James Laird - "Some Summer Activities at Lark Ellen Home for Boys for Boys" - Page 2

One of the best parts was the evening campfire program. Sometimes before the outdoor fire was lit we had programs inside the meeting hall, and of course during the campfires we had singing and stories by the ranger staff. I don't remember it ever raining during our stay as if it would have bothered us boys anyway.

I learned to swim a little in the small pool. The water was so cold coming right out a stream running close by that you kept moving to stay warm. I could dive in and swim across to the other side with one breath. I could even do this under water, but never did learn to put my head out to breathe properly. A daily swim did double duty for a bath in those days. I saw a few trout in the stream below the swimming pool but was never able to catch one. You could make neat whistles with the willows growing alongside the stream.

Hiking was great fun with new things to discover everywhere you went. We kept our eyes out for all kinds of things from lizards and snakes to acorns and nice slabs of bark to good hills covered in pine needles to slide down. A piece of tin made a good sled with a big piece of cardboard next or anything else that would keep the pine needles from sticking into your bottom.