The following articles are from the Camp Shohola Newspaper, the "ARGUS".

This is a selection of articles written by campers during the summer of 1997. The pictures are not part of the origional "ARGUS". The "ARGUS" is printed with green ink on white paper.

Thank you for your interest in the "Camp Shohola "ARGUS".

Tom Gibson

Camp Shohola, August, 1997


Ropes
By Cabin 1
I like ropes because after you climb up, they send you down real fast. That's what I like about ropes. When you begin climbing you put on a harness and helmet. Dwayne, Miriam, John and Joe are good teachers. When Alberto Orozco was asked about his experience climbing the wall he said "First I felt very tired, then I looked down and saw how high I was and was eager to get down. I came down the zip line which was most enjoyable." Madison Smith says that "the ropes course is a great experience. It helps with your mental and physical skills. It is a great challenge. The first time you try the ropes course you will get a little scared but all you need is trust in your belayer, the person whose at the other end of the rope who is keeping you from falling." 




HORSEBACK  COMPETITION
By Eric Fishel & Omar Martinez
Cabin 2
At the horseback competition there were 5 groups competing, Shohola, Netimus and three from Top Ranch. At first Netimus was on top. Then Shohola dominated the apple bob and ever since that, Shohola showed there stuff. In the apple bob, Madison Smith from Cabin 6 placed 1st, we also came home with 2nd and 6th place. Some of the other events include walk-trot, walk, canter, jump, stile jumps and more. I think Netimus won the competition. 

                                


Electronics
By William Meyerson
Cabin 7

Electronics is a very fun activity. I built two working kits. One of them is a pair of "Pocket Dice" which simulates a pair of dice using LED's (Light Emitting Diodes). The other kit is a "Digital Bird" which makes an almost infinite variety of sounds, including bird calls. You can make many other kits from a "Hidden Tormenter", a beginning kit which annoys other people by beeping for about 2 seconds every few minutes to a "Digital Roulette", an advanced kit which simulates a roulette wheel by using LED's. However, you need the electronics teacher's permission for this particular kit. If the kit costs more than $15, you need parental permission to build that particular kit, but most of the kits cost less than $10. You need to have a certain skill level to build certain kits. For example, I can do beginning kits or intermediate kits because I am at about the intermediate level in electronics ("Pocket Dice" and "Digital Bird" are both intermediate kits), but I can't do advanced kits. In electronics, you first order a kit. Next, you learn how to identify the parts and what they do. Finally you learn how to solder. Then, the kits you order will show up in the mail in around the 3rd or 7th week. After that, you assemble your kit. At the end of the month, you have a working electronics kit if you follow the instructions carefully. Even if you make a mistake Tom or Mark can almost always fix it. I recommend electronics to anyone who likes electronics kits or likes my article. 



Inter-Camp Competitions
Tim Von Hollweg
Cabin 12
"We need to build a trophy cabinet," Steve Rosenfeld said one afternoon during lunch. Camp Shohola has won three Pike County Athletic Tournaments this year with a beautiful trophy as the prize. We competed against other camps such as Lake Greeley, Lake Owego, Netimus, New Jersey Y, etc. We play almost all the sports offered including Lacrosse, Archery, Riflery, Basketball, and even swimming. The Competitions are a good way for the campers and counselors to learn good qualities such as sportsmanship and leadership. Even if some campers don't think they are good enough to play, the coaches always let them play and give encouragement. We also get to interact with other camps that we don't usually get to meet with. These competitions also give us a chance to say to other camps that CAMP SHOHOLA RULES!! 



A  New Camper's First Day at Camp Shohola
By: Julien C. Colvin
Cabin 14
It all started one night in February. I was looking at the brochures from the camp fair my mom went to that morning. I took one look at the brochure from Camp Shohola, and in the pictures, I saw the perfect camp experience; four weeks away from home, choosing the activities that I wanted, making new friends, etc. Finding out about this camp was a dream come true to me, because most of my friends go to camps like this, and tell me how much fun they were. I wanted to experience it for myself, but I had never found an overnight camp that wasn't either 1000 miles away, or was all sports. Everyone has had an experience where nothing was familiar before, and we all know what a culture shock it is. Tony Nunes touched on this topic during the second Weekly Thought, and I agree with what he said. He said that we all have to get used to camp; the taste of the water, the daily schedule, the smell of the air, etc. I don't know about everyone else, but on the first day of camp, my mind was so flooded with new experiences, I had a headache at bedtime. When I got to camp, the first person I met was Pepe Aguilar. Then my counselor, Joe Marchiano, came and took my trunk up to the cabin. As soon as I walked into the cabin, I met Ben Denenberg. He seemed nice, so I took the bunk under him. Then Joe took Ben, my family, and me on the camp tour. The sights I saw on the tour, that are now so familiar to me, were completely new and amazing. After the tour, I met Kit Barger, the camp director. Then back at the cabin, I met my other counselor, Ali Kinnear, and two more of my cabin mates, Dan Greenwald and Greg Lieberman. Then I went to lunch. After lunch, my family left for Baltimore. For most of the rest of the afternoon, our cabin got to know each other, and I learned about camp, first hand, from everyone else. At about 4:00, the Baltimore\Washington D.C. bus arrived, and I met the rest of my cabin; Matt Auster, Joel Segel, Mike Santmyer, and Alex Glass. For the most part, I was very happy with my cabin. We hung around in the cabin until dinner. Because it was Sunday, the whole camp had a cookout on the hill. I can still remember the smell of the cooked burgers, which, fortunately, tasted better than lunch. After that, we went to Campfire. As I heard Kit's voice reading us a story before we had to return to our cabins, I reflected on what a great time I would have here. After Kit was finished, we went to bed on our thin, scratchy, and uncomfortable mattresses. Very soon after lights out, I fell asleep, because I was so exhausted from my very busy, but very exciting, first day. 



The Big Y 
By Jeff Kozlowicki and Noam Whitman
Cabin 15
The Big Y was an incredible trip full of many new, interesting experiences and real food. The drive their was long and tiring, just like every other seven hour drive, but on this drive we loaded up on candy and stuffed ourselves with hamburgers, fries, and sodas. After arriving and setting up camp, we went to a nearby natural rock slide. Everyone went down the rock side, and all were scraped by the rocks. Even the few who came away with minor injuries agreed that it was fun. The second day was the day we were going rafting on the Youghiougheny (Yock-a-gay-nee) River. After another drive, we split up into groups of four to six people and were spoken to by a man who kept on saying the Big Y was dangerous and that it was "...not Wally World." All of the Shohola campers were forced to wear uncomfortable helmets, but the complaining ceased after we got onto the river. Just before each rapid, all the boats pulled into an eddy and grabbed the shore, and everyone was told how to handle the next rapid. Some of the rafters who had never experienced white water were surprised by how difficult going down the first rapid was; but after the first few rapids, they began to enjoy the rafting and all fears disappeared except for a bit of anticipation when the next rapid came into view. We returned to camp with our brand new shirts on our backs, and then we had a succulent dinner and our counselors treated us to a frozen dessert. Before we knew it, the Big Y had ended. 


Thank you for reading these articles from the 1997 
edition of the Camp Shohola "ARGUS".

We hope you gained some knowledge about Camp Shohola 
from the "Boys point of view".

Please use your browser return button to access the 
Camp Shohola Homepage.

Thank you,

Tom Gibson

tgibson@ycp.edu