, Hector Vazquez, ; six from Spain (Lucas Catalan, Mariano De Diego, Javier Garralda Fernando, Gabe Canan-Zucker, and Ignacio Leon): three from Venezuela (Roberto Baptista, Augusto and Oscar Gonzalez),and one from Ecuador (Andy Beate). There are also four campers from the UK (Alex and Greg Lass, J.D. Leonard, Jim Roehl), plus a camper from France (Nicolas Portrait) and from Italy (Gabriel Paoletti). In addition to these Old and New World campers, there are two boys from Syria (Joude and Laysse Badra), one from Taiwan (Jeffrey Chen; one from Korea (Jay Cho) and finally, one from Bermuda (Erik Pearson). One American camper traveled all the way from his present residence in Singapore (Sam Eckstein), and another, Josh Talbert flew in from Japan to be a part of Shohola fun and magic.
Many of these international campers come to Camp Shohola to gain added proficiency in speaking English. A goodly number of these have been coming to us for more than several seasons. More than a few international campers have matured to become hugely helpful members of our counseling staff. Besides vastly improving their bi-lingual fluency through the bonding experience of cabin life, sharing meals, camping out, etc., they exchange with their American counterparts new, cross-cultural knowledge. All raise their respective consciousness about "the other's" cultures. All the while they are "playing" competitive sports, learning new computer skills, creating arts and crafts, hiking wilderness trails, kayaking rapids, surfing the winds, biking or horseback riding the trails of the Poconos.
The counselor staff is also once again wonderfully international, and yet familiar with working the "fun and magic" of camp life. Indeed, given their number, our international staff members almost constitute the majority of Shohola personnel. There are three counselors from Mexico (all former campers) and three from Spain. There are seven from England, three Scots, one Welsh, one Northern Ireland, seven "Aussies" and two "Kiwis" from New Zealand, to round out the Commonwealth's contingency. In addition there are three Germans, one Dutch, one Swede, and one Dane. From East Europe there are seven from the Czech Republic, three Slovaks work on the kitchen crew, and one works as a "regular" cabin counselor and land sports instructor. Rounding out the East European contingent, there is one Romanian, one Pole, and one Russian. There are also three South Africans. Incidentally, all three of these are on official leave from the new South African Police Force. All three joyfully exclaim that their Shohola life could not be more different, more wholesome and mellow, compared to stress of their police work back home.
The vast majority of these international counselors and administrative staff are in fact university students and/or already graduates, majoring in physical education, sports management, environmental sciences and "wilderness/survival" training. Clearly they bring demonstrated pedagogical knowledge and skills to their camp work. All are bi-lingual, many being multi-lingual. All proclaim great enthusiasm for having the unique opportunity to be working in such a healthy, wholesome and appreciative community as Shohola. England's Rachel Cartland, Australia's "Em" Trapnell have been co-managing the Shohola stables for the past couple of years. Scotland's Ali Kinnear and Holland's Erna Horn have each returned to Shohola for more than several years. Two of our four Head Counselor staff, Ali Kinnear and Adrian Hazell are each from the United Kingdom. This is Ali's fifth year. Adrian comes to us from 7 years as Camp Netimus administrative staff. Almost a fourth of the entire Shohola administrative and counseling staff are women. This most definitely adds to both the sensitivity and strength of our professional nurturing skills - nevermind our feminine side-- in what is otherwise an all-boys camp.
It is also the case that a sizeable number of this season's staff are brand new additions to the Shohola community. Admittedly, being unfamiliar with traditional camp policy and routine could have been a problem, but thankfully we are all blessed with their amazing charisma, their abundant talent and resourcefulness. The seasoned, veteran staff are being reinvigorated by learning innovated ideas, as the international staff brings new rituals to add to the almost 60 years of Shohola culture. Veteran administration and counseling staff cannot say enough about the almost seamless workings of this year's operation. The professional quality of setting up, orientation and counselor training at this year's "Work Camp" under second year tutelage of Head Counselors Matt Karpiak and Matt Milnor was exceptionally remarkable. Add to this mix what charismatic senior staff member Adrian Hazell (English) brings, with his degree in "sports science," and his seven years working at our sister Camp Netimus, and you can quickly realize just why this season is going so brilliantly.
Focusing all this skill and positive attitude to our operation is our two American senior staff members Matt Karpiak and Matt Milnor. To go from the global to the local, Matt Karpiak was literally born right around the corner from Camp Shohola. He grew up at Camp Shohola, graduated from the local high school, went to Utah University and majored in "commercial recreation and leisure." He is steeped in camp culture, and knows mountains of information about the local history and business community.
