The A-Z Scavenger Hunt in 1947 utilized a paper bag, white paper and a crayon with the directions for collecting items from nature with each letter of the alphabet. (Usually q,u, x, y and z were difficult, ( “But to my amazement,” noted the “Loon”,”Cabin B did get all of them!~ Many of the girls came up with the argument that everything came from nature in the beginning and as a biology major I agree, but for purposes here, it must be nature as we find it out of doors or on their person.”)
On Monday the juniors had a scavenger hunt and the hut winners received camp stickers. They had to find a purple sweater, ten empty bullet cartridges, a striped sock, an Eversharp pen, a snail shell, a bar of Lux soap, a piece of green Kleenex, a picture of Guy Madison (actor), a signature of someone over twenty, a four leaf clover, a flowered kerchief, a yellow flower, a nail, a piece of flowered stationary, an out of state letter, an ID bracelet, an orange pencil, and a needle and blue thread.
Every year had its own brand of activities, either dreamed up by the program/activity director, or a tradition that had been passed down through the ages. In 1950, the “Loon” noted there was a fashion show, backwards day, talent scouts, story telling, a P.J. party, and a scavenger hunt.
Geraldine McDonald camped in 1954. “There were several parties in there. I remember one where they blindfolded us and we had to stick our hands into the bag and guess what was in there. I felt slimy worms or nightcrawlers in the bag, but it was really just spaghetti. There were skits and scavenger hunts that started in the main lodge. We had to hunt for these treasures and it was all about nature. We had everything, except the lightning bug, so one of the girls put on a white shirt and we tucked a lit flashlight up her shirt!”
Judy Crissey also camped in 1954 and loved the scavenger hunts. “We had a small group and followed all the clues, all outdoors, of course. I was probably not very good at it, but ii is one of my best memories.”
Ann Pennington (1964-72) and Nancy Sautter (1968-70) remember playing “All Camp Capture The Flag”, where the whole camp was divided into two teams. “It lasted a long time, but we loved it,” said Ann.
“We also had a thing for smaller kids, where we would dress up as elves and in the middle of the night, we would wake them up for a fairy party,” said Nancy.
Valerie Monto had a similar memory from 1968. “One evening, after lights out, our counselor had us get up and get dressed. We quietly walked to the lodge where the older campers and counselors were gathered. We were divided into small groups and given a nursery rhyme or storybook assignment. Two other campers and myself were given “Three Blind Mice”. We put together costumes from what was available and rehearsed. Our groups were then placed around the camp along the trails.”
“Then the younger campers were awakened and led through the camp. As they would come to one of our groups, the counselor would shine flashlights at us and we would perform our act. Once they had been taken through the camp, the younger kids were sent back to bed and we returned to the lodge to clean up before returning to our cabins.”
“The next morning at breakfast the younger campers were very excited and would approach us older girls saying, “I saw you last night. You were one of the “Three Blind Mice” or “You were Little Bo Peep” or whatever. We older girls acted like we didn’t know what they were talking about and told them they had been dreaming. To this day I wonder if some of those little girls are still unsure about their own experience.”
What are your memories of scavenger hunts, capture the flag, or nighttime happenings?