Kitchen Duty and the Staff Assistant

It was a given as a staff assistant -- you were going to work in the kitchen. Some staff abhorred it, while others thrived in the steamy, food service environment (David DeHarde and Brian Combs are a few that come to mind). It was a conversion time between C.I.T.'s and being a full-time counselor, though counselors did not have immunity from being pulled into the kitchen on occasion. I was a staff assistant the summer after I graduated from high school, 1992. Ruth was in charge of the kitchen, and ran a tight ship. I learned some things I didn't know, like not to do food prep on the gas burners (gummed them up), or not to drop sharp knives in a sink of soapy water(sliced fingers). It was hard work, but kitchen staff found ways to entertain themselves. I remember on one occasion we made up kitchen dances like The Can Opener or Stir the Grits, or The Bart (Bart was our Hobart dishes sanitizer) and show them off on Wed. dance night, back when Tekoa used to have a Wed. night dance. A few weeks I remember how each kitchen staff member took turns choosing the music. I picked Garth Brooks, and David DeHarde told me he beat his wife and made up lyrics to some of his songs, singing them to me to get on my nerves ("The thunder rolls, the lightning strikes, I beat my wife..."). Of course, I was so easy to tease because I was so darn gullible! We also always found an excuse to go to the walk-in cooler when it got too hot in the kitchen, or the freezer if it were a real scorcher! Of course, that wasn't very energy efficient, and someone would notice the temperature gauge would be too high and know what was going on. I'm sure some Tekoa folks out there have funnier stories to tell than I do, so chime in! The first photo is from the summer of '92 and includes all of the Staff Assistants and C.I.T.'s of that year.


My first year in the kitchen I also learned about the legend of the Ruth Rolls. It was said that Ruth was so thrifty her first few years as kitchen director that she would use the leftover oatmeal and grits from previous breakfasts and add them to a homemade dinner roll recipe of hers, then serve them to campers that evening or the next day. Now, I remember having Ruth Rolls as a camper. I just didn't know that's how she made them. I thought they were pretty good, and I must give her credit for being creative.


The second pic comes from the summer of '96. Cheesing for the camera is Earl Wilson III and Carrie Henson. This was probably taken on the weekend, as they look way too clean and non-sweaty to have just washed a bunch of pans! Earl was mild-mannered, but had a sharp wit about him. He used to eat food dropped in the pig bucket to gross campers out. He would say, "It's all about mind over matter, if you don't mind it doesn't matter."


The third pic also comes from the summer of '96. Kyle (and two other lovely young ladies whose names escape me at the moment) are doing a real dirty job -- cleaning the greasy hood vents from above the ovens behind the dining hall.

The last picture shows Mike Pruitt in a moment of rest on top of the cardboard recycling pile with a few campers of mine. Notice the look of sheer exhaustion in his eyes.

Working in the kitchen was like a rite of passage for staff. You worked behind the scenes, stuck inside while campers and counselors got to play, and never got as much appreciation as you probably should have from other staff. It was a selfless job, but it made me humble, and it also built a camaraderie among many staff members that built lasting friendships. Whatever happened, we could say we survived the kitchen, and had the burns and pruned fingers to prove it!