H. W. Gibson

“ CAMPS BOY SCOUTS INFLUENCE OF CAMP LIFE It is great fun to live in the glorious open air, fragrant with the smell of the woods and flowers; it is fun to swim and fish and hike it over the hills; it is fun to sit about the open fire and spin yarns, or watch in silence the glowing embers; but the greatest fun of all is to win the love and confidence of some boy who has been a trouble to himself and everybody else, and help him to become a man.—H. M. Burr.
The summer time is a period of moral deterioration with most boys. ”

“ Our sight is like that of the mole burrowing under the ground. Our wisdom is like a drop of dew upon the grass. Our ignorance is like the great water which no eye can measure.
"'Our life is like a bird coming out of the dark, fluttering for a heart-beat in the tepee and then going forth into the dark again. No one can tell us whence it comes or whither it goes. I have asked the wise men, and they cannot answer; I have listened to the voice of the trees and wind and water, but I do not know their tongue; I have questioned the sun and the moon and the stars, but they are silent. ”

“ Camps for boys are springing up like mushrooms. Literally thousands of boys who have heretofore wasted the glorious summer time loafing on the city streets, or as disastrously at summer hotels or amusement places, are now living during the vacation time under nature's canopy of blue with only enough covering for protection from rain and wind, and absorbing through the pores of their body that vitality which only pure air, sunshine, long hours of sleep, wholesome food, and reasonable discipline can supply. ”

“ To how many does vacation really mean a relaxation, a letting down of effort along one line, without the substitution of anything definite in its place! But he must be a dull soul, indeed, who can come to the right kind of boys' camp and not go away with his muscles harder, his eye brighter, his digestion better, and his spirit more awake to the things that pertain to the Kingdom of God.
"Then again the camp leader must have the ability to forget himself in others. Nowhere can the real play spirit be entered into more completely than in camp life. A watchman is the last thing he must be. ”

“ In a small camp the boy usually brings his own "eating utensils." When the table is set with white oil cloth, white enamelled dishes, both serving and individual, with decorations of ferns, wild flowers or blossoms, the food always seems to taste better and the meal proceeds with that keen enjoyment, which is not only conducive to good digestion but promotive of good fellowship. A dirty table and dishes and rough-house table manners are a disgrace to a camp even as small as six boys. Cleanliness, courtesy and cheerful conversation contribute to the making of character while at meals. ”

“ No matter how large or how small the camp, there must be one who is in absolute control. He may be known as the director, superintendent, or leader. His word is final. He should be a man of executive ability and good common sense. He should have a keen appreciation of justice. A desire to be the friend and counsellor of every boy must always govern his action. He will always have the interest and welfare of every individual boy at heart, realizing that parents have literally turned over to his care and keeping, for the time being, the bodies and souls of their boys. ”

“ A pile of stones made to serve as an altar or pulpit, a chapel having the branches of a friendly pine as its roof and under which are built a reading desk and seats of white birch, a cathedral with towering columns of pine and cushions of pine needles, a rocky shore along the ocean—all are places where boys have heard the appeal for right living and responded with an earnest decision that marked an advance step in their moral and religious growth. ”

“ Camping has as good an effect on a boy's character as it has upon his health. It teaches him to be self-reliant, to look after his own wants, and not to be abnormally self-centered. It is marvellous how much more tidy and considerate a boy becomes after he has had a season in camp, looking after himself and his own belongings, as well as sharing in keeping his tent neat and clean, and having his part in the day's work. ”

“ The last night in a boys' camp should be the best of all the nights. It is usually a night of reminiscence. Around the camp fire or log fire in the "Lodge," all the campers gather and rehearse the good times of the days that have passed all too quickly—those days of close intimacy of tent life, where boys of different tastes, temperaments and dispositions were thrown together, where life's great lessons of give and take were learned and where character was put to the test! ”

“ When athletics degenerate into a mere spectacle, then is the stability of the nation weakened. Greece led the world, while the youth of that great country deemed it an honor to struggle for the laurel leaf, and gymnasiums were everywhere and universally used and the people saw little good in an education that neglected the body. It is a significant fact that the degeneracy of Greece was synchronous with the degrading of athletics into mere professional contests. What had been the athletics of the people became a spectacle for the people. ”

“ A group of boys interested in a study of fish may well be organized for an all-day trip to the root of the rapids or the bay of springs; others with geological preferences may spend a night on the top of the distant hill which offers outcroppings of interest; the embryo botanists cannot do better than to take a bog trot for the rare orchid, anomalous pitcher plant, or glistening sun dew; lovers of the deep shade may paddle to the inlet of the creek and there enjoy a side trip on the fragrant carpet of hemlock and pine needles ”

“ Curtailing a boy's privileges, such as swimming, boating, taking away his dessert, are other methods in vogue in boys' camps. When a boy swears, if he is a "scout," the other "scouts" pour a cup of cold water down the offender's sleeve or back, for each offence. Some boys have been cured of swearing by having their mouths washed out with "Welcome Soap," publicly, along the shore of the lake or stream, with camp-mates as silent spectators. Make the "punishment fit the crime," but always the kind of punishment which the boy will acknowledge is deserved and just. Never punish in anger. ”

“ Camping should give to the boy that self-reliance which is so essential in the making of a life, that faith in others which is the foundation of society, that spirit of altruism which will make him want to be of service in helping other fellows, that consciousness of God as evidenced in His handiwork which will give him a basis of morality, enduring and reasonable, and a spirit of reverence for things sacred and eternal. ”

“ He sat so long silent at the council board that the elders questioned him. To their questioning he replied, like one awakening from a dream:
"'Our fathers since the beginning have trailed the beasts of the woods. There is none so cunning as the fox, but we can trail him to his lair. Though we are weaker than the great bear and buffalo, yet by our wisdom we overcome them. The deer is more swift of foot, but by craft we overtake him. We cannot fly like a bird, but we snare the winged one with a hair. ”

