TIMBERLANE NEWSLETTER-NO. 2
MONDAY MORNING 5:00 A.M. July 5th, 1971

Dear Parents,

ZZZZZZZZ-ZZZZZZ---That’s all I hear as I look at the boys in their cabins early this morning. what a fantastic week we’ve just had---Good weather, spirits high and a thousand activities behind us. Friday the boys signed up for their 2nd section of activities and that evening we had a special ceremony at our barbecue area in which we had our key log ceremony. This is a time when any boy who wants to give special thanks for anything that has occurred to him during the past week throws a little piece of wood in the fire and says a special thanks for what has occurred. The nicest things for me was my little Texas boys coming up to the fire and saying thanks to their parents for sending them up to this camp...Saturday morning our second canoe trip boys returned and hey were singing as they came into camp---boy were they grimy---we make them take a shower and then rest, but they kept babbling about the next canoe trip that they were going to take. We ran two activities on Saturday morning and in the afternoon we sent out a golf trip, ran a Timberlane ski tournament, started a three day all camp tennis tournament for three age groups and finally sent out a short fishing expedition of our mighty mites. The fishermen (average age 8 and 9 years old) came back yelling and shrieking with delight..They had caught 22 fish and although a few (20 of them) were undersized, they had brought the 2 keeps and were now going to clean them, then fry them and have a gigantic fish fry for 12 guys with 2 pint sized anemic pan fish.I finally convinced them to hold on till they caught more fish in the future so we ended up with a burial for the two fishlings and we sang a few songs.

Saturday evening was BLUE AND WHITE evening and the camp was split into two divisions with Junior, Intermediate and Senior Teams in each division. Then we played games of softball, soccer, football, tennis (doubles) and finally introduced on the most exciting new games that we’ve ever had---it’s called “European Handball” and is played like speedball in which you can throw the ball, dribble it, kick it, and really opens up the game of soccer. The boys loved it, and I know it will be one of the most popular games at camp this season. After our Blue and White evening, we brought the boys into the lodge for a big cocoa and cookie party, and then shuffled them off to bed. Funny, the way the boys drop right off to sleep when they hit the sack. Yesterday the morning opened cloudy and gray---(4th of July) and we ran a tough inspection---there are three cabins vying for 7 inspection wins in a row in their division and if they get it, they I pop for a pizza dinner for each of the guys---you better hope they don’t make it, or the tuition will go up next summer for your boys...We ran our 3rd and 4th activities in the morning and then gave the boys a long rest period. The afternoon activity was an olympic day and the boys competed in six events. They consisted of (1) obstacle race. (2) steal the bacon. (3) dodge ball (4) sprint for time (5) basketball free throw toss (6) broad jump. The boys really put out and it was wonderful watching those brown lean bodies stretching for that extra or to save part of a second in an event. We then let them swim or boat, canoe or sail. After dinner, we’re going to taper off and let the boys have a nice long free period. The dinner as previously mentioned will be a steak fry with lot’s of trimmings, and then we’ll hold our “FILM NIGHT” featuring “Island of the Blue Dolphin,” and during our intermission the boys will be served shelled peanuts and coke, and shells must be tossed on the floor of the lodge where we’ll be showing the film.And the boys were shivering with delight because on Monday morning we were about to have our famed LAZZZZZY BREAKFAST---the idea is to let the campers sleep a bit later and any boys that wanted to help would come to the lodge and help prepare the breakfast---bacon, eggs to your order, toast, cereal, jelly, milk and all you could eat....The campers were the cooks and you can’t imagine the hustling and bustling as the boys call out their food orders and the campers are scurrying around the kitchen. The staff just serve as waiters and do they catch heck from the campers. The whole group usually comes into the mess hall in pajamas and it’s just a lot of rib tickling fun. We will then move into our 4 period day on Monday and at night it’ll be capture the flag with the whole group involved.l We are now moving into longer canoe trips and a 3 day trip will move out on Monday, with two more three day trips slated for Thursday, Tuesday starts our section of activities and at night we’ll be having a quiet campfire with songs, stories and a marshmallow roast. On Wednesday we’ll be having our first cruiser day and our youngsters will bevisiting a wildlife refuge area and will have a chance to feed some animals. At night we have a cookout and then we’ll be having a social with Camp Ohtanegon in which our younger campers will visit their camp, and their older girls will visit our camp. It should be a lot of fun, and Timberlane is a camp that most girl’s camps want to have a social with, because we have boys from so many different areas and the boys aren’t afraid to dance. In fact, the day that the social is over, my boys anxiously await the mail man from then on in the expectation that they may get a letter from one of the gals.

