Camp Nawakwa - Yearbook (Biglerville, PA)

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20 Cilllllfi .'X'r1:vr1,l'ttw1 SUGGESTED PROGRAM FOR NAWAKWA DAY FEBRUARY 6, 1949 CALL TO WolRs1-1111: Psalm 150 I-IYMN: Be Thou My Vision -- American Youth Hymnal No. 236 POEM: f'Backward We Loolcf' ............. - American Youth Hymnal No. 233 QThii5 is cz hymn, but is to be read. rather than sungj . SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 6:1-8, I Samuel 3 :1-10, Acts 9:1-6 I-IYMN: Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart ' American Youth I-Iymnal N o. 62 MEDITATION: Vision in Action Anniversary year was 1948, Nawakwans looked back at twenty years of growth, and saw that it was indeed good. But every anniversary celebration must have two parts: to paraphrase Charles Lamb, each anniversary is a resting place for thought and meditation, and a starting point for fresh exertion. The year 1949 is the nrst of a new score of years. Wlieii the beloved founder of Nawakwa gazed on the hills, and on boys and girls, he beheld a vision of camp and campers. The hills were to blossom forth with cabins and fountains, pool and class- rooms, places to rest and places to worship. Long-limbed boys were to grow to become Navy chaplains, mission pastors, doctors, Christian laymen in all walks of life. Eager- eyed girls were to find themselves in far-off mission fields, in deaconess garbs. as teachers, nurses, secretaries, mothers, all telling with their lips and lives of their Christ. And the transformation was to be wrought through experiences in camp. And it all came to pass. D This might have been only a dream. Perhaps the difference between a dream and a vision is that nothing happens after a dream, but much happens after a vision. NVeb- ster says the terms are synonymous-but suggests that a dream is the state of mind of an abstracted person, while a vision is that which requires a person of more than ordinary sight and imagination. The diderence between a dream and a vision is akin to the difference between abstraction and action. Isaiah and Samuel and Paul all had visions too, that came to pass. Those visions might have been only dreams. But notice that when the vision came to Isaiah. he answered, Here am I, send mc. Samuel said, Speak, l.ord, for Thy servant hearethf' Auf' Paul cried out, Lord, what wilt Thou have ine to do! flilvery true vision is followed hy action. '.l.'hat is how Naxvalaxva grew. .-Xnd that is how Nawalcwa must grow iu the luture. Nawaluva is more than a place. although the

