Once I was there I received my duties. I was to be in charge of a cabin of 12-15 boys that were about 12years old. I had to make sure they got up, made their beds and went to breakfast each morning. They would then participate in various activities during the day and be back in their cabins for a 9:00pm "lights out"
During the day I had several activities, one of which was teaching golf. Within a week, all of the campers under my tutelage were slicing the ball. I also had to coordinate some other games. Plus, I was required to be a lifeguard at the swimming hole on the Guadalupe River. (Note to Parents: Be careful where you send your kids) I was not a strong swimmer. I had to swim out to the life guard float and oversee the kids. At one point I had to pull a kid out of the water. Fortunately, he was hanging on the float and I didn't have to swim to rescue him.
All of the counselors were near my age and we developed some comraderie. I got to know the wranglers pretty well. One of them had an old truck. None of the other counselors did. The wranglers were only responsible for tending the horses and leading the trail rides. They did not have cabin responsibilities and would ride into town at night. They invited me to go with them and on several occasions I would head to town after my campers were all asleep. We went to this honky tonk in Ingram called Criders. It was surrounded by a chicken wire fence with a large gate at the entrance. It had a bandstand on one end, a bar and concession on the other and a concrete dance floor in between. It was completely open and had a large oak tree in the middle of the dance floor. The clientele was a mix of ranchers, cowboys, vacationers, families with kids and, in some cases, dogs. It was at Criders that I learned to do the chicken dance to the Adolph Hofner and the Pearl Wranglers Band and that golden eagles are hated by sheep farmers as they will kill the new born sheep or goats.
After returning to Texas from Tennessee my friend, Craig Christopher, had purchased a ranch near Hunt and invited me to spend a weekend with him. He suggested we go into town for a rodeo and some BBQ at a local establishment. Turns out it was Crider's. After 20+ years the only thing that had changed was the chicken wire had been replaced by a chain link fence.
Each summer the Camp Stewart boys would be transported to Camp Mystic for a dance at the girls camp. The counselors were the chaperones. A lot of the campers were from affluent families. In my cabin I had a kid whose dad was president of Westinghouse Corp and another boy that was a member of the Houston Fondren family. At the Camp Mystic dance, Lucy Johnson and the daughter of Governor Connelly were present.
After being at Camp Stewart for about six weeks, I started getting sick. I had an extremely sore throat. So bad that I could only eat ice cream. My whole body ached. After several trips to the camp infirmary, they finally decided I needed to see the doctor in town. I had come down with mononucleosis. They sent me back home on the train. By the time I got home I had lost 20 lbs.
About a month later I got a check for my services. Don't remember the amount, but it wasn't much.
The money didn't matter as I developed an appreciation for the beauty of the Texas Hill Country.
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