Thursday, we play camp Arrowhead in softball and most of our boys on the all-star teams will have a chance to get involved on one of the games. At night we’ll be having a special Organized Free Program in which the boys will take activities of their choice for one evening only. Friday will be a regular day and we’ll be shooting lot’s of movie pictures of your boys in preparation for our new camp movie, “HIGHLIGHTS OF TIMBERLANE ‘72.” I’m going to take some special shots of the ball boy tennis machine that we have and our new rebound net. Both pieces of equipment have really stoked up our tennis program, and “Swany,” our tennis coach from Rhodesia has even given up his day off to keep working with the boys in the tennis program. Our new trampoline beds arrived and all day long the boys are bouncing on the tramps. One boy came up to me and wanted to buy some trampolines for home. He asked me what it would cost to set up the 2 tramps at home, and when I told him over $1000, he gulped and said, “You know, H.H., I think it’s cheaper just to come to camp and use the tramps. “ Maybe he’s right. Our Next movie will be “The GREAT RACE”and it is another fine movie.

TIME OUT---I’ve had to stop writing this letter since 9:00A.M. Here is the sequence of events. One boy came to me complaining that another camper was bullying him and kicking up on his double bunk bed at 6:00 A.M. I got both parties together and amicably settled the scuffle. A second camper came up to me with tears in eyes and asked if he could stay the last 4 weeks and I told him that I’d have to talk to his folks. A third guy came up and asked if he could call home. I asked why, and he said that he hadn’t heard from home during the past 5 days. I called home to check and really was somewhat upset at his parents for not writing. You have no right to expect your boys to write home if you don’t do the same yourself. Just now, Stevie Gubin came into my office with 8 fish and wants me to help clean the fish and he’d like the fish for breakfast. I guess I’ll have to show him how to scale the fish,

11:00 A.M.---I just returned from the infirmary...One of the boys cut his finger and it needed two stitches. I called his folks and they were very nice about it. (Thank goodness, I’ll never get gray---if I don’t want to) Just a few other notes---each of you should have gotten my 1st newsletter last week and also a note and a cabin picture from you son’s counselors. If you didn’t, then please let me know. This weekend our counselors will be sending you a more personal letter about your son, and a I mentioned previously, drop them a return line to let them know you were pleased to hear from them. Now for a touchy problem---the matter of some parents wanting to send the counselor a TIP...----NOOOOOOOOOOO--I do not want nor will any counselor accept a tip from a parent. I pay a fair salary, and I feel that this idea of tipping can lead to special pressures on both the staff or some of the campers. If you want to send a thank you---fine, or a shirt or something of this nature, that’s O.K. Eventually, I feel that just the time necessary to say thank you via a note or when you see the counselor is sufficient reward.

A special hats off to my photography campers. I enlarged the darkroom to twice the original size and then I told the photography students that it would be their job to fix up the inside, so they moved in like bees and began to drywall the inside, paint it black, and seal off any areas where light was getting in. They'll be done today and the photo shack really looks professional. I also want to commend the boys who are serving as disc-jockeys on our camp radio station. I watched them deliver a commercial and it was most businesslike--Even the light announcing that they were on the air because they will be playing Camp Flambeau tomorrow night in a buckets game and we are the underdogs. I used to be a star on the team, but I’ve noticed that every time we get ready to start a game, they hand me a whistle and a basketball and claim that they couldn’t get along without my special skill at refereeing. I’m beginning to get the idea that maybe they think I’m too old, and each evening as I sit down, I feel that maybe they’re right.

Another interruption---the maintenance man poured fuel oil in our tractor’s gas tank---Gloryosky, isn’t there any end to these interruptions...Oh, Oh, here comes Steve Silver and Fred Heller yelling with delight----”H.H.” they just shouted, look what we found, isn’t it nifty.” With that they handed me a slippery, cozy, 11/2 ft. long garter snake. (Grass snake) I hate snakes this type of snake. They wanted if for cabin pet, but I convinced them that it was a lousy idea. Here’s a cute one--- on our last steak fry, I was making sure that each guy got seconds, and then we’d give out extras if anyone wanted one...Standing on the side was yound John Levy of Dallas, Texas with sad soulful eyes, and I pulled him to the front of the line, and I said if I give this steak sandwich to you will it be your second one---he looked at me mournfully and, “No, H.H. it’ll be my fifths.” But that’s the way it goes... Each day these boys mean more and more to the staff and each one has his extra special meaning to us and camp.

Again, remember, only a couple of openings left for the last 4 weeks, so you’ve got to let me know if you want your son to stay on at camp if he isn’t signedup for the last 4 weeks. It’s been just great and now I’m going to go home at 10:00 P.M. dig into my refrigerator and something for a snack---OH,OH,I opened the freezer and there were Gubin’s fish, then I opened the refrigerator, and there were Gubin’s box of worms. ---you can’t win..

Bye Bye
H.H

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