1957 - 1962

Places: Mill Lake – 1 year
Sleeper State Park, Caseville, Michigan – 5 years

Director: David Charles

Mill Lake camp was so large that we wore ourselves out chasing kids. Elder could be seen riding his bike to blow the whistle for "Rise and Shine" every morning. (Yes, this is the same Mill Lake we later spent quite a few years at.) One advantage at Mill Lake was we swam at the lake right where we were at. Dewey Chapman used to load Esta Slauter and all her candy making equipment in the car in New Carlisle, Ohio and make the long drive to Mill Lake or Sleeper.

Crafts: Moccasins, spice cabinet, paint by number, perpetual calendar, fern blueprints, table lamps, shoe shine kits, pajama bags and napkin holders, waste basket and book rack. Crafts were run by Richard or Laura Cooke, Judy Begeman, David Charles, Don Begeman or Roger Trueman.

Remember...

  • Swim time started off with a long hike through the swamp to the beach to swim in Lake Huron.
  • The year 3 or 4 year old Sally Johnson (Smith) got lost and everyone was searching frantically for her along the beach. The life guard assured us she would wash up on the shore. Sally was finally found playing in the sand. What rejoicing!
  • Grindstone City and all the wonderful Sabbath afternoons spent hiking there and throwing rocks in Lake Huron.
  • Jim Ohle and Dale Begeman and the "rasslin" matches on the beach.
  • The year the Church of God joined us with their campers and personnel and singing "Cheer Up, Ye Saints of God" with a Scottish accent. (We had about 100 campers and worked really hard.)
  • Elder making the ribbon boxes--the black was for sin, the red was for Jesus' blood, the white was for us cleansed from sin, the green for us growing up in Him and the gold was for heaven and its streets of gold.
  • Singing How Great Thou Art from the big book Elder had found.
  • Patsy Ohle, Hannah Horner, Louise Rowe helping Mrs. Slauter in the kitchen.
  • Willie Blum and Pop Layton working in the kitchen making kool-aid.
  • 6 year old Kathy Lane's joke about taking a bath with bubbles.