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N. S lit'x!'d:'slxlA' v. 'K I 1 -tg 5 . N if 's 5--. I9 5' T :vt na' . 1.-.5 QV' if 'VC M. 'ff' -4-1 Q . b , A--W' 1 J' r' 54 K ,Hi 5,1 A.. W4 'U ,E Gp I' 1, , ir ,af f p ! 5. 'I' . ,s-,Y 1'il't'HI llitltltfa' 'lin lx'1'l4'l14'H. f We continued our woodmen's chores even alter the caunping season opened. Often we czune in from the woods or the field just in time to get into our whites and set the tables lor the next meal. The rustic fence around the water wheel was erected by two of the seminarians during that first season. Believe it or not, it is still standing. Frequently we had to move into cabins over in the camp when the director was short counselors for the boys camps. Dedication day Dr. Fischer presented us to the audience as the first K.P. force of the Lutlieran Leadership Training Camp. XYhat an eyeful we must have been with our freshly pressed white ducks and Sunday shirts! The first Great Chief of Nawakwa was very particular about the appearance of his crew. He provided us with the most efiicient lzand-powered washer on the market. For one thing, the hot suds brought welcomed relief to cal- loused hands. The only friction was a diversity of opinion about the proper tem- perature of the second rinse water. I don't remember who won, the advocates of hot water, or those of cold. K.P. night was a high spot among the campers in those early years at Nawakwa. During the Senior groups the fellows took over a night and entertained the entire camp. Their favorite stunt was a pirate raid. At the close of one of the evening meals. while Dr. Fischer was making his announcements. the boys masqueraded as pirates. Then brandishing butcher knives borrowed from the kitchen, they clam- bered over the mess hall partition and took the camp captive. Orders were given for everybody to re- port to the assembly hall at a given time prepared fo hike. The whole camp was escorted through a wooded path to an abandoned log house in an open field about a mile from camp. VVhen the campers were seated on the slope in front of the house, the K.P.s started the show. No camper ever forgot that experience. It was a real treat after a long day of work and study. One evening a certain K.P. con- cluded his act by dashing around the rear of the seated campers. With his ethereal- like masquerade fioating through the breezes in the bright moonlight, he made quite a spectacle. Registration days were interesting. As a rule we served as a sort of semi-official welcoming committee, carrying luggage and directing campers to their cabins. I missed that experience when later I in- herited the truck driving job. Also tl1e up Vw 19 lun of waiting on tables in the mess hall! Qi' course, every job has its advantages. I enjoyed the trips into town. Campers often looked with envy upon the .li.P.'s, and wished they could get a Job at Nawakwa all summer. The boys were always asking us to let them help. Witliciut belittling our high privilege as K.P.'s, we confess there were times we wanted to get away from it all. Dr. Fischer gave us permission to use the camp truck one night a week to go to Gettysburg. Mess hall duty was always a pleasant chore. I think I had the most fun of my life waiting on tables at Nawakwa, espe- cially during the boys camps. They always ate so heartily and were so enthusiastic about it.--Gallons of apple butter at a meal. It kept one K.P. busy turning the bread slicer. And when Big Bertha, loaded with dessert, was pushed into the dining room, the roof was raised. Water- melon was always kept a secret until the last moment. Big Bertha is still in serv- ice. W'e named her quite affectionately, though a bit surreptitiously, after one of the ladies in the kitchen. Just last week I toured the kitchen and serving room for old time's sake g-and there she was, now plainly marked, Big Bertha. Closing time at the end of the season was an event too. Perhaps we seemed eager for it. After three months of living like birds in the wilderness, we were ready to return to school. Yetlthere was something about closing camp. Every- thing was quiet. The campers were gone. Nawakwa was not the same. So we could not get the place closed up fast enough. Although only one of us returned for the second season, I am sure we closed the camp at the end of the first summer with a tinge of reluctance. Down there where men sense their deepest thoughts, we knew we were parting from some- thing that could not be duplicated else- where in our experience. I First K.P. bridge

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l 4'llI'l'4ltlA' U place with its hills, trees, springs and all Nature's beauties, is an inspiration to every eznnper. Nziwalawzi is more than physical equipment, although its modern plumbing, well-equipped library, screened cabins, and heart-lifting outdoor Temples, are all aids in zxnswering the needs of all the campers. N:ixx':1l4wa is tod:1y's inllilhnent of yesterday's vision, and it is today's vision of ton1orroxx s hopes. The vision can be found in the heart of all Nawakwans, the campers, the eonnselors. the teachers and administrators. And the fulfillment of that vision de- pends on the dedication of each camper to carry out the important and inclusive camp ann: To discover leadership, To train leadership, To link leadership to the church. This can be done as Nawalcwans, by God's grace, pray with Paul, Lord, what Wilt Thou have me to do l ' PRAYIER THE XAn',x1in',x HYMN Note: For those groups who do not have the American Youth Hymnal, the following hymns from the Common Service Book are suggested: May XVe, Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulf1l'l ---- ...........,... No. 269 Take My Life ---- .................. - ...... - ......... ..... ........ 4 ..... N 0 . 382 Teach Me, My God and King .... - ........... NO. 262 x A q Suitablenpoetry which may be included in the program is as follows: A Prayer, VV. R. Bowie 3. C Living Abundantlyf' Kirby Page, Page 441D W' Life Sculpture, VV. C. Doane ' ' C Best Loved Poems of the American People, Page 3405 i All Every Youth, Mary Edgar V ' if C C Christ and The Fine Arts, C. P. Maus, Page 6325 , a ,,. 1 ily Ar' .ff d Hi . ..-f'