Yes, your eyes tell you rightly: that's Dave King, standing by one of those tall beech trees at the old Wawayanda Chapel. Just this morning, the middle Sunday of session two...always a slow day: late wake-up, "morning reflection" organized by the CITs. Dave and Shirley King - and daughter Kathy and her three kids - have been here visiting. I anticipated Dave's visit by telling a story, called "Sawmill, 1958," for days, weeks ahead. Dave is one of the main figures in the story. It's a gesture toward celebrating 50 years of Wawayanda camping at FV - as is Dave's visit itself.
He and I have already been to countless village campfires, telling stories. Dave has met cabins and villages at the Castle to talk about FV history. And yesterday, Dave led songs at the dining hall after both lunches. As a throw-back (part of the 50th year celebration, I take it), the directors had the boys eat together and then the girls eat together - first time that had happened since the early 80s. He ended with Kum-ba-yah, one of his favorite songs. By all accounts, it was a beautiful moment. There were tears in Dave's eyes as he realized that such a figure - nothwithstanding the legend - could be so warmly and openly welcomed after all this time. One Dave started to tear up, so did Shirley and then Kathy too. (I missed all this, sadly, as I was at the Board of Trustees meeting taking place under a tent at Reflection Pond. I hope someone has recorded it.)
Then at dinner Shirley and Kathy presented to Dave - as a surprise - a Frost Valley Memory Book. The gave it to him in a white laundry bag, with the orange WAWAYANDA lettering and dark-blue canoe-and-pine-trees logo.
I have the Memory Book here with me, having borrowed it for this blog entry. It's full of old photographs, words from old camp friends, lyrics to songs Dave loved to lead, etc. My favorite among the pictures - I think it might be my favorite of all the shots of early camp here at FV - is the one in which we see Dave (on the drum - really a trash barrell) leading the fife-and-drum corps as part of the July 4 celebration in (maybe) 1959. That's Mike DeVita holding the flag, by the way. (Mike wrote me to tell me this. The third guy is Bob [last name?], a village chief, Mike says.)Let me quote from a few of the friends' remembrances:
"It was the teamwork and long-lasting friendship between Dave and Halbe forty-seven years ago that set the stage for what Frost Valley has become today." - Halbe and Jane Brown
"You, Dave King, made the harmony possible for me. And I've passed it on, singing your tune, with all my heart."--Al Filreis
"Just before the magical first summer at Frost Valley ended for us [1958], you walked with me to a quiet spot along Hemlock Brook behind Cabin 18. While the passage of time has erased the words you shared, it cannot erase the fondness I felt for you then and now. Your gift to me was a small book of the New Testament that I cherish to this day." - Mike Ketcham
"Dave inspired us. I remember in particular a sermon he gave to the staff one time at all-camp chapel just before the kids arrived. He spoke of the phrase from the Sermon on the Mount: "You are the light of the World." You as counselors, he said, will be the light of the world for the campers coming into your care. Slo "hold high the torch" - be the best example you can be for them." - Doug Cresson
"...and then the Big Arm would swing through the air and smack flat against a table as we all cried out: PATsy orey orey ay, PATsy orey orey ay, PATsy orey orey ay, Working on the railroad!" - Rick Cobb
"As I write this I can't help but wonder if you were actually hiding in the bushes when we returned from staff lounge over 35 years ago or it that's just what you led us to believe." - Jody Ketcham
"Before I even met him I was told Dave had this big flashlight, which Kathy later told me she called "The Bat Beam." If you were out after curfew, his beam might catch you. The beam never caught me but I was very much aware of it." -- Carolyn Shelburne
"...the really big man with the really big voice. I have never forgotten him or the experiences I had at Frost Valley. Congratulations to Dave on 50s years at Frost Valley!" - Bill Starmer
The sun came out and dried up the landy landy
Sun it came out and dried up the landy landy
Everything was fine and dandy dandy
Children of the Lord.
Click here for a short video of Dave. (Be patient, as it will take a minute to load.)
