Skits at Zoar Valley Camp

I remember two skits, but only one clearly.

Two campers, one standing directly behind the other.  Camper in front has arms behind second camper... second camper has arms twining through to the front.  (which probably makes no sense at all unless you remember the skit!)

Went something like this, and you will need to imagine some of the gestures.

One night, down on the old plantation, all was quiet.  Ma was doin' her knitting (gesture), Pa was reading his paper (gesture), and I was just sittin' around doin' nothin.' (gesture, one arm across chest, the other hand up supporting the head to one side.)

Then came a knock-knock-knock at the do'.  Pa said, "Lucille, you go get that do'!" And I said "yessir, yessir, yessir," (both campers sashaying right, left right), and I did.

There at the door was a tall, fat, skinny, little man.... and he said "Lucille, take me to see your Pa!" And I said "Yessir, etc.... )   And they talked -- politics, and politics, and politics, 'til I was SO tired I fell asleep.   (Many gestures)

(repeat)

(Third time.... )
There at the door was the same tall, fat, skinny little man.  And he said "Lucille, will you marry me?"  And I said Yessir, yessir, yessir, and I did!
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The other one - at least I think it was a skit -- had to do with poor Nell being tied to the railroad tracks, and a refrain of "You MUST pay the rent" "I CAN'T pay the rent" etc.  Anybody remember that one?

I suspect that there were other "standard" skits ... surely the kids were not improvising that much!  But that's all I remember.

Campfires at Zoar Valley Camp

I always loved arriving at Zoar Valley... camp sessions started on Sunday afternoon, and arrival was a lovely chaotic scene of parents and girls and camp staff and luggage.  Eventually that was all sorted out, goodbyes were said, and I would find myself on my unit.  All good.  But the REAL feeling of being home again... the campfire that first evening of every session.

What is it about campfires?  At Zoar Valley, every unit had a nightly campfire.  We would gather the wood for the fire during the day, and have everything ready to go.  Like good campers everywhere, our preparations would include laying in a good supply of graham crackers, marshmallows, and Hershey bars.  (Truth be told, although I have eaten my share of S'Mores over the years, I am just as happy with toasted marshmallows.)

So at dusk, everyone would change into more mosquito- and chill-resistant clothing.... long sleeves, long pants, maybe a sweatshirt.  And along the paths to the campfire, flashlights flickering in the woods.

The best part?  The music.  I learned how to play guitar the first year I was a counselor at Zoar Valley... several of us had bought cheap folk guitars and we were teaching our selves and teaching one another.  I quickly got to the point where I could play basic chords... and the vast majority of camp songs require only basic chords, nothing more.   The guitars really enlivened the nightly singalongs around the campfire!  We would sing songs as we lit the fire, sing for an hour or so around the fire, sing a soft closing song before we extinguished the fire for that evening and headed off to our cots.

Sometimes the campfires included non-singing.. for example, "Going on a Lion Hunt."   Just spoken by one leader -- the kids participated in gestures and sounds.... We're going on a lion hunt!  You ready?  Let's go!  Leaving the house, shutting the door (sound of a slam)... walking down the path (hands slapping thighs, rhythmically).  Oh no!  Tall grass!  Can't go around it, can't go over it... we'll have to go through it (hands parting the grass, sounds of shhhh shhhh shhhh).  OK, whew, we made it.  Walking along, looking for the lions. (hands rhythmically on thighs again.)  Oh no!  A big river!  Can't go around it!  Can't go over it!  We'll have to go through it!  (swmming gestures, splashing noises)  ETc.  Until eventually we would SEE THE LION and quickly reverse all of the the steps, complete with gestures and noises until WHEW, we were back inside the house.

Sometimes we had little skits - some standard ones "Yessir, yessir, yessir" -- and others where the kids would come up with a little plot and lines, and act out the skits by the fire.

But mostly I remember the music.  Tall Timbers Calling.  Land of the Silver Birch.  These were songs for the campfire, not likely to be sung while hiking or preparing food or whatever.   I can see almost smell the woodsmoke.. i can see the circle of campers and staff around the fire.  Those were lovely, lovely evenings.

