Camp Rondack - Rondacts Yearbook (Pottersville, NY)

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ARTS AND CRAFTS THE VVAMPUM MAKERS Dusk has settled among the pine trees. All is still, and Natibou, the great Wampum-Maker, has come to talk to the Chieftains of the tribe. Greeting, oh brave brothers! Natibou is saying, I have been watching with eager eyes the skill of your tribesmen on water and on field' and prairie. I have admired and praised them, and yet I come with a question on my lips. We bow to the wisdom of the great Natibou, spoke the Chieftains of the tribe. We Welcome his question. There is a tradition among us, replied Natibou, that our young shall be skilled in running like the deer, in hunting like the fox, in moving like the salmon through the waters. Yet there is also the tradition that our young shall be taught to strengthen their hands, their eyes and their minds in the skill of arts and crafts. Have the brave Chieftains forgotten this? lt is a good question, spoke the Tribal Wampum-Maker. Come and you shall see the answer. And he led him to the very last tepee on the tribal ground. I-lere is the work of our papoosesf' said the Tribal Wampum-Maker, the Woven basket made by brave Lila Altman, the lampshade to decorate the wig- Wam of Barbara Blickman, the doll-papooses of Arlene Levy and Estelle Katz.

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lSN'T NATURE GRAND! 'fa V , By APPLE LAURIE . 3 ' . 2, ' 3 fi .,Nature is a wonderful thing, MW A f -- as With frogs to jump and birds to sing: .- ' ,Q - And when there comes a day of rain ' A ' it Out come the salamanders again: And all the younger braves of camp YU M.. J HJ ,Q I f i W- an Get ready to take a nature tramp, 5 T' 1 1' v And all of them will try to get Some little thing to make a pet. NATURE Rondack has certainly been a happy hunting ,Vx ground as far as we naturalists have been concerned. The first few weeks of the summer, we thoroughly V56 '-4' A ', explored our settlement and found more than 50 species K',Q4kqA of flowers, some of them Indian pipe and Indian tobacco 2 ,QA -direct descendants of our ancestors. Young brave Ann -If Newcorn Was Rondack's chief botanist on these explora- tions. Roaming through the woods' in this fashion many of our tribesmen passed their Hrst nature tests, recognizing ilowers, ever- greens, trees, insects, birds and fungi. Later in July, they collected flowers and evergreens for blueprints, and leaves and ferns for ink prints. Barbara Bersohn, our Spirit of the Forest, rolled out some superb ink prints. Several of us went on longer expeditions out of Camp. Betty Geller, chief reptile hunter, brought in several ribbon snakes and a tiny green snake, which had a place of honor in the museum. Brave Irma Newman, chief entomologist, added many bugs to our large collection of butterflies, beetles and other insects. Coming back from Natural Bridge we captured several large sphinx caterpillars and kept them in the museum. Often after the rain our younger papooses went walking through our reservation and collected many coral salamanders, frogs, toads and snails for our terrarium. . The last three weeks of camp were spent in advanced individual work on third tests+work on plaster casts of flowers, pocket sundials and star studies. We climaxed our Held study with the Nature Trail which some of the more stalwart braves made through our entire territory, and which will remain as a lasting memory of our nature explorations this summer.

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Nor do our young ones lack the skill to work with metal as you may observe here in the work of Elaine Eisen, Elaine Davidson and Arline Ereidlanderf' Our young braves do well, said the great Natibou approvingly. That is not all, continued the other, these large copper bowls, book- ends, ash-trays, candy dishes, candlesticks and desk sets have been hammered out by our older tribesmen, Muriel Helfman, Edna Kaufman and Phoebe Weinstein. This swift-footed brass deer is the Work of brave Corinne Dubois. And here you see the tribal emblems in copper and silver: this fish, the work of Helen Lewis, the leaf by Edith Engelson, the horse's head by June Saltzman. These beautiful pewter bowls are the handiwork of Freda Siegel and Julia Doelidf' I am pleased with the work of these braves, the great Wanipum Maker remarked. Are they equally skilled in the craft of leather and in the essential art of trinket-making for self-adornment? Oh judge for yourself, great Natibouf' said the tribesmen. Here is the leather desk set Betty Geller made for her father, and here the work of Selene Davidson, Felice Linder and Dorothy Urelesf' Our eldest braves. he continued, are the most skilled in the making of rings, earrings and bracelets. Brave Connie Gottlieb's ring and Bobbie Selverne's earrings can uphold the best traditions of our tribe. Then spoke the great Wampum Maker Natibou, I have seen and I return happy. Even as your tribe is skilled in play and in competition, it is advanced in the arts and crafts. You have done fine and worthy work and I am content. THE SKETCH CLUB War paint has its place in the best of Indian society, but oil and water color paints seemed to attract our braves even more. Our sketchers went 'in for artistic scalpin,g, and J Connie Reichbach, for one, returned triumphant with the head of Muriel Helfman, a line drawing indeed. Besides portrait Work and figure drawing, our talented tribesmen fixed their - ' ' knowing eye upon the scene, and, like Beverly Blickman, did some very effective landscapes. Muriel Simon made a good beginning on her boast that she'll be a fashion illustrator When she grows up. So much fun did our artists have expressing themselves that they elected to stay home to Work with Polky on a Tuesday when their fellow braves went off a-trail-blazing. And so much did they accomplish that they proudly hung their trophies in the Social Hall for all the world to see and admire.