Y.M.C.A. Camp for Boys

Manawatu Times, Volume 65, Issue 1, 2 January 1940, Page 9

Y.M.C.A. Camp for Boys

IDEAL SITE AT POHANGINA Every January the Palmerston North Y.M.C.A. conducts a camp for boys at an ideal site on the banks of the Pohangina River, north of the Totara Reserve, that well-known forest picnic spot. The camp is located in a small clearing surrounded by bush which keeps out any boisterous winds that might rise. The boys sleep in tents with wooden floors, set up in a circle at the edge of the bush, while there is a permanent cookhouse and dining hall. At present there are between 70 and 80 boys enjoying this bush holiday and they are having a wonderful time, as visitors to the camp yesterday discovered. A more rosy-faced band of healthy youth it would be hard to find. They are under discipline, with Mr. Charles Woods as head, assisted by Mr. N. Cook, who is the boys’ work director at the Y.M.C.A. There is also a permanent cook in the person of Mr. H. Brunlon, who has a busy time catering for the wants o apppetites that have been considerably enhanced by this open-air life the boys are leading. They rise at 6.30 a.m. and a quarter of an hour later parade for physical drill. This over, there is toothbrush parade and a plunge into the warm waters of the Pohangina River that flows past the camp. The bathing hole is as safe as a swimming bath, with the water crystal clear. At a quarter past seven the tents are tidied up and, following “flag raising,” comes breakfast, which, by this time, the boys are quite ready for. Then come tramps and games and further swimming, with the mid-day meal at 12.15. The afternoon is devoted to further recreation and again the boys are in the water at 4.30 p.m. Tea is staged at 5.30. Community singing to piano accompaniment in the dining shack whiles away the evening till supper time at 9 p.m. and lights are out at 9.15 p.m. And then tired boys fall asleep very quickly. The boys are divided into four clubs, with friendly rivalry for most points at the end of the holiday. “Well, what do you think of this sort of holiday! ” a reporter asked a group of them yesterday. * ‘ Corker! ’ ’ they all yelled.