Many years later, far from Zoar Valley, a friend and I went camping in Maine.  By then I was very comfortable with my guitar!  Most evenings we would have a campfire.  Some nights, other nearby campers would wander over and sit a while and sing with us.  And we would toast marshmallows, and enjoy the firelight in the middle of the dark woods, and be happy.

What is it about a campfire?

Info about the sale of Zoar Valley Camp

Zoar Valley Camp was sold in 2011

Zoar Valley Camp was sold to a group of private investors.

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2011/01/10/girl-scouts-sell-zoar-valley-camp-for.html?page=all

One of the new owners, Joe Leggett, is on FB, and is monitoring the FB page for the Zoar Valley Camp group on FB...   https://www.facebook.com/groups/2204514555/

I asked Joe if he would be running Zoar Valley as a camp - he said no, way too much money required to bring it up to code. A group has bought the camp property as a private recreational area.  Joe is very open to talking about reunions and visitors, though!

Songs from Zoar Valley Camp

Songs I remember from Zoar Valley Camp

These are songs that we sang at camp in the '50s and '60s. Just a list... hoping that others will add more songs!  I have copies of lyrics for many of these if anyone is interested.  I have a separate post with links to some other sites with lists of songs and lyrics.

Some (not many, alas) are available in iTunes. Others may be found on YouTube.

All Night, All dayAsh GroveBarges (Out of my window, looking in the night.... )Bear Song (The other day (echo) I met a bear (echo)....Bed is Too SmallBeen Riding  Blowin’ in the WindBoom-de-ya-da (I love the flowers and the daffodils... )Brownie smile songDo LordDona nobis pacemDonkey RidingEach Campfire Lights AnewErie CanalFire's Burning (round)Five Hundred MilesFor Health and Strength and Daily BreadFrisco Bay (In Frisco Bay there lived a whale… )Girl Scouts TogetherGod Has Created a New DayGreen Grow the Rushes HoHappy Wanderer (Val-de-ree, Val-de-rah!)He’s Got the Whole World in His HandsHello, hello, hello, helloHorsey, Horsey (a round)I Know an Old Lady who swallowed a flyI Want to LingerIf I Had a HammerIn Frisco Bay There Lived a WhaleIndian Song (Indians are high minded… )Jacob’s LadderJohn Jacob Jingleheimer SchmidtJohnny AppleseedJonah (Jonah in the belly of the whale)KookaburraKumbayahLand of the Silver BirchLion Hunt (verbal, not sung)Little Cabin in the Woods (no words)Lord Told Noah, There's Gonna be a floody-floodyMake New Friends (but keep the old… )   (a round)Mandy, Bahama Girl (this was eventually "banned" - we loved it all the more for that…. )Mermaid (twas Friday morn when we set sail… )Merry-go-round (mostly just sounds -- um-sh-sh, um-tweedle-ee, etc, with one group singing nasal wordless "Did you ever see a lassie" melody)Michael Row the Boat AshoreMorning (Noontime, Evening) is here (come bow your head)Music alone shall liveMy Country is My Cathedral (…. They all call it Canada, but I call it home; we sang this or O Canada at flag ceremonies when we had Girl Guides with us on Trailblazer)My Rose (My Rose she died… echo)My Ship Sailed from ChinaMy Wagon (Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding, here comes my wagon)No Man Is An IslandOh how lovely is the eveningOur ChaletPeace of the RiverPink Pajamas (She wears her pink pajamas in the summer when it's hot - melody, Battle Hymn of the Republic)Pioneer Song (We are the Pioneers, jolly old Pioneers...)Puff the Magic DragonRiddle Song (I gave my love a cherry that had no stone...)Rise Up O Flame ( round)Rock My Soul in the Bosom of AbrahamShe wears a G for GenerositySherwood Song (Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen…)Sixpence (I've got sixpence, jolly jolly sixpence... )Swiftly Flowing LabeTall Timbers CallingTell Me WhyTen in a BedThe Ants Go MarchingThe Ash GroveThe Bear (The Other Day I Met a Bear)The Happy Wanderer (Val-de-ree, val-de-rah)The Marvelous ToyThe Riddle Song (I Gave My Love a Cherry)This Land is Your LandThis Little Light of MineThree Jolly FishermanTitanic (this was "banned" also)TodayWayfarer’s Grace (For all the glory of the way… )When E'er You Make a PromiseWhere Have all the Flowers gone?Witchcraft (If there were witchcraft, I'd make three wishes… )

Music at Zoar Valley Camp

The songs are perhaps the best memories from my stays at Zoar Valley.... I must have driven my parents crazy singing them! At camp, we sang our way to meals... we sang grace... we sang as we cleaned up the dishes after meals... we sang on our way to each activity, and while hiking... and (of course!) we sang around nightly campfires.

