Backpacking Adventure

One of my favorite jobs as counselor at Tekoa was the one week out of the summer that I got to be the counselor for Backpack Adventure week. I was fortunate enough to be counselor for this adventure camp at least 4 or 5 years in a row. Getting out in Pisgah National Forest was amazing. The sites you'd get to see that you wouldn't otherwise on a day hike. Of course, we had to contend with campers getting blisters, or getting the "Green Apple Quick Steps" from eating too much dried fruit, but I remember having a blast nonetheless. I hiked both with Helen Porter, Jack Porter's daughter, and with Joe Pyle as trail guides. I remember on one hike we picked up a stray dog that followed one camper around for the entire hiking trip. Another time all the campers and counselors played in the creek around Sam's Knob for what seemed like hours racing boats made out of sticks. My sister and I were co-buddies one hiking trip, which was fun. And there were always the running trail jokes that would perpetuate themselves to pass the time as we hiked. In the last picture below, I just happened to catch the "Pull my finger" gag after it was successfully executed by one of Brooks Ann's and my campers. Time seemed to take a different progression than the structured activities back at camp. It helped me learn to appreciate God's natural wonders more.

White Water Rafting

As a senior high counselor, one of the things I remember both campers and counselors alike looking forward to the most was white water rafting at the end of the week. For senior high resident camp, it was a long ride on the Tekoa bus to the Nantahala River and the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center). We used to sing camp songs; I remember someone brought a guitar one time. Mostly, it was a time for the campers to socialize. Greg Trollinger was the one who usually drove the bus, but I don't think he went rafting. On the particular trip that the first photo is from James Johnson, who was working with Jack Porter at the time to replace him as director, drove the bus. It had just been refurbished and repainted from its oxidized self to look almost new. In taking the turn to cross the bridge over the Nantahala at the NOC, though, James took the corner too sharp and scraped the guardrail. We all said that the "new" bus was officially christened then, and there was no need to worry about keeping it new at that point! Pictured in this 1997 photo (from L to R) are: Shaggy, Frank Day, Zack Greene, James Johnson, me, and Warren Bevaqua (I know I misspelled it, but I'm sure you are used to it ;) )

After getting our life jackets and paddles, and watching that same video on how to raft, we loaded in an NOC bus and headed upriver. I can remember one time trying to race with another counselor, and my group of campers and I did so well we outrun the water released from the dam. We had to stop and wait for the water to catch up because we were hitting so many rocks.

At the end, there was the customary photo they would always take of your raft going over the last rapids, which was supposed to be a class 3 because of the hydraulics, but I've heard other people dispute it. I didn't buy most of the photos they took of my trip down it, but I did order this last photo, circa 1994, because I knew it would be pretty interesting after the fact. I pulled over right before the rapids, like many people do, to dump out the water, scope the rapids out with my campers and go over some strategy. Then we huddled up for a prayer before jumping back in to the raft. Then things got crazy. I steered too far to the left and hit a rock, spinning us around backwards. I then realized I was going back first down the falls just as the photographer was snapping the photo. I thought for sure I was going to be sucked under the hydraulic and never seen again. The campers were less worried. If you look carefully at my reddened face, you might hear me screaming "Backpaddle!" while two guys are staring calmly downstream, two girls are cheesing for the camera, and only one camper shared my concern (the guy in the front) as I'm sure some sort of profanity was about to leave his lips. And nobody's paddling!!

I'd love to hear some more canoeing or rafting adventures from some staff who worked with Water Adventure. You don't even have to post pictures, just share an adventure!

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!

Special Friends Week

One of the many amazing experiences I had as a counselor at Tekoa was when I helped with Special Friends Week, or MH Week (I think they now call it Barnabas). Being a counselor for the mentally handicapped isn't for everyone, to be sure. It required a lot of patience, but was also very rewarding. Here are guys and girls who normally spent their year in a special care facility or a group home. Some had jobs, some were more high care, but all of them looked forward to coming to Camp Tekoa more than any camper, I believe. The first camper I had was named Scott (on the left of the first photo). He loved iced tea. I also took care of another camper named Ricky (on the right of the first photo -- taken in 1993). He liked asking people's names, and then spelling it for you. It seemed like he could spell any word you gave him. It might have taken him a minute to do it, but he was diligent. Some of the highlights of their week at camp I think were going to Carl Sandburg's home and watching Rootabaga Stories and petting the goats. The second photo is from the summer of '97 when we took them to Holme's State Forest to see the "Talking Trees." From top row L to R: Steve (my camper that year) with two other campers -- if anyone remembers names, please comment!), bottom row: April Shamel, Brooks Ann, and ________ (another counselor who's name escapes me, but was really cool to know). We were sitting and eating our picnic lunch on the rock, I think. I remember another special friend who loved to swim, and each year we'd joke with her and tell her that they drained Tekoa lake. After a few seconds she'd realize we were teasing and just break out in a big grin. I can't remember her name, but she talked a mile a minute.

Today, many staff alumni come back for this one week to volunteer and be a counselor or resource person. One of these days when my children get a little older, I might do the same.