Staff Week Bills

During the Willhite years (especially in the later part of his run), staff week always had a special entertainment. At some point during the week, Reservation Director Tom Willhite would call on an older staff member and ask him a simple question: do you know how much this bill was last year? He asked about water and electricity every summer. When a staff member was wrong, he laughed it off and moved to someone else before revealing the cost.

There’s no good reason why a staff member would know what that bill would be, but Willhite asked nonetheless. For Willhite, the Ninth Point of the Scout Law might as well have been the First. And you can’t be thrifty if you don’t know how much you are actually spending.

What were the actual costs? According to Willhite, in 1994, his last summer at Boxwell, the water bill was $4000 for the whole year. Seen here is Willhite with two others during staff week in 1993. Willhite is in the white t-shirt behind the lectern.

Tom Willhite collecting paperwork during staff week at Camp Stahlman dining hall, 1993. Photo by Eric Cole