Hey, Hocketeers!

Little more than a year ago, I posted a very brief history of Ice Hockey. That post which focused more so on the skills we can acquire with this sport can be read when you click here. But for today, let’s take a deeper dive on the beginnings of Hockey. Who was the first person to take a long stick and small, round object out on a frozen pond or lake wearing thin strips of metal fastened to the bottom of their feet? Well, the answer isn’t quite so simple as just one person, though a man named James Creighton is often credited for the development of modern Ice Hockey.

We’ll get back to him in a few moments.

It’s believed by some scholars that hockey originated as a sport played on an unfrozen surface some 4000 years ago called Hurley. Archeological evidence points scholars to believe that minor variations of this game were played among the Ancient Aztecs, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Greeks, and Romans.

These early games continued on into the Medieval Period and spread across Europe where northern climates provided frozen ponds. Scotland called it Shinty. England called it Bandie Ball. And Ireland went with the name Hurly. They were all a little different but, essentially, the same game.  

These precursors to hockey made their way to North America by means of immigrants who journeyed to the Canadian land of Nova Scotia in the early 1800s. This game was loved in the area, but didn’t spread much until 1872 when our hero James Creighton moved from his hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia and brought skates, sticks, and a basic set of rules to the much more populated mainland of Canada where it was finally dubbed Hockey. 

It didn’t take long for Creighton to organize indoor hockey practices at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal. After roughly a month of practice, the first indoor game of hockey was played on March 3, 1875. The game featured nine players from each team, including Creighton and his fellow class mates from McGill University. Folks typically played with a ball or often the stopper from a whiskey barrel.

To bring officiality to this spreading sport, Creighton presented the teams with a flat, circular piece of wood that he’d cut. It was the very first hockey puck. They’re made of vulcanized rubber nowadays, but the right cut of wood made for a great and unique component to the game of hockey.

Get out on the ice if you’re a hockey fanatic and enjoy getting some great shots past a goalie. As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

A few months back in September, I wrote about a cool activity that’s available at summer camps across the country: Trapshooting. Trap Shooters require focus, patience, and an alert eye in order to be successful shooting a shotgun at a clay targets being launched away from them. Sort of an accidental sport, Trapshooting got its start as a means of practice for bird hunting.

You can check out the Trapshooting Blog post I wrote to learn more about the sport when you click right here. Today’s post, however, is about a legendary Trap Shooter, Captain Bogardus—the wing shot champion of the world.

This sport had been around since the late 1700s—back when real birds were used, but Bogardus took it up in 1868 after the transition to glass balls had been made. Often enough, the glass balls were filled with a colored powder that would really accentuate the visual effect of a direct hit!

Bogardus really made a splash in the Trapshooting world. He went on to win many championships and made a big name for himself as one of the most successful Trap Shooters in the early years of the sport. Enter: Doc Carver. Another Trap Shooter who was already a giant fan of Captain Bogardus by the time he came onto the scene. He had gotten serious about honing his Trapshooting skills around 1875 and made a name for himself just a few years after that.

He reputation rose so steadily that he would soon come to be referred to as "the man who can put a bullet through a silver quarter while the coin is flying through the air."

Carver wanted so badly to compete against his Trap Shoot hero, Captain Bogardus, but he had to wait six years until they would finally be pitted against each other. In the spring of 1883 these two legends came together for a match.

It was a big deal: the two greatest shots going head to head in the worldwide Shooting Championship! They met in Louisville, Kentucky on February 21 of 1883. So much hype and the match was over before you knew it. It was the less-experienced Doc Carver that came out the victor. He won 19 out of 25 matches, claiming the title of Champion Rifle Shot of the World!

Discover your Trapshooting skills and maybe you’ll find that your abilities exceed those who first inspired you! Look into the activities your camp offers or get out to a Trapshooting facility near you and test out your skills to see how much you enjoy it. Have fun out there and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hellooooooo, Story Lovers!

On this Blog, we like to zero in on some of the record setters and pioneers of sports, crafts, and other summer camp activities. And, in honor of the upcoming holiday of Halloween, I thought we’d set our scopes on the classic horror writer of the 19^th century: Edgar Allan Poe, author of such chilling tales as ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’, he was also a poet—perhaps best known for his work, ‘The Raven’.

While people nowadays associate Poe mainly with his tales of terror, he actually wrote a variety of other genres including adventure stories, science fiction, and even comedies! Yet, what he was best known for in his own time were his mystery stories.

