Sunday Check-in

Sometimes, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Sunday Check-in is one of thsoe events. While every now and then, someone comes along to ‘crack the code’ of making check in smoother, big chunks of the experience remain the same.

Robert Ponder was a Parnell Staff member in the mid-1970s. Like many of you, in the years since Boxwell, Robert has dabbled with memoirs, writing down aspects of his camp or Scouting experience. He shared some of these with us and we thoughts we would pass along what he had to say about the check-in experience during his time at Boxwell. Some of this might sound familiar…

“Week-long camp at Boxwell Reservation was ritualistic: as regular as “Old Faithful’,” Ponder writes. “The process was easy. Each Sunday afternoon, parents brought their boys to camp (a sea of mayhem as 250 boys and their families descended at the same time). Gear was unloaded from the cars, piled up by campsites (mine was campsite 11-Saskatchewan), and relocated to the center of the campsite by flatbed trailer. While that was being done, campers and their parents walked down to the campsites to make tent selections. Most of the time, you knew who you were going to share the two-man tent with before you arrived. The only real question was which of the tents you were going to get. The older boys, of course, got the tents furthest from the Scoutmasters.”

“At this point, some of the parents would say good-bye,” Ponder continues. Other parents, in particular those who were having difficulty parting with their sons, would hang around for the health check and swim test. After the swim tests (necessary for determining the abilities of each of the campers), any straggling parents were asked to leave. The scouts and scoutmasters were finally on their own.”

See this photo from Camp Craig in 2009. Are things all that different?

The Purloined Patches and The Washing of Feet

As today is Easter, we thought this story about Floyd “Q-ball” Pearce would be apropos. The story is from Gordon Bryan from November of last year. The story takes place at Stahlman in 1970. Ted Naylor was Program Director and Joe Keathley was Camp Director.

“Trading patches was a popular hobby at the time, and Q-Ball was reported to have a great collection. Not sure where he kept the patches, maybe in the back of the handicraft tent or in his quarters at the OA Lodge.

“One day Q-Ball’s collection disappeared, and there was great speculation among the staff concerning the thief’s identity. Q-Ball, who could go from smiling and friendly to sullen in a heartbeat, devised a plan to get his patches back.

“He gathered all the staff – no leaders allowed – in the dining hall one afternoon. Several tables had been moved and a large circle of chairs arranged in place of the tables. Q-Ball stood in the middle of the circle with a bowl of water and a towel. He asked us to be seated and to remove our shoes and socks.

“As we sat in the circle, facing in toward Q-Ball, he slowly went from staff member to staff member, washing our feet. The staff was stone silent as Q-Ball continued his loop within the circle, telling the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. The farther he went around the circle, the more emotional became the staff. Some of us looked on the spectacle with skepticism, many others with eyes that became more dewy with every foot washed.

“Finally, one staff member burst into tears when Q-Ball got to his feet. Can’t remember which staff member it was, or if he was indeed the thief, but Q-Ball had his patches back by the end of the day.”