Sweet, spicy wood smoke teases the nostrils. The banging of pots and the rhythmic chop of knife on cutting board joins with the murmur of the breeze through the white pines to create a grand symphony. Bright orange fire licks around the edges of a shiny black cast-iron skillet. Muted voices from a lively conversation in the nearby chuck tent remind the cooks to work quickly. It’s a cookout day at Allegany Boys Camp, and we are learning and changing.
Cooking over a fire is one of the most basic of survival skills. Native Americans used fires and carefully crafted pottery to cook and roast the game they bagged and the plants they harvested. European settlers brought their cast-iron cookware and continued the tradition. America’s exploration and settlement was fueled by skilled men and women bending over hot coals and using smoke crusted skillets and Dutch ovens to fry their fish and bake their bread. Even today, cooking over a fire brings a sense of wonder and excitement. Business executives take the evening off to grill a succulent steak and tourists travel from all over the world to taste Texas barbecued brisket or Carolina pulled pork, all smoked by a fire.
The fire-chef is alive and well in Allegany County, thanks to each campsite’s cook tent and the fun that happens there. The therapy and education at camp centers around the group campsite, and cook tent could be considered the epicenter. Just consider what must happen before a camper can light a fire to cook his meal: With help from his group, he had to write a nutritious menu that is within budget. He consulted the food catalog and possibly a recipe book to plan the meal. The boy and group needed to find a solid hardwood tree and haul it back to campsite, cut it up with a bucksaw, split it with an ax, and stow the wood in cook tent to season. He carefully split pine kindling and shave long curly shavings to start the fire. Only now is he ready to carefully lay a fire and strike a match. With this level of ownership, the meals coming out of cook tent are far more than doggie roasts. Pizza, breads, casseroles, cakes, soups, stews, and grilled meats are carefully prepared.
To a boy caught in a cycle of failure at home and school, cook tent is often where they taste their first success. Imagine the pride and accomplishment of cooking a praise-worthy meal for a hungry group of ten teenagers over an open fire!
This would make even a successful grown man feel accomplished. Consider all the skills that are involved: planning, mathematics, writing, buck sawing, wood chopping, fire building, cooking, mixing and measuring, table-setting, clean-up, and presentation. All these combine to make cook tent the center of education at camp and an incredible tool for therapy.
Chad Martin
Education Supervisor
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