This is Matt Milnor's 13th summer at Shohola. He is literally "family," being Marilyn Barger's nephew. He, too, spent many summers growing up at Camp Shohola. "Milnor" as he is affectionally called, taught riding, mountain biking, and swimming, before becoming administrative staff last year. The combined expertise of our two Matts in running Camp is the perfect compliment to both our "rookie" staff members and our internationals.
All of this wisdom and understanding has combined to establish high spirits and fearless fun-making, which is what camp life is really all about. Meals in the camp Dining Hall are typically filled with song, cheers (some would say shouts), ridiculous costumes and silly stunts. Camp fires, led by veteran camper and now two-time, Head Counselor, Matt Milnor, are in the typical words of the "Brits," "BRILLIANT." All in all a fabulous tone has been clearly set for this season that promises to make this one of the all-time great years in Shohola now six-decade history. It is already obvious that this year will be a transforming experience for all of us lucky ones. We are all truly blessed to be living, working and playing together with each other here this summer. Even the weather is cooperating. Knock wood, please!
Shohola's fielded a dynamic 12 and under softball team in this month's Camp Brookwood tournament. This was the first inter-camp competition of the second month. It was an impressively played double-header, especially when you consider that this team has only been playing together for one or two days of the second month! Coach Kevin Powell cant say enough good things about this groups skills and spirit. This Shohola 12-and-under softball team convincingly won against a sizeably bigger 13-and-under team. The score was 3-2. Matt Seskin, Malcolm Hale, and Brad Yapchanyk definitely deserve special mention for the great effort they displayed in this very first game.
In the second game, our boys fell behind in the first inning by a 5 run deficit. "Nevertheless," said Shohola coach Kevin Powell, "this competitive team never gave up for one minute. These boys came roaring back! David Hecker pitched an outstanding game, and Brian Onley managed some really impressive defensive game-stopping plays at shortstop. Although the boys lost the championship, with a final score of 5-4, they did manage a second place win. Also playing for Shohola were Quinn Trigg, Marshall Rader, Eric Green,, Aaron Isler, Alex Ettinger, Ben Elkind, and Juan Manuel Jimenez. "I can't say enough about all these kids' spirit and determination. Their sportsmanship was totally commendable. They made me totally proud to be their coach. I love coaching this team!"
This is Kevin Powell's first year at Shohola. He has just completed his first year of elementary school teaching. This coming Fall he will begin coaching soccer and basketball at Mardela High School in Salisbury, Maryland. We are all very blessed to have this very talented rookie coach leading our lower camp softball teams.
Greatly contributing to our landsports coaching staff, most especially in softball, baseball and basketball is the indomitable spirit of Larry Tanner. He too has so enmjoyed working with these boys that he and Kevin have decided to team teach this awesome crew of sluggers. Larry is a former camper from the late '80's. He has been returning to Shohola as staff off and on over the past decade to become a major asset to Shohola's competitive skills and spirit. In fact, he so much enjoyd his counseling and coaching experience in Shohola that he too has decided to become a professional teacher and athletic coach. How fortunate can we all become with staff enthusiasm of this calibre.
Shohola's very competitive 11-and-under softball team totally dominated this tournament from their very first pitch of the tournament opening game. Actually, Shohola grabbed an embaressingly large lead in the first inning against New Jersey "Y," and never once faced a serious competitive challenge from thee opposition. Coach Powell, himself an elementary school teacher, and hometown Little League coach was quick to comment about the remarkable sportsmanship of this young team. "I was really amazed at how these kids kept their poise and manner. They never once taunted the 'Y' kids. They were having so much fun enjoying each other's confidant play, they never thought about taking unfair advantage of their competitive edge. They only encouraged each other's game. And I'm telling you these boys 'got game!'" The first game ended up 10-4, Shohola. Defensive standouts in that game were Brian Onley and Alex Ettinger. Ben Elkind and Marshall Rader had two hits each.
