Any day at Illahee the girls could choose to participate in many different activities. The list of activities included: canoeing, dramatics, riflery, land sports, riding, exploring, crafts, swimming, archery, woodcraft, creative writing, choir, and folk dancing. Land sports covered a myriad of activities including softball, badminton, volleyball, tennis, archery, horseshoes, and a new activity that the campers liked very much – tetherball. In 1952, listed under the area of “land sports,” Nancy Maples offered her leadership and skill at golf with the campers for the first time. The next summer, after talking with the Pine View girls, it was decided that she would teach a class on golf designed especially for older campers. They met on the softball field the first week to learn how to handle different clubs and soon thereafter they tested their new knowledge at the Brevard Country Club.
In 1951 camp was full for the eight-week session with 161 campers and a staff of 66. A banner headline in the first Croaker for the summer proudly announced “Largest Camp In History!” 16 states were represented.
Honor trips were awarded to older campers who excelled in certain areas of pioneering activities. Trips to the Smoky Mountains had been a yearly event from the start and with growing interest in camping and the expanding outdoor program the need arose for a place to store the ever-increasing array of camping and outdoor equipment. The first “Trips Room” was organized in 1952. Lining it selves were axes, tents, cooking utensils, and sleeping bags – all the things needed for the expanding Trips Program. During their time in an activity entitled Pioneering, the girls learned how to saw and chop wood, how to build a fire, safe ways to handle a knife, how to prepare a meal in the outdoor cooking class, and how to tie knots including at least four different kinds of lashes needed for putting up a tent. In an article in the July issue of the Croaker our writer tells of the expertise being learned in the Pioneering classes: “This week, the pioneering girls have been practicing chopping wood. They take turns with the axes and have lots of fun chopping away on logs.”
