Written by: Rob van Oosten Hondsdrafstraat 1 1441 PB Purmerend The Netherlands E – Mail : [email protected] © R. van Oosten 1 Introduction. When I was in training to become a teacher ( In the Netherlands that’s the Teachers Training College ) there was an advertisement for Counselors in the United States. Together with my friend Raymond we applied and after a sollicitation talk and the approval of our college we were allowed to go . Working in a summer camp for about 9 weeks and a round trip for 4 weeks. At that time I was 19 years old and did not spend such a long time away from home. I went to several European countries with my parents and was on a holiday in France with another friend ( for a month) the year before. My parents and girl friend ( Gerda to whom I ‘m married ) did not really like the idea but did not stop me. The experience of working in Camp Hurley is one I will never forget. It was a long and hard summer and I lost beside the sweat also a lot of weight. It was a period in which I foumd out that working together is not as easy as it seems to be, working with children can be difficult and it means that you have to invest in yourself and others. So to work in Camp Hurley with these difficult kids has been fundamental in my life. Every year, maybe every month I think about that period and I tried to go back there 6 years ago. I then found out that the camp did not exist anymore. By using a Bullitin Board (http://www.brooklynonline.com/ ) I made contact with Bill Mason and after the opening of the Hurley (http://www.geocities.com/camphurley/home.html home page I found back some counselors of the same period. I started to make a translation of my diaries ( I made two: one for Gerda and one for my parents ) and made a new combination in this translation. I added some suggestions from Steve Weisman ( a former counselor) and finished it in July 2001. Today I am a Vice Principal of a school for Special Education ( Children with Severe Behaviour and Learning problems such as A.D.H.D. and Dyslexia). In the near future I will add some more pages to this diary. If you are interested just give me an e-mail ([email protected]) . If you have suggstions or comments please let me know. I hope you like reading this diary and that it brings back the good memories of Camp Hurley which was in my eyes an exceptional and educational camp both for children as for staff. Take care Rob van Oosten. Some of the photo’ s come from the Hurley home page. Others were made in the summer of 1974. 2 This is a translation of my diary which I kept during the summer of 1974. It started on Sunday , June 16 and goes on to September, 27 of that year. This part is telling the story of working in Camp Hurley for the period 21 June - 29 august. Departure from Amersfoort on Sunday June 16 from left to right : my mother, Jose and Raymond, Rob and Gerda. Tuesday June 18 : New York There are a lot of Camp directors in the Tower Hotel, our two day conference is coming to an end and everybody is having interviews (soliciting for a job). My first interview was with Morris, and he was asking a lot of things about my background and experience. But he’s also telling a story of a young and progressive Camp which is different from the other camps because of it’s goals and population. It is based on a socialist philosophy. Tomorrow I’m going to have a second interview with him in a learning center. ( United Community Centers). Wednesday June 19 The U.C.C. owns and operates this camp and they do have their own children learning center ( for children in the age 3 –5 ) in the East New York section of Brooklyn. (Now called the Morris L. Eisenstein Childrens Learning Center) 3 After a tour and more information we had a second interview, there were some more counselors, also from Holland and other European countries. The directions for working are: it’s multi- cultural and non-sectarian there are many deprived children there is a majority of non – white children you have to learn the children to work together teach the children respect for nature so it’s gone be a challenging period!! Thursday June 20 They want me to work at Hurley, That’s great. This evening I have to go to the address of an American counselor, because we’re going to the camp on Friday. Friday June 21 Marla Kleine, Alan Singer and Morris Eisenstein We left the apartment this morning at around nine o’ clock and went to the learning center. There we were loading a yellow school bus and a little van with things for the camp. After a trip ( 4 hours) , because of the traffic in New York we arrived at the camp site. We unloaded all the things and will stay with the counselors in one cabin. And the end of the afternoon we were introduced in the philosophy of the camp. There is a complete book which we are going to read and discuss. In the evening we did some folk- dancing, which really tires you. In the next week we are going to prepare the camp, that means clean the bunks and the woods around and discuss the way of working. 4 This is really serious!! This evening I had a good talk with Bill ……one of the Negro counselors, who told a lot of the discrimination which still exist here. I can’t imagine this is happening at home. Saturday June 22 Woke up at 7.30 and breakfast at eight. This morning we’re going to discuss the philosophy. But first we did some reading. In the afternoon we walked the camp, the cabins, the lake, the recreation hall and the arts and crafts center. The lake (Waterfront, before summer started) After dinner we did some folk-dancing and later on Hank Lowinger was playing his guitar and so I started to learn some songs which we’ re going to sing which the children. 5 These are the songs we did: Pick a Bale of Cotton Blowing in the wind Down by the riverside Donna, Donna ( On a wagon bound for market..) Go down Moses . Hava Naguila He's got the whole world Keep Your Eyes On The Prize (Labor song) Michael Row Your Boat A Shore Rise and Shine (and give God your glory glory) Sloop John B Sixteen Tons Swing Low , sweet chariot The house of the rising sun Tom Dooley The Times they are changing This land is Your land , this land is my land This Little Light Of Mine The Ink Is Black Un Zee Ma (African freedom song) Where Have All The Flowers Gone We Are Soldiers In The Army (Religious based song) So we had an evening by the campfire. Sunday June 23 Rise and shine. At 7.00 o’ clock one of the clock radio’s turned on, so we had to get started. There were pancakes for breakfast( they are different , small but thicker ,and with maple syrup). I really like them. Afterwards I had to work in the kitchen, and clean up. Than we had our first meeting on the goals of camp and the relation to the philosophy, Morris was leading these discussions and he was very engaged / involved. ( sometimes I got a little scared about the vividness of the discussions). You have to be very aware of the things you’re saying and the meaning of it, because everybody is asking ‘ why’ questions. Some of the discussions were very emotional. The idea is that realization of your situation can make you help to change it, and you play an active role in it. ------You can’t work here on an automatic pilot.----- The class struggle is a hot issue and returning in a lot of discussions, the children who are coming to Hurley don’t have much chance because of their backgrounds and the racial discrimination. Some of the children can’t pay the costs for the camp and they are sponsored by the Union and welfare programs. Money for organizing extra things is not available, and your program must be based on agreement within your group and close to earth. 6 A basic principle is that to survive you need: clothing , food and shelter. After lunch we played volleyball and did some more folk-dancing which is also an important part of the day program, the goals they strive after with the dancing is learning that you can have fun together despite the racial - difference and that it is good to work – dance together ( a kind of integration, and it fostered the concept of respect and appreciation of other peoples cultures) After dinner and doing K.P. – (Kitchen Patrol) we left for Howard Johnson, to catch up with some more new counselors.(from Germany and Denmark and the Netherlands) It was late when we returned to Hurley, so we went to bed straight ahead. Monday June 24 Is that clock- radio programmed to get us earlier out of bed?? It started early today ; 6.30 a.m. Breakfast this time at 7.00. The new counselors are introduced in the philosophy, and the program director Joe Kling is taking serious part in the talking and his eyes light up.