Camp Old Indian Memories and Musings

Sounds of Camp Old Indian

2008-07-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

This is not a "movie" but through a loophole in blogger I was able to put together these sounds clips from Camp Old Indian recorded on 7-02-2008. They were recorded with a highend handheld digital audio recorder known as an Edirol R-09HR. Put on your headphones. close your eyes and 'be transported!"

Thank goodness for Photoshop and Camera Raw

2008-07-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

When I was visiting camp last week I also took my Canon Digital Rebel SLR. I forgot the adjust some setting from a previous job during the first few photos I took. Below are a couple of photos and adjustments I made to them. Thankfully my camera was set to take photos in the RAW format and therefore I had a little more freedom in making some adjustments that either saved the photos or really made them pop!

A photo showing a Scout walking the road towards to lake. He was probably headed to the Nature Lodge or one of the Lakes for a class. As you can see the original photo was really underexposed by but thankfully I was about to rescue it Adobe Photoshop's Camera Raw edit area.

The next photo is of a Luna moth I saw in the central field near the totem pole. The original photo looked rather dull and washed out but in the second one I increased the blacks, made the colors "warmer" and added a bit of vignetting to draw the eye to it.

Blogging from Camp Old Indian

2008-07-04T15:24:00.001-07:00

I don't currently have an Internet connection as I write this but I am taking a short break in the Trading Post conference room to

organize my media captures (audio clips, video tapes, photos, etc.) before lunch and the rest of the afternoon.

I arrived at Camp Old Indian around 7:50am and after grabbing my video camera, tripod and Edirol MP3 recorder I quickly headed to the central field where all the troops and staff were congregating for breakfast, flag raising and morning annoucements. Shortly after the flags were raised I meet Matt Kubler who had asked me to do the video for Camp after seeing the previous one I did for fun at the 2008 Staff reunion.

After breakfast I set up my camera on the tripod, filmed a little bit in the center of the camp and then walked towards the shooting sports section. I filmed and recorded audio at the rifle range (wait till you hear the audio file on that one!) then the archery range and then I started going to other parts of the camp like the scoutcraft area, auqatics and then I walked to the chapel area where I rested for a bit to deal with a bad headache I have been having this morning.

more time in field recording sounds, classes and walked around the perimiter road near shooting sports and looping around the Museum A's, Big Rock A's and back down to the Meadow for lunch.

During Lunch I got some good footage of "Mail Call" and after lunch spend a good bit of time at the swimming lake filming a class in water safety. and later filmed a little bit in the nature lodge then back to First Aid, etc.

At several times during the day I took breaks at the camp entrance seen in the photo at the beginning of this post. For some reason the picnic tables at the camp entrance was the only spot I could get a cell phone signal to check in with the "office."

I ended the day with attending the OA Dance Ceremony where I was able to film a little bit before the battery in my video camera went dead and then I headed home. On the way home I practiced podcasting by talking the whole way about the day into my Edirol digital recorder. Enjoyed meeting everyone there, the 2008 Staff and Campers in attendance this past week.

The sounds of Camp Old Indian

2008-06-28T11:05:00.001-07:00

While I am set to record quite a bit of video next week at Camp Old Indian I will also be recording the sounds of Camp at the same time. Part of the purpose of writing this blog is to set up a check list of sounds I would love to capture;

The wildlife like the various kinds of frogs you can hear during the day and more specifically the early evening

Merit Badge calls

Rifle and shotgun shooting

Announcements following the meals

Troop reports as the flag pole

Reveille (Hmm.... I may be showing up earlier than expected)

Scoutmasters, Campers and Staff chatting around the trading post

Swimming

The sounds of the dance and drums

Dining Hall chatter

I would love to capture the sound of rain hitting a tin roof but the odds are against me

The sound of landscape machinery like the camp tractor

The sound of shovels

The sound of hammers, etc. in the handicraft shop

Taps (I may stay later than expected unless I can convince a bugler to play special #'s)

The brush of feet against the main road gravel in front of the Trading Post

An example of a class being taught

I'll probably use my Edirol R-09HR high end wav/mp3 recorder to capture these sounds as if they were being heard at camp and less pure if you get my drift. Any other ideas on camp sounds you would like recorded for possible inclusion into a video and/or archived separately?

