The View from Memory Lane

The View from Memory Lane

Or

Notes from the Mists of Time So the Younger Set Can Re-Live Tree

Farm Happenings with Those ofA Certain Age

My earliest memories of “The Cabin” begin circa 1955: no Common Room, swimming at the Kanesatake pool, after supper walks to the spring with glass jugs for drinking water, McCorkel/Russell/Braund cabins only, Henderson family visits from Iowa every-other-year.

Our mom (Phyllis Day, Kanesatake and College of Wooster vet) pitched a canvas tarpaulin from a board nailed to two trees, shower curtains for the side walls; Phyllis cooked over an open fire. Our dad, Hugh Day (Philadelphia Central High School, Lehigh University, CCC) was not an enthusiastic camper at that time tho he did enjoy The Cabin more when we built the original ‘Tiltin’ Hilton. Our initial campsite was where the Common Room now stands.

Post-1955 (help me here, those of a certain age) the Common Room was built using lumber from Tree Farm trees; Roy McCorkel, Terry Braund, Roger Russell,Jim Millelsen Sr. , perhaps Bill Hendeson were the driving forces behind the Common Room. Teen-agers Jim McCorkel, Chris and Alex Day, Hendesons, Russells were part of the effort. I don’t remember doing any of this work, probably the reason it still stands! I do remember marveling at the work of Jim Mikkelsen Sr.; his greenhouse skills led to the glassed-in south end. I also remember that neither of the two interior fireplaces ever worked; don’t know why.

Happy evenings of Lummi Sticks, travelogues from India and from Germany, and conversations related to CARE and to American Friends Service Committee that were way above my level of awareness were common fare. I do remember that the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series in 1960: Vernon Law (a Mormon deacon), Bob Friend, Dick Groat (bald as a cue ball), and Bill Mazeroski beat the hated Yankees in seven games on a Mazeroski home run. Oh, yeah, Roberto Clemente (“Number 21 in your program, Number 1 in your heart”) was something of a star for that team, later for the world. See where my head was??

At that time the meadow was part of the Camp K property and was rented out for summer grazing of cattle by local farmers. Those cattle grazed that meadow completely, so no trees of bushes grew there. Quite a contrast from the present-day tangle of evergreens and too-healthy undergrowth.

Swimming was available at the Camp K pool while their campers were at the evening meal. Water to fill the pool came directly from a stream on the Camp K property; no filtration, no chemicals. So, the pool bottom was green and VERY slippery; preferred mode of entering the pool was via a rope that spanned the pool separating deep end from shallow end; width of the pool 100’!! Periodically the Kanesatake crew (Studio Boys) were assigned to attack the pool bottom with heavy street brooms after the camp manager had diverted the creek water for 1-2 days so the water level was quite low. During the re filling period buckets of chlorine would be thrown into the water with absolutely zero effect.

The undersigned subsequently worked as a Studio Boy for several summers, including one summer as lifeguard. I shudder to think even now of the extreme risks we took in guarding a huge (200’ x 100’) outdoor pool the bottom of which we could not see.

Prior to the construction of the exiting showers and flushable plumbing (help me again, certain agers) bathing was accomplished in afore-mentioned Camp K stream; I don’t remember that any males ever did this—guess we just stayed dirty, figuring that swimming was sufficient.

Another treasured all-female adventure was to place a sleeping bag at a choice spot, located by flashlight, in the meadow, to “sleep under the stars”. Given the day-time denizens of the meadow, more that one sleeper awoke to a Sunrise Surprise as the the exact composition of their pillow!!

Full disclosure: I have no direct evidence of the afore-mentioned mis-adventures; I only pass on information provided to me by probably unreliable sources.

Finally I thank you for your diligence in wading through my musings. Quite possibly there are more reliable sources with clearer memories who can pass equally fascination happenstances related to their own Cabin experiences. Might I suggest:

-Walks to the Bare Spot

-Visits to Penn State Creamery

-Specifics related to Betty and Roy, esp the very early days of the Cabin

-Subsequent cabins and approximate dates of construction

-Date of electrification

-Events/ date of water supply to cabins

...as possible topics for additional musings.

Tom Day, Lisbon, New Hampshire 11/24/20