Lalemant…from Tents to Treehouse
By Pati Egan
Lalemant has changed locations 3 times! The first location would be in Lake Echon today! According to the Camp 50th Anniversary Book, Lalemant was in use by 1964. It also states that in 1960, two new units were added. I am thinking these two units might have been Daniel and Lalemant. Lalemant started out as a tent unit. Lots of famous people were Unit Leader of this unit. I think the most famous was Lt. Larry Garner. Larry gave his life for his country in Viet Nam. Not too many people have a Company in the Army named after his leadership. The Red Bandidos is still an active Company in the United States Army.
Second, Lalemant became sort of tree houses on the ground near the shore of Lake Echon and located across from the new Garner Bridge. The original staff cabin of this location still stands and was some distance away from the campers’ cabins. It’s now called Lakeside.
The first Unit cheer I can remember hearing was started by Dave Jansen and his excellent staff. “Eat your grits and gravy! Join the Lalemant Navy! Fight, fight, fight for Lalemant! Boys with broken noses, fight like holy Moses, fight, fight, fight for Lalemant!
Lalemant played a very important role in the Marathon race. This is where the Sailboat racers docked and threw their chips and containers to the Garner Relay Runner.
The present-day Lalemant was built in 1986. What was once one of the closest units is now the farthest unit. It is usually used as a Girls’ Unit during Summer Camp. The color has always been orange; the Spirit Animal has always been a beaver.
It seems strange to today’s campers to see how large Echon was when Lalemant was built. Campers are still welcome to “Check us out, Check check us out – we’re Lalemant, the mighty unit, that’s L A L E M A N T you got it – not quite! L A L E M A N T – you got it, that’s right!
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