Looking forward to a July 2, 2008 visit

2008-06-26T16:40:00.001-07:00

I'm looking forward to next week, next Wed. to be exact. I will be spending all day, between 7:30am till maybe around 9pm at Camp Old Indian recording video, taking still photos and capturing audio for a short promotional video project I will be doing for the Camp this year as a service of my company. You may have seen my last video from the reunion.(I recommend clicking on the "watch in high quality" link when you visit that YouTube page. That video was mostly for play and this new project will be a lot more professional.

One reason this has me very excited is I get to combine two things I love. Multimedia production and Camp Old Indian and ironically they are on opposite ends of the technology scale. Multimedia of course being on the high end and Camp Old Indian being on the low end (at least in regards to what one see on the surface and not counting the technology of any of the infrastructure.

However Camp Old Indian and photography have always had strong ties to each other. If you visit the Trading Post at Camp Old Indian you will see photos that probably date back as far as the 40's and 50's and during the recent reunion one of the things put on display was photo albums of the Alumni in attendance. You can view both historical and current photos at the Camp Old Indian group on Flickr.

Hopefully I will see some of you next Wed. I may be hard to miss as I will be connected to some piece of technology like a video or still camera, tripod, my MacBook Pro, Edirol Digital MP3 recorder, etc. If anyone wants has any free time and wants to be my "roadie" I wouldn't complain! Seriously looking forward to a great time recording the uniqueness of Camp Old Indian and more memories.

BTW, would anyone be interested in a Camp Old Indian podcast?

Waterfall Revealed

2008-05-14T15:23:00.001-07:00

In all of my years working at Camp Old Indian and previous years camping I never saw the waterfall in the photo you see hear. I had heard people talk about one and I think I even heard it but their was never a clear trail that led the way to it. Since I last worked at Camp Old Indian in 1989 and new trail has been created that goes around the side and to the back of the "third lake" which for all practical purposes is a swamp. The waterfall is part of a stream that feeds into the third lake and I'm glad my friend Ronny and I decided to take the short hike as seeing it was worth the walk and even going to the reunion. If you are familiar with Camp Old Indian is their something that has recently surprised you that has always been there but you were not aware of?

2008 Camp Old Indian Staff Reunion Video

2008-05-05T19:31:00.001-07:00

Here is a video of the reunion I "slapped together." I may do a "special edition" later but for now enjoy the memories!

Oh, the credits are meant to be slightly humorous and not entirely literally so please don't get offended if your name is not there. Hope you don't mind the slightly cheesy music clips and sound effects.

2008 Camp Staff Reunion Photos uploaded

2008-05-04T13:29:00.001-07:00

I have uploaded two sets of photos from the 2008 Camp Old Indian Staff Reunion. The first set is of various people at the reunion and scenes around camp. The second set is a photographic project intended to help preserve the staff leathers in photographic form. Some of the images did not come out originally so I am working on those with the original RAW files. Of course these images have also been added to the Camp Old Indian photo pool which, if you also have a Flickr account you can add your photos of Camp Old Indian as well.

A few photos of note I would like to showcase are;

The waterfall behind third lake

Tada! 2008 Reunion

Twilight

Chatting outside the trading post

Hope you enjoy these and many more. Sometime in the forthcoming week I plan on sharing a video I have put together as well. The video however will take a bit longer to put together but I have already started.

2008 Staff Reunion: Meeting friends, recording memories

2008-05-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the 2008 Staff Reunion at Camp Old Indian. In addition to over 70 photos I will be uploading and sharing to flickr I will have a video as well. I wasn't able send Tweets from Twitter of other Internet updates as my cell connection was non existent in that mountain hallow. I was pleasantly surprised to see my cabin mates, Ronny Franke and Rusty Bost as well as quite a few others who were not at the 2006 reunion. However it's late on a Sat. night. I'll post later when the photos and video are available online.

