Aside from the usual bouts of homesickness, many of the girls missed some dramatic events at home or in their hometowns while they attended camp. The girls in hut nine expressed their views perfectly in the last edition of the “Loon” in 1950.
The first thing they would do when they got home; “Run and kiss our mothers, kiss our brothers, get a soda and go to the movies, jump in the tub, take the privilege of a clean bathroom, take a bath, take our dogs for a walk, give our parents the things we made for them, and open the car or bus door and get out.”
Mardi Jo Link (1973-78) missed her brother and her parents and although she was happy to see them, she admitted: “I was so involved in this absorbing place that I was sure home wasn’t continuing while I was there.”
“There was one family event that I missed while I was at camp,” said Helen McLogan (1972-74). “My first niece and nephew came into the family. I was eight and my oldest sister had adopted a little girl in May, unaware that she was already pregnant. My nephew was born in August. I can remember standing at reveille and someone ran out to tell me I had a phone call. I ran into the lodge and all day I was jumping up and down. I was so happy!”
The girls missed their pets and four of the campers had sad stories of their dogs while they were at camp, including Jane McKinley (1956-59). One of the summers when she returned home, she learned her dog had died. “It was a surprise to me, but I didn’t feel guilty that I wasn’t there. In the fifties’ we did not expect our parents to call us at camp. We wrote letters.”
Others like Kim Moore (1967-72) and Jennifer McLogan (1965-71) heard through the mail. “The last summer Jennifer was at camp, her Irish Setter “Lassie” died. “My sister wrote me a letter at camp and told me that had to put our dog to sleep at sixteen years of age. I started to shake and ran to the pay phone to call home collect. It was very hard for me. I was so sad, but everyone in the lodge cheered me up.”
Kim Moore’s father wrote her a letter one summer to tell her that had put her German Shepherd down. “I had not expected it. I knew he was aging, but I wished they had told me before because I found out the plan was to do it while my sister and I were at camp to make it easier. I know it was a parent’s decision, but it didn’t make it any easier. I just remember for about two days crying at camp and they told me not to tell my sister.”
“The saddest thing that happened to me while I was away at camp was our parents got rid of our dog,” said Debi Gottlieb (1968+). “We had only had it several years, but I guess it was biting. I remember crying in the car when they told us. My feeling was, why couldn’t they have waited till we got home, but our parents felt it was best to do it while we were at camp. I wished I had been there for it.”
What did you miss while you were at home?