SISTERS, SISTERS, SISTERS….
For all the girls out there who had their sisters follow them to camp… Tell us about it.
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LESLIE and NORMA
(Leslie)
What year did you first go to Camp Quidnunc?
1969.
Did you and your sister attend camp at the same time?
Nope.
Did either of you ever work at camp?
Not Leslie.
Did you both have the same feelings and excitement about going to camp in the summer?
Yes, couldn’t wait to go because Norma had such a great time!
For the younger sister: Did you go to Camp Quidnunc because your sister went there?
Yes!
Do you share the same memories about camp?
People, places, things...
Norma didn’t remember I went!
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(Norma)
What year did you first go to Camp Quidnunc?
1967
Did you and your sister attend camp at the same time?
No
Did either of you ever work at camp?
I did
What positions and when?
Kitchen Aide (1968) and Counselor (Rocky Ledges) (1969)
Did you both have the same feelings and excitement about going to camp in the summer?
I don’t think so since I went back and she did not.
For the older sister: Did you have any influence on your sister’s choice of where she should go to camp?
Yes in the sense she wanted to go where I went.
Do you share the same memories about camp?
People, places, things...
Not really since we were not there together and the Staff was not the same.
How did working or attending camp influence you later in life?
Attending and working at camp helped me to get over my shyness. My self-confidence was strengthened and I learned that I could do anything that I set my mind to.
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MOUSE and NICKI
(Mouse)
What year did you first go to Camp Quidnunc?
1959 or 1960, I think.
Did you and your sister attend camp at the same time?
Yes
Did either of you ever work at camp?
We both did.
What positions and when? Were you ever on staff together?
Office Aide, counselor, Asst. Unit Leader, Unit Leader.
Yes we were on staff together the last session of my last year there.
Did you both have the same feelings and excitement about going to camp in the summer?
Yes!
Did having a sister at camp change the experience for you? For example, knowing she was there for support or to borrow clothes etc…?
Yes, I loved seeing her at camp…didn’t always feel the same way at homeJ
For the older sister: Did you have any influence on your sister’s choice of where she should go to camp?
I didn’t give her a choice!
Do you share the same memories about camp? People, places, things...
Yes, but we had our own friends. I was with some of the older sisters, and she was with the younger ones.
Tell us about the same ones and the different ones.
I often remember the pranks we pulled, i.e., skinny dipping in Kanawaukee at night and almost being caught by the police who were flashing their lights into the bushes we were hiding in, painting the tent steps green, and some I can’t even mention. That was me…Nicki was a good girlJ
How did working or attending camp influence you later in life?
It influenced me to go away to college and to become a teacher.
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(Nicki)
What year did you first go to
1961.
Did you and your sister attend camp at the same time?
Most of the years.
Did either of you ever work at camp?
Yes, both of us.
What positions and when?
Pot girl (1966?) and counselor (1967-1969).
Did you both have the same feelings and excitement about going to camp in the summer?
Yes!
Did having a sister at camp change the experience for you? For example, knowing she was there for support or to borrow clothes etc…?
Yes, since I had my older sister there it was comforting.
For the younger sister: Did you go to
Yes, we wanted to be together.
Do you share the same memories about camp? People, places, things...
Yes, although my sister remembers more than I do.
Tell us about the same ones and the different ones.
The songs, the campers, Ellie, the counselors, Charlie, the nurses, kapers, arts and crafts, the banquets at the end of the summer. I was there longer than my sister so knew some people she didn’t.
How did working or attending camp influence you later in life?
It made me appreciate nature the rest of my life. My sister and I always had fond memories to share and songs to sing together.
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(Pam)
What year did you first go to
1960
Did you and your sister attend camp at the same time?
Yes. I first went in 1960 (1960-68), and Wendy went three years later in 1963 (1963-71).
Did either of you ever work at camp?
Yes.
What positions and when?
I worked in the kitchen in 1968; Wendy worked in the kitchen in 1971 and on the waterfront in 1972.
Were you ever on staff together?
No. I had a contract to work on the waterfront in 1969, but I went to work as a swimming instructor for the town of
Did you both have the same feelings and excitement about going to camp in the summer?
Absolutely, it was the highlight of our year.
Did having a sister at camp change the experience for you? For example, knowing she was there for support or to borrow clothes etc…
Well, Wendy and I were never able to share clothes. I have always been about a foot taller than she is. It was always great to have her there with me.
For the older sister: Did you have any influence on your sister’s choice of where she should go to camp?
I am sure I did. I started in the Brownie Unit (with Debbie Wood) when I was 8. Wendy came to Quid three years later when she was 8.
Do you share the same memories about camp? People, places, things…
Oh, yes. We share a lot of friends—Pixie, Babs, etc. For us, it was also a chance to get away from an increasingly dysfunctional family, and I think that that was really important for our mental health.
Tell us about the same ones and the different ones.
I probably remember some things that Wendy does not—the old dining hall, Upper and Lower Sky Blue, and units based entirely on age, rather than interests. I was probably a bit more involved in swimming and canoeing that Wendy was initially; I spent 4 years in the waterfront units. We are both swimmers at heart. We both took our WSI as college freshmen and went on to teach swimming for years.
