Page 139 - WhyAsInY

PunCtuate tHis: anaWana Go to CaMP
ing that they did not countenance the event about to be described)—was “Color War.” Those of you who are not familiar with that term should be quickly advised that Color War has no racial component. Rather, Color War is merely a contrivance of camp owners to use good old American competition to keep the campers from running wild as the end of the season approaches. In Color War, both the boys camp and the girls camp are divided into two teams consisting of campers and coun- selors and named in accordance with the “camp colors,” which, in Anawana’s case, were orange and blue. In addition, the teams would have their identities amplified by two compatible themes, such as the Orange Suns and the Blue Lightning. Each camper was obliged to have traveled to camp with many shirts of each color, emblazoned with the camp name or logo. Thus, members of each team could be suitably clad and easily identified when they squared off in the myriad of events that would be contested over a three- or four-day period.
(There were clothing stores in and around the New York City area which served as “official camp outfitters.” They worked with all of the local camps to supply not just shirts and shorts but all manner of appro- priate camp garb and apparatus, in which they would, for an additional fee, sew a name tag, which, not surprisingly, was required to facilitate the sorting of the camp laundry, most of the items of which were, as noted, mandatory and virtually identical. Depending upon the age group involved, uniforms could be worn for multiple seasons, which gave your parents yet another reason to return you to the camp of their original choice.)
What kept the campers from running wild as the end of what was then an eight-week summer neared? Two things: First, during the Color War itself and until the “Sing,” which is described below, competition would not be limited to sports. Neatness at morning inspection, com- portment in the bunks during rest hours and after lights-out, and sportsmanship were all subject to the awarding of points or the assessing of demerits. Thus, each camper was responsible to his or her team for everything that he or she did or didn’t do, and everyone was pretty much kept in line by the judges, who were usually the more senior of the
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