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Newsletters of Winter Camp XV - Post-Camp
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WEATHERTemperatures were actually quiet warm, ranging from a low of 21 degrees to a high of 53 degrees. Temperatures averaged 9 degrees above the Winter Camp norm. Precipitation came in the form of a record rainfall during most of the last half of camp. If the 3.2 inches of rain had been snow, a virtual winter paradise would have existed. While there was snow cover on the ground for the start of the weekette, none fell during the encampment. This was the first Winter Camp with no recorded snowfall, although a few flakes were sighted before the last departure from camp, but this was after the official close of Winter Camp. Daily weather data is given below:
FOUR-WAY VOLLEYBALLby Brian Bumgardner It was great fun. The first game was won by the May/June/July kids. The second game was won by "The Oatley Children." The Oatley Children came from behind and kicked the crap (expletive deleted) out of the Old Men from Troop 1373. The Oatley Kids rule! THE HIKE FOR THE TIME CAPSULEby Adam Pezet At 3:30 a.m. Winter Camp time, Dan Hammon, Adam Pezet, Ross Mullican, Jeff Rand, and Mark Bollman started on the hike for the time capsule. When we got to the area we dug up the hole by taking turns digging. When the hole was deep enough we put the time capsule inside. Then we took turns covering it. The we found a spot to plant a small pine tree (from the former Charles Howell ceremony site) behind the time capsule. As we were heading back, Jeff decided to show Mark the tree that everyone climbed for the Quest. But when we started back, we saw a strange green light. The we headed to Beaver Creek at about 4:30 a.m. Winter Camp time. INDOOR SOCCERby Dan Hammon This year the soccer match was moved indoors because of the unexpected weather. Since this was the first time we played on a tabletop, we had plenty of rule changes. The purple team dominated the game for most of it. But, the yellow team had three attempts for the goal which would have given them the game. The reason for this was the incredible bad luck of one Winter Camper. But, Joe will remain nameless. The purple team won fair and square, so you won't see this reporter complaining. THE BEAST MEETS JIMby Jim Szabo Sunday, December 27 at Winter Camp XVI, the undefeated arm wrestling champ of Winter Camp met his match when he met Jim. In the first match, Jim took the Beast down in a matter of minutes. Then the Beast left-handed took Jim down. After a long and hard day, during the night of December 27, they arm wrestled once again. Jim took the Beast down (but not quite far enough). Jim had the Beast almost down. But, after a 10 minute struggle, the Beast got his burst of energy and Jim's arm gave out. So far, the Beast remains champ. WINTER CAMP TRIVIAby Mark Bollman Answers from last year:
Questions from Winter Camp XVI:
Questions from the past:
For answers, drop in on Winter Camp XVII. HOWEY FOLLOWS IN FOOTSTEPS OF THE ANCIENTSby Mark Bollman It was Archimedes who said, " Give me a fulcrum, a long enough lever, and a place to stand; and I will move the earth." John Howey has gone ol' Archie one better with his immortal line, "Give me my truck, a long enough rope, and a pulley; and I will lift both Donohues. Winter campers gathered along the road near the BC Building to witness this spectacle, and were thrilled at the sight of both Steve and Ron Donohue rising in succession, off the ground. While the crowd hammered for John to gun his motor and send Steve soaring sunward, discretion proved to be his course of action. Steve's maximum height proved to be about three feet. BODY TEMPERATURES RISE AND FALLOne of the more unique meals, the Body Temperature Lunch sought to adjust human body temperatures through a variety of food temperatures and spices. Jeff Rand in recording his own temperature, started with a near perfect 98.68 degrees, raised it to 100.08 during the hot entree, and cooled to 95.19 during the chilly desert. |
WINTER CAMPERS SELECT NEW HOBBIESOne of the unique events during Winter Camp was the selection of new individual hobbies to pursue during the next year. Each participant presented three proposed hobbies to the group. While the individual was out of the room, a vote was taken and a hobby selected. Hobbies with value to Winter Camp were given first consideration and in the case of a couple of more financially prudent Arrowmen, cost was the first consideration of the group. (That is to maximize cost.) Hobbies selected were as follows:
