MEMORIES: MARILYN PEMBERTON, nee baker. aka 'merinda'
In the Summer of 1976, through ‘Camp America’, I was taken on as a unit leader at Camp Hilaka. Exciting for me. An Australian backpacker in Europe, this meant free travel on a charter flight from London to New York; a flight to Chicago and then a bus trip to Cleveland, with a return to London.
1976, the Bi-centennial year of the USA, was an exhilarating year.
It was an exciting time to be in America. The Vietnam War had recently ended and there was a fresh political and social vibrancy in the air. We were enthralled by Feminism with its very strong message that girls could be independent, self sufficient and could do anything. An election loomed and Jimmy Carter was a promising influence on the political landscape. A wonderful time to experience the USA.
In honour of the bicentenary, tall ships sailed along the St Lawrence Seaway, crossing Lake Erie. Through the Girl Scouts organization, I was a guest of a couple who lived in a condominium by the lake, so I had a fabulous view. It was particularly interesting and exciting to be in Ohio for the 4th of July. I recall being welcomed as a guest into the family of the President of the Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea. We enjoyed a parade through the town and a production of ‘1776’ (the musical).
At Camp Hilaka, in honour of the special year, the staff wore ties that were red, white and blue. There was also a rather moving ceremony involving a huge campfire and a pageant with scouts rowing in from across the lake.
Camp was a whole new experience for me. I am embarrassed to admit that I probably spent most of my time in a state of ‘culture shock’. Everything so very different from my home town Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.
1976, the Bi-centennial year of the USA, was an exhilarating year.
It was an exciting time to be in America. The Vietnam War had recently ended and there was a fresh political and social vibrancy in the air. We were enthralled by Feminism with its very strong message that girls could be independent, self sufficient and could do anything. An election loomed and Jimmy Carter was a promising influence on the political landscape. A wonderful time to experience the USA.
In honour of the bicentenary, tall ships sailed along the St Lawrence Seaway, crossing Lake Erie. Through the Girl Scouts organization, I was a guest of a couple who lived in a condominium by the lake, so I had a fabulous view. It was particularly interesting and exciting to be in Ohio for the 4th of July. I recall being welcomed as a guest into the family of the President of the Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea. We enjoyed a parade through the town and a production of ‘1776’ (the musical).
At Camp Hilaka, in honour of the special year, the staff wore ties that were red, white and blue. There was also a rather moving ceremony involving a huge campfire and a pageant with scouts rowing in from across the lake.
Camp was a whole new experience for me. I am embarrassed to admit that I probably spent most of my time in a state of ‘culture shock’. Everything so very different from my home town Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.
Whispering Woods – I had trained as a high school teacher, so six-year-olds were a whole new universe. I was astonished at the level of independence required of such tiny girls, even having to do their own toilet cleaning duties. One tiny one in particular, Melanie: I am sure that her mother bumped up her age to offload her for a couple of weeks. She seemed to be only around age 4, or perhaps a very young 5... We saw snakes. I was petrified (snakes are venomous where I come from) but the girls un-phased. I discovered snakes in Ohio are OK.
The 9 year olds were a hoot (Was it Last Chance?). A fabulous African-American kid called Wanda springs to mind. And overhearing a funny conversation about how a dreadful racoon had crept into a tent and licked the stamp off a letter to Mom. I think that was the scene of my biggest disaster... I was going away for a day and in my absence a cookout was planned, making pizza. I filled the requisition order and left it to my wonderful Unit Assistants. Gasp. In the requisition I had overlooked ordering cooking oil, but I had ordered dishwashing detergent. In the containers they looked similar, so my poor girls made pizza with detergent... In a way I was a bit ‘shirty’ with the kitchen staff, who were highly experienced and must have realized the omission...
Water Front was extraordinary. Sailing, canoeing, swimming... so many skills to learn and enjoy along with some fabulous kids. My main Water Front memory was of the Freezing Frogs initiation ceremony... as well as travelling to help pick up some scouts who had canoed for several days along a river. That journey took us through an Amish community.
My final stint was particularly special – Hilaka was the venue for a ‘national event’ – a Performing Arts camp with highly talented Girl Scouts from across America. I recall a fabulous fiddler (Carol?), and stepping in to organize ballet classes for some keen dancers. A session of wonderful theatre and a symphony concert at the Blossom Music Centre – the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Loren Maazel. It was my first introduction to the music of Aaron Copland.
