CAMP MEETING MEMORIES #2

When I was a kid, getting to camp was all about FUN!  The store was a big part of the fun.  But that required money - and kids didn't have money in those days.  As I said before, my Dad gave me a quarter a day to spend, and then there were the pop bottles.  However, there was another rich source of income.

The tabernacle floor was dirt then.  At time for camp every year, the men brought in bales of straw and spread it all through the tabernacle.  When the offering was received, all the people would reach into their pockets to get to their money.  In the process, change would fall into the straw.  Therefore the straw was a goldmine of cash for the youngster willing to spend some time sifting through it!

Then, for the children, there was 'Camp-Within-A-Camp'.  This was one of the coolest parts of camp to me.  At the beginning of our morning lessons, we were led into the woods on the east end of camp.  About fifty feet in we came to a small clearing known as 'Camp-Within-A-Camp'.  Logs and boards were arranged for us to sit on.  A rough, rustic pulpit stood before us.  We would sing, pray, and hear a Bible story in this natural setting before heading back to the main camp for our individual classes and crafts.

We made the neatest things while at camp!  I still have some of these items.  Often, it would take the whole camp to complete the project.  Some I remember:

• a matchstick cross
• a small valuable-box with a tiled top
• a wallet that we engraved with special tools and weaved together with plastic thread
• whistle necklaces that we braided out of plastic thread

These projects always genuinely challenged me and fascinated me.  The children's workers obviously made extensive, ahead-of-time preparations!

And then, when we were old enough, we got to walk up into Thompson Park and climb the 'Big Rock'!  Now, that was fun!  I've been there recently, and it doesn't look as big;  but at the time, it was quite a challenge.  You could climb straight up the front, or sneak up an easier way on the back side (if you were tall enough to make the first step). 

Camp was and is a wonderful place for kids!