Letters: Make good memories at summer camp

• Jun 8, 2022
• Post & Courier

Lowcountry children will soon be heading to summer camp.

My three children attended Camp St. Christopher on Seabrook Island, happily dragging steamer trunks behind them.

They slept in bunks, lulled to sleep by wind and waves.

They went kayaking. They went sailing. They leaped into the pluff mud pit with wild abandon.

My camp experience was a bit different.

In 1967, I camped where my mother had been a counselor in 1949. She was excited. I was not.

We had canvas tents, a dining shelter, outdoor sinks with BYOS (bring your own soap) and a two-hole “personal care facility” dubbed the latrine.

The camp was overrun by mosquitoes and I was soon covered with itchy, red welts.

We slept under netting, but mosquitoes found their way in, buzzing in our ears all night.

My camp job was latrine duty. Armed with a steel bucket, a scrub brush and a bottle of liquid Lysol — I still cringe when I see that brown bottle — I scrubbed the bottom-smoothed wood around two dinner plate-size holes.

Camp wasn’t all mosquitoes and Lysol.

There were activities, too. Arts and crafts, swimming, woodsman skills and visiting the camp infirmary.

In two weeks’ time, I stepped on a nail, sliced my leg with a handsaw, had infected bug bites and suffered a fever.

The infirmary had clean floors, clean sheets, real mattresses and a window air conditioner. I loved the infirmary. And the nurse let me sleep in one of the deliciously clean beds.

For those heading to camp this summer, don’t be discouraged. It is a wonderful experience, or at the very least, memorable. Have fun, meet new friends and use lots of bug repellent.

And, introduce yourself to the nurse.

JOCELYN CHABOT

Charleston