Campers savor memories as summer winds down

Letters from camp

By Michael J. Vieira, Standard-Times correspondent

"I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet a success unexpected in common hours."

-- Henry David Thoreau

Summer camp is over. Camp Cachalot's staff of nearly 50 and its hundreds of campers are, for the most part, back to civilization.

For me, it's a bittersweet time. Sure, I can sleep later and retrieve messages faster, but it's at the expense of early walks on paths cut through fields that glisten with morning dew, and that unique ability to say that I can't be reached electronically.

The lashed gateway at Scoutcraft has been untied and stored, the noise of hammers and happy voices at Handicraft have been replaced with silence and the nature area has returned to its spot as an empty clearing on the hill. The canoes and kayaks, rowboats and sailboats will soon be back in storage and the cooling splashes into a crystal-clear pond are over.

For most of the more than 500 campers, the memories will remain, but there are also some souvenirs. There are a few more embroidered merit badges on most Scouts' sashes, and lots of homes now boast a candleholder made of a large tin can. On many a shelf, there's a carved neckerchief slide or a leather knife holder, and probably more than one long car ride will be traveled to a campfire song or a "Boom Chicka Boom."

Camp director Bob Whitlow and program director Charlie Pelissier can rest comfortably, knowing that they delivered on a promise to make camp a great experience for the Scouts and the leaders. The leader evaluation forms, for the most part, rated the experience as outstanding.

The staff was one of the best ever assembled. With their red shirts, mostly tucked in, and staff baseball caps, they presented an image of youth that runs counter to today's media portrayal.

One adult leader, who spends his days and nights as a firefighter, remarked that it was refreshing to see good kids rather than the teens he usually has contact with. Sure, there were some pranks and conflicts, but for the most part the staff members were part of a team.

It didn't matter that in the fall they might be on opposing sides of a football field; for the summer, they were there to serve and to have fun.

Now the mission for all of us who were fortunate enough to spend time at Camp Cachalot is to keep that spirit of wilderness, of wonder and of youth alive. We all need to be able to stop and enjoy a starry sky whether on a city street or in a country field. We all need to be able to take a piece of rope or leather, a tin can or a hunk of wood and create something that's at least beautiful to us -- and our moms. And we all need to be able to sing loudly and cheer powerfully, whether we can carry a tune or not.

That's the gift that Scout camps, and I suppose many other camps, provide. Whether for a week or a season, once in a lifetime or every summer, a camp experience is magical. There's nothing like the time spent shooting arrows or running relays, learning to safely handle a knife or a rifle, sitting around a campfire or under a tent laughing and sharing a story.

I can think back 30 years ago to Camp Noquochoke in Westport and remember learning to swim in the old pool and to paddle a canoe down the Westport River. The time spent on the soft, brown carpet under the white pine grove and exploring the old Sisson graveyard at night are still vivid, but so are the faces of the staff who still serve as role models in many ways.

My 12-year-old son came back from camp this summer not only a Star Scout and 14 merit badges stronger, but with the chance to see that success is not just measured by an athlete's salary, but by the impact a person can have on others. When he thinks of who's "cool," the "Tough Guys" at Scoutcraft and the waterfront staff are sure to be on his list.

Maybe that's what Scouting does best. It provides an alternative to the values society offers. When a 15-year-old is given the opportunity to lead, he usually will. Scouting provides a positive way. When teen-agers are expected to work as a team and serve with a smile, they often will.

The knots and first aid, conservation projects and crafts are important skills, but the leadership and lifetime learning traits are what sets Scouting apart.

When Mr. Thoreau left the woods, he kept the spirit of independence with him. If the more than 500 campers and staff members leave Cachalot with a similar ability to rise above the selfishness, sex and violence of society, then there really is hope for the future.

"In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them."

-- Henry David Thoreau