How did working or attending camp influence you later in life?
It probably gave me confidence that I can do just about anything. Archaeology involves a lot of hard physical work, living in tents, and cooking under challenging conditions. I cannot imagine that I could have done it if I had not spent all those years in the 60s at camp. It probably made me a better parent as well. I am really good at making do, and I think that’s an important life skill.
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(Doggie)
Well, I don't know if Babs WANTED to follow me anywhere...she went into Scouting and through elementary school behind me since we are 2 years and 9 months apart. But go to Quidnunc she did...and she loved it just as I did.
I first went as a 2-weeker, resident of
At that time, Judy (aka in later years as "Babs" of the Pioneer Unit) was too young to go to camp, but she got to see me off for that and a fewadditional years. Didn't we depart to all the GS camps from a school in
We were in camp at the same time for a few years, but having my sister there didn't change, add, or detract from my experiences at Quid. I loved camp, everything from portaging canoes and naming the new "lumies" to seeing the Iron Mines or going down the Delaware River, to watching Pam (Bif-barf Spam-lovin' Crabtree) pirouette across our tent floor, to Scouts' Own and religious services and campfires and canteen, to counting my myriad mosquito bites! (Some years, I looked as if I had measles because there were so many welts where I'd scratched!)
AND now we break into song:
Oh, I wish I were a little mosquito, mosquito,
Oh, I wish I were a little mosquito...
I'd be bite-y, bite-y, bite-y
under everybody's nighty,
Oh I wish I were a little mosquito.
Babs and I were both kitchen aides, though not the same years. I got
to sling the wash and rinse buckets...and I have a handwritten letter from Miss Ellie that accompanied my typed on a typewriter contract. I have (and forwarded to you all) staff photos from our end-of-summer banquet at Bear Mountain Inn.
We were always excited to go, and never wanted to leave. I got to see her at dining hall and at services and campfires, but, especially when she was in Pioneers, she was never at camp! And she loved the girls in that unit and Judy Glaubinger and Flashy. She went to Quidnunc initially because our mother wanted us to be together...but thereafter because she loved it there.
We sing messages to each other's answering machines...Hillbilly Will,
I Livie Uppy, Baby's Boat, White Coral Bells, Our Chalet--depends upon the mood of the one calling.
During nearly 50 years, we talk about camp and look over old photos, gave our children capers to do, and made Tuna Wiggle and S'mores and Campfire Stew with our children. I have used crafts I learned atcamp with my Brownies and Juniors--terrariums, for example.
One difference, I have recently found out, is that my sister, my kid sister,led her unit on refrigerator raids. I WAS THE GOODY-2-shoes. I never did anything of the kind!!!
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What year did you first come to camp? 1939.
How many years did you go to camp? 8 years, from 1939 - 1946.
Were you on staff? Yes.
What positions did you hold? Apprentice, Counselor.
What was a typical day like back then? Breakfast, hard jobs, or clean up your tent. Tent inspection. Activity for the Unit (hiking, swimming, crafts, etc.). Lunch. Rest hour. Activity for the Unit. Dinner. Campfire/read books aloud. Bedtime. The waterfront unit swam twice a day.
Do you still keep in touch with any friends from your camper days? No, but I really wish I had.
What is your fondest memory of camp ( or two or three)? "Scout's Own" which was every Sunday evening. A unit would create their own program. It was musical and inspirational, with poetry and singing. The entire camp would attend. It was often held down by the waterfront where the two trees are. My favorite place, to this very day, is the spot down by the waterfront where the two trees frame the lake. We all have attended ceremonies there and know exactly where that spot is.
Tell us about your daughter Carol. She is smart, very funny and she loved camp!.She was a Girl Scout for 10 years and enjoyed it very much. Quidnunc is a very special place for both of us.
How did your camp experience compare to Carol's, what changed and/or stayed the same? The Dining Hall was in a different place when I was there, and the cooks used a wood stove to cook on. The units changed names a bit. Sleepy Hollow was for the little girls, the Brownies, and then came HAW for the 10 year olds, and Sky Blue was actually Upper and Lower Sky Blue for the 11 and 12 year olds. The ages were not mixed. Neppie's used to be called "Never Never Land". In Carol's first year at camp the age range was too broad, there were 13 year olds all the way up to 15 and16 year olds. I don't think they made that mistake again. It was the Waterfront Unit, so I guess they wanted to include all the girls that were interested. Carol had the new Dining Hall.
How would you like to be a camper again? I think it would be fun, but maybe hard due to my age.
What would you like to see for the future of the camps' alumnae? For those who want to be able to stay in contact with one another.
Other Information: Hard jobs were clean the La's, chopping wood, bringing in the wood for the cooks. The cook was Mrs. Gamble when I was there. Apprentice = training to be a counselor. Journeyman = assigned to a unit to assist counselors. Counselor = permanently assigned to a unit.
Things remembered: Hiking to the Iron Mines, Lemon Squeeze and Flat Rock (or Dot's Rock).
I was a GS Leader for the Cadet years. Carol was in Brownies, Cadets and Senior troops. She was a Girl Scout from Brownie all the way to a Senior GS, and was in a Mariner Senior Troop.
