Heepwah to the Dreamers and Innovators! Marathon – Part Two
By Pati Egan
Thus, the Marathon Race was born from one person having an idea and working as a Staff team to create something amazingly awesome. The new Marathon is different. Sorry kids, no Pony Express Riders, no stripped boats, boondoggle instead of nailing, and I don’t believe chips are used. Our Unit Leaders didn’t run the race with the kids, and we did not dress up unless you want to count the time Claire Hatch spraypainted her clothes gold for her 50th Marathon, or Amy Menard’s special Marathon shorts, but it is still the highlight of the week, and the campers are as enthused today as campers were in 1975.
50 years later – that is a lot of Marathons! Heepwah to the dreamers and innovators.
This is the route of the original race:
- Pony Express Riders 1 & 2
- Pony Express Relay Runner
- Sack Racer
- 2-Armed Racer
- Pasture Relay Runner
- Nail Pounder (Handicrafts)
- Surprise in LaCouer
- Word Finder at Office
- Fire Starter Runner
- Camp Fire Builder in Grotto
- Grotto Relay Runner
- Crab Walking Swimmer
- Swimming Relay Runner
- Sailboats Stripped Bare
- Garner Relay Runner
- Row Boating with No Oars
- Spillway Runner
- Canoe Team
- Canoe Team lands at the Canoeing Beach – turns in chips, puts away canoe, hangs up life jackets
The Finished Project! This was created pre-copy machines. A mimeograph machine used the same master sheet week after week and year after year. The race started with all campers and Staff assembled in the Main Area. A staff member would take each group, as an example, all fire builders, to their station…the highlight of the week was under way!
Campers still paddle with all of their might. Unit Leaders still strategize with their campers on Marathon jobs. Campers still line the dam road between the lakes to cheer on the canoers. Cheers can be heard practically in Ozark. Thank you, boys staff of 1975 and Dan Hechenberger, for creating a lasting treasure.
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