Just for the record, the first seven pictures shown here were most likely taken when my Mom, Dad, and I brought Denise to camp during the summer of 1986. I’m thinking that she went there before I did, but I cannot be certain. We spent some time hiking through the woods and exploring before releasing her to her Junior camp. Regardless of when her time came, mine came Sunday, July 6, thru Saturday July 12, 1986. This was my second time at Ec0 Adventures camp, and I had had such a great time during the Summer of 1985 that coming back seemed like a no-brainer.
The Sugar Grove Lodge
The lake and Heritage Lodge
The lake from atop Heritage Ridge
The ol’ swimmin’ hole
Mom and me exploring the woods
Serious as hell at the bell
I had made fast friends with Darin Anderson the year before and this year he was bringing along a friend named Eric Hubble, with whom it turned out I got along equally as well. Again our home base for the camp was the Sugar Grove Lodge. I brought along a copy of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to appease Darin’s curiosity – but I really was no longer much into comic books. I had the infinitely more appealing hobby of girls on my mind. And this year I met a slew of them.
In my bunk, wearing my Buckwheat shirt
Eric provided endless hours of amusement
Darin in search of one of the gals
Amy Angle, Mandy Angle, Dorinda Dohner, Wendy Johnston, and Kim Littlejohn (in alphabetical order, as to slight none of them) were all girls from the Troy Church of the Brethren and they all became the weeklong friends and companions of Darin, Eric, and me throughout the week. Darin, Mandy, Wendy, and I were in the same group with counselors Brian Bohlander and Gloria Landis. There was only one other group and the counselors were Harold Wenger and Stacy, who I think Darin had quite an affinity for. The dean of the camp was Brian’s older brother Chris Bohlander. Four years later, I would become good friends with their younger brother Matt.
Kim cracking up
Kim, Darin, Wendy, and Eric conspire against me
Dorinda on ‘hogan’ night
Dorinda and Stacy do the dishes. Kim doesn’t help. Harold appears to lick the bowl clean.
Stacy composes herself as she enters our vehicular unit
This certainly came close to being the best week of camp I ever experienced. I enjoyed every minute with our close-knit little group. I continued my tradition of doing imitation of various people at camp including our naturalist Dave Koehner. We also had a portly little fella in our group named Rob Godown (or something like that) on whom I pasted the unfortunate moniker of “Rollo.” I also did a nearly-perfect imitation of his high-pitched laugh.
One of the kids from Beavercreek named Chris Vickers (who had somehow become an arch nemesis of mine) was also at camp and had his share of issues there as well. Some of the other kids who were there were Jessi Wolf, Daniel Riggins, Megan Keller, and a dude named Ricky.
In the center is Shelli Link and then Megan Keller on the right. I think Shelli was actually attending horse camp at this time, but we later became good friends at Youth camp.
Dueling cameras with Darin. Megan idly watches the festivities.
I can’t recall many specifics, but there were all of the traditional goings-off: bible study, vespers, hiking and outdoor exploration, swimming, a hayride, homemade ice-cream perhaps, one night in the hogans and the rest in the lodge. It was bascially a typical camp-week with many ‘nature’-related activities thrown in: rock-climbing, streaming, and spelunking.
One really significant activity that I can remember pretty vividly was the spelunking. This was completely new to me. We began in a ‘starter’ cave that you could actually walk halfway through. As the cave became smaller and smaller and the passageway narrower and narrower, we were forced to crouch and then finally, had no choice but to kneel and crawl in the mud and water if we wanted to reach the other end. From then on, I explored the caves with absolutely no trepidation. Wearing flashlight helmets, we squirmed in and out of even the most narrow crevices, coming out drenched in mud.
Filthy after caving. At left is Erin Ansbaugh. Standing behind the girl in the pink is Darin, then Rollo, Brian, Chris, Megan, Ricky, Stacy, and me with my hand on Kim’s shoulder. Mandy is the cute one in blue, kneeling up front.
Kim again – with, amazingly, my hand on her shoulder again
But most of all, I remember our gang of friends: Darin, Eric, Kim, Wendy, Mandy, Dorinda, and Amy. We would all have a reunion later on in the summer, exchange letters for a while – along with the occasional phone call, and I would visit Eric and Darin the following Summer. After that, I fell out of touch with all of them and they were consigned to a special memory in the depths of my head – until I began to hook up with some of them again some twenty-odd years later.
1986 will continue as I get ready to spend most, if not all, of my Laurel and Hardy fund…
Beautiful! Howard licking the bowl clean ….bless you, my friend.
Eric Hubble
April 15th, 2008
It was like it was yesterday!
What an Awesome time – Great Memories!!!
