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Freemont, NY— It wasn't late night ghost stories
or even the food that caused nearly three dozen pre-teens
screaming into the night after just a week of summer camp
deep in the heart of the Catskill Mountains.
What began as a weekly tradition by counselors at Camp Waupaca,
a summer camp for emotionally-disturbed intercity children,
turned the normally serene campgrounds into a veritable frightfest,
after several staff members and senior counselors disrobed
after nightly "camptivities" and headed over to
the lake...sans clothes. When the kids took a short cut back
to their cabins, the horror of the scene awaited them.
"It was so scary. There was nowhere to run," says
Susie Tambor, 11, of Jersey City. "I wake up screaming
every night since I first saw them. I hate camp!"
The counselors, who would like to remain anonymous, didn't
expect that anyone would see them, but assured parents that
they had no intention of frightening the children by exposing
their genitalia. It was just a horrible, horrible accident.
"I regret the whole thing happened even though I got
to see the camp director's wife all naked and glistening in
the sun," admitted camp culinary director Kip "Cookie"
Bryant. "I can't even look at them in the eye when I'm
spooning creamed beef on their plates. They're in so much
pain right now."
Parents came by busloads to confront the counselors and several
insisted on dragging the kids back to their low income neighborhoods,
where the kids are inured to crack dens and drive-by shootings
that occur on a nightly basis.
Other parents felt differently, admitting that their children
were unintentionally "scared straight" and were
betting that they would never do drugs or get in trouble again.
"I never could get through to my kid before," explained
parent Donna Vincelli. "I tried everything — calling
the police, putting him in juvenile detention — I even
put him on the Sally Jesse Raphael Show where a large guy
in fatigues screamed and threaten him with boot camp. Nothing
worked until my boy saw all those horrible, disgusting overweight
naked bodies splashing around in the water. Thank God I finally
have my baby back."
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