Strong River Camp and Farm

STRONG RIVER CAMP AND FARM- Pinola, Mississippi

As I sit and blog this post today we can only hope we are in the process of saying goodbye to Summer. The thermometer says it's a balmy 95 here on this day, the 17th of September. Will this heat not end? I guess it makes my summer recollection series seem not too far behind after all. Shall we continue??? STRONG RIVER CAMP AND FARM....."Oh Strong River you are great...In the win-ter I can haaaardly wait....for you to open UP those orange gates...OH Strong River HERE WE ARE!!" This was one of the jingles I learned at Strong River when I went there in the Summers of the early 80's. It was a little slice of Heavan to me. I looked forward to that rustic camp (except for the fact that I did bring my nightmares along from all the Friday the 13th's I'd seen by the lowly age of TEN....geesh...not sure where my parents were in the tv filtering department). Anyway...back to the woods of Pinola, MS. Each June this one glorious week meant the break from the rigorous junior tennis tournament circuit life I led in the summers. Well except when your parents had to come pick you up EARLY FROM CAMP (who does that???) to head to the Southern Sectionals tennis playoffs is a neighboring state. As I type this entry the memories come flooding back in soooo many ways. OH...and the gate is not orange anymore.....

We anxiously awaited to see if Floyd was going to get into the camp session of his choosing for most of the Spring. Yes, like a fool, I decided that it was not of utmost importance to rush my money down to Strong River Camp and Farm and that we had pleeeenty of time.....oh how wrong was I! We barely got in and I mean barely. I knew with this being Floyd's first real camp experience of 7 whole days that this was a big deal. He had a great time with buddies, Walker Pedigo and John Raines of Jackson. I think next year Anne Craig wants to go. I better start saving my money now so I can send it in EARLY!!

John Raines, Walker Pedigo and Floyd with their 2 counselors. Byron was from South Africa and the other one, whose name I have forgotten....was from Denmark. He did say that his mother was a counselor back in the day. Seems like I did have a counselor from Denmark once.....I wish I could put my hands on those old pics...they are in the attic somewhere I think.

Making up the beds!

Floyd's "new" cabin, Cypress Swamp. When I say new...these cabins didn't exist in the 80's. We only had one long row of cabins starting with the names of numbers 0-13. Cabins 0-13 are still there by the way but now there is a second rows of cabins behind them. I believe the girls stay in the older ones. It was all very nostalgic just being there dropping him off and picking him up.

Anne Craig, Me, and Tay Gillespie (the owner and founder of Strong River Camp and Farm) at the age of 90). Her daughter, Sarah Dabney now runs it.

Me and Steve Flemming, who was a counselor when I was there and he's still there helping run the place.

Postcard from camp