My View from 1958

The Early Years

I would never have thought waves on a lake could be so high. The wind was relentless, 3 feet forward, 4 feet back. The ballast in the canoe was not set correctly. The canoe continued to pull to the right with or without the wind. We were in the middle of a huge lake and there was no way to correct the balance of the camping gear.  High winds, white caps, an unbalanced load, a canoe with 3 teenage boys (one of which would not help with the paddling), and we found ourselves further and further behind from the main body of campers/canoers. Soon it was apparent we were lost. We completely lost sight of them. It was a good thing a couple of adults hung with us, but they were as lost as we were.

This was the Boundary Water Canoe Area in Northern Minnesota. At that time, it was a very pristine area for hiking, camping and canoe trips. The water was crystal clear. Our Boy Scout Troop 218 in Shenandoah worked for over a year, performing odd jobs around the area to earn money for the trip. We picked up corn from the fields that the corn harvesters had dropped and sold that to the local grain elevator.  

We collected old newspapers for recycling into home insulation. We sold Christmas wreaths, cards and candy. You name it, we did it. Finally, we earned enough money to fund the trip. A weeklong adventure of canoeing and camping in the Northern wilderness. The Boy Scouts were a bid deal back then (circa 1970). Everyone loved to camp, fish, hike and just hang out. I would guess we had 50 to 60 kids in our Troop. We met once a month in the basement of the Methodist Church. Our Scout Leader, Bob Norris, was awesome.  He enjoyed adventure, kept the kids in line (best he could) and recruited other fathers/men in the area to help. I am not sure what happened to Scouting over the years. I thought this was the greatest thing in the world. It was cool back then to be in Scouts…but time is not always a friend.

Finally, the big day came. After months of planning and scraping together money we were ready to go. We all met at the Church early one morning, packed our gear in the vehicles and took off. The journey to Ely, Minnesota was not long, about 600 miles. We were to all meet in Ely at Cliff Wolds Outfitting to get our equipment and canoes. (I don’t know how I remembered Cliff Wolds after 55 years. My wife gets mad at me for not remembering to put the toilet lid down about 3-4 times a day now). The trip up was exciting. Most of us had never been more than 65 miles from home, which was probably a trip to the big city of Omaha. I remember stopping at an open pit ore mine near Duluth. It seemed like the biggest hole in the world.  

The other big event on the way to Ely, was a series of prank phone calls instigated by a fellow Boy Scout named Ed. Ed was one year older than me. I can still remember that even in elementary school he was one of the most popular kids for some reason. He always picked the teams for recess football games. He consistently picked me to be on his team for some reason and that made me feel good. He called me Steve. He did not know my real name….so he called me Steve. I never challenged him on this, as I wanted to be on his team and in his favor. If he thought my name was Steve, it was good enough. 

Ed had a credit card he could use to make long distant phone calls. It was not his, he said it was a friend of his mother’s.  It seems a bit odd now, but back then we did not question it. Now this was back in the day before cell phones. When we stopped for gas, we would go to a nearby phone booth, dial the operator to make a long-distance call let’s say to Tom Jones (yes, the singer Tom Jones), or the mayor of Ely, Minnesota, give the operator the credit card number and let the fun begin. When we called Tom Jones in Vegas (not sure it was really him who we were talking to) we started singing “She’s a Lady”. We laughed our asses off. I often wonder what the owner of that credit card thought when they saw the bill. No matter. Everyone wanted to be liked by Ed, so we went along for the ride.

We finally arrived at Ely and Cliff Wolds Outfitter.  We obtained our food, canoes and equipment and loaded up. Scout Master Bob Norris had a planned route with identified campsites and areas we had to portage.  There were probably 3 or 4 instances when we had to carry our canoes and equipment to get from one body of water to another. Bob was very organized and quite an outdoorsman. Each campsite was a treat. Fishing, swimming in the clear water, stories at night around the campfire especially about the mythical Wolverines in the area which were touted to be man eaters!  We often found the remains of animals near our campsite that were the remains of a Wolverine feast (or so we thought). It sure made for good fun to think we were being stalked.

My dad and brother were also on this trip.  I could tell dad loved the freedom of this wilderness. Every day when he would awake, he would make the sound of a Loon call. The Scouts loved it. They all tried to imitate his call and talked about it for years afterwords.

It was toward the end of our trip that some severe storms hit the area. High winds and relentless rain. Since our itinerary was on a specific timeline, we had to press on, regardless of the weather.

As we paddled along, we realized further travel was futile until we adjusted the weight in our canoe so we could travel in the desired direction. At the request of the adults in the other canoe, we finally paddled to a small island and adjusted the gear. We finally had it balanced properly. One of the adults used a whistle to signal to the rest of the Scouts that we were in trouble. No use, the wind and rain just beat the sound of the whistle into oblivion. We were on our own.