The 9 year olds were a hoot (Was it Last Chance?). A fabulous African-American kid called Wanda springs to mind. And overhearing a funny conversation about how a dreadful racoon had crept into a tent and licked the stamp off a letter to Mom. I think that was the scene of my biggest disaster... I was going away for a day and in my absence a cookout was planned, making pizza. I filled the requisition order and left it to my wonderful Unit Assistants. Gasp. In the requisition I had overlooked ordering cooking oil, but I had ordered dishwashing detergent. In the containers they looked similar, so my poor girls made pizza with detergent... In a way I was a bit ‘shirty’ with the kitchen staff, who were highly experienced and must have realized the omission...
Water Front was extraordinary. Sailing, canoeing, swimming... so many skills to learn and enjoy along with some fabulous kids. My main Water Front memory was of the Freezing Frogs initiation ceremony... as well as travelling to help pick up some scouts who had canoed for several days along a river. That journey took us through an Amish community.
My final stint was particularly special – Hilaka was the venue for a ‘national event’ – a Performing Arts camp with highly talented Girl Scouts from across America. I recall a fabulous fiddler (Carol?), and stepping in to organize ballet classes for some keen dancers. A session of wonderful theatre and a symphony concert at the Blossom Music Centre – the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Loren Maazel. It was my first introduction to the music of Aaron Copland.
The wonderful staff
- The support of my trusty Unit Assistants, without whom I would never have coped. Always patient, understanding and willing to assist when I made my cultural gaffes. I learned that one referred to ‘flashlights’ and not ‘torches’...
- The totem names meant that unfortunately, I never really got to know who everyone was. Some of the girls who were ‘regulars’ were camp icons and it seemed to be that camp wasn’t camp without them... Corny, Buttercup, Jasper, Sting, Yacqui, Brook... I was ‘Merinda’ (a totem (Aboriginal) I had gained through my Australian Girl Guides years). There were others whose names have disappeared for me into the mists of time, but whose faces, voices, kindness and generosity will reside with me forever.
- ‘Rainy’, who ran the camp, was always patient and exceptionally professional. She was my introduction to the notion that one could earn credits towards tertiary qualifications through practical experience. I believe Rainy was completing a Masters in Business and I have always wondered about what she did and where she moved on to. Did she ever become a captain of industry?
- ‘Sunny’, who ran Julia Crowell. Endlessly warm, welcoming, cheery and supportive. One of life’s ‘special people’... My introduction to ‘professional’ scouting. At home, those who take on roles in Girl Guides do so on a purely voluntary basis.
- ‘Nights in’ with the camp nurse is her special cottage – always interesting with fun conversations.
Lots of other general memories
- The beauty of Hilaka and Crowell and the (to me) quaint buildings
- The history – someone told me that one of the buildings had been used as part of the ‘Underground Railroad’
- Walking along the gas cut at night without flashlights, developing our night vision
- Nights raiding the staff fridge in the dining hall/kitchen... I put on sooo much weight that summer!
- Our runs to Dairy Queen (DQ)... One night we were so exuberant about our hot chocolate topping (‘Oooh, aaah, oooh’) we were asked to leave and we were all carpeted by Rainy, our long-suffering camp CEO
- Meals in the dining hall, always followed by wonderful songs. I discovered that some counsellors claimed particular rights to particular songs and woe betide you if, unknowingly, you stepped on their turf by leading their song! ‘If I had the Wings of a Pioneer’...
- We had a fabulous night square dancing with a caller who explained the history of some of the dances... a highlight of the night was making ice cream in those machines that needed ice and a team of people to constantly turn the handle...
- The opportunity to complete an American Red Cross first aid certificate – I still have the book!
- The opportunity to drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road... (We Aussies drive on the left, you Yankees drive on the right). As a safety measure, anyone over the age of 21 (which included me) had to drive the route to the Medina Hospital in case of an emergency. One did occur: I think it was Brook who was bitten by a bee and suffered an anaphylactic reaction. Fortunately I did not drive but sat in the vehicle with Brook to assist until we got her to the hospital.
- Using a compass without needing to distinguish between ‘True North’ and ‘Magnetic North’ (as we have to do in my part of the universe)
- Taking scouts on hikes to the nearby cemetery, where I noticed some very poignant headstones of boys who didn’t survive their service in Vietnam...
