...J...K...L....

J = Jumonville The camp is named for the French general killed by General George Washington’s troops during the French and Indian War. Located on a mountaintop outside of Uniontown in the little town of Hopwood, Jumonville is one of the three church camps run by the Western PA Conference of the United Methodist Church. While in college, I worked two summers there as Program Staff --- a camp counselor. I lead groups through the Ropes Course, whitewater rafted, cooked-out, swam, lead Bible Studies, played endless games of kickball, made crafts (ugh!), and kept the children busy so as not to get homesick. It was here, that I received the call to ordained ministry. Sometimes, I wish the history of the name was a bit more peaceful.

K = Kickball This was the neighborhood game. We played it every day for hours. Looking back it made for a great sociological study. There was the ordering of rules: “Three fouls and you’re out” and to make it official adding, “I called it!” There was learning that strategy and a well-placed ball was far better than kicking it as hard as you could --- mainly because someone who grew tired of chasing the ball across the road declared, “Any ball that goes on the road is an automatic out...I called it!” Of course, there was that horrible act of choosing teams where someone’s self-esteem was always destroyed by the team captain yelling, “We took him yesterday, you have to take him today!”

L = Lemonade It seems almost wrong to drink lemonade anytime other than summer as it is perfectly paired with picnics and cookouts. A lemonade substitute was “Lemon Blend” which came in the gallon jugs and you mixed with water. After helping my father in the garden, we would come inside and he would butter Saltines crackers and we would wash ‘em down with a cold glass of lemonade.