Damper Camper

This came from an old Monthly Chapter Bulletin - Valley H-Lites - August 13, 1976

     On the brilliant, crisp Southern Missouri morning of August 14, a motley-looking armada consisting of 12 aluminum ships left port at Alley Springs to sail and conquer a great and mighty body of water--you're right, none other than the Jack's Fork River. Fellow 'shoppers, what a sight to behold! Each metal armored ship was loaded to the deck with small cylindrical cans of fuel (of all brews) and quipped with 2 to 3 crew members and 4 to 6 arms.

     At least one of the crew members on each ship possessed a loud, screechy worn-out siren which other such noise-makers, produced what was referred to as a chord. *****EDITORS NOTE--These sirens may well have been the same ones Ulysses encountered 3,000 years ago during his epic voyage in the Mediterranean Sea, the Odyssey-- some of those guys looked pretty old!*****

     Anxiety thrived and adrenalin flowed high in the hearts of all as each man knew that his life would be at stake throughout the voyage. Each man wondered what he was doing floating down a stream in the middle of nowhere in an oblong sardine can, when he could been at camp, warm in his sack. Why, just the previous day, he had arrived at the Circle B campground and was sitting around the campfire singing and laughing the evening away. but the strained sound of Vince Cavanaugh's voice singing "I love to rise in the morning..." had called him from his sleeping bag. At about 10.20 he found himself embarking upon a 12 mile trek down a deadly and hostile river.

     Soon after the float had begun, however, fears and anxieties were cast aside as the men and women quickly mastered their oars. Most people were very successful at avoiding turnovers and shallow spots, with two exceptions. Steve troll reported he was continually getting out of his canoe and pulling Bob Spehn's end through the rapids. The editor knows of only two genuine foll-overs during the entire course of the float. Yes, Tim Martin and Janet Rubin managed to roll twice within a half hour period--with lots of thanks to Murphy (Rubin's dog) who thought it was a fish. Around 1:00 the fleet of canoes reached the campground for lunch. Resuming the float an hour later, there were only two changes in the line-up. Charlie Buehrle replaced Marjorie Blodgett and Al and Dolly Rubin put their ship in dry dock. The skies opened and poured rain until 8:00 PM and at 6:00 PM a drenched handful of Barbershoppers and their families returned to a camp cleaned by Burt Troll's H.O.G. After everyone had completed dinner, all the barbershoppers gathered in Dick Olson's camper to sing "I love to rise in the morning..." so that Dick might get up and join them around the campfire. around the campfire everything from Bob Spehn's son's battery collection to pasta famines in Italy were discussed.

     The morning of the 15th brought the departures from the campground of Burt Troll, Steve troll, Vic Shaff, Charlie Buehrle, and Bob Spehn occurred. Early in the afternoon Vinney Cavanaugh had his car break down and the mechanical team of Vern Martin and Al Rubin fixed it up with some good barbershop ingenuity, but Vince still would uptaking the car into town to have it "professionally" Fixed. Soon after Vern and his family left, leaving the families of Dick Olson and Al Rubin behind to spend an extra day on the river.