Camp Zoe Memories
Nature Crafts
Nature crafts: The best activity that didn't involve an independent mode of transportation. In nature crafts we did not paddle or canter. We walked out of camp and into the wilderness.
I loved nature crafts. We explored caves, climbed rocks, used our pocket knives, and ate crawdads. We got muddy and wet and it was great.
In 1975 we repelled down the side of a cliff during nature crafts. Sam McMahan led us to a rocky outcropping south of camp near Charcoal Willie's cabin. It was a 25 foot drop to the path below. I concealed my sweaty palms inside heavy work gloves. Sam and the C.I.T. secured me in the harness, ploped a hardhat on my head and gave me a quick lesson. The most import thing was to keep one hand on the rope behind your butt. That was your braking hand. It's not a natural thing to walk backwards off of a cliff but I managed. I leaned back further on my second turn, pushed off the limestone facade of the outcropping and loosened my grip on the brake. Down I went like a "S.W.A.T." TV show squad member. I smiled as my feet touched the ground. Repelling was mentioned in the 1975 Camp Zoe yearbook, but was phased out after Sam McMahan left the Zoe staff.
Nature crafts was associated with Camp crafts. Camp crafts activities included setting up tents in the dark, starting a camp fire in the rain, and clearing camp sites under the forest canopy. It was useful information, but was not as popular with the campers, especially the girls. Camp crafts also disapeared in the late 70s.
Nature crafts got a big boost in 1977 when a young man from the Kansas City area with feathered hair and bell-bottom jeans was hired as a junior counselor. Kevin Dodge was assigned to nature crafts and made it one of the most popular activities in camp. He led groups of kids wearing wading shoes and carrying flashlights into the woods to explore caves and hike nature trails. Once a session, he cooked Sinkin' Creek craw-dads and we ate them. They tasted like shrimp.
I signed up for Nature Crafts every summer and I never got tired of the outdoor fun. We identified plants and went bug hunting. Kevin even conducted a star seminar one night on the archery field. The view of the milky way and the night sky was incredible. Kevin enjoyed his Zoe tenure. He became a professional naturalist and teaches at Garrett College in McHenry, Maryland.