7.30

By this time every fellow is hungry enough to devour whatever food is set before him, whether he is fond of it or not, and there is an alacrity of response to the Mess Call of the bugle which only a camper understands and appreciates.  When the campers are seated there is either silent or audible grace before the meal is eaten.  Take plenty of time for the eating of the meal.  Forty-five minutes is not too long.  Encourage wholesome conversation and good natural pleasantry, but discountenance “rough house” and ungentlemanliness.  The announcements for the day are usually given at the breakfast table followed by the reading of a chapter from the Bible and a short prayer.

8.30

A boy should be taught that all labor is noble, that “no one can rise that slights his work” and the “grand business in life is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.”  With this kind of a spirit, blankets are taken out of the tent to be aired and the sides of the tent tied up, the camp is cleaned and put in a sanitary condition, the tents are put in order, and kitchen work, if part of the boys’ duties, is attended to.  All work should be finished by 9.30.  No matter whether the boy pays twenty dollars a week or three dollars a week for the outing, labor of some sort should be a part of his daily life while at camp, for when one gets to love work, his life becomes a happy one.  The world despises a shirker but honors a worker.

The work of the day is sometimes done by tent groups or by boys grouped in alphabetical order, each group being under a leader whose part is assigned daily by the Camp Director (see chapter on Organization).  In the writer’s camp, work is considered a great privilege.  For instance, if three bushels of peas must be picked from the camp garden for dinner, a call is made for volunteers.  From forty to fifty hands will go up and after careful choosing, six boys are selected to do this coveted work, much to the disappointment of the others.  It is all in the way work is presented to the boys, whether they will look upon it as a privilege or an irksome task.

9.30 to 11.00

If tutoring is a part of the camp’s plan, the morning will be found a desirable time for tutor and boy to spend an hour together.  Manual training, instruction in woodcraft, field and track athletics, boating, life-saving drills, rehearsal for minstrel shows or entertainments, photography, tennis, baseball, are some of the many activities to be engaged in during this period.  One day a week, each box or trunk should be aired, and its contents gone over carefully.  A sort of “clean up” day.

11.00

About this time the Life Saving Crew will be getting ready for their drill and patrolling of the swim.  The other campers will be taking in their blankets and after shaking them well and folding, will place them on their beds for the inspection, which usually comes at noon.  At 11.20 boys who cannot swim should be given instruction by those who can swim.  If this is done before the regular swim there is less danger and greater progress is made.