I don't like this story, but it has to be told.

It is my belief that it is living together that makes the staff a staff, rather than a collection of individuals. It seems to me that when the staffers live apart from each other, as our adult staff does, they don't work together as effectively. And when a two staffers can't live with each other, the management is forced to make tough decisions, and has to fire them both. In 2002, our camp director didn't do what needed to be done, and this is what happened:

Two rookie staff members started playing pranks on each other early in the summer. It escalated and spread, and a couple weeks after I arrived, (I missed the first two weeks due to commitments with the navy), it was out of control. The decision was made to break up Tent City. I knew it was the right decision, but it was nonetheless hard for me to take. The Boy Scouts is all I believe in, and it became apparent that the people I considered to be the best the Boy Scouts has to offer, couldn't even live with each other for seven weeks. It was as if my entire world was ripped out from beneath me.

Collin announced the decision to the staff after a Monday evening campfire. The adult staff, myself included, stood behind him like cowards to show our agreement, but lacked the courage to say anything. Everyone was upset, because they had to get their gear ready to be moved that night. The following day, the staff from each program area would be moved to various areas of the camp. After nearly everyone had left the firebowl I started walking down the hill with Ryan and some of the children of staffers. About halfway down, I lost the control I had managed to maintain until that point.  I yelled out in anger at my failure to stop this from happening, and from the pain at knowing it was really happening. As Ryan hurried the children down the hill, I smashed the duck sabers I was carrying against trees, yelled out "WHY?!?!" for the whole camp to hear me, and stayed there alone for several minutes.

I went into Tent City to see all the youth staff cleaning up and taking down their tents, porches, and anything else they had. I just sat beside the fire-pit, trying to hold back the tears, and not knowing whether I should help or leave. After about ten minutes, I looked up at the gate that had been built by Woodbadge, through which everyone coming or going had passed for four years, and over which the Hide-out sign had hung in our year of glory. If my world was going to come down, this symbol was coming with it. We were supposed to leave it up, but I couldn't have cared any less.

I went to my tent and got my knife, and returned to Tent City. I angrily slashed the ropes binding the logs of the gate together, and started yanking them out of the ground with all my strength. I heard Loren's voice behind me, "Hey! We're not supposed to take that down."

I turned around to him with fire in my eyes and my knife clutched in my fist. "Do you want to stop me!?" He backed off, and I'm glad he did. I don't know what I'd have done had he held his ground. Some other people started to help me. We stacked the logs with those we had used on the tower. As far as I cared, it was over.

I stayed that night in Collin's tent, a sort of last night of innocence. Camp just wasn't the same for the rest of the summer. I think I had already decided that I was done. Ryan and I both almost quit later that summer, I even wrote a six page letter of resignation. Neither of us had ever even thought about quitting before, and our experience totaled 12 years.

Some more thoughts on this:
I wrote this story in 2003, less than a year after it happened. It is now 2006.

It was a lack of leadership that caused Tent City to fall. Not just on Roy's part; I am as much to blame as he is. The problem really began in about 1998, before I even came onto the staff. Staff retention started declining then, and continues to decline even now. By 2002, aquatics and shooting sports were all that was left of the old school, and we should have taken a larger leadership role. But we were frustrated with the management, and we were angry. Instead of stepping up like we should have, we stepped back, and formed our own reclusive, elitist group. I of course didn't live in Tent City, and Collin and Josh seperated themselves from it as much as possible, setting their tents further back in the woods, seperate from the rest.

They were leaderless. There was nobody to stop stupid stuff from happening. I even stopped someone who tried once--he had come from Camp Morrison with Roy, and so I disliked him by association. I wasn't until a few years after the fact I realized my role in the whole thing.

Tent City will not return to glory until the management and the executives trust the youth staff. The youth staff will not earn that trust until the experience and maturity levels return to what they used to be. And that won't happen while Tent City is where it is now, because nobody with the power to turn the tide can stand to stick around long enough to do so.

What has to happen is someone has to go to bat for the youth staff. Who among you now is ready?

This website was created and is maintained solely by Matt Strother.
This is not an official Boy Scout website.
Please feel free to e-mail me any comments or suggestions.
I also encourage anyone to send in pictures and stories.
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