Green grow the rushes ho
Tall Timbers Calling
The Ash Grove
The Bear Song (The other day (echo) I met a bear (echo)....
Boom-de-ya-da
Three Jolly Fisherman
Donkey Riding
Do Lord
Jacob's Ladder
Noah's Ark
Jonah in the belly of the whale
And all of the Girl Scout songs - She wears a G for Generosity; Girl Scouts Together; Our Chateau.

I think today I would be a little troubled by the number of Christian songs... not that I have anything against those songs, which are all very familiar to me, and truth be told, sort of beloved! But I think that if we were going to sing religious songs, we should not have limited the selection to Christian! Look at it this way... if it's ok to sit around the campfire singing "All night, all day, angels watching over me, my Lord.... then would it be ok to have a rousing chant to Krishna? I think not. And of course the Jews and Muslims and Buddhists are not much given to rousing camp-like songs. So there we are.

When I joined the staff as an adult, I always had a guitar with me, which made for some wonderful campfires. Before camp opened, all of the staff spent a week at Zoar Valley. We helped to get everything ready for the arrival of the campers. We played games and explored the area. We each chose a nickname (I was "Dee"). We bonded. And most of all, we sang. And sang. And sang.

The farewell ceremonies are some of my sweetest memories of Zoar Valley.  A creek ran right through the camp, spanned by two swinging bridges. The creek was rocky and shallow, with only a few places where the water could run clear. On the last full day of camp, each camper (and many of the counselors) made a little boat from natural materials... typically a piece of bark, with moss, flowers, perhaps a sail made from a leaf. After supper, at twilight, the entire camp walked downstream a bit. A small birthday candle was lighted on each boat... and the campers gently launched their boats on the stream and watched until the candles moved out of sight around the bend. If memory serves, there was something about wishes coming true if your candle stayed lighted until the boat moved out of sight. As you can imagine, this sweet little good-bye ceremony was also filled with quiet, moving songs and wistful memories.

For many years now, I have had a dream of taking a leave from work to spend a month in the place I loved best in all the world.  This became less and less likely, as I aged - I would have a very tough time keeping up with kids now!  When Zoar Valley was sold, I finally had to relinquish my old fantasy.

But sometimes when I'm alone, I find myself singing the old songs. And remembering.

Zoar Valley Camp

When I was very small -- 5-6ish -- one of my playmates went off to summer camp with the Girl Scouts. I thought this was the best idea anyone had ever had, and I began counting the years, then months, then finally weeks, until I could join the Brownies and head off to camp myself. I think I was about 7 or 8 when I went off for two weeks of overnight camp at Zoar Valley, about two hours away from my home. I was an only child, and really very young -- I cannot even imagine how difficult it was for my mother to leave me there. As for me... I never even turned to watch my parents walk away. I was *so* excited to be there! I have almost no memories of my childhood - but almost every memory of camp appears surrounded by a warm glow of happiness. First year -- Jungao. (I think the name had something to do with Kipling.) The youngest campers, in large, solid cabins. Oddly enough, I have only one specific memory of that first year... walking on the trunk of a fallen tree, and falling. The resulting cut should probably have been stitched, but I was just bandaged up and sent back. Still have the scar on my right knee, many decades later. Then Sherwood (smaller cabins), then up a hill for Indian (substantial wooden lean-tos), then up a much steeper hill as a Pioneer (platform tents). and finally up a longer, more gradual hill for smaller tents and lots of camping in the wild as a Trailblazer. When I was too old to be a camper, I went back as a counselor - my name was Dee.  At 17, fresh out of high school, I was a counselor on Indian.  After college, at 22, I spent  good summer as the unit director on Pioneer. I loved it all.