H. Adler - Panorama

Setting up camp goes so well that by the fourth night they can hold the opening party, after which begins the day-to-day life of the camp, the Wanderers’ custom being to remain together at the same spot and not wander off too far, the nearby countryside thoroughly explored, while now and then they head off to Sichelbach Creek to bathe, during which a guard remains back in camp. But first they have to set up camp, which means gathering what they need, such as branches that will be used for tent posts, followed by the crates from the station, whereby the tools are unpacked. Then for each tent a foundation is built that is half a meter high, four main pegs for the small tents and eight for the big ones hammered into the ground, while as part of the camp’s layout gates are set up, and in the middle of the space between the tents the flagpole is raised, near it the spot for the campfire being laid, stones carried from the creek below and arranged in a circle in which the huge fire will blaze. Between the main pegs for the tents are smaller pegs, and when the foundation is strong enough, cut and stripped branches are nailed to the post as slats, they having been planed down a bit so that they are all good and flat, after which the foundation is finished. Then comes the main job, which requires a great deal of patience, as the framework is interlaced with bushy sticks to make the structure waterproof, bricks of sod stacked up in order to cover the outside of the foundation, turning it into a simple wall, around which one digs a trench for the rain to run off into. Then the beds are built, two single beds erected in the smaller tents, two doubles in the larger ones, stakes pounded into the ground for each of these, small stakes also laid across one another and held together by a crosspiece, it being good to make sure that everything is built up to the same height before the planks borrowed from the ranger are laid on top, each tent then getting its door. Before the tent canvases are stretched over the frames, poles are placed inside the tents, the larger ones requiring two, all of which must be done carefully, which is why Alfred and Willi always come around to make sure that everything is done right, as they measure the height of each precisely. Then the tent is stretched over, the canvases draped over the frames, the tent poles forming points, or gables in the double tents, the tents then carefully set on the foundations, one Wanderer holding the double loop as another pounds two nails through it into the foundation so that the loops don’t pull out, the tent finally complete. Now all that’s needed is the load of straw that was ordered from Sichelbach, everyone filling his straw mattress and pillow, and once each has been sewn shut with thick cords and laid on the frames, then everyone is finished making his own heavenly bed in the Landstein camp.

During all of this the permanent kitchen is also set up, an actual stove constructed out of stones, a camp stove, a stovepipe, and a couple of hot plates big enough to hold some kettles and pots that have been brought from the city. Alfred and Bambus then attempt to light the oven, lighting a well-laid fire in order that the same thing doesn’t happen that did at Bärenloch, where the oven collapsed and the entire midday meal was buried under it, while, even worse, the stovepipe fell over and burned Hans a bit, though luckily nothing else happened to him, Alfred proud of the fact that hardly anyone ever gets sick at camp, there being very few colds, even when it’s soaking wet, the worst being a bit of a sore throat, which only means staying inside your tent for a day when the weather is bad, though stomachaches also hardly ever happen, because the scouts eat well and don’t snack much, the occasional serious wound being inevitable, Alfred making sure to wash it and dress it well so that by the next day it’s almost healed. Meanwhile, this year the kitchen does well when tested, a canopy added so that even when it rains hard you can still cook, though the rain can’t fall aslant too much, for otherwise the cooking staff won’t remain dry without wind breakers. Everything else has been completed as well, a wonderful bathing area having been set up, the table and benches now standing in the woods, as everything is hauled out of the tent and crates that hold the provisions and is placed where it belongs, all that is left being the mounting excitement over the opening party.

From now on proper food is cooked rather than just noodles, barley, or grits, for most cooks take pride in what they prepare, seeking the approval of others as they work their magic on soups, canned vegetables, flour or cornmeal dumplings, or potato dumplings or latkes. Only during bad weather do they make it easy on themselves, most of all with the evening meal, where they hand out chocolate bars when there are no berries. Sometimes Alfred denies someone his chocolate as punishment, but that rarely happens, usually a warning from him enough to make anyone want to be a good Wanderer. In the morning and the afternoon, each boy gets a big slice of bread with a pat of butter or marmalade, and each can have as much bread as he can eat, though it depends on what meal it is, for Fabi and his helpers hand out real bread only for the meals, whereas only dried bread is free, the rest being measured out precisely, though nobody goes hungry, all the meals are sumptuous, and hardly anything spoils, because nothing is left over, for there is always someone who will gladly devour what someone else cannot, Alfred not wanting anything to go to waste.

There is only one day on which the food is spoiled, and that is the day when the camp’s hierarchy is turned upside down, Alfred handing his whistle over to the youngest scout the night before, since for the next day he is head of camp in charge of everything and takes overall responsibility, Alfred even handing over the flag to Edgar, who as the youngest this year is named lord of the camp, he then naming all his head assistants and handing out the day’s assignments, only Hans remaining as the bookkeeper, since everyone urged him to do so. Alfred and Willi are made dishwashers, FHF and Josef have to gather kindling, and so on, Edgar taking charge of the kitchen while Pony is put in charge of provisions. Problems arise first thing in the morning, for even though Willi has been up for a while and has bathed, no signal has been given for the others to wake up, Alfred and Hans also already up, and everyone wondering when the day will actually begin, until at last Pony wakes up and pokes Radau to make him tell Edgar to order the others to wake up. Edgar then finally blows his whistle and yells, “Wake up!” but nobody pays attention, Willi eventually complaining that his bones hurt and he needs to sleep, at which Edgar says he can’t have any chocolate, while also lowering judgment on a number of others until finally, at around ten-thirty, the cocoa can be served, it being only a bit burned, Bambus saying, since it’s so late, “Edgar, why don’t you pay a bit more attention to cooking unless you want the whole troop to starve by lunchtime!”

Edgar protests strongly, but nonetheless thinks that it might be good advice, except that he has the unfortunate idea of making rice, for which he grates some chocolate, in order to make a chocolate rice pudding. Although mounds of kindling stand at the ready, the fire simply will not light, so Edgar orders Alfred to light the fire, but he says that he’s too young, he doesn’t know how to light a fire, and Edgar yells at him, “I’m the head of camp and you have to obey! No more idiotic jokes, Alfred!” So Alfred lights the fire, and as it crackles Edgar says to him, “You can now go play ball. I don’t need you anymore.” Alfred goes off to play ball, but soon the fire is smoking badly, the flames smoldering, everything in the kitchen swallowed up in acrid smoke, the rice boiling and boiling, though Edgar is firmly convinced that the rice is not done and ignores any recommendation that’s given him. By now everyone has deep doubts when Edgar finally decides that the food is ready, it being only an hour late and already two o’clock, as Edgar’s helpers carry two full pots of a grayish-brown stinking mass out to the serving area, Edgar wanting to be the one to serve it up, himself covered in sweat, for the ladle fails to scoop out any of it, since the whole thing can only be picked at, so he reaches for a large kitchen knife and with effort saws away clumps that he then dumps onto each plate, though as he finally finishes he sighs from exhaustion, the remainder left in the pot as a disgusting mess.