Horses rescue in Holland-new music score

This has Nothing to do with camp, but since we were on the topic of horses.....
These horses had been stranded on that island for several days due to rising flood waters. Many had died from drowning or exhaustion before the rescuers could get them to safety.

Bob

The Man From Snowy River - Banjo's Poem

The riding staff should remember this movie.

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

Every job has its perks....

For me, one of the really nice advantages to being an AD of the Boys camp was that I went on every canoe trip. I am not sure that they needed me there...maybe it was a ploy to get rid of me for a few hours.

Anyway, for me there was nothing better than a few hours drifting down the Whitewater river watching our campers have a great time and soaking up the sun.

I made it a point to be in the lead canoe because it held the food and drinks, so nobody would dare tip us. There was always one of the girls staff members in the canoe, so the company was pleasant as well.

I really miss the cold bologna sandwiches that we would eat while pulled up on a beach somewhere along the way. But I miss the peaceful hours the most.

Morgan's Canoe Livery has really expanded their operation since 1988 and they have a nice website as well.

http://www.morganscanoe.com/brookville/photos.cfm

Bob

Blame it on the Boy Scouts

British Bulldog Game A Favorite Game
This Game is meant for Boy Scouts.Decide for yourself if it is appropriate for your younger scouts or not.
Notes:
This gets VERY physical. You may want to address your larger scouts aside before the game about handling smaller scouts.
Instructions:
One scout is the 'bulldog' and stands in the center of the play area. Troop lines up at one end of play area. When the bulldog yells, 'British Bulldog', all scouts run to the far end of the play area, avoiding the bulldog. To capture someone, the bulldog must lift him completely off the ground long enough to yell, '1, 2, 3, British Bulldog!' He then becomes a bulldog too. The last player caught is the bulldog for the next round.


You can go here: http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/game/game-361.asp for some more cool scouting resources

Bob

Where are they now?

All of us had friends at camp that we have contact with. I thought it would be fun to post this survey and hopefully we might catch up with people that we havent seen or heard from in years.

Name: Bob Saurber
Years at Fort Scott: 1977-1988 (I missed the summer of 84)

Years as camper: 5

Years as counselor: 3

Years in administration :2

Current Occupation: Project Manager for our family company

Current City of Residence: Hamilton, Ohio

Family: Married 15 years. Son 13 years old, Daughter 10 years old

What have you been doing since you left camp?

Other than working, I have sung with the 1992 World Champion, Southern Gateway Barbershop Chorus, I have taught drumlines at two local high schools, and I am currently a member of a barbershop quartet that is in the Top 10 in our district.

Which Fort Scott Family member(s) that you haven’t seen in a long time would you like to see again?

Keith Kinzler, John Farmer, Dennis Knippenberg, many others.

If camp were open again for just one day, what would you like to do?

I would take a long ride in the forest in the morning, play a game or two of volleyball mid day, cool off in the pool in the afternoon, eat some of George Wozniaks clams and corn for dinner, stand under the watertower as it overflowed, walk through the camp at dusk, listening to the activites going on, and finish the day with a campfire at the Indian village.

Which Fort Scott Family member would you like to see fill out this survey?

John, Keith and Dennis

Why not take some time and fill this survey out yourself and let everyone know what you have been up to?

Bob

We loved these guys

So what was it about the maintenance department that was so cool?

As campers you were really knowlegable if you knew the names of the guys out there on the tractors.

As counsellors, you were always in their debt for getting that screen fixed or that toilet unplugged.

As a member of the Administration, I was always glad that they did their jobs so quickly and effeciently so that some of my more stressed out counsellors would have one less thing to complain about.

Along with everything else that they did, they always had the Ultimate Frisbee team that everyone was gunning for.

People admired the maintenance department so much that they would come out to camp early and stay late in order to work alongside them.

Maybe it was the cool trucks that they drove....

In retrospect, I wish that I had thanked them more often for a job well done.

Bob