Weekend Report
By all accounts the Senior Social lived up to expectations. Games, pizza, and dancing with the Desoto girls set our oldest boys in a great mood for the weekend. I’d bet that more than one letter crosses the Mountain today by way of the Mentone Post Office!
Saturday brought perfect weather and regularly scheduled activities. In the evening, our Kitchen Boys earned a night out in camp. That meant that the rest of us enjoyed a hamburger buffet picnic outside on the front lawn. Baked beans and chips accompanied our burgers, washed down with water or lemonade.
Sunday arrived with a welcome change of pace, a day of rest and worship, and fun activities with cabinmates. Sundays at Alpine are special. They feel very different than the other 6 days. Most any other day of the week if you ask a camper what day it is they will probably reply “I have no idea?”. We first know it’s Sunday because we roll over about 7 expecting Reveille only to notice that all is still quiet. An extra hour of sleep comes in handy after a busy week of activity.
When we are on the road in the offseason talking to current and former campers we often ask them what traditions they remember best about camp. Sundays are almost always brought up in the first 2 or 3 favorites. And specifically pancakes on Sunday morning. Mrs. Crow’s pancakes, and now her daughter Mrs. Gail’s, are known throughout the Southeast by men and boys alike.
Sunday morning also lends time to an extra special “white glove” cabin inspection, also much needed after the busyness of the week. Somewhere in mid morning a bell rings and the entire camp lines up single file, clad in white Alpine shirts and any variety of white short. A second bell calls us to silence and we process into church one by one.
John Mark Scruggs is our camp minister this summer, charged with leading our worship services among several other duties. He is an ordained pastor who works with an on campus ministry at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga called Reformed University Fellowship. We hire a camp minister for the express purpose of ministering to the needs of our staff. Counselors have a high calling - and John Mark is available to them for Bible study, conversation, encouragement, etc. He also ably leads our worship.
After church we head to the dining hall. Baked chicken, green beans, rice and homemade gravy, pears, and rolls await us. But most importantly, Moosetracks for dessert. Moosetracks hold a special place in the hearts of many an Alpine camper. Mayfield Dairy’s most popular flavor, it combines vanilla ice cream with chocolate fudge chunks and tiny peanut butter cups (vanilla is offered for boys with allergies).
After Sunday lunch we also sing a traditional Alpine song, Thank you Lord, for Alpine. Written and set to music 40 years ago by Bob Ross and Lee “Flop” Ozier, it has stood the test of time. And I would say has become known as the Alpine theme song. So many oft repeated phrases have come out of that song, such as “For rapids that flow” and “Mrs. Crow and her chow”. Yesterday after singing the familiar tune, we were treated to a brand new song, written by counselor and Head counselor, Wayne Ingram and John Crum. The Scouts (rising 6th graders), arranged themselves in the front of the dining hall. Wayne led them in sharing “Double Moosetracks” to the tune of Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah. They have been practicing hard and it paid off. The dining hall lit up with cheers and everyone even sang along by the end. Only at camp!
Sunday afternoon brings time to run around and play some games as a cabin. We reunite at the end of the afternoon on the Team Sports field where we cut up cold, juicy watermelons. Is there anything better on a summer afternoon?
Sunday night holds a vespers service for each cabin area, led by a different counselor each week, similar to the morning watches held each morning. We hope campers learn about the Bible in the devotionals and services held throughout the term. But we know they will not remember a lot of what is specifically said. I remember very few specifics of what was said by my counselors when I was a camper. What I do remember, and what we hope these campers remember, is that a very cool, fun college age guy opened the Bible with them each night.
This morning we’re off to the races, ready for another great week. Our Chief 2’s (rising 10th graders) left just after breakfast. They’re off on their pinnacle trip as an Alpiner. 4 days backpacking the Appalachian trail with their counselors and guides from Higher Ground. They were excited and ready to go as we sent them off, backpacks filled with everything they’d need for the week.
Thanks for reading, Glenn