In the second game, for the tournament championship, Shohola boys again demonstrated their mettle. "We got up 1-0 in the first inning," reported Coach Powell, glowing proudly afterwards. Both of these teams played excellent defensive ball, and the score remained 1-0-- through the fourth innning-- when we came to bat. David Hecker led off with a triple, and then the floodgates opened! Our team showed incredible heart to never give up such a tight game. Isure do wish I could coach this team year round. These boys are a tremendous group with really outstanding abilities. I dont think it gets any better than this! I am one 'happy camper'!" Danny Tessler and Eric Green played great defense. The offense was led by David Hecker, Quinn Trigg and Edmund Carlton. Also playing for Shohola were Juan Manuel Jimenez, Matt Seskin and Brad Yapchanyk. Coach Powell called the entire team up to the front of the dinning hall at evening annoucements and led all his players in a "victory march" around the dining hall and outside deck.
In the first intra-mural softball games of the summer's second season, the Oakland A's won over the Baltimore Orioles 4 -2. The "A's" were coached by Kevin Powell, and the very hard playing "O's" were coached by veteran Shohola counselor (and former camper) Larry Tanner. "This was a great game, especially for openers, "exclaimed coach Powell. "Again, the kids for both teams demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship throughout the entire game. Joe Von Schmidt played solid defensive ball at second base. Same for 3rd baseman Dan Tessler. Alex Ettinger pitched a great game for the Orioles. Visiting VIPs at this month's funfilled opener were Dorsey Barger, and her younger brother Duncan, his wife and 14-month old daughter, accompanied by grandpa, and Camp Director, "Kit" Barger who kept the Shohola grandstands filled with "Cheers."
Soccer coach Mark Gunn fielded a resilient team in this weeks Pike County Soccer Tournament. Shohola's Santiago Garcia scored the only goal of the first half which was against Camp Owego, but unfortunately Shohola's effort fell short in the second half. "We went 'one nil up" as the Brits call a one-to-nothing loss."The boys basically fell apart," explained coach Gunn. "Unable to sustain their commanding lead of the first half, they argued against one another. At the end of the first game I had a brief chat with the lads. I instructed them not to take the loss personally. I reminded them that they had another game to play on the old softball field, and they needed to quickly regroup and put their act together. In the second game against Lake Greely camp, the lads did just that!" Mark continued. They took my lessons to heart, came out in the second game to genuinely enjoy their play. They totally got into the sprit of the game, and kept having good laughs right up to the finish. Again in the second game, Santiago Garcia scored two blinding goals from way outside the area." Juan Manuel Jimenez scored the final goal and Shohola's players secured victory in overtime. The final score, 4-3 came in a dramatic overtime. In the end, Shohola ranked third in the tournament over all, but coming back so quickly after the prior collaspe convinced coach Gunn that this team deserves high praises for learning their lessons.
Shohola entered 12 campers in the annual Pike County Athletic Meet held this past Sunday at Lake Wallenpaupak High School's track and field facilities. Five local camps compete in these track and field events. Shohola boys competed in the 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1600 and 3200 meter races, and in the discus, running long jump and the standing long jump. While Shohola campers only managed to place third over-all, two Shohola compeitors totally dominated their events. Juan Manuel Jimenez outran the opposition in the 1600 meter race, and Aaron Heltsley took "first" in both the 800 and the 3200 meter races.
Every summer, twice a season Georgetown's varsity soccer coach and Shohola alumni, Keith Tabatznik holds a two hour soccer clinic for Shohola campers. This month more than 40 campers attended the clinic. Keith ran the campers through their paces, watched their moves and suggested ways that the kids could improve the game. He then organized several scrimmages and challenged the campers to demonstrate their newly taught skills. When the whole clinic was completed Keith handed out various presents: jerseys, whistles, caps and stickers.
Keith volunteered the following remarks. "I have been doing soccer clinics throughout the summer camp circuit in the mid-Atlanitc region. Today's clinic was--honest to God-- one of the all-time most enjoyable I have ever held anywhere. This year's crop of Shohola kids where the quickest learners and the most appreciative and respectful group of campers I have ever had the privilege to instruct. You guys must be doing something very well, all right. (Perhaps it is also some very good parenting, Keith)Whatever the case, it was a total joy to do. I was most definitely the happiest camper on the field."
Nature Program counselor, George Meling, and Tripping staffer Janet Fotheringham combined forces and organized a one day hike through parts of the Delaware Water Gap near Bushkill. Main destination of the 5-mile hike was an extended stop-over at the Pocono Environment Educational Center, locally known as the "PEEC." Eleven campers (cabins 5 through 12) followed the trek. "One of our main objectives," explained Ms. Meling, is to teach our campers how they can 'experience' and fully respect a natural enviornment without harming any living thing." This is a real challenge for any youngster in this day and age of endangered species and deforestation.
