Zack Swenson remembers a boat stopping on Bull Creek during a Pre Ordeal ceremony in the early 1950’s, apparently attracted by the fires and Indians in costume on both sides of the creek. When they decided to hang around for a while and started talking and laughing quite loudly, Zack (who was in costume) decided to send a flaming arrow across the bow of their boat and they quickly left the area.

Also in a Pre-Ordeal ceremony on Bull Creek in the later part of the 1950’s, Tom Lyda’s part in the ceremony was to shoot a flaming arrow out into Bull Creek. Tom must have had a very strong bow that night and instead of the flaming arrow landing in Bull Creek, it headed straight for the Indians standing on the rock on the far side of the creek and the Indians had to “abandon ship” and jump into the water.

Also in a Pre-Ordeal ceremony in the later part of the 1950’s, Jerry Russell (in full costume) came across Bull Creek in a canoe and had landed on the near shore. As he stood up to get out of the canoe, someone on the shore decided to pull the nose of the canoe up a little further and Jerry lost his balance and fell backward in the canoe and feathers flew everywhere!!

John Wittliff remembers staying in the Director’s Lodge as a first year Trainee in 1958 (before the staff sleeping area was moved behind the new Trading Post). The Director’s Lodge had military style metal bunk beds and one of the older staff members liked to sleep on an upper bed and had a habit of grabbing the exposed ceiling joists to swing himself up into his bed every night. One night while he was on his “night off” in Austin, some enterprising souls decided to unhook the metal links that formed a grid underneath the mattress the entire length of his bed and when he came in late that night (it was dark) and swung up into bed as usual, he and the mattress both went through the opening and came crashing down onto the bottom bed.

John also remembers some “Latrine Humor” from 1966 when he was Provisional Troop Scoutmaster. Inside the Troop’s latrine on the underside of the roof there were always large numbers of “granddaddy longlegs” spiders hanging out. John observed some of the older Scouts in his Provisional Troop waiting until a young camper would enter the latrine, and then they would toss a large rock on the roof of the latrine. Needless to say, that big jolt on the roof would cause a large number of spiders to fall down on that young camper who would usually run out of the latrine with their pants down around their ankles.

John also remembers stories of “cherry bombs” being tossed down a latrine vent pipe while someone was inside but never observed any of those incidents and so has no direct information about the humiliation from those incidents but you can image what the consequences might be.

John also remembers an incident when he was Provisional Troop Scoutmaster in 1966 about Jack Swenson’s bed being hoisted up the flagpole in front of the “A”Building (Log Cabin).  I remember seeing the bed on the flagpole late one night before I went to bed (the Provisional Troop campsite was only a few yards behind the Log Cabin and the Parade Ground). I heard the next day that Jack had gone to his tent in the Staff Area behind the Trading Post that night, found his bed was missing and recruited quite a few staff members to help him look for his bed.

                                                                                                                   John Wittliff

                                                                                                                   November 25, 2014