The friendship and generosity
Each time we had weekends away from camp I always had a ‘home’ to go to. For me this was a wonderful way to experience American life. In my ego-centric youth, I didn’t truly appreciate my experiences until many years afterwards. One family accepted me into their home despite the fact that their disabled son was in hospital (the Cleveland Clinic) and was not expected to live. I was impressed that friends and neighbours dropped by to assist with a casserole or a meal – this experience forged my attitudes when I became a housewife-and-mother... to this day it is something I do for friends and neighbours in need and I always remember that family in Ohio.
Buttercup’s parents almost became my American parents. One weekend her dad very generously treated a few of us to a day at Cedar Point, my first ever amusement park experience. A roller coaster (the Corkscrew?) did a loop-the-loop, which was a very new thing at the time. The queue for the ride was AGES long, and, in their frenzied anticipation, waiting people would vomit even before getting onto the ride! I recall strategically placed buckets along the queue. I was too chicken to go on it! We enjoyed a log ride that splashed through water, experimenting with where to sit to ensure being splashed. The people BEHIND us got all of the water while we remained dry!
I stayed in touch with Buttercup’s (aka Kyle’s) family for many years and still use the recipe book and measuring cups and spoons that were sent to me as a wedding gift 40+ years ago! And we still have the beautiful traditional Christmas tree decorations.
My summer at Hilaka was one that was special at the time, but became increasingly so as I matured, reflected on my experiences and realized the scope of its impact. It was a wonderful time in my life.
After camp I had a few weeks before needing to be in New York to join the charter flight to London. I travelled to Michigan to visit a penpal; stayed with a friend from university who had migrated to Ottawa; visited a friend in Washington DC and enjoyed a few days in New York. My continuing backpacking adventures took me across Europe to Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Italy and Germany.
I returned to Australia in 1977 and resumed my teaching career in a small outback township. In 1979 I was accepted into a training program in Brisbane to become a school guidance counsellor. I met and married my husband of 35 years in 1980 and we settled in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Our son was born in 1983. We continue to travel at every possible opportunity. Who knows? One trip may see me returning to Ohio.
Each time we had weekends away from camp I always had a ‘home’ to go to. For me this was a wonderful way to experience American life. In my ego-centric youth, I didn’t truly appreciate my experiences until many years afterwards. One family accepted me into their home despite the fact that their disabled son was in hospital (the Cleveland Clinic) and was not expected to live. I was impressed that friends and neighbours dropped by to assist with a casserole or a meal – this experience forged my attitudes when I became a housewife-and-mother... to this day it is something I do for friends and neighbours in need and I always remember that family in Ohio.
Buttercup’s parents almost became my American parents. One weekend her dad very generously treated a few of us to a day at Cedar Point, my first ever amusement park experience. A roller coaster (the Corkscrew?) did a loop-the-loop, which was a very new thing at the time. The queue for the ride was AGES long, and, in their frenzied anticipation, waiting people would vomit even before getting onto the ride! I recall strategically placed buckets along the queue. I was too chicken to go on it! We enjoyed a log ride that splashed through water, experimenting with where to sit to ensure being splashed. The people BEHIND us got all of the water while we remained dry!
I stayed in touch with Buttercup’s (aka Kyle’s) family for many years and still use the recipe book and measuring cups and spoons that were sent to me as a wedding gift 40+ years ago! And we still have the beautiful traditional Christmas tree decorations.
My summer at Hilaka was one that was special at the time, but became increasingly so as I matured, reflected on my experiences and realized the scope of its impact. It was a wonderful time in my life.
After camp I had a few weeks before needing to be in New York to join the charter flight to London. I travelled to Michigan to visit a penpal; stayed with a friend from university who had migrated to Ottawa; visited a friend in Washington DC and enjoyed a few days in New York. My continuing backpacking adventures took me across Europe to Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Italy and Germany.
I returned to Australia in 1977 and resumed my teaching career in a small outback township. In 1979 I was accepted into a training program in Brisbane to become a school guidance counsellor. I met and married my husband of 35 years in 1980 and we settled in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Our son was born in 1983. We continue to travel at every possible opportunity. Who knows? One trip may see me returning to Ohio.