Today is the day - 2008 Reunion

2008-05-03T04:46:00.001-07:00

It's early Sat. morning on May 3rd, 2008 and I in the process of getting ready to head up to Camp Old Indian for the second official reunion. I'm in the process of updating this an other blogs and charging up the batteries in my still and video camera. I'm going to try my best not to look overly "techie" in such a natural place but it means so much to be able to record images of the place and also memories via voice and writing drafts to this blog I can publish after I get back home this weekend. Hopefully I will see many of you there. I'm going to make this short as I need to do the usual "morning get ready" routine.

One week till the next Camp Old Indian Staff Reunion

2008-04-26T06:59:00.001-07:00

It's only one week to the next Camp Old Indian Staff reunion. I'm really glad this one will be in warmer weather and for the most part Camp will look like it does during the summer months as most of the trees in the area have leafed out. The last large scale reunion about two years ago was at the end of March but everything looked and felt like the dead of winter. We even got some snow flurries on that day!

The last time I attended it had been about 15 years since I last visited the camp and seen a lot of the people there. Some of the people didn't look any different but a few looked radically different. The biggest shock to my system was seeing how something that had been there forever had finally subcome to the ravages of time like the old Museum cabin that was destroyed in a recent ice storm, the "New Staff Cabin" looked more like the "old staff cabin", etc.

Other things were brand new like the new and larger Health Lodge and Dining Hall and a radically different Trading Post. I was also greatly saddened to see that the old O.A. Lodge has been torn down as well as the stone steps leading up to it. I hope one day they will decide to build a new O.A. Lodge based on the design of the original one but with modern standards.

This time I hope to get some better photography done both at reunion events and in some natural areas I wish to share and showcase. I will more than likely have the laptop I am writing on now and plan on doing some writing and recording of the events there so I can give a more first hand account while things are still fresh in my mind. I may even send updates to my Twitter account via my iPhone if I can get a cell connection. I yet also record a podcast.

Hope to see many of you there. Look me up.

2008 Camp Old Indian Staff Reunion Info

2008-04-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

Reposted from the COI Myspace page;

Schedule - COI staff reunion will be Sat. May 3

The second Camp Old Indian staff reunion will be Saturday May 3. Past and current staff members are invited to attend. Come up to Camp for a great time of fellowship and food.

The cost is $10.00 and includes lunch. If you would like to stay overnight, indicate that on your registration form. You will be on your own for meals for Saturday evening and Sunday morning. There will be a breakfast run to Travelers Rest Sunday morning for those of you spending Saturday night.

Schedule:

10:00am - 11:00am Check In Camp Office, Socializing

11:00am – Noon Business meeting / Introductions – Dining Hall

Noon – 1:00pm Lunch – Dining Hall

1:00pm – 1:30pm Visit the Ordeal Circle

1:30pm – Until Organized Activities / Free time

You can spend the afternoon catching up with old friends, walking around Camp, hiking one of the trails, boating on the Second Lake, or at the Shotgun Range.

Bring any pictures or other artifacts from your time at Camp to display in the back of the dining hall.

Staff Weekend

2008-03-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

It was about this time of the year 25 years ago I checked in for my first Camp Old Indian Staff weekend. Most people don't realize it but working on a camp staff starts long before the summer camp season starts. Of course the summer is the busy time but things are going on the whole year that from the last day of camp where everything is stored away, later in the fall the executives send out information and contracts so that new people can apply to work on staff or renew their contracts for the following summer.

One of those out of season times that signaled camp was just around the corner. Staff weekend occurred, at least during "my day" around late March or sometime in April. The purpose of Staff weekend was to take inventory of what we need to get camp up to spec for the season, the get to meet our fellow co-workers and to know what the jobs we would be doing in our departments.