Like a true pioneer of the Writing trade, Poe didn’t just write in the genre of mystery—he invented it. He wrote the very first detective fiction in 1841 with "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." It was a success and people nicknamed him ‘The Father of the Detective Story’. Poe began to get recognition just a couple years later for his story ‘The Gold Bug’ that focused on secret codes and hunting for treasure.

A true master of short fiction, Poe not only created the mystery story, but designed the perfect storytelling tactics. For example, Poe contributed the element of the sidekick character—the assistant to the detective character. The detective’s sidekick is really helpful in making the detective look good and add amazement at the work and reasoning he displays to crack the case. Arthur Conan Doyle used the same idea for his characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

So gear up for the haunting holiday on the horizon and peruse some Edgar Allan Poe short stories or poetry. The Raven just may be the most haunting piece of literature there is! And thanks for reading this Blog post! Till next time.

- John

Hey, Rockers!

Unlike any other sport, Rock Climbing presents challenges to both our physical and mental abilities. It’s an extraordinary test of one’s strength, endurance, agility, balance, and mental control. In order for climbers to reach the summit of their ascensions safely, they must study and train to use proper climbing techniques as well as proper climbing equipment.

Chinese paintings from a little over 2000 years ago depict men climbing a mountain. And cliff-dwelling Anasazi natives in 12^th Century America are thought to have been excellent climbers. Early European climbers used rock climbing techniques as a skill required to reach the summit in their mountaineering exploits. But by the 1850s, climbing mountains was transforming from a necessity in travel into a distinct athletic activity!

This is where we meet the hero of our story: an avid climber named John Ball. He’s known for popularizing the Dolomites, a mountain range found in northeastern Italy. Throughout his research of the mountain range and his experiences climbing the mountains there, John founded the Alpine Club and became the first club president in 1857. He was joined by many other climbers who made their first ascents with his guidance.

Among many other accomplishments, John was the first in 1857 to climb a major Dolomites peak (Monte Pelmo). He also traveled in Morocco and South America later on in life and the recorded observations he made throughout his pursuits were published in scientific periodicals.

Not only famous for his Alpine club, John also published in the later 1860s his well-respected work of the Alpine guide book—a result of countless climbs and journeys that produced careful observation that was recorded in clear (and typically entertaining) style.

Since John’s days, Rock Climbing has only become recognized more so as a legitimate sport. In 2016, the International Olympic Committee made a formal announcement that Rock Climbing would be a medal sport in the next summer Olympics (which ended only a few weeks ago). Enjoy your climbing escapades in the future and, as always thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Door County was full of summer campers in the 1920s. Chock full of forests, fields, and bays, that the Wisconsin State Legislature designated for preservation in 1909, Peninsula State Park offers a breathtaking view looking northwest: the chain of Strawberry Islands as they skip through the Green Bay water. A world of fun was had here by children in the Midwest who attended camps in this gorgeous part of Wisconsin such as the rustic Adventure Island Camp off the shores of Ephraim on the thumb of the state.

Check it out! 

It was a man from Illinois, Charles “Skipper” Kinney who spearheaded a boys camp on the largest of the Strawberry Islands (initially named Big Strawberry Island and renamed Adventure Island) in 1925. He kept dominion over the land and summer operations season after season, and remained true to the original purpose the camp was founded upon—“The Spirit of Adventure which is inherent in practically every boy.”  

Adventure Island Camp was truly a self-made camp. Aside from the cooking, all the work at Adventure Island Camp was done by the campers. They did it all and they did it without electricity or running water. In the very beginning, work included the construction of the camp’s cabins and other structures.

To compensate the boys, Skipper gave them incredible freedom. Every day, he would ask them individually what they wanted to do for the day and, as long as you weren’t going to kill yourself doing it, he provided the material and guidance for them to achieve their goals.  

The 7 to 14 year old boys would venture out on solo treks for overnights in the woods or build their own wooden kayaks. One year, the kids constructed their own Viking ship and named it ‘Serpent of the Sea’. They took it on a five-day cruise, a voyage off to distant lands like Escanaba and Marinette!

To make the freedom that much better, the boys could even bring their dogs for the summer. The freedoms taught the campers invaluable lessons. They found that they were ‘free’ not to do their dishes, but then must eat on dirty plates. They were ‘free’ to stay up at night, but had to be up and at ‘em with the sun.

With further establishment in later days, the camp came to offer a baseball league, stamp club, journalism, an orchestra, and a shooting range to expand the options the boys had for activities. A true inspiration for why we have summer camp, the Skipper was a wonderful influence on the youth of his day. The camp stayed in operation until 1952.

There were a handful of other historic camps that operated in close proximity to Adventure Island such as Meenahga Girls camp and the Cherry Camp. I’ll cover these camps and more in future Blog posts. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John