July 22 , 2021 The Beacon • 23
Murray recalls fun times with Coshocton Campers Club
Coshocton Campers Club members recently celebrated 60 years of camping together . In 1960 when the club was first formed , there were 28 couples or singles . Leonard Reed was elected as the first president of the club . His vice president was Lawrence Williams , and his secretary / treasurer was Helen Conrad .
Present membership in the Coshocton Campers Club totals 11 couples or single units . Roberta Underwood is president . Glenn and Sally Kinkade and Ron and Linda Storm are vice presidents . Larry Murray is secretary / treasurer .
Larry and Sherry Murray joined Coshocton Campers Club in 1968 . “ We were the only family that had four generations camping ,” Larry Murray said .
Sherry Murray ’ s parents , Charlie and Jessie Miller , joined the club in 1972 . Larry and Sherry ’ s two sons , Kyle and Scott , often camped with the club , as did their children , Justin and Brittany Murray .
“ Sherry was secretary / treasurer for 16 years , off and on . Now I ’ ve held that office for 5 1 / 2 years , ever since she died in November of 2015 ,” Larry Murray said . “ Back when the Coshocton Campers Club was part of ( National Campers & Hikers Association ), we traveled to different statewide camping weekends throughout Ohio . There were 496 campers at the Coshocton County Fairgrounds in September of 1982 when our Chapter 89 hosted the Ohio Fall Statewide Campout .
“ We even traveled to six or seven National Campventions with other members of the club . The first time , we went to Bloomsburg , Pennsylvania in 1981 with over 5,000 camping units and 17,000 people . It was held at the state fairgrounds . We went with Joe and Marge Ely , Dick and Jane Smith , and Gary and Annagayle Willey .
“ The furthest we traveled to a National
Campvention was to Grand Island , Nebraska in 1985 with Charlie and Jessie Miller and Marge and Joe Ely . In 1986 we attended a Campvention in Guelph , Ontario , Canada , with the Millers and the Elys . We also attended National Campventions in Indiana , Kentucky and Michigan . In 1983 it was held in Ohio .
“ Before we joined , there was an NCHA Ohio Chapter campout in 1967 that was held at Coshocton ’ s Lake Park Campground with more than 165 people attending . Sherry was great at instigating fun weekends , like having a Hawaiian Luau . She often planned crafts for the ladies to make , like painting sweatshirts or T-shirts or making hanging decorations , using a CD for the body of a fish , then adding fins , tails and eyes .
“ The four all-time favorite games we ’ ve played at campouts over the years are Hausey and Scat ( also called 31 ), which Charlie Miller
often started when he walked toward a table while carrying a Styrofoam cup with three nickels jingling in it . The other two favorite games were Sequence , which used game boards made by Bucky Walters using a piece of steel ceiling tile , and Texas Horseshoes , which was introduced to the club by Ralph Knight , a member from Mt . Vernon .”
Murray listed several of the crafts that members made : ribbon pine cones , miniature Christmas trees using rope garland , butterflies from 2-liter bottles and then painting them , a hanging lawn decoration from
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PVC pipe , and an outdoor electric light from a plastic flower pot with colored beads .
“ At our first campout this year in April , the men made fire starters using cardboard egg cartons stuffed with dryer lint , wood shavings or sawdust , then pouring melted candle wax over them . While they were doing that , the ladies gathered in one camper to make tissue paper flowers for table decorations for the 60th anniversary party ,” Murray said . “ Then when the club camped in May at Salt Fork State Park ,
plans were made for a big craft project for our August campout . They ’ re all going to be collecting different sizes of cans to make a tin man .
“ We visit with each other , make crafts or fire starters , and often have a group meal , like a potluck , a fish fry , making soup beans and ham , cooking hot dogs , or fixing sandwiches in pie irons stuck into hot coals of a campfire . We also make hobos , wrap them in foil and cook them on a rack over the fire . Sometimes our campfire includes s ’ mores .”
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