Many of the girls felt like bobbing the canoes or “gunnell pumping” was one of the highlights of their camping experiences with the canoes. “It was a blast,” said Cindy Morrison (1960), “whether we went bow to stern or side to side. I can also remember making a sailboat out of the canoe somewhere on the lake. We would put the paddle up and let the wind catch the top of the paddle, while water ran down our arms.”
“I can stil remember the gunnell pumping that we did for fun on the canoes,” said Laurie Cone (1962-68), who was part of the waterfront staff. “We would teeter-totter and bounce off. I know it had to be dangerous, because if you weren’t careful the canoe could turn back on you. We loved going over to “Turtle Cove” where all the lily pads were. (We always emphasized DO NOT PICK THE LILIES BECAUSE IT IS ILLEGAL, but they were so beautiful.) We would row or paddle across the lake, but there was always that time factor. You could really only do it when there was a double period or you had no time pressure, like on your days off. We liked to be able to go see the boys at camp,” she laughed.
Mimi loved the waterfront and although she regrets never having a chance to sail at camp, she has fond memories of “bobbing” on the canoes. “Why we have any teeth left is beyond me,” laughed Minette Jacques (1955). “The dock was fairly far out and floated. I had already taken the Red Cross swimming lessons at the “Y” before camp, so I was happy I passed the test. But, a pool and a lake are two different things. There was a girl who wasn’t a very good swimmer and we were supposed to have a buddy at the lake, so I chose her and told her not to worry about a thing, that I would save her. I did get my junior lifesaving certificate.”
Pam Wintermute (1955-56) loved canoeing. “It was great from the standpoint that I could use my skills on my parent’s canoe. I was not a good swimmer when I went to camp, but camp helped me along. We had to be able to take the canoe out to the middle of the lake, dressed in clothes with our bathing suit underneath, tip the canoe, get undressed, upright the boat and crawl in. It was so weedy in the middle of the lake. I didn’t particularly like that part. But, I loved the canoe bobbing and I did that on the river, too.”
As part of Tracy Topping’s canoe safety test, she remembered standing on the gunnels of the canoes, bobbing it up and down in the early sixties. “I guess they eventually thought it was unsafe, but it was one of the highlights of the waterfront for me, even though I only got to do it once. It was part of our water safety badge to be able to fall off and get back into the canoe.”
“We had canoe tip tests, where we would go gunnell pumping,” said Shelley Harris (1965-75). “One girl would stand on one end and other would alternate, while we tried to knock them off. We did it mostly when no one was looking. And then there was “Scoots” Nancy Sautter, who would get on that gunnell and propel herself across the lake! Now, that was a skill!”
‘I wore heavier glasses back then and inevitably they would fall off while I was rowing and slide down the canoe paddle and into the lake. Karen Magidsohn has a photo of me with my glasses missing, so I know I lost them every summer.”
Were you allowed to bob or gunnell pump while at camp?