Camp Ouareau: memories of

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2 summer campers.- where Kathi and I spent some happy summers.

I was looking at family pictures from my days at camp many summers ago now.

I was also looking at the songbook which we used and I could probably still sing most of the songs.

Clothing and other items: labelling

I was looking at the list of clothing in the 1963/1964 Trafalgar prospectus. The boarder’s outfit clearly states that every article must be plainly marked with owner’s name.


The notice on Camp Ouareau’s web site states plainly - all articles must be labelled or marked. No trunk or luggage over 15” - they must fit under the camp bed. I do remember that note from my time at camp - I wonder if they are the same beds.

A suggested extra - stuffed animals can go to camp. I have photographic proof that Ruthie Rabbit went to both Traf and Camp Ouareau.

At camp no electronic devices are welcomed. At Traf I had a small radio and also a record player - that certainly dates my time there!

At Greenbelt there are many horses and many horsy items all around. Lockers and brackets for holding saddles are well labelled. Even so things sometimes go missing but they most usually turn up again soon and hopefully in good condition.
Abracadabra has some of her items labelled - the clips to hold her winter blanket, her warm weather blanket and her halter. It is quite a safe place to keep stuff even though there are lots of kids around.

Memories of summer camp

These are reflections of my time at summer camp - not Abracadabra’s story - that will follow later.

I have many memories of Camp Ouareau which I attended for 6 summers from the age of 10 to 15.

Now this particular camp is having a 90th anniversary.

I went to an introduction to camp in Montreal before I went the first summer of 1961. I was 10 and my sister who was 7 also went. Someone asked her where she went to school and she said Lachute High School. The reply was - you are not very high! (Lachute at that time only had one school.)

I lived in various cabins and tents
- Junior Bung (Bungalow)
- Lower Birch Grove
- Hollow Log
- a couple of tents
- Couch II - a cabin

I found in some family files
- my Ouareau songbook
- badges that we got each year

I have lots of pictures from those July summers. My mom took slides and I have black and white prints.

There were a number of Ouareau campers who also went to Trafalgar. My sister and I were two of them.

When I was 10 I went off to summer camp for the first time. I was nervous and excited. We had spaghetti for dinner. It did not agree with me and for a long time after I would not eat any Italian food.

There are memories of being driven to summer camp in the Laurentians. That was quite a trip. It was sad not coming on the bus from Montreal with mostly everyone else. My dad drove us as we lived in Lachute.

We would stop in Sainte Adele for lunch at a particular restaurant.

We had trunks for our one month stay. I used a large old trunk. It was a family one from the past. Kathi being younger got a new one.

Parents appeared at Parents Day with a fine picnic and my dad might have gone in swimming with us - my mom did not swim.

I have a tray I use at my house now. I think it was made by Kathi or me.

I have always liked to read. There was a tree house library and I read many of the Nancy Drew and Bobbsey Twins books.

We had a sing song and campfire once a week. We probably cooked hot dogs and marshmallows.

We often rowed the rowboat or paddled the canoe across to Blueberry Island. We did pick blueberries there and at other places around the camp.

We walked up Lookout - the local mountain - at least once a summer. In a camp of many years before my time there was a forest fire on the mountain.

There were French speaking kids there - sent to learn English. Now the camp is officially bilingual and both languages are used regularly.

One of the counsellors helped me with my canoe skills. I was not one for sailing.

The lake was usually very cold for swimming.

I remember the Sunday services - outside or inside depending on the weather.

There were overnight canoe trips when the campers got older - either to Blueberry Island and then farther away down the lake. I still have some trip rope from those trips.

We had some tuck (candy) from time to time - a few days a week. That was sort of a treat because I did not get candy regularly at home.

What did I like best at camp?
- certainly not the swimming but I did learn how to swim
- I liked more the crafts
- boating, canoeing, archery
- I did play some tennis but not very well.

Until recently I still had my sleeping bag. I am not a camping person so I finally gave it away.

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These are some of my best memories of being at camp.

Singing grace at mealtimes in rounds.

Being outside in the mountains and beside the lake in the Laurentians. It is a very pretty part of the country.

As going off to boarding school this was a part of my growing up and my sister’s as well. Being with other girls in a different environment.

Camp and parents and horses

I was watching the parents dropping off the kids for summer camp at the barn. I had memories of my mom and dad.

Before Kathi and I were able to drive ourselves my mom and dad provided transportation to the barn. It was a big thing when we learned to drive and even more so when we acquired our own car.

Then there are memories of being driven to summer camp in the Laurentians. That was quite a trip. We had trunks for our one month stay. Parents appeared at Parents Day with a fine picnic and my dad might have gone in swimming with us - my mom did not swim. Now this particular camp is having a 90th anniversary.

Summertime

And the living is easy.

My nice 4 seasons CD’s have this summer tune on it. I like to listen to them at the turning of the seasons. Of course one of the featured items on each CD is Vivaldi’s famous tune.

It is a family time now with kids off school and folks away visiting family and friends or at cottages - not everybody though. Some are at summer camp at the barn. Who are these little folks - asks Abra?

In my past life when I was growing up we went to Carling Lake with family friends. Sometimes we just went up for an evening swim in the pool. There were visits to cottages as well. For six summers I went to Camp Ouareau in the Laurentians.

Then horsy pursuits started and that has kept me busy every summer and every other season as well.

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Now my life is different - especially since I retired.

Horsy pursuits still are a priority for my mornings. Abra is quite happy to be out and about early - before it gets too hot. Then she can have a nice rest in her stall.

I meet up with friends or chat with them on the phone. Email is o.k. to arrange outings but it is not so personal to find out what is going on.

At home I have been enjoying eating summer berries. They are the first thing visible when I walk into my local fruit and veggie store.

My cool - but not damp - basement is very comfortable for relaxing with a good book and listening to music.

Tastes and smells

I was thinking about these 2 senses as I ate my plate of spaghetti. When I was 10 I went off to summer camp for the first time. I was nervous and excited. We had spaghetti. It did not agree with me and for a long time after I would not eat any Italian food.

Now as I think about it, I was probably not the only kid away from home in a strange place that had that reaction.

My mom was a good cook and when she made Italian I ate it reluctantly. Now I am quite fond of it - the cheese and the sauces.

My mom used to make her own dinner rolls. One time she was running out of time and bought some at the grocery store. Everyone at the table commented - these do not taste as good as usual. She was impressed.

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I was in the mall the other day doing my few rounds of walking. Going by Lush http://www.lush.ca/shop/english?sc=1 I always notice the smell - it is enough to knock you over sometimes.

There was another smell in the mall that was very familiar from my past - was it maybe the coffee and baking smell from Second Cup http://www.secondcup.com/eng/index.php ??

My father's father would often smoke a cigar and know when I smell a cigar - which is certainly not very often - I think of him sitting in his favourite chair enjoying his cigar.