The first few years I worked at Camp Old Indian I worked in the Scoutcraft Department. We didn't set up our place until Staff week which was a week before regular summer camp but if we needed new equipment, books, etc. we could get those lists made so the council could get their orders in ahead of time.

It's been awhile for me but does anyone have and special memories for your staff weekends?

Second Official COI Staff Reunion 5-3-08

2008-02-02T13:58:00.000-08:00

I recently received an e-mail from former staff member Hamp Johnson regarding the next official reunion stating;

The second Camp Old Indian Staff Reunion will be held Saturday, May 3, 2008, at camp. Many more details will follow as we get closer to the date.

If you want more information let me know.

Scouting Podcasts

2008-01-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

I was just reading a story on cnn.com about how a Boy Scout foils attack on Maldives president. I was instantly reminded of the feature in the Boys Life magazine I used to subscribe to when I was involved in the Boy Scouts in the late 70's and 80's. I checked to see if their was a Boys Life web site and not only was their a Boys Life web site but I was impressed with how it is targeted to the demographic and even more surprised to discover a Scouts in Action Podcast! Needless to say as someone who loves podcasting and has fond memories of my scouting days I subscribed to the podcast.

Would any readers be interested in a podcast that covers the same topics as this blog? Camp Old Indian Memories?

Camp Old Indian and Voting

2008-01-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

The presidential primaries are starting with the Iowa caucus occuring tonight, Jan. 3rd 2007. I'm reminded of the various occasions where voting would occur at Camp Old Indian and in Scout Troops in general but my memory is sparked on three things;

1.) Voting for troop members to be inducted into the Order of the Arrow - Every year before camp special elections would be help within the troops to select fellow scouts for the Order of the Arrow. At Camp the scouts and sometimes Adult leaders would be called out for induction in to the O.A.

2.) Voting for the best dancer and best back stage person of the year for the O.A. Dance pageant. I remember I received the award one year for my work in the light box.

3.) Staff Person of the Year - I have to fess up and admit I wanted to receive this honor more than anything. Yes, maybe even more than Eagle Scout. That's how much working at Camp Old Indian meant to me. The Staff person of the year not only got a plaque but his name was branded into the staff leather which hung in the dining hall with one being added each year.

All that being said I have had the honor and I know other's have had the honor of a special vote. Sometimes all we know is that it was a single vote. To most people that sounds like a loser but you may already know the "vote" I am talking about. The vote when an apparent stranger approaches one day, many years later and says, "You may not remember me but you taught me a merit badge at Camp Old Indian and I just wanted to say you were one of the best on staff and made a difference in my life!"

Normally that would sound like I was puffed up with pride but I have heard many stories from other people who have worked at camp and have heard the same thing. In the end that's the vote that matters.

Learning from a Camp Staff Lifestyle for New Year's Resolutions

2008-01-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

This is the time of the year when people are joining gyms and resolving to eat healthier and often we "fall off the wagon" around March. A common joke or jab at the recent reunion revolved around how much weight some of us may have gained. Of course when you work on Camp Staff you are younger and our metabolism slows down the older we get. Now I agree that some health problems can reduce exercise but I know from personal experience I don't get near as much exercise as I did when I worked at camp.

They say if you get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise everyday you will be a lot healthier and I know from memory I got that and more from my daily activities at camp including;

1.) Walking to work or including exercise in my work. While my office (either my home of downtown Greenville office) involves a short walk or a short drive I have opportunities for exercise during breaks or at lunch time.

2.) At least one major physical activity a week - I remember leading hikes up Old Indian Mountain at least once a week and often I had to walk up and down the hills to do my work. Maybe I could commit to similar hiking excursions on the weekends.

3.) Exploration - Often I would either explore seldom hiked trails, climb tree or cabin rafters. What could I do now? Maybe explore streets near where I live?

4.) Work Projects - In addition to camp work week I remember helping out with other projects like trail maintenance, carrying wood, etc. I suppose I could be working on yard or home improvement projects or even helping neighbors out.