Best wishes for success to all the new hobbyists. Maybe next year this will be written in Latin. SCHEDULINGWinter Camp XVI, despite the bad weather, had one of the best ratios of scheduled activities being held in recent years. Only three activities were missed (Battle Chess, Ice Cream Making, and Kickball). Of course, to compensate for late bedtimes a few activities were held in the evening and one dinner didn't happen until almost midnight. BLIND HIKECheaters beware! We have you on film! This year's blind hike was filmed as part of the Frankenstein project. The hike took campers from the BC Building to the Jack Lord Nature Pavilion where they suddenly found a monster in their midst. Campers quickly took up arms, lit torches and began to pursue the monster. Although the activity was fun, rumor has it that the monster has retired and will not be starring in a sequel. GAMEFESTThe gamefest reappeared this year and resulted in some interesting competition. Games played included two games of Risk, Othello, Chess, Heroquest and others. One group was actually playing several different games simultaneously. SCOUT JEOPARDYDifficult questions and a bad contestant search resulted in some truly dismal scores during Jeopardy. Even Jeff Rand (our own Alex Trebek) was so disappointed that he made up some easier questions during the game. When the dust settled, Lou Pezet had proven himself the clear champion with the highest of three positive totals. Brian Bumgardner proved the worst contestant, as he was able to amass a total of -1990 dollars, almost triple the previous low score. Brians best question was to the answer "These carnivorous birds made their appearance at Winter Camp I." Brians question- "What are Pterodactyls?" Winter Camp has been around for awhile, but not that long! COMMUNICATIONS SEMINARFor the first time in Winter Camp history, the teaching of a merit badge was a part of the schedule. Although Machinery was the original choice, the number of youth interested in Communications forced a change in plans. The seminar was given by Messrs. Donohue, Donohue, and Wilson and it covered all the requirements of the badge. As part of the seminar. Mr. Wilson demonstrated an Archimedes Screw. Several campers were able to receive partial credit for the badge and they should contact Steve Donohue at 313-386-6055 to complete it. THE CASE OF THE MISSING MARQUISThe Murder-Clue game was played as a board game similar to Clue this year. Campers were organized into four teams, the Dragonslayers, Council of Wizards, Knights of Renown, and Royal Court. They moved from place to place and made their accusations. False accusations were disproved by the competition in a role-playing manner. In the end, the Knights of Renown proved the most wise, as they were able to correctly identify the Marquis, what happened to him, who he was with, and where it happened. PREDATORThe prey divided into two nests for this year's installment and that was the only thing that kept them alive. They were betrayed by Fish Mullican who said, "I turned you all in and I'm glad." Hungry predators were able to destroy the Skyline nest, but a second nest at the new dining hall flourished, advancing all its young to adulthood without getting a single one caught. CHESS TOURNAMENTThe Donohue brothers proved a tough challenge in the chess tournament and wound up facing each other in the finals. In the end, Steve Donohue won the match. To get to the finals, he had beaten Ross Mullican, Brian Mann, Joe Hall, Jeff Rand, and his brother Ron. Ron had defeated many of the same people but an early loss to Dave Woods put him at a serious disadvantage. In the final game, the all out aggression style favored by the brothers resulted in a 12-move game with Steve as the victor. Dave Woods was crowned the youth champion. DIPLOMACYDiplomacy was a again a popular diversion at Clearwater Cabin. Players from both cabins joined in for the first game which ended in a three-way draw between Tim Hunt, Steve Donohue, and Joe Hall. The second game proved inconclusive, although Tim Hunt was deemed to have a slight advantage. The final game included two guests and was won by John Howey whose Austro-Hungarian armies would not be denied. John's secret to success was an early alliance with Italy that lasted until the final turn of the game. |
