CHAPTER
4
The end of the camping season was marked by Labor Day and all the
festivities that went with it. Their was something for
everyone but mostly for the kids. In order for the kids to participate the
family had to be members of the Fresh Pond Association. That meant being a card
carrying, dues paying member. Folks were urged to join early in the summer but
come labor day their was usually a line at the
treasurers door wanting to sign up. Ma and Dad always joined early in the
season and proudly kept the card tacked to the side of the dish cabinet.
Apparently the Association was run by the President, Vice President,
Secretary and Treasurer. I don't remember elections ever being held or seeing
campaign signs endorsing specific candidates. How did those folks come into
office? By not being at camp on the day the Association Board of Directors was
talked about probably. But however these folks came to power, theses were the
folks that organized the events and made sure their were
prizes for everyone. And they always did an outstanding job.
The first order of business for the Labor day
weekend was the money scramble.
There were two circles outlined in the sand beside the rec hall. Money was hidden in the circles. There was a
circle for the young kids and one for the older kids. The object of the game
was to jump into the circle at the appointed time and "scramble" for
the money hidden in the sand. Only hands were allowed to search for the coins.
This was a lot of fun. I don't know how much money was hidden in the sand but I
always came away with fifty or sixty cents in quarters, nickels and dimes.
After the events of Labor Day had passed the more enterprising kids would go to
the money scramble area with rakes and sifters and search for any unfound
money. This was when some kid would claim to find the undiscovered silver
dollars that were always put into the money scramble. I never saw any silver
dollars and kids who claimed to have found one could never show it to anyone
because their parents had put it away for safe keeping because it was so
valuable. Yeah, right.
After the money scramble frenzy, the track and field events began. Their
was the softball throw, running broad jump, standing broad jump, 50 yard dash,
100 yard dash, team relays and individual relays. I entered them all and did
pretty well. I always left camp with ribbons and prizes and a pocket full of
change. I never could get any sneaker endorsements though.
The events were divided into age groups, so everyone had a fair chance.
As the event progressed, the winning participants were lined up in the order of
finishing so names could be taken for the awards ceremony.
One labor day, during the individual relay where participants run to the
designated line, pick up a potato and run it back to the milk container and drop
it in, the object being to get three potatoes into the milk container before
anyone else, Mrs. Gifford from Quincy was wandering aimlessly through the track
and field area. She walked right in front of me causing me to stop for a few
seconds because at the time I was not into knocking old lady's
over. When she realized what she did, she said she hoped she didn't cause me to
lose. She cost me a blue ribbon and I had to settle for second place. I thought
of appealing to the judges and claim my sneaker laces were to short and would
like to start the race again but decided I'd be a good sport about it and take
the yellow ribbon. Besides, I knew where she camped. The blue ribbon went to an
orphan child from the
During the events, all eyes were focused on the participants. There was
always a great deal of cheering encouragement for all the kids no matter if
they were in the lead or holding up the end of the pack. For a kid this was a
big deal.
When the events were over, the awards ceremony took place. As each
winners name was announced they marched up the steps of the side door to the rec hall to be awarded their ribbon and prize.
All participants got prizes of some sort even if they didn't win a first,
second or third place ribbon.
There were activities for the adults as well. Their was
horseshoes, the egg toss and a marathon around the campground. Some of the older
folks took their horseshoes pretty seriously. More than once measurements were
made with a micrometer and checked and rechecked several times. The egg toss
was always a "yolk". There was never any hard
boiled eggs amongst the real non-boiled eggs. The marathon was once
around the campground. I think it was a slightly shorter distance than the
One year Dad and Mrs. Mackey were partners in an egg carry event. The
object of the event was for the pairs of partners to stand about twenty feet
apart. They each had a teaspoon. The first person carried an egg in the spoon
to their partner and put the egg in their spoon and then the person with the
egg walked back to the opposite end. The winner was the team who did not drop
the egg. Dad and Mrs. Mackey won fifty cents for their "egg-stroidinary" efforts
The highlight and toper of Labor Day was the talent show. It was amazing
how much talent could be culled out of the campers. A week or so before the
Labor Day event the "stage" was delivered. It was an elevated platform
that was in two sections. When we saw that at the rec
hall we knew the camping season was coming to an end. Us kids weren't supposed
to play on the thing but who could resist? Certainly not
kids.