What memories of your camp staff lifestyle can you draw off of to get fit, eat better, learn new things or help others in 2008?

Cold days and weekend interviews

2008-01-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

I had almost forgotten the process of applying to work at Camp Old Indian and going through the Interview process. Camp Staff is one of those jobs that almost sells itself as campers want to either look for a way to stay at camp longer in exchange for working, follow in the foot steps of staff who have made a positive impression on them or a few may even be interested in a future career related to camp staff work like teaching, recreation or professional scouting.

If I recall correctly I had to go to the Scout Service Center/Administrative Offices which at the time were located on Ridgeway Ave. in Greenville, SC right of Laurens Road. If I recall correctly those interviews were in January or maybe February but it was cold regardless. I and others would go to the interviews in our Scout uniforms and being so young the interview process for such a "dream job" was nerve racking to say the least. I first interviewed back in '82 but did not make the cut till the 1983 Camping season.

If I recall correctly we had to "interview" every year even if we agreed to come back so we could sign the proverbial contract. If you have worked at Camp Old Indian in the past what were your first time interview memories? Oh, I think their was one summer, 1986 where I didn't interview in the traditional way. I was "brought out of retirement" at the last minute to work as the Ecology-Conservation Director.

Maybe in my next post I will talk about the work weekends they usually had in March or April. I can't remember a lot right now but maybe it will come back to me.

Enlightenment, Entertainment and Embers

2007-12-19T10:53:00.001-08:00

For me most days at Camp Old Indian could be defined into three zones I'm calling Enlightenment, Entertainment and Embers;

Enlightenment - Another name I give to the largest swath of waking hours in which scouts participated in merit badge classes, high adventure trips, swimming lessons or picking up tidbits of wisdom around the Trading Post tables or the stone benches in the meadow.

Entertainment - After supper and before troop or campwide campfires is a time known as twilight. The sun has gone down behind the hills but their is still plenty of light left for activities like activities at the shooting sports area, swimming, going on overnighters or making crafts in the handicraft shop. In addition people have been know to gather at the Camp Office for patch trading or just hanging out in the meadow shooting the breeze.

Embers - When the day is done but bed time is still a few hours off you either have camp wide programs in the amphitheater or activities building who skits and songs are performed and stories told. During the rest of the week each troop would gather around the campfire or at least a lantern sharing stories of the day or trying to solve the problems of the world. Staff often would visit their assigned troops during this time.

Technorati Tags: Campfire, camps, crafts, fellowship, friendship, merit badges, recreation, scouting, teaching

Other Camp Old Indian memories from around the "Interweb"

2007-12-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

I admit it. I am having trouble recalling more and more details from my days camping and working at Camp Old Indian. I'm sure if the right thing triggers me I will recall something but as always you usually remember things when you are thinking about other things and have trouble when you try to force it.

The best time I had at our last reunion was after lunch when everyone went around the tables sharing one interesting memory from their days at Camp Old Indian. I was looking for some other Camp Old Indian information, stories, etc. this morning and I discovered that one of my former co-workers on staff, Hamp Johnson, has recorded some of his memories from his early days of working at Camp. The stories from 1980 and 1981 were from a couple of years before I worked at Camp Old Indian but they did occur during the time I was camping with my troop. Go over and read Hamp's stories. I can tell you from my memories of Hamp he writes just like he speaks. I can practically hear him sitting around the tables at the trading post sharing these stories. Great job Hamp! Glad you wrote down those memories as well.

Technorati Tags: camps, conversation, exploring, fellowship, friendship, leadership, memory, recreation, relaxation, scouting, staff

10 Things that would totally change the character of Camp Old Indian

2007-12-08T12:20:00.001-08:00

1.) Paved roads everywhere
2.) Removing all the trees
3.) Replacing the camp office with a multi-story high-rise (for some reason I have alway had this weird picture in my head)
4.) Replacing the D.C. with a miniature replica of the White House
5.) Have a giant boat house ...full of boats
6.) A Starbucks with free Wi-fi
7.) Replacing the Amphitheater with a diner theater
8.) Swans
9.) Replace the bugler with a sax player
10.) Segways

Thank goodness I don't see any of this taking place anytime soon!