The PEEC provides an awesome educational display of Pocono flora, fauna, and wildlife, especially the section of the Poconos' predatory life. "The great thing about this Center and all its enviorns," exclaimed George Meling, "is that it provides easy access to a deliciously varied habitat of both hardwood and confiers, all in a very small area for young hikers to quickly explore. There are multiple groves of beautiful Hemlock "swailes," tall fragrant pines embedded in a solid carpet of pine needles. That is most spectacular natural wonderland!"
George noted that 97 per cent of all local forest animal life is nocturnal, so the task is to look for evidentiary signs of living things. Kids spotted many woodpecker holes, and actually saw a number of tiny "red efts," woodfrogs, and several bird nests.
Tripping staffer, Janet, instructed the campers the correct way to execute the more challenging elements of the hike. At one critical point everyone had to rappel down an exceedingly steep drop. At the bottom they discovered physical evidence of old farm houses.
After a much too long absence from the lengthy list of camp activities, our sweet new Nature Cabin was happily completed just two short years ago. Now Shohola "Power Nature" has already grown into one of the camp's more popular programs, most especially for our younger campers. Nestled conveniently in the woodlands beside the camp brook, and just a stone's throw from across the ever popular ropes and rock climbing elements, our new Nature program has been growing by leaps and bounds under the excellent teaching and learning skills of the multi-talented George Meling. Ms Meling is in fact a long time Shohola, Pa. resident and knows much about the our local wilderness' narrative. She has managed to quickly build an excellent educational program that has filled the shelves, tables and interior walls with all kinds of museum-quality, educational exhibits. This year has seen a spectacular glass incased display of mounted, exotic rainforest insects, as well as museum-quality skeletons. Rock climbing counselor and former camper, Chris Etherington, brought back a huge rack of moose antlers that he actually found in the High Sierras. They now hang in our new cabin. There is a new terranium that houses a Giant Black Milliped, a Firebellied toad and one large bullfrog. The new acquarium houses one Lake Greeley catfish and one sunfish, and a host of fast growing insect larvae. (Not to worry, No West Nile virus here! Joke). Knowing our local natural habitats, literally like the back of her hand, George invents all kinds of period-long hikes around our immediately accessible forest and streams.
Shohola's one and only CommTech founder and director, Tom Gibson, continues to add more computing power and communication options to the camp's unique communications program. This is truly one of a kind. "All computers throughout CommTech are networked on a LAN!" Tom boasts, "All camp computers can communicate with each other, and can send a word processed program to be printed from anywhere there is a computer. This is possible due to the addition this year of a DSL digital subscriber line which allows high speed internet access for both audio and video. Most remarkably this means that the entire radio programming complex can now broadcast campers' radio shows over the Internet. "So," Tom explains, "parents can now listen to their boys' radio shows from their own computers at home."
Fortunately Shohola is blessed with the return of dynamic and multi-skilled CommTech counselor, Dave Love from Scotland. Dave teaches campers about the mystery of electricity and computers. He is now CommTech's Co-Director working under 40-year veteran Tom Gibson. Former campers, Steve Gottfried (CIT), Jason Cheetham (junior counselor) and Andrew Shansby (junior counselor) teach radio, photo and video respectively. There is also now a digital video camera that can store up to 40 megabytes (millions). We can put our video on the Shohola webpage and allow campers' videos to be downloaded from links found on the Shohola webpage. We should have streaming video on our website sometime next month. With the new Digital still camera, CommTech can now make digital slides so that we can place links to pictures of our campers on this newsletter which can be easily downloaded and printed.
In addition, Counselor Rob Mueller is instructing our boys on the basics of web page design. Parents on AOL or PalTalk can now set talk paths directly to the Shohola CommTech system and listen to Camp Shohola radio broadcasting. Yes, WCSR is broadcasting on the internet. Finally Tom announced that Shohola alumni, John Mitchell (from the early '80's), donated a short wave, amateur radio system. You can view these pictures on Jon's web site and clicking on the Camp Shohola link. Clearly, CommTech has brought Camp Shohola well into the 21st century.
For more than 35 years, veteran water ski instructor, Bob Gillespie, ran Shohola's ever popular water ski program on Lake Wallenpaupak. This year the program acquired an awesome new powerboat, a super Magnum 454. In a brief ceremony at the end of first session, the boys attending the water ski program christened the impressively big boat, the "Bobby G" to honor the man who has given half his life to Camp Shohola, and recently retired to winter in Florida in order to take care of his ailing parents, and who then discovered that he is himself facing a life threatening illness. Sadly he was not able to return to work in Shohola this summer.