We did not have a good understanding of the route and with the wind and rain the visibility was very poor. But we had to try to find the others. Surely, they would be missing us!!!!!  We paddled on, against the wind, the rain and waves. I was convinced all was lost, and those Wolverines!!!  Licking their chops for some young fresh meat, I just knew it.

After what seemed like hours, coming around one of the islands in the distance came a canoe. We are rescued.  As the canoe got closer, I could see through the haze it was dad and his good friend Pete Hamilton. The rest of the Scouts recognized that we were missing so they all paddled to a small island to wait. Dad and Pete said they would go back and try to find us, and they did. I cannot describe the feeling when I saw them coming. What won’t a dad do for his son or daughter?  It seems like the sun came out shortly after that.

Another camping event we experienced as Scouts was the annual freezeout. As the name suggests, this was camping in the middle of winter.  Of course, it was colder than hell. In the late 1960’s our camping gear was not as well suited for cold weather camping as today. When we arrived at the camp site the first thing we would do would be to put straw down on the ground and then pitch our tents over the straw. The men would start fires in big 55-gallon barrels that they would keep burning 24 hours a day. Somebody also kept hot apple cider at the ready. Activities including hiking and doing other tasks to earn merit badges. Then came night and the real cold. My sleeping bag was a “GI Joe” brand. As you can imagine, it is not well suited for cold weather camping. No blankets or air mattresses, just the straw beneath the tent for insulation. It was going to be a long night, and it always was. No sleep, just trying to stay warm. I must have been a bit heartier back then as I cannot imagine doing this today. 

For many years our Troop would have the opportunity to spend a week at Camp Wakanda near Griswold, Iowa. This place was another slice of heaven. A trading post, swimming pool, hiking trails and of course camp sites assigned to each visiting troop. Many trails lead down to the nearby river which was always a place to congregate. The Camp had multiple crafts and activities to include canoeing, archery, and swimming. The dining area was a huge open area with what seemed like hundreds of weathered picnic tables. The food was great. Spending the whole day running wild or working on merit badges, there was nothing better than the call to chow. I don’t remember exactly what we had, but it didn’t matter. It was delicious.  

One merit badge I earned at Camp was the Mile Swim. We had to be at the pool by 6 am. That particular day was unusually cool (of course). Each swimmer had a buddy assigned to count the laps until the milestone was met. My “buddy” was Steve. I remember he was wrapped up in a blanket and kept telling me to quit. “Come on quit”, he would yell at me. Encouragement to quit is an anti-pattern from what you would expect. HE was cold and wanted to go back to bed, but I would not stop.  I struggled, but I made it. My brother Mark did too. His lap counter was a bit more encouraging than mine. I was very proud of that accomplishment and beating the odds.

One final memory from Camp Wakanda. Clean up day. Each campsite had to dedicate time to cleaning the area around them, so of course I participated. I remember finding a can of bug spray on the ground and not thinking, throwing it into the fire pit. Clean up activities finished; I went back to my tent. A few minutes later there was a loud boom.  I guess I failed physics class, as I didn’t connect the dots. Intense heat applied to a sealed can with aerosols will not end well. The explosion scared everyone. Hot cinders flew everywhere to include Dwight’s sleeping bag he left near the fire to dry out.  Yup, it burned holes in his sleeping bag.  I thought he was going to kill me. He didn’t need to. I felt so stupid that I wished I could just disappear. Other than having to use my paper route money to buy a new sleeping bag, Camp Wakanda was amazing.

I wanted to see if I could still remember the Boy Scout Law, so I typed it below. Much like the rest of my memory, I can remember events and information from 50 years ago but often enter a room wondering what the hell I am looking for.

A Scout is:

• Trustworthy,
• Loyal,
• Helpful,
• Friendly,
• Courteous,
• Kind,
• Obedient,
• Cheerful,
• Thrifty,
• Brave,
• Clean,
• and Reverent

I nailed it!

We were very lucky. Our Scout Troop was led by good men of the community and had solid parent involvement. I really did learn a lot and I am sure it helped to build my confidence. The motto, “Be Prepared”, is still my mantra today. I am going to give a shout out to these men who volunteer their time to help young men mature into solid adults. They are all deceased now, but they were good men and leaders of the community in their own right. I was lucky to have known them:

• Bob Norris
• Paul Foster
• Dale Albright
• Bill Hiatt Sr.
• Pete Hamilton
• Bill Farrell
• Sorry, I am sure I missed some……………

Seems like Scouting should be more important today than ever. There are so many rudderless kids out there.