Dorinda Dohner
April 15th, 2008
I especially remember on Hogan night, Rollo exclaiming to Harold in his broken english: “HAROLD! You can stop that farking for agwile!” Which roughly translated was “You can stop that farting for awhile!”. Evidently licking the bowl clean caused Harold some gastro-intestinal issues…
And I love the pic by the bell as well. The multicolored jams with the white socks pulled to the knees. We were indeed the kings of fashion! And Eric can’t laugh, as I noted in one of the pictures he was wearing the equivalent of Fergie Ferg’s boy shorts…
And last but not least you forgot to mention that in the last reunion with the gals in Troy who annoyed and angry they got with us – supposedly for almost burning their house down or something. But alas, that’s probably an entirely separate blog 🙂
Darin Anderson
April 16th, 2008
Great pics. Even though I was never in camp with you, your legend trickled down even to my generation. I think the link between generations was Preston…
Aaron
April 16th, 2008
Ah yes, Preston Cruser. The kid with the black shoes who seemingly lived at Woodland Altars. I remember him even from my earliest days…and of course, his hot sister Erica, the lifeguard.
Brad
April 16th, 2008
Good times, good times! I was just looking through old pics a few months ago of some of our most memorable moments at the camp(no idea where they ended up). Then today, out of the blue I get a note from D saying you guys survived adolescence. Amazing. My family home, the basement mostly, has yet to see chaos and foolishness like that reunion. It was a cherry bomb if I remember correctly. My little brother is now, and has since been a pyro.
In all seriousness I also survived my youth and believe it or not am raising my beautiful daughters to not follow in my footsteps. They are not allowed to drink or date or get married until they are 35. That is going to be one crazy year. Since they are now 5 and 7, we have a while to prepare, or pass away and not be witness to the mayhem.
Great to hear everyone is still kicking. Cute kid Brad. You can’t deny that one.
I’m game for a reunion. How about a cruise? Signing off from rural Fletcher, Ohio
Wendy Bair (Johnston)
April 16th, 2008
Whoa! Dorinda told me about your blog…what’s up with the hand on my shoulder? My memories of you are happy ones. Burning down the house is more exciting, but I don’t remember it.
To this day, I think of you when I see a T.M.N.T. I was absolutely convinced you created them!
Kim (Littlejohn) Younce
April 16th, 2008
Nicely done, Darin! Didn’t Harold come close to strangling a few of us one night? One of our campmates was composing a story involving GI Joe and Scarlett…
Eric Hubble
April 16th, 2008
Yeah, Preston’s Dad, Roger, was the executive director of the camp, and they lived just across the street. So he actually (in a way) did live at Woodland Altars.
Roger actually threatened to fire me the first year I was full time staff because I was telling my campers scary stories. Later that year I gave a moving speech about the importance of camp in young people’s lives to a group of people who donated to Woodland Altars. Roger took me on a speaking tour of other donors, and we were suddenly best friends. That was my first lesson in politics.
Aaron
April 17th, 2008
This conversation between everyone and adding in camp memories is sooooooo cool!!!
– as stated to you in an email earlier, Mandy (Angle), Wendy (Johnston), and Kim (Littlejohn) all brought back my nickname I believe Darin gave to me! Do you remember what that was Darin?!? Yep, it was Bob (I believe you said it was because you liked Bob Dylan & because Dorinda was too long of a name to repeat all week). I believe Brad and Eric both chimed in with a Bob or a Roberto throughout the week as well! The Troy gals, as mentioned, brought it back with us – playing High School soccer, they would call out Bob vs. Dorinda – because the other players 1. Didn’t know who they were talking to/who they were going to pass the ball to and 2. Dorinda was too long to yell out, they could have passed the ball before getting my whole name out! ha ha ha
All good times!
We should set a ‘reunion countdown’ and make suggestions of where to go what to do… looks like Wendy already made one suggestion! Woo-Hoo this is exciting.
Dorinda Dohner
April 17th, 2008
Hey Bob, hey Kim! The cruise was just a suggestion. I’d do anything to get out of Ohio. Maybe a camp reunion at…the camp. I heard you can rent cabins or tents. My parents still have their place down near the camp at Long’s Retreat, so I’ve been by there every so often. Looks the same. This is great to hear from so many of you.
My home is always open for a reunion. Plenty of parking and things to do here!
Wendy Bair (Johnston)
April 18th, 2008
Dorinda (Bob) – Of course I remember the nickname Bob – and it was because I was having a heck of a time saying Dorinda over and over all week! Bob seemed much easier…. 🙂
And I think you’re right Eric, Harold did come close to strangling us, on more than one occasion if I’m correct. It was lucky for us he was not an ‘overly mobile man’ as it were.
And a reunion sounds like a great time, so count me in. And Kim, I think Eric still has those boy shorts I mentioned previously – if you ask him nicely he just may wear them when he attends…
Darin Anderson
April 21st, 2008
I do believe the memory is the first to go. You guys have such great memories…all I can remember is laughing my head off and T.M.N.T! OK, there is a little more and reading your blog has brought some of it back.
A reunion sounds fun…I like the idea of going back to Woodland Alters.
Kim
June 13th, 2008