Some camps prefer the awarding of what may be called "proficiency cups." At Camp Kineo a silver cup is awarded to the boy in each division who is the best all-round fellow, considering manly qualities, loyalty to camp, deportment, behavior under all conditions, skill in athletics, aquatics, tennis, baseball, and all other sports, self-control, temperament, popularity with boys and good standing with councilors. The judges are the Director and Camp Council, whose decision counts for 60 per cent toward the final award, the boys not competing deciding the other 40 per cent toward the final award.
Hall of Fame
At Camp Wildmere there is a "Hall of Fame." Votes are taken for the most respected leader and the most respected boy, the most popular leader and boy; the boy who has done the most for the camp and the boys; the most courteous boy, neatest boy, best-built boy, brightest boy, favorite in games; neatest in tent; best all-round camper; boy who talks least about himself; the one with the best table manners; the quietest boy, most generous boy, handsomest boy, best-natured boy and the camp humorist.
[Illustration: Striking the Colors]
CHAPTER XXIII—PACKING UP
THE LAST NIGHT PACKING UP INSTRUCTIONS TO LEADERS THE LAST WORD
Farewell, wild hearth where many logs have burned;
Among your stones the fireweed may grow.
The brant[1] are flown, the maple-leaves have turned,
The goldenrod is brown—and we must go.
-Arthur Guiterman.
[Transcriber's Footnote 1: brant: Dark wild goose of the Arctic having a black neck and head.]
The Last Night
The last night in a boys' camp should be the best of all the nights. It is usually a night of reminiscence. Around the camp fire or log fire in the "Lodge," all the campers gather and rehearse the good times of the days that have passed all too quickly—those days of close intimacy of tent life, where boys of different tastes, temperaments and dispositions were thrown together, where life's great lessons of give and take were learned and where character was put to the test! Friendships have been formed which will last through life. The same group of fellows will never come together again. The director, perhaps as no other person, realizes the importance of making this night one of permanent impression, and his "good-by" talk to the fellows will reiterate the "why" of camping and emphasize the taking home of the spirit of good which has prevailed and the making it count for the best things in home, school, factory and church life of those boys who enjoyed the benefits of the camp.