End of Term Celebrations
Tonight feels like the beginning of many end of term celebrations. It’s our annual Council Ring celebration, held in our outdoor amphitheater. We’ll gather at dusk, under a canopy of trees just open enough to see the stars come out after dark. It is a naturally sloping landscape, backed by an enormous naturally occurring boulder ledge running the length of the arena. Wooden benches provide seating and a camp fire and tiki torches provide light. There will be skits and fun followed by some traditions honoring our 2nd year chiefs in their last summer as campers. We have a relatively new one, an idea from a head counselor a few years ago, that has become one of my favorites in all of camp. Each 2nd year chief is given a specific character trait, thoughtfully decided by their cabin counselors. The boys don’t know it until tonight when I recognize them by name and announce their hometown, years at Alpine, and their given trait.
Boys appreciate this so much. Our friend David Thomas, author and counselor, talks about how much teenage boys need validation and purpose in their life. This small token of being recognized publicly by their college aged counselors gives so much validation.
Tomorrow night we get to board the buses after supper and go sing our Glee Club songs for the ladies at Camp Desoto. The set list includes crowd favorites like: Love Story and Say It’s French Toast and The Mountain. Of course these are popular tunes rewritten with Alpine lyrics. We’ll have our final practice tonight in the gym after supper. And our definition of Glee Club “practice” every night is loose. There’s plenty of singing at the top of our lungs and dancing and general merriment. Maybe the best of all tomorrow night is getting to hear the ladies sing their Camp Desoto songs. Boys are generally mesmerized as the girls sing beautifully and in sync and on key from the Desoto gym balconies.
My main job today is to fill you in on our epic day yesterday. First Term Mountain Day 2024 was declared by quite a few boys as the best day of the term yet! Mountain Day is Alpine’s official camp holiday. Richard remarked that he’s always surprised when the mail runs on Mountain Day!
As you’ve probably noticed from the photos there’s no costume too big or small for breakfast on Mountain Day. Alabama’s (famed country band from nearby Ft Payne) Song of the South blared on the speakers as aliens and cowboys and all manner of creatures strolled into the dining hall. Dancing and singing intermixed with blueberry and chocolate chip pancake eating had us all in a great mood!
After breakfast Richard Cox, our program director, led us in an all camp devotional. Then it was back to cabins to don those red and blue tribe jerseys.
Our Team Sports staff brought us a full morning of Olympic competition, tribe vs. tribe. Field events, tug of war, and some relays kept us busy all morning. And yes, there was music there too. That’s the beautiful thing about being unplugged for a time period. It makes you appreciate so much more. A little recorded music on Mountain Day gets us all excited.
The chiefs participated in a vaunted tradition; a giant relay race coordinated by head counselor, Nate M. Each tribe assigned each 1st and 2nd year chief to a specific leg of the relay, some 30 plus different varieties. The race required a vast array of talents from lanyard making to archery to tennis to horseback riding, running, and biking, canoeing and so many more. The starts were staggered and two counselors served as official time keepers for each tribe. The Cherokees scored the victory, but only by a 2 minute margin, fairly slim for a total race time of 72 minutes and change.
Lunch could not have come sooner. Mrs. Gail’s Mountain Day special: BBQ chicken awaited us. Served with green beans, mashed potatoes, salad, and strawberry shortcake, we feasted. She cooked the BBQ chicken all night, low and slow, in our brand new camp ovens. It falls off the bone.
In the afternoon Richard organized a beloved camp game for the older boys. Alabama Gold Rush. A combination of capture the flag and an Easter egg hunt, played over most of camp. Red and blue orbs were hidden throughout each side. The team with the most found orbs, successfully carried across the border to their safe zone, wins.
Our Hunters enjoyed some pool activities on a hot Mountain Day afternoon. Thomas Gallagher led our Trappers in a competitive pinewood derby like race on a huge wooden track. Thomas and counselors have been working with the boys to design and decorate their cars over the term during block periods and night programs. Thomas cut the cars to each boy’s desired specs and the boys decked them out. The Scout age group bussed up to our golf driving range, whose gentle slope provided the perfect spot for an afternoon on slip and slides!
The best part of the whole day (and maybe the term) came at sundown, the Alpine County Fair!
Currency at the fair is dried pinto beans and specifically colored tickets for various dessert treats. Loaded with an envelope full of beans and tickets, boys are turned loose in the gym and field to play fair type games to their heart’s content. Cakewalks, Climb the Mountain, and the Sponge Toss were just a few. Of course the longest lines are always reserved for the fair food. Salted pretzels with mustard had a pretty long line. My personal favorite, Mayfield ice cream, was probably the second most popular booth. I managed to have a scoop of mint chocolate chip and one of cookies and cream. There were probably 6 or 7 flavors to choose from. Definitely the most popular booth was the Froggy Freeze sno-cone stand serving classics like Tiger’s blood and blue raspberry.
Needless to say we all went to bed last night happy and full and tired! We are relishing these last few days of camp. First Term parents, be on the lookout for a separate email tomorrow with instructions for closing Day this coming Tuesday, July 2.
Thanks for reading and good night for now, Glenn
