Mail Call!

We all loved getting letters at camp. When I was there, mail was usually distributed right after lunch. I received this letter from Don, and decided to share it all with you. I think Don had some very valid points, and to some extent I agree with him.

I will let you read his letter and my response, and you can decide for yourself.


Hi Bob!

Your request for stories piqued my interest. I have two things for you. One is that I am the guy who took all the plaques from the senior cabins. My wife is about ready to set them out on the curb so if you could see your way clear to mentioning them on your blog I’d be grateful.

The second is you mentioned showing your children what a great place camp was. No offense meant but one of the reasons I stopped going to the reunions was the tendency on everyone’s part to look back rather than forward. Stipulated, Fort Scott was magical and will live in my heart forever. But now it’s gone and I have kids who can never go there however much I might wish they could. I faced that fact four years ago and found a camp that they could go to in southern Illinois called Camp Ondessonk. I too grew up at Ft Scott (1970-1980) and can truly say that the magic of camp is not the place, it’s what you do there and the people you do it with.

For the last four years my kids have gone to Camp O and I have volunteered for three of those (Duty in Afghanistan kept me away one summer). Camp O is every bit as magical as Fort Scott was. So if you are looking for a place where your kids can create their own memories you would do well to consider sending them to Camp Ondessonk. And who knows, depending on when you send them I may be one of their counselors for the “All Day Hike” and/or Woodsmanship just as I was your counselor on Nature program in 1979 and 1980. I’ve taken the best part of Fort Scott to Camp Ondessonk with me you see, the part that lives in my heart.

I volunteer there every summer while my kids go as campers. My daughter will (Hopefully!) be asked back as first year staff next year (CITs to you and me). That’s the other great thing about Camp O, you don’t have to live vicariously through your kids. You can go too as a volunteer. That’s what I do and will likely continue to do long after my kids grow up and can’t go to camp anymore, except they can volunteer as I do and eventually their kids will go to camp.

You see, it’s all about looking forward, not back. I wish you well with your blog. I considered posting this rely to all rather than just you, but in the end decided against doing so. Many might not want to hear what I have to say. If you think my comments have merit by all means post them on the blog and that will serve the purpose of getting out both of my messages.

Cheers!

Don Koehler
Fort Scott Bi-Na Club 1977Camp Ondessonk Lodges of Ondessonk & Tekawitha 2005



Don,
I will go ahead and post your letter verbatim and hopefully those who want any of the plaques will contact you before the plaques get sent to Mt. Rumpke.

Regarding your outlook towards the past (Fort Scott) and the future ( Camp O) I agree with you whole heartedly. I appreciate your sharing about Camp O, and consider your endorsement of Camp O to be very high praise. Who better to evaluate the pros and cons of a camp than someone who was a camper and counselor at Fort Scott.

This blog is not meant so much to dwell on the past, but rather to chronicle a place and a family that has touched by conservative estimate, nearly 40,000 people in the time that camp was open. Yes, Fort Scott is gone. All one has to do is drive by and see what they have done to the grounds and the forest to realize that there is no returning to the past. I think it is sadly ironic that the developer would not let our camp rest in peace, but chose to keep the name, but that is a discussion for another day.

So why not consider this blog as a family photo album, or perhaps a digital museum? I remember you as a counselor during my first years as a camper. That seemed to be a time when Fort Scott was at it’s very best.

Lastly, and most importantly, thank you for your service to our country.

My best to you and your family,
Bob Saurber