Technorati Tags: camps, humor, scouting

A new view with Google Maps

2007-11-29T17:05:00.000-08:00

Looks like Google has updated their maps. One thing I noticed and never realized. Old Indian Mountain faces the southwest and not directly south like I thought.

View Larger Map

Some deep Camp Old Indian Musings

2007-11-29T15:18:00.000-08:00

Since part of the title of this blog has to do with "musings" I thought it would be fun to ponder and ask those questions I've always wondered about but never got a clear answer;

1.) Why do some scoutmasters chew on matches?
2.) Was there ever a Wilderness Survival overnighter where everyone build a proper lean-to?
3.) Why was the museum called, "The Museum?"
4.) When did the "night off" tradition start? I'm not sure if they still practice it but in the 80's on Tuesdays and Thursday half the staff would go in groups into town around supper time to eat out, see movies, etc.
5.) What's the most popular ghost story told at camp? In my day the big one were, Red Eye, Mugwamps and The Screaming.
6.) How did the cell phone effect camp policies? In the "old days" Scouts had to get permission to use a pay phone or camp phone.
7.) Why two seater latrines? Seriously... Why?!
8.) Did anyone else besides me find the "tooth brushing troughs" a bit disturbing?
9.) On a positive note what is it about Camp Old Indian that makes one feel "connected to the land?"

Fun with modern culture while working at Camp

2007-11-24T06:32:00.000-08:00

Just because you are working or camping in a so called, "primitive environment" doesn't mean the culture of the "outside world" doesn't come in. It comes in strong and full force despite the intentions to "get away from it all." Even I on Camp Staff brought in the the cultural icons of the day to have fun with the campers. Several things I did were;

1.) Dressed as Indiana Jones in new version of the waterfront show
2.) rebranded my Nature Lodge staff as kind of the Ghostbusters of the Camp
3.) Used a model of Doctor Who's Police Box (TARDIS) as my table totem

Other things I didn't do but remember are;

The song "Danger Zone" from Top Gun being used as background music at an end of the summer slide show
Saturday Night Live and Monty Python Skits being re-imagined as Camp fire skits

I don't know what they did before and after the 80's but I would love to know.

Technorati Tags: camps, culture, recreation, relaxation, scouting, skits, songs

My "Young Frankenstein" Moment at Camp Old Indian

2007-11-20T08:11:00.001-08:00

did you ever see the movie, Young Frankenstein? In the movie Gene Wilder, playing Dr. Frankenstein is giving a lecture to a class and makes a scary blunder. He apparently had a needle syringe in his hand and got so excited that he stabbed himself in the leg and it caused him to lose all feeling in the leg. Very calmly yet stressed he dismissed his class. A very similiar situation happened to me.

I was teaching Wilderness Survival Merit Badge and in particular how to build a lean to to protect oneself from the weather. We had started using the area behind the Health Lodge as a teaching area. Before it had been a very brushy area and in some case some very small trees had started to grow, some small enough to be cut down by a lawn mower.

One day I was sitting down next to a lean-to I had built in class and as I sat on the ground and got underneath the lean-to to demonstrate some building principles I placed my hand on the ground to support myself and in doing so stabbed the palm of my hand near my thumb (Their is still a small scar after about 20 years). It happened to quickly for me to have a severe reaction of pain but just like the Dr. Frankenstein character in the movie I dismissed the class about 5-10 minutes early and went to the health lodge a few feet away. They were quite shocked at my rather unemotional reaction. Ironically if they try to take my blood at the doctors office or give me a shot I freak out and often get to the point of passing out.

Technorati Tags: camps, merit badges, survival, teaching