Now, twice a day, five days a week, Shohola takes 5 campers each time, along with two water ski instructors, Derron Blanch from Australia, and Corey Ford, from New Zealand, on a 15-mile drive to Lake Wallenpaupak for ski instruction. Each skier can now enjoy up to 30-minutes of instructional time on the skis. Having achieved the difficult skill of double skiing, the more proficient skiers get to learn the more daunting skill of slolem skiing (balancing both feet on one big ski). Our new power boat allows us to pull as many as 4 campers at one time. We all wish and pray that our much beloved Bobby G can some day soon come back to Shohola, and enjoy a good whirl on the new powerboat.
The best of all news is that now for the very first time Camp Shohola is in the best ever position to whip our rival Camp Netimus sisters' water skiing team. For years our sister camp has always "bested" our best efforts. Some would say the girls shamed us. Now comes the Magnum 454 powerboat. Look out, boys and girls! Derron Blanch put it best when he predicted: "We will literally blow Camp Netimus out of the water! We will be able to put 5 very good double skiers and as many as 4 even better slalom skiers on the water. I am hoping that we will actually be able to put 'four up,' we may even succeed in getting 'five up!' Readers! Stay tune for next week's edition of your camp cyber newsletter. The best is yet to come!
It takes more or less fours hour drive from Camp Shohola to New York's Fire Island. The Long Island resort community provides some of the best surf conditions on the northeast coastline. This past week the Kayak and Tripping staff took 5 lucky Working Senior campers to demonstrate their skills on the 5-foot swells banking of the New York shoreline. Kayak instructor John Allen exclaimed that Working Senior, Eric Spannhake demonstrated the best improved skills of the entire group. Kayak surfing demands dynamic paddling skills to access the best waves. Then the kayaker must learn to watch for which wave conditions present the best "carving" possibilities. "Carving" is the learned skill of paddling behind the wave in order to position yourself to "lean" effectively into the wave to acquire the best "hang time." According to John Allen expert kayak surfers must demonstrate an acute eye for the proper wave dynamics and then acquire very tough balancing and coordination instincts to surf with the kayak. Joining Eric on this trip were other Working Seniors Marc Shinn-Krantz, Justin Von Schmidt, Jamie Ayers, and cabin 16 senior, Alex Hecker. Tripping staff counselor Phil Tolley represented the Tripping staff on this ocean sojourn.
Rock climbing counselors Eric Shansby and Andries Van Den Berg, better known as "Varkie," led 10 Shohola climbers to a very convincing first place win in the Pike County Rock Climbing Tournament. The tournament took place at Camp Pine Forest ropes course. There were three major elements to competitively test the "Rock Dawgs' basic climbing skills. First was the "pursik" elements which demonstrates climbers' ability to manage a self-rescue using three hanging ropes. Climber must use one rope attached to a waist harness, another rope attached to one foot.A third rope used to elevate oneself back up the 30-foot rope hang. The second climbing element to challenge campers is called the "giant ladder." This is a 30-plus foot element in which giant wooden rungs are supported by two heavy ropes. Climbers demonstrate their ability to coordinate their respective team work skills in supporting each other up the 30-foot rope ladder. The other main element to test campers' mettle was the huge "rock wall." Ropes course competition tests contestants ability to successfully handle difficult climbing elemnts in the least amount of time.
Competing in the 10-under prusick and climbing elements for Shohola were Juan Manuel Jimenez and D.J. Dennis. In the 13-under prusick, climbing and giant ladder elements were Brian Bomalaski and Hector Vazquez and Jesse Moy, and in the 16-under climbing and prusick was Justin Cohen-Shapiro, and in the 16-under giant ladder was Chris Gkahopoylos and Phil Weiner.
The Shohola barn welcomed 2 new horses this year. "They're a matched pair of jet black Tennessee Walkers named 'Blackjack' and 'Bandit'," said Rachel Cartland, Shohola Stable Director, and 7-year veteran. "Campers tell me," Rachel reports, "that they have amazingly smooth trots and canters. They are both only 8-years-old and belong to a local family. We hope they'll be available to us for years to come."
