![]() “It was near enough so that it wasn’t hard to get there,” Dunning said. He retired from an English professorship at Kansas State University.īob Dunning, who followed in his father’s footsteps to become an Amsterdam dentist, attended Camp Agaming for parts of three summers in the late 1930s. Rees grew up in Chicago but spent summers with his Amsterdam grandparents, the Brannocks. He looked like a much healthier Charles Atlas.” He was very popular with the younger folks, but most all the counselors were.”ĭemsky/Douglas had charge of the waterfront, according to Rees, “I can remember seeing him in the back of a canoe. It seemed that those who died in the war were the nicest.”Ĭamp counselor Demsky/Douglas made an impression on Rees, “He had muscles growing out of his muscles. “I remember one of the campers, David Wells, who died in the war,” Rees said. Rees served on the ground crew for a squadron of P-38 fighters in the South Pacific during World War II. “It was just about the last stage of your life before you noticed the absence of girls,” said John “Bud” Rees in a 2002 interview. To get to Mount Marcy, campers rode in the camp truck or authentic “woody,” a Ford station wagon with wooden sides. There were one-day and overnight hiking and canoe outings, with a three-day trip to climb Mount Marcy, the state’s highest peak. ![]() Other counselors were William Blase, who went on to be an Amsterdam physician, and Bob Quiri, who was one of the principals of Ruby & Quiri home decorating.Ĭamp directors included “Skipper” Jackson from the Gloversville YMCA, excellent at table tennis Walter Van Hine from the Amsterdam YMCA, an accomplished tennis player and Don Hale from Gloversville, a skilled fisherman. One 1938 camp counselor, Isadore Demsky, became an actor, Kirk Douglas. Skits were put on during nightly campfires. Occasionally campers played softball against other camps. A skinny dip in the lake before breakfast was routine. “Where the green grass grows and it never snows at Agaming.” Today’s day campers still sing a similar tune.Īt camp, the boys learned archery, played softball and basketball and went fishing and swimming. “Agaming, Agaming, we get up when the birdies sing,” began the camp song. During the school year, the YMCA held bean suppers in Amsterdam to promote the next season. Some came from the Capital Region or downstate, but most were from Fulton and Montgomery counties. In the 1930s, a fair number of campers were on scholarship and did kitchen work in addition to participating in activities.
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