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?