“ L. H. Bailey says, "The modern idea of Nature Study is, to put the boy in a sympathetic attitude toward nature for the purpose of increasing the joy of living. Nature study is not science. It is not knowledge. It is spirit. ”

“ With this kind of a spirit, blankets are taken out of the tent to be aired and the sides of the tent tied up, the camp is cleaned and put in a sanitary condition, the tents are put in order, and kitchen work, if part of the boys' duties, is attended to. All work should be finished by 9.30. No matter whether the boy pays twenty dollars a week or three dollars a week for the outing, labor of some sort should be a part of his daily life while at camp, for when one gets to love work, his life becomes a happy one. The world despises a shirker but honors a worker. ”

“ We have made ourselves many cunning inventions by which the beasts, the trees, the wind, the water, and the fire become our servants.
"'Then we speak great swelling words: How great and wise we are! There is none like us in the air, in the wood, or in the water! ”

“ The word dirt in its strict sense comes from the Anglo-Saxon 'drit,' or excrement. 'Dirt,' then, is not earth or clean sand—not clean dirt, but dirty dirt, that is, matter soiled by some of the excreta of the human or animal body. Cleanliness must be insisted upon in a boys' Camp—not the cleanliness that makes a boy squeamish about working with his hands upon some necessary job, but cleanliness that makes him afraid of sharing his tooth brush or table utensils or his clothes. ”

“ The only need of a waiter is to bring the food to the tables and replenish the dishes. Each boy takes his turn at waiting. If there are seven boys in a tent, a boy serves one day in seven. He usually sits at the right side of the leader and eats his meal with the others. This does away with a second or "waiter" table. By this system you avoid the tendency to smartness and roughness. Each leader is careful to see that food is not wasted at his table, that decency and order is preserved, and wholesome conversation and pleasantries indulged in during the meal, as an aid to good digestion. ”

“ Friendships have been formed which will last through life. The same group of fellows will never come together again. The director, perhaps as no other person, realizes the importance of making this night one of permanent impression, and his "good-by" talk to the fellows will reiterate the "why" of camping and emphasize the taking home of the spirit of good which has prevailed and the making it count for the best things in home, school, factory and church life of those boys who enjoyed the benefits of the camp. ”

“ A choir of men and boys responding in the distance to the hymns of the camp boys, in antiphonal manner, a cornetist playing a hymn in the distance, make an impression never to be forgotten.
The great test of camp life is not the fun the boy had, or his gain in weight, height or lung capacity, or the friendships formed, or his increased knowledge in woodcraft, but his advancement in character-making and gain in spiritual vigor. ”

“ It is more natural for a boy to follow a leader than to listen to wise counsellors. "Come on, fellows, let's—" meets with hearty response. "Boys, do this," is an entirely different thing. Leaders should hold frequent councils regarding the life of the camp and share in determining its policy.
The most fruitful source of supply of leaders should be the colleges and preparatory schools. No vacation can be so profitably spent as that given over to the leadership of boy life. Here is a form of altruistic service which should appeal to purposeful college men. ”

“ The importance of a visit to the dentist before coming to camp cannot be over-estimated. Every one knows the torture of a toothache, and realizes how unbearable it must be for a boy away from home and among other boys, sympathetic, of course, but busy having a good time, and with only a few patent gums to relieve the misery, and the dentist perhaps not available for two days. ”

“ I cannot conceive of a camp that does not have a big fire! Our city houses do not have it, not even a fireplace. The fireplace is one of the greatest schools the imagination has ever had or ever can have. ”

“ But as men grew stronger and more cunning and learned how to live together, they had more time to think and more mind to think with.
"Men had learned many things. They had learned that cold weather followed hot, and spring followed winter, and that the sun got up in the morning and went to bed at night. They saw that the great water was kindly when the sun shone, but when the sun hid its face and the wind blew upon it, it grew black and angry and upset their canoes. ”

“ Every boy going to camp agrees, in signing his application, to observe whatever rules are decided upon as best for the welfare of all. Boys should be trusted and expected to do as the majority think best. There should be a happy understanding and mutual confidence existing which should make a long list of rules unnecessary. When the boys arrive in camp, the director should outline and explain the purpose and policy of the camp in kind, but unmistakable terms. ”

“ Bring rule books on athletics. Study up group games. Bring any old clothes for costumes; tambourines and bones for minstrel show, grease paint, and burnt cork—in fact, anything that you think will add to the fun of the camp. Good stories and jokes are always in demand. Bring something interesting to read to your boys on rainy days. Think out some stunt to do at the social gatherings. If you play an instrument, be sure to bring it along with you. ”

“ Too Much House
"Too much house," says Jacob Riis; "Civilization has been making of the world a hothouse. Man's instinct of self-preservation rebels; hence the appeal for the return to the simple life that is growing loud." Boys need to get away from the schoolroom and books, and may I say the martyrdom of examinations, high marks, promotions and exhibitions! Medical examinations of school children reveal some startling facts. Why should boys suffer from nerves? Are we sacrificing bodily vigor for abnormal intellectual growth? Have we been fighting against instead of cooperating with nature? ”

“ In the second place, the opportunity comes to the camp leader to know boys as few other people know them, sometimes even better than their own parents know them. When you live, eat, sleep with a boy in the open, free life of camp for a month or so, you come in contact with him at vastly more points than you do in the more restrained home life, and you see sides of his nature that are seldom seen at other times. ”

“ The day of the extreme "rough-house" camp has passed. Boys have discovered that real fun does not mean hurting or discomforting others, but consists in making others happy. The boy who gets the most out of camp is the boy who puts the most into camp. ”