The Council Room

[Richard Culleton]

I don't know if I hold any records for being in the midget camp the longest, but I should get an extra "Honor Camper" pin for going through 4 Cabintown Fairs! I turned 7 yrs old after my 1st summer as a midget in 1957 in C-6. C-7 in 58,59 and 60. Always the earliest in bed- taps at 7:30- why, it ws still light out, birds singing, and the Juniors still having fun. If we talked after taps.... oh no- a trip to the area infront of C-5 to hold water bucket and no 6-12! I now still go to bed a 1/2 hour before anyone else at home.
Dick Culleton
C-6 Fredrick Taylor "57
C-7 Dick Peterick "58
C-7 Mark Gibson "59
C-7 Mark Gibson "60
J-7 Walter Scheirer "61
J-7 Walter Scheirer "62
S-5 Phil Brown "63
S-1 Joe Cronin "64
S-3 Martin Knowlton "65 [/b]

[Jim Culleton]

It's funny that you mention that Dick! I remember you telling me about being a 4-year Midget but it really didn't hit until I saw the cabins you were in from '57 - '60. You could have probably walked the path to the Midget Beach with your eyes closed after 4 years! That was a pretty nice beach as I remember. I think that was also the path that the councilors and JC's took to go to Red Roof for Mrs. Bentley's weekly
evening "councilor gatherings". Not sure if she had them once a week or once monthly?

It was also a fairly long walk from Cabintown to the dining hall X3 per day! Doesn't seem long today as we walked that road in 2005, but as young kids it was a distance!

Surviving the Midget Camp for four years certainly deserves a Gold Honor Camper at the very least, or maybe a gold plated water bucket!
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'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[Mike Freeland]

Dick, you brought up a few other things which spark my memories. First is the Midget longevity award, which I think you may have to share with Pepi Donovan. I'll look in my database (which has everyone who set foot on the property since 1948. I have data from '40, and the rest will come as time allows). I'l let you know what the answer is in a day or so. I think we can discount the Vaughans and Bentleys in the competition, and maybe even the Fox kids, cuz their folks lived on the property and had no choice. Agreed? Yeah, me too.

Another thing is the early Midget bed time. Even when I was a councilor, 7:30 (that was first call -- Taps was 8:00 if I'm not mistaken) seemed too early, and for those who wanted to go "to town" (that is, to the Wolfeboro Inn or "Father John's" -- not me -- I was a senior in High school in '65) had to wait til 9:30 or so until their friends in the Senior camp were free to leave, and they didn't put out the leftover desserts and cereal in the dining hall untill well after Senior taps so there was nothing to do.

What's funny about that early Taps is that the Midgets were almost always dead to the world by about 8:45 at the latest, even though the bees were chirping and the birds a-buzzin'. Maybe there was some wisdom in that schedule. And remember? By late August, it was really dusky come 8:00. Prob'ly still is. That's the advantage of high latitude at a summer camp.

Junior Taps was 8:30, and my kids and I usually spent a lot of after-taps time reading or just talking -- maybe too early for 11/12-year-olds to actually shut it down for the day, but a great time to make some friends. As a councilor, it was my favorite time of day. Sometimes the OD came in to crucify the kids for the noise and giggling, found me there giggling with them, and settled for asking us to shut the hell up. One supercilious bugger actually threatened to report me to "Brad". I couldn't think of anything Brad would find more objectionable than a councilor really enjoying his group and (hopefully) vice versa, even if it bent the rules a bit. He might have said "Cause that not to happen if others can hear you."

And the last thing you mentioned that struck a chord with me was the trip out to the "Area" in front of the OD table. (Great Wyanoke word, "area", huh? We had "Area" Buckets, inspection assignments of "Area", the Central "Area"... hmmm, that's about it.) The brutal tactics used against us as campers to shut us up at Taps would be reportable to some authority today, right?. NO 6-12 STICK?!!!! Holding an Area Bucket???!!! What cruelty!

Pat has an anecdote about a kid in the Sr. camp who, at random intervals would say "Brrrrinnngggg..." after Taps. Drove the ODs (and his giggling tent-mates, probably -- Shhhhhh! Jesus Clarence, would you shut the hell up? We're ALL gonna get in trouble!!!) nuts. I'll let him tell you about it. He doesn't come here often, though I wish he would, but maybe he'll see this in the next month or so and fill in. It's a lesson in how to get a kid to stop being an ass.
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'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6

[Jeff G]

Afternoon All:

Mike, The "Brrrinnnnggg" recollection brought a quick grin to moi after all these years. I must point out here that I was not party who mastered that rather "unique" sound, but I do have first hand knowledge of its origins. I do find it necessary to check with a 3rd party to see if it's okay to post all details revelant to full discloseure of the history of this sound.

I can't remember what year it was, 1968 or 1969. I'm thinking it was 1968 as Pat was our counsleor for a few weeks in 1969 when Vaughn Dille returned to West Point for the Fall semester. I can't believe that we (S-5) would take on our own counsleor with our after taps shenanigans, but think McHales Navy and you kinda get the idea of the make up of S-5 in 1969.


I'm still laughing about that sound, While I do realize what a PIA it must have been to the staff on duty, and campers trying to get some sleep, it was terrifically funny to the guys in our tent, great bonding stuff.

Jeff G.

[David Bentley]

Speaking on behalf of a former camper of mine, I would like to submit Freddy Lang (prone) as the longest midget.
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C-1 49 J-7 52 S-3 55 J-10 58
C-7 50 J-7 53 S-2 56 J-8 59
C-8 51 J-4 54 S-7 57 (JA) J-8 60 - 64
1965 - 1968 Military service
Pine Cone 68 - 75 (with wife,Sherry,
and daughter Tracey)
Wolfeboro - full-time since 1997

[Guest]

There must be a few of us who spent 4 years as midgets. I certainly did, and can remember no other time of my life when I had so few responsibilities, save only for the summer I was Blue Color Captain in the Midget Camp and had to give a pep talk once before a soccer game. Remember Midget soccer games? Yuk, guffaw! Anyhoo, this was '53-'56 and I doubt I was the first.

Pat