KNIGHT
OWL PATROL
By Ken Drope
(56-59)
The
summer of 1959 was my last of four years on staff at Camp Kennaway and by far
the most memorable. I had been asked by Doc Jim to be the scoutmaster of an
experimental composite troop at the mill site on the road into camp. Doug
Brawley and Keith Watson were assigned to be my assistants. In the spring of
that year the three of us decided to run a theme troop based on the Knights of
the Round Table.
 Preparations were
extensive. We were able to obtain materials to make shields and swords blanks.
The shields were cut and painted aluminium. We made “sword blanks” that were
taken north and carved during the summer. The most famous of these was to
become Excalibur, carried by the Skipper. We obtained ice cream “buckets”, cut
out visors and painted them aluminium. These were our helmets. Everything went
north with us on the school bus ride with our first troop.
I can
still recall arriving on site for the first period. It was a daunting task to
take a disparate group of scouts from all over the city and somehow get them to
suspend their disbelief and buy into being Knight Owls – especially the older
ones who were to become patrol leaders. The knight’s equipment helped a lot and
so did some enthusiastic senior personnel who arrived on site to welcome us.
During
the first period we designed and built a catapult using an old set of wagon
wheels that we found on the mill site. It was an impressive machine that could
launch water or flour bombs a significant distance. Although raiding was
discouraged, word leaked that another troop coveted our catapult and would make
an attempt to take it. We decided to hide it in the woods on one of the many
overgrown lumber roads.
A big
decision that each composite troop staff had to make each period was whether or
not they could have a canoe trip. It all depended on whether or not there were
enough boys who were big enough to carry canoes. The alternative was for the
troop to go for an overnight hike. One period the three leaders decided that we
couldn’t carry all those canvas covered cedar strip canoes with multiple layers
of paint. We decided to do an overnighter to Pike’s Peak. What seemed like a
good plan at the time turned into a disaster when we found that all the young
scouts couldn’t carry their heavy backpacks. The leaders had traded multiple
canoe carries for multiple backpack carries.
Cooking in camp was done with
sheet metal wood stoves. They had a bonus feature – ovens. I can still
recollect the aroma and taste of fruit cobblers that were frequently served for
dessert. You can imagine the supervision that they received from the troop
scouters. On canoe trips and hikes there was always bannock. It came premixed
in plastic bags. All you had to do was add water and knead. There was a
crucial moment when too much water would turn the dough into a sticky mess.
Again I recall the close supervision of that “art form”. The end result was a
golden treat enhanced with peanut butter or jam.
 Having a swim program
at the experimental camp was a major challenge. We had to walk about a
kilometre through the bush on a logging road and then by trail to a small lake.
Kennabi staff had cleared a landing and installed a dock. We had canoes for the
lifeguards. There was no loitering in the shallows. Leeches were a great
motivator for getting everyone into deeper water. Non-swimmers hung around the
dock to cool off. Once we came across a pair of adult beavers on the road.
They put on an impressive defensive display of slapping tails and gnashing
teeth.
Speaking of water, we probably had the best drinking water in the whole
reserve. It came from a spring at one edge of the site. The spring was in a
box with a hinged lid. It was a holdover from the days when the site was an
active mill. What a treat on those hot, dusty days of July!
Because
we had patrol sites on both sides of the road, we decided to have the
assistants’ tent on one side and the skipper’s on the other. After hot
chocolate, cookies and lights out, I would find my way back to my tent usually
without a flashlight. The canopy of stars was awesome but occasionally they were
outdone by the Northern Lights – something I will always treasure. As I walked
I was always aware of whether or not there was dew. It was a reliable predictor
of the next day’s weather.
The
culminating event of each period for the Knight Owls was “The Tournament”. For
this each person dressed in knight’s equipment and participated in traditional
events such as “tossing the caber”, duels, races and attempting to spear a ring
with a lance while running at full gallop. These were patrol contests with
results tallied and champions chosen. There was a feast followed by a giant
campfire to celebrate the end of camp.
There
was one log building still standing on the mill site in those days. The roof
had caved in and the building was filled with sawdust that had been used for
insulation. Over the course of the summer we somehow got patrol after patrol to
help excavate and remove the sawdust. Finally in the last period in August it
was complete. We put on a roof of canvas tarpaulins and waited for the final
day of camp. The troop gathered that night by lantern light for closing
ceremonies. It rained - heavily. The tarps leaked. The scouts complained. We
cut it short - an anti-climax to an otherwise wonderful summer.
The
Knight Owls concept was changed and adapted over the summer. We learned to live
within the limitations of the site and the theme. Most of all we created
memories. I hope that those of others are as indelible as mine.
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