The Council Room

[Mike Freeland]

As most of you know, Garth Nelson and I became friends in 1960 when we were 13 and in S-8 with Rick Leavitt. That was the beginning of a life-long friendship (so far anyway. We ain't dead yet.)

One day (we were councilors and running the trip program) just before Siesta, I was walking toward the Senior Camp to have a game or two of Cribbage with Garth in S-1, when Mr. Bentley (I never got the cheek to call him "Brad") called to me from the corner of the dining hall veranda. We enjoyed a good relationship, so when he said he wanted to see me, it wasn't like being called to the principle's office, so I didn't see anything coming. He said "You go tell your friend Nelson I want to see him. Now." He didn't seem to be in a very good mood.

"My friend?" "Nelson??" I never heard him refer to anyone by his last name in my life, and he said "your friend" like it was my fault that Garth was ever born and that that wasn't necessarily a good thing! You can bet I told my friend Nelson that Mr. Bentley was on the DH porch wanting to see him. And that now would be a good time.
Me, I'm gonna head back to J-8 and help my JC shut the kids up. Later.

Garth had a discussion with Brad that moring. Anyone else have one of those?
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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

[DavidAyars]

Garth, do you remember what that was about? That kind of spitting anger from BMB was out-of-character, in my experience.

The only time I remember getting called to the woodshed was probably when I was a JC. Right after lunch one day, Edna shanghaied me near the bubbler on the porch and asked me to go get somebody up in the Junior camp. I was in a really foul mood already-- I don't remember why-- it was one of those humid 90+ degree days with no air moving in the Dining Hall, so that didn't help-- and I just said, "I'm not going that way"-- I wasn't-- I had someplace else to be, in a different direction, and I walked on. I figured she'd just grab somebody else. Big Mistake. She complained to BMB. A day or so later, he called me over, and said I needed "to apologize to Mrs. Bentley". Which I did. I just told her I was in a bad mood, which was true, and I said I was sorry, and she accepted that graciously, and we got along fine after that.
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Camper: J-8 1965 (Kevin Ryan), J-8 1966 (Mike Freeland), S-6 1967 (Russ Hatch), S-3 1968 (Jeremy Cripps), and JA-2 1969 (Dan Mannis).
JC: J-2 1970 (Bill Bettison) and J-3 1971 (Gene Comella). Councilor 1972, J-5 1973, and JA-1 1974 & 1975

[Mike Freeland]

You're right Dave - that sort of fury was out of character for BMB. I'd never seen him like that.

The thing with Garth turned out to be rather unimportant, but BMB was furious. Garth was one of the councilors who accompanied a bunch of Seniors to a dance at Se Sa Ma Ca (sp?) or somewhere, and on the way back, the kids started singing a bawdy song (I cant remember what it was, but it was nothing nearly like the perennial campfire favorite "She's a Big Fat Sh*t" or even close. Just the kind of thing kids do, and pretty mild. We've all sung the song and it's really harmless - just a little off color, but that's not the way BMB heard it.

Well, there was a kid along who went straight to BMB when they got back to camp and told him that he was "ashamed" and "deeply offended" by the other boys' behavior, on and on. That kid shall remain nameless, but his initials are WP, and he's the same one who whapped Pat in the stomach with no warning (see "near disaster" thread). Real bugger of a kid with a goody-two-shoes veneer. Thoroughly reprehensible. Garth's "discussion" had to do with his not stopping the singing, representing Wyanoke off the property and all that. I even think Garth's response was on the order of "Oh come on", told BMB what the song was and the whole thing blew over.
_________________
'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