Attended Camp Holy Cross in 1944 (war, state, western, Iowa)

[jnelms34]

I and my two first-cousins, all from Dallas, attended Camp Holy Cross in the summer of 1944. As two 9-year-olds and a 6-year-old, we rode a train by ourselves from Dallas. We had our own stateroom on the train. (You wouldn't see that today.) The attendees were divided into four Indian tribes: Comanche (red), Kiowa (yellow), Ute (blue), and Cheyenne (green). We were housed in the college dormitory, just across the road from the chapel, except a night or two when we camped in the woods. We ate our meals in the basement of the church, which was entered by way of a freight elevator. Most meals other than breakfast featured "bug juice," a beverage which was likely red Kool-aid. We were required to be in our room in mid-afternoon for nap time, not even allowed to go to the bathroom. Transgressors received a rap on the head by the much-feared hard knuckle of a brother, whose name I cannot remember. We swam, rode horses, and attended camp fires (at which the older boys performed Indian rituals in full regalia, including war bonnets). We had a snipe hunt, which was particularly unsuccessful, no snipe being captured in the bags we held. Our prayer to the Indian deity (Manitou?), "O-Wa-Ta-Gu-Siam," was apparently unheard. We were taken into town for a western movie or two, to the State Penitentiary (where I sat in the electric chair), and to Royal Gorge. It was a grand time in our lives, never to be forgotten. I am 83 now and a retired Texas Criminal District Judge. If any other "survivors" see this, I can be reached at Moderator Note: Email address removed. Use Direct Messages.