Camp Ondessonk Styles – Staff Uniforms Through the Years
By Pati Egan
Rules, Rules, Rules
The Staff Manual, created in the early 1970s, had very specific rules that had to be followed. These remained unchanged for male staff until the mid-1980s. Female staff began wearing tan long pants and tan shorts in 1979.
Male staff were provided full uniforms. This early 1960s picture shows staff that were officers wore white hats and jackets fashioned after the Eisenhower Jacket. These are still used by the National Park Service (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower_jacket). The jackets were hot and heavy. The color was an “off blue.” If any of these jackets still exist, they are a closely guarded treasure. I found one of these jackets at Camp in basically a heap of unwanted clothes. It was my second year on staff. I lost it through the years.
I imagine these uniforms had to be ironed after washing. This was in the days when everything had to be ironed. Perhaps a laundry service did the uniforms. There is no information regarding this.
The male staff finally settled on the tan shirt and pants combination for staff who were Rangers or above. Senior CITs and Deputy Rangers wore a light blue shirt and dark blue pants for many years.
Ties on Sunday continued to be the rule! I would imagine they were clip-on ties. The “Class B” uniform, which consisted of a short-sleeved shirt and no tie, was the standard everyday uniform for inspection and dinner.
The ties were eventually abandoned and male staff could finally wear shorts. Logo polo shirts eventually were used by both male and female staff.
Female staff members did not change uniforms as frequently as male staff.
Female staff originally wore dark blue skirts or shorts with a white blouse. Notice that the blue cloth badge is sewn on the left front of the shirt. Girls Staff always had to buy their shirts. Since most went to either St. Teresa Academy or the Academy of Notre Dame they had an ample supply of white shirts. Sometimes you could tell the East St. Louis staff because STA wore long sleeved shirts. The girls must have also purchased their own skirts as they do not appear uniform.
The Uniform Look!
I recall hearing that the light blue skirts were pretty small and had a slit in the back. It was not unusual for the skirts to rip multiple times. This was the mid-1960s early 1970s – the shorter the skirt – the better!
Judy Blase Woodruff recalls, “My first year on staff was 1970, and there was a big box of light blue skirts and shorts that we went through to select our size. At the end of summer, we gave them back. We brought our own white shirt. There was an iron and ironing board in the staff Shower House A, but the fabric of those blue skirts and shorts was pretty nice, as they did not wrinkle much. I do remember ironing my Lodge sash almost every Sunday. My next couple years on staff, we had to buy our own navy-blue shorts and white shirts.”
This was in the days before the Senior CIT Program. The end of an era of only white shirts for girls!
Two big events occurred in 1971. For the first time Camp had a program that was called Senior Counselor in Training. This would previously be the person’s first year on staff. These staff, for Girls’ Season, wore light blue shirts. Since Staff photos were usually taken toward the end of summer, many were already promoted to Deputy Ranger. Unlike the male staff, who wore blue as Deputy Rangers. The Girls Staff wore dark blue “scooter skirts.” “What is a scooter skirt? I looked it up on the internet.
Noun. Scooter Skirt (plural Scooter Skirts) An item of clothing which combines shorts and a skirt, especially when worn by girls as part of a school uniform; a Skort.
They are still sold. Sometimes, female staff would find something at a store, or Camp would send a letter telling the person where to buy it.
Like the male staff, the Class A uniform was only worn on Sunday.
Long Live Polo Shirts! Hello Tan for Female Staff
In my first year as Program Director, I thought the blue Skorts and white shirts looked a little too much like grade school uniforms. I thought tan pants would give the staff a more professional look. I asked the staff what they thought and most agreed. It was easy to get the go ahead to do this.
By now Polo shirts were very popular – remember IZOD with the little alligator? They were cooler than cotton and did not get wrinkled. Tan shorts were worn during the week. The long pants were Class A.
No Class – No Patch – but One Cool Logo
The Ranger badges appear to have gone out of circulation in the mid-1990s. The rank still exists but the badges are gone. Perhaps the cost became prohibitive. Rumor has it that two gold-plated badges exist. When one was promoted to Ranger, they could either return the badge at the end of the summer or buy the badge from your pay. Most staff bought their badge, they were not cheap. Most people through moving, time, or a parent cleaning out your room when you left home, lost their badge. Some passed it on to their staff children. Perhaps the badges looked too authentic. They had no real authority.
I like the dark blue polo shirts the staff wear now. White shirts were truly hard to keep clean! Looks like the tan pants, shorts, and skirts have withstood the test of time.
Staff uniforms will continue to evolve with time. They will always identify you with something special – you are/were a member of the greatest bond that ties us all together – a member of the Camp Ondessonk Staff!
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