Also, thanks to Kit Barger, our thoroughbred horse "Doc" who has been suffering from arthritis since 1998, has been successfully placed with an adoption agency in Maryland. Horsenet is a small charity which aims to treat sick horses and places them as companions with families. They report that "Doc" is doing great and they already feature him on their website. Check it out, folks.
Shohola riders did well at the annual, first-month ,Netimus Horse Show. Shohola fielded 30 riders in equitation, jumping and games. Our boys showed great spirit and demonstrated excellent riding skills. Among the ribbon winners were Chris Gibson (cabin 5), Nick Bando (cabin 8) won, count them all, THREE blue ribbons (1st place, if you have to ask) in equitation and in jumping. Eric Adelman (cabin 13) "placed" in jumping,; Megan Johnson, grand daughter of Laura and Reino Johnson, long time Shohola staffers) won a trot class in great style. Alex Sharp (cabin 8) presented our veteran quarter horse, "Preacher" in a best turned out class. They won, despite having "Preacher's" mane braided in pink! Working Seniors Eric Spannhake and Andy Meyerson took on more experienced riders in jumping and triumphed. "There was outstanding sportsmanship from all!" Rachel explained happily. "There is more and better to come second month." We cant wait.
For years campers and counselors have unsuccessfully lobbied Camp Director Kit Barger to install an outdoor lighting system on the basketball and hockey courts so that late evening and night games can be played outdoors deep into the second session of August. Finally, this year Shohola is blessed with a state-of-the-art outdoor lighting system.
To officially inaugurate the system, camper and counselor alumni Mark Berman and John Cardin, who have returned to Shohola every single summer since their mid-80's departure, along with with fellow returning alumni, Keith Tabaztnik, Greg Cannally, and Dr. Dan Rifkin, staged a fabulous mid-night event for the entire camp to launch the entire system. They arranged for the "Working Seniors" to wake up all campers, sleeping snuggled in their bunk beds, and escort them to the ball courts for a pitched black, mysterious mid-night surprise.
Fifteen minutes before midnight all campers were seated on the new hillside stairway that leads campers from the cabin hill down to the courts. Campers waited patiently in total darkness, with flash lights blazing all about, wondering what in the heck was all the commotion about, waking them up and marching them out into the warm night air. Suddenly the blazing night lights were switched on. There, parked on the basketball court was the flat bed truck with a loud speak and musical broadcast system that blared out the midnight rituals. Returning Head Counselor Matt Milnor acted as senior sportcaster, describing the unfolding events with the finese of a professional stand-up comic. These perpetually happy alumni pranksters also provided peanuts and popcorn for all the sleepy-eyed spectators.
The alumni, who entitle themselves "PWP" (meaning either People With, or Without--depending whom you have asked!-- Power) stelthally organized themselves into a motley crew of bare chested hockey players, all decorated with body paint. Working Senior, Alex Zuckerman declared himself the "PWP" mascot, costumed himself up in body paint and crape paper, and performed the hysterically laughable "truffle shuffle" to offer up his lucky charms to both teams. The Alumni invited all four of the current Head Counselors to join their team. They then challenged the Shohola counseling staff to compete against their alleged athletic prowess. Everyone got down to a fiercely competitive, 20-minute game. The campers cheered for their favorite team, all the while munching on free popcorn and peanuts. "Whats a good midnight hockey game without peanuts and popcorn?" asked Marc, John and Dan Rifkin jointly.
Funnily enough the game ended in a tie. Berman and Cardin brought out the ritual bubbly apple cider. When all the campers returned to their cabin and 12:30 AM, they were treated to yet another surprise: free pizza and soda, again, courtsey of the visiting alumni. Most definitely that will be one for Shohola's immortal tradition, "We Remember So Well." Build it, and they will come. Light it, and they will play deep into the night.
Every week at Sunday's Campfire counselors recognize campers in their respective activities who have achieved something special or whose behavior is especially commendable. The following campers were recognized this past Sunday for special mention of outstanding effort during this first week of the second session:
Waterfront |
Swimming |
Kayaking |
Water Skiing |
Canoeing |
Windsurfing |
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Landsports |
Tennis |
Upper Camp Football |
Softball |
Archery |
Riflery |
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Basketball |
Riding |
Ping Pong |
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Tripping |
Ropes |
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Arts and Crafts |
Rocketry |
Silvershop |
Woodshop |
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CommTech |
Video |
Photography |
Radio |
Chess |
Design and Innovation |
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Pascal |
Volunteering to become the Camp Shohola magazine "The Argus" editor |
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