Glee Club Greats

Glenn Breazeale | Jun. 04, 2026

Glee Club after supper in the gym has been a tradition for as long as I’m aware. I was introduced to it as a 10 year old boy from Jackson, MS as a first time camper in 1988. Besides church, I had never done a lot of group singing. Maybe at school I guess, but certainly not with all guys. Back in my day we were singing camp songs set to tunes popular in the 60’s and 70’s. Thankfully many have stood the test of time and are now Glee Club classics. “We All Live in Cabin Number 3” - hum Yellow Submarine by the Beatles and you’ll catch it. Two versions about the ladies from Desoto! One for Van’s classic Brown Eyed Girl called, you guessed it, Desoto Girl. The other set to the Beach Boys classic California Girls. “We wish they all could be Camp Desoto, we wish they all could be Camp Desoto girls”.

Instant classics have since been added. “Say It’s French Toast” arguably gets the loudest cheers when the transparency gets placed on the projector screen (yes, we still use an overhead projector and transparencies, about as plugged in as we get). Any Weezer fans? “Say It Ain’t So” sets the melody for our beloved ode to French toast and bacon. What is truly amazing to me is that popularity for Glee Club has not waned in the modern era of screens and video games. It’s more popular than ever. Boys cheer and sing at the top of their voices. I’ve had neighbors tell me they can hear us singing across the river! Like all things at Alpine it’s the counselors that make it. A rotating band of counselors play each night, mixing various instruments from guitar to banjo to cajon (box drum).

Speaking of “Say It’s French Toast”, we avoided big trouble this week thanks to your boys. On Tuesday at lunch I announced that we only maintained one copy of the beloved lyrics, wink, wink. As I began to tell the story of the writing of the song, and announce that we would soon make a copy to be framed in the new Lodge, representative from Big Pancake entered the building to share their grievances. Big Pancake was upset that they were not adequately represented in our Glee Club repertoire (they have a point, Mrs. Gail’s pancakes are also pretty delicious!). Before I knew it the pancake special interest men had absconded by copy of the lyrics. And to add insult to injury they stole our microphone. Not to worry, soon the them song to Mission Impossible came on over the speakers announcing our evening’s mission, should we choose to accept it. That evening to everyone’s delight and cheers, we would play Mission Impossible in hopes of returning the stolen lyrics.

I’m happy to report that we were successful - three cabins found the missing items and returned honor to Alpine. And if you are wondering what in the world I am talking about and what this crazy game is,I’ll try to explain. It’s basically a huge game of Spotlight, played by cabin, all over camp. Cabins get clues from their Max, and seek to get to the next good agent for their next clue on the Mission. Stealth and silence are rewarded as there are bad agents all around with flashlights, intent to thwart our plans and send cabins back to the start.

Tonight after Glee Club the boys are playing a variety of games all over camp. As I type I can hear cheers in the gym from competitive games of Slaughterball (Alpine’s version of dodgeball). Capture the Flag, Extreme 4 square (think giant squares and 2 people to a square), and spotlight to name a few. Each age group has also taken a turn by the campfire this week, roasting marshmellows and assembling S’mores. By the time I post this all of the boys will be back in cabins, with teeth brushed, and gathered around the counselors for their nightly devotional.

Mrs. Gail and her crew have served so much good food this week. This morning for breakfast our tables were loaded with platters. Scrambled eggs, hot grits, fluffy biscuits, sausage patties, butter, jelly, and orange juice fueled us for the day. And of course the always available breakfast bar with cereals, yogurt, granola, and fruit. For lunch we dined on breaded chicken patties with various sauces, scalloped potatoes, broccoli with cheese sauce on the side (she knows little boys!), and rolls. Knowing how many calories everyone is burning all morning, she always has a full warm meal for us at lunch. Tonight, after a full day of activities and a shower, we arrived to find her homemade lasagna filled with meat and cheese, plus a green salad and buttered Texas toast.

This will likely be my last post of the term. We have a full day tomorrow of activities plus some packing. And tomorrow night’s final festivities will include an Olympics inspired field games and a few other Alpine closing traditions.

As a reminder, arrival on Saturday morning is anytime between 7:30-10:30AM CDT. If you need to pick up and exit quickly, you are welcome to park by the cabin. If you’d like to let your camper show you around camp or stop by the Dining Hall reception or Store, our parking staff will likely ask you to move your car to a different location after loading to make room for others.

Thanks for reading and good night for now, Glenn

Glenn Breazeale
Glenn Breazeale

Like his own father, Glenn grew up as a camper at Alpine for six summers, coming from Jackson, MS each summer. He has served on staff at Alpine since 1997, working full time as Assistant Director from 2003 to 2005 and Director since 2006. Prior to that he gained experience serving in various capacities including cabin counselor, Head Counselor, Head of Project Adventure (Ropes course), Horseback instructor, and Program Director. Glenn’s love of camping and his desire to preserve the traditions of Alpine drew him back to camp to offer young boys the same opportunities he experienced. He met and fell in love with Carter during a Square Dance with Camp DeSoto.