Ron was able to calm the snakes so that he could handle them. At the Saturday night camp fire, Ron would have on a breach cloth and paint up his chest, face and arms in the style of an Indian. He would have one snake around his neck and one wound around his arm. The other hand held a small saucer-like cup filled with wax and a lit wick. Ron would dance around the fire Indian style. It was very impressive.

We always had a piano in camp and there was always someone who could play a tune or two on it. I could play "Chop sticks". At times, three of us had a rendition that sounded pretty good. Because the piano was stored all the time in the dining hall, the dampness and cold would take their toll. Keys became unglued, strings rusted, way out of tune. Still, we would get five or six years out of it.

Some one donated a good piano just about the time we needed a replacement. It was decided to hold a funeral for the old faithful. I was one of the pallbearers. We carried it out of the mess hall and over to the cement floor that was the last reminder of the old mess hall along the side of the mountain, where it was set aflame. It didn't give up without a struggle. As the heat became very hot, the strings would snap and give out its last tuen. I still have an ivory from one of the keys.

Jamboree
The first National Jamboree to be held n Washington DC was scheduled for the year 1935. The Knights of Columbus agreed to pay the cost of the trip for one scout from each unit. I was given the privilege to represent Troop 31. Because of an outbreak of polio and the opinion of the medical profession about the risks of being in a crowd, it was decided that the Jamboree would not be held. All the scouts selected to go from Council, although disappointed, camped on the strip of land between the river and Log Basin for the first weekend. We were bussed to Camp Pahaquarra for the week, along with three guests from Holland. I still have the two patches, two neckerchiefs, and my identification card, as well as the train tickets.

The Final Years
The activity of tent camping in the late 1930s started, slowly, to move up on the mountain side, away from the river front. When World War II started, camp went on, but at a slower pace. There were younger boys and more older men.

In the Summer of 1941, I wanted to show my girl friend, later to be my wife, the road back to Camp Pahaquarra. It was just as it had been in the 1930s. However, the road was improved during 1947 and 1948 by widening the road to have two lanes. However, because of several washouts, the road is back to a one-way situation.

September 12, 1999