Last updated: June 8, 2020
Audio
Cabin Camp Counselor - Part 2
Transcript
Start of recording
Colette Carmouche: “So I wanted to, um, just to try and figure out how many kids were here. Like, do you know how many… were in each cabin?”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “It might’ve been – I’m thinking eight, for some reason. Cause that would be – let’s see, if there are bunks – two, four, six – there could’ve been eight… cause they probably were double-decker bunks.”
Colette Carmouche: “Mm hmm”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “So there could’ve been eight. So there could’ve been, uh, maybe five cabins… no that’s way too many. I…
Man: “Well there’s five here now.”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “Yeah, that was a lot of kids.”
Man: “Well, I’ve never seen a double-decker bed.”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “Okay, so maybe I’m wrong there.”
Man: “But they typically had either four, six or eight to a cabin and then there – we had some cabins that had counselors right there with them.”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “That was – I think we had counselors, so if a counselor took one of the beds… I’m remembering it around fifteen. I don’t know if it was twenty, but it was – so it wasn’t ten; it wasn’t a teeny group. I’ll bet it was close to fifteen to twenty. Something like that.”
Colette Carmouche: “Okay”
Man: “And if you had a counselor in training there was another counselor that-”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “That’s right, adds another body to that.”
Man: [Indecipherable]
Ann Seaton Witzig: “Yeah… so maybe as much as twenty-four at a time. Cause sometimes I remember it could get to a good size of little heads, you know, wandering around. [laughs] It was a whole lot of responsibility but, um, I always felt like there was enough adults, uh, you know, counselors.”
Colette Carmouche: “Mm hmm”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “and… wasn’t too overwhelmed [laughs] most of the time.”
Man: “For an eighteen-year-old”
Ann Seaton Witzig: [said while laughing] “Yeah”
Colette Carmouche: “And so you would’ve stayed in the same cabin as the kids?”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “I did not – if I was a counselor I would’ve. I stayed in that, that upper cabin, um, myself and the senior counselors stayed there… and then the other counselors stayed in the cabins.”
Colette Carmouche: “Mm hmm”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “So you became very close to the counselors, um, and afterwards we stayed in touch for most of the summer. We went – all went – all five of us went backpacking up in, um, the Appalachian Trail up in Pennsylvania. Uh… and uh… everybody just dispersed to college after that. But it was a really good bonding experience for, for the, for the young counselors here as well, I think.”
Colette Carmouche: “Sure”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “A good experience”
Colette Carmouche: “Um, and so do you remember like, can you call up, I guess, just daily activities or kind of a typical day?”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “Well, a typical day would be to get the kids up real early, um, always… they’re very sleepy and uh, they had to get themselves up and ready and then we’d – probably walked in a line up to breakfast. Um, I’m thinking of some that had breakfast chores. There might – there were chores so probably before breakfast we probably had to send some up there to set the table and get that ready and there probably were some, um – I’m trying to think about before breakfast chores – The bathrooms came later; that would’ve been afterwards. But probably after breakfast was the, some people were assigned latrines. Some had to clean the cabins. And we gave awards for cabins, uh for, the cleanest cabins.”
Colette Carmouche: “Mm hmm”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “And, um, I’m sure some were assigned to come down here. And there probably were daily awards and, uh, once that was done then we’d probably have an – I’m sure we had an activity time. There was a schedule so different camps different, you know, of our little areas like Unit C here, we had our swimming time every day. We probably had a craft time and a swimming time, um… and then we’d have lunch time and then maybe another… and then maybe they had boating – they’d have a boating time. And then maybe another craft time. Um. And then dinner, and then after dinner… there was probably always a campfire.”
Colette Carmouche: “Mm hmm”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “And then each group probably had to present – I remember each group preparing skits or an activity that you had to present, or we all had something that we had to present together, and then share.”
Colette Carmouche: “Mm hmm”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “So there was a lot of, um, they were always excited to go up there to, to the big ring, and uh, meet all the other campers. You know everybody was a big ruckus and then they’d calm down and, big campfire – some activity, you know? It was fun for them. They’d come home – come back and there was a snack time; they could buy – or it must’ve been after dinner – they could walk up and there were some snacks that they could buy. And that was [chuckles] I was introduced to Reese’s for the first time, I - It stands out. [laughs] I’d never had Reese’s candy before… and that was a big popular one. And of course, it’s Virginia and it’s hot so, you know, you kind of get covered in chocolate but, uh”
Colette Carmouche: “So they were – they were selling these snacks?”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “Yeah. The kids – oh, we got little cards.”
Colette Carmouche: “Okay”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “And they had a name for – what do you call it – kits. [laughs] And you’d turn – you got a certain number so the kids could maybe something really special and they might use two of ‘em on it.”
Colette Carmouche: “Okay”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “You know, maybe you wanted maybe two candies but then you’d have to-”
Colette Carmouche: “Gotcha”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “get a second one. So, so they didn’t have to use money.
Colette Carmouche: “It was like a little store?”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “Yeah, a little store and so they could get – maybe postcards… they probably always got candy.”
[Colette Carmouche laughs]
Ann Seaton Witzig: “So we stayed really busy, um, and we always walked everywhere we went. And I took ‘em on lots and lots of hikes, so by the end of the summer – gosh I can’t remember how many weeks it was – but we had hiked all around. By the end of the summer we knew, I knew all the trails and had really… um, gotten ourselves and the kids in really good shape. [laughs] And were just going all over here – and they got used to walking in the streams, uh and doing real, swimming in the streams and um…”
Colette Carmouche: “Mm hmm”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “It was kind of – and that was something had to – ‘This isn’t a pool, you know. It’s okay to, to kind of get in and-”
Colette Carmouche: “Yeah”
Ann Seaton Witzig: “get wet. It’s a different experience for them kids.”
End of recording
Description
Listen to Ann Seaton Witzig talk about the summer of 1972 when she was a camp counselor at Prince William Forest Park. “So we became very close to the counselors. And afterwards we stayed in touch for most of the summer. All five of us went backpacking, up in…did the Appalachian Trail up in Pennsylvania.” Interviewee: Ann Seaton Witzig Interviewer: Colette Carmouche Date of Interview: 7/31/08
Duration
6 minutes, 1 second
Credit
Justine Rothbart
Date Created
08/01/2011
Copyright and Usage Info