And so it begins-
Sometime in the summer or fall of 1955:
"To whichever camp member reads this
We cleaned the underbrush and dead trees out and I think we should stop using the live trees for target backstops as it is hard on trees. Also got the garbage pile moved. You can start a new one above the cabin behind the brush pile. The water barrel is full of bugs but you can't stop that. I cleaned the gutter out it was full. Burned some wood as you will see. I am not trying to run things but I think all will agree to this."
Bud
This was the first entry in the camp book, or diary of our camp, Camp Opa, built starting in 1955 in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. I am the son of one of the five original members. The original members of our camp were:
Bud Streit
Bob Gamble
Bert Callan
Charlie Fields
Howard Grubb (my father)
My brother and sister visited me from the Youngstown,Ohio area this week. 'Came to see me following my recent heart issues. My brother brought along "the book". I've read this well over 100 times, and every time I crack the cover, I learn something new.
Our camp was built a decade after our men came home from defeating the Axis powers. All these men were still getting on their feet after the horrors they'd lived through just a few years back on the battlefields of Africa, Europe and Asia. All five were skilled trademen who made their living with their backs and hands. An electrician, mill workers, and carpenters. Money was scarce. The lot cost them $50.00, and it was all they could do to scrape that money together. The camp was built mostly out of recycled supplies, or stuff bought from the local sources when they couldn't come up with hand me downs for free.
A simple one room shack, it would become home base for a rich deer hunting tradition that has spanned 7 decades, 2 centuries, and three generations.
Prior to the building of our cabin, the group stayed with an older lady who lived on an old farmstead up on Boone Mountain. Margaret Bundy took in hunters for deer season to make a little extra money. Our guys had stayed at Margaret's for several years after WWII until they built Camp Opamp Opa.
November 28th 1955
"First deer season in camp. Most snow for several years. All members were here plus five guests. Up to third day no one got a deer."
Bud
The first hunting success for the Camp Opa boys:
Dec. 12th 1955
"John Bill and I were here doe. Got three first morning. Weather was fine about three inches of snow temp 22 above."
Bud
My dad's first entry:
April 28th & 29th 1956
"Burt and Grubb up & sided in front of cabin."
I could write for hours on the exploits of the boys from Camp Opa. The good times, and the hard times too, like the passings of loved ones, friends, and members, reclalled now in the pages of this grand book.
I would strongly recommend that every hunting camp, or party keep a book like this. It is really interesting to look back on the rich history we build from year to year.
All the original Camp Opa boys are long gone now. My son is the first and only member of the "third generation" to hunt Boone Mountain in the footsteps of his grandfather. Here's to the hope that our rich tradition forged on the backs of our predecessors never ends.
Rest in Peace to all the Camp Opa boys that went before us. They all left this world a much better place, and we thank them very much.
Grubb