When Arthur Brier was alive he was in charge of the talent show. He
canvassed the campgrounds for participants. He signed them up - he made them
practice. He made sure they were ready for the "really Big Shoow". Compensation for participation in the event
was a bit under
All that was needed was an act of some sort and the desire to get up in
front of a crowd and the spotlights and perform.
One summer, when Chubby Checker was calling to people to "Twist
again, like we did last summer" in song, Mrs. Chirillo
decided to put together a group of kids to do the Twist and we became the
"Twisters". Of course Shawn and I were drafted in the first round
along with Billy Chirillo, Nancy Mackay, Susan
McGrath, Billy Partridge, Susan Hudson, Bobby Hudson and a few other Twisters.
We practiced at the appointed time each day in the rec
hall under the watchful eye of Mrs. Chirillo. She
spent a great deal of time watching us dance in all kinds of combinations and
formations to find just the right chemistry between the dancers. She encouraged
us all to add a little flair to our dancing. She wanted us to be the best. When
The day of our dance debut was at hand. We brought to camp my best dress
and Shawns' best bowtie for the event. We arrived at
the rec hall at the appointed time. Back stage was a
flurry of activity. Nerves were jangling, performers were trying to put on
their "performance faces" or in our case, "performance
feet", the MC for the evening was trying to account for the lineup and
make sure everyone was ready. Stage mothers were heard to be saying over and
over again "why didn't you go to the bathroom before you put your costume
on." We peeked out the front door and watched the crowd gather. Folks
brought their beach chairs and snacks to the event. As it was near the end of
the camping season and we were into September, the night air was getting to be
a bit chilly, folks were dressed in sweatshirts and
jackets. As darkness approached and the spotlights were tested, the
performances of the year were about to begin.
All of a sudden the Twisters were being announced. We took to the stage
with our Mrs. Chirillo approved partner and took our
Mrs. Chirillo approved place on the stage. Each
participant was introduced. Then the music began. Chubby Checker sang like he
never sang before and we all twisted like we never twisted before. Everyone was
dressed in their Sunday best. Mrs. Chirillo was off
to the side singing and dancing away like nobodies business. We were a success.
We filed off stage as the audience applauded politely. As we exited, we were
paid our dollar. My first professional dollar. That
would buy a lot of penny candy at the camp store. What a haul for the summer:
one dollar to dance, seventy five cents in the money scramble, ribbons and
prizes for winning in the track and field events but no sneaker endorsements.
My only other talent show performance was in a Medical skit with the Azalea
boys and their cousin Stanley. We "operated" on
I only remember a few other talent show participants. Such as the girl
who camped beside the Farrells by the name of Muffet. She was a drummer and practiced almost daily. She
began each talent show with a bang. Wow, a bang for a buck. Sandy Hughes and
two of her camp friends always sang one of the more popular songs of the
summer. There were tap dancers, singers magicians,
skits, more singers, more dancers and more magicians. There always seemed to be
a wide range of talent.
The evening ended late. Most every one picked up their chairs and went
home to bed except for the more show biz oriented folks who always went to the
camp store to wait for the daily Variety to be delivered so we could read our
reviews. We didn't want to wait for the next morning.
The next morning saw families packing up and leaving behind all the
summer fun. Kids were heading back to school. Parents were headed back to work.
The summer was officially at an end. We played on the stage one more time
before it was taken away. The park department had taken the raft out of the
water and left it "beached" for the winter. Most folks had taken
their boats out of the water. The camp store was low on inventory.
Within the next few weeks the camps were disassembled and put away for
the winter. The summer was officially over and only the memories lingered on.
Did you camp at Fresh Pond? Blast me an email!!
I’d love to hear from you! Proceed to Chapter Five or return to the Beginning!
(Last revised 10 March 2007)