Why MLV?

As I said before, MLV is when the staff gets up, sings, and essentially jumps off the docks. The real question is why? What would possess so many people to do something as crazy as that, especially while in uniform?

The answer is tradition. Back in 1970s some of the staff members only showered on Saturdays. The Camp Director decided for the sake of everyone's nose that having the staff jump in the ocean would force them to take a shower. Nowadays, the staff showers much more often than that (or at least I'd like to think so), but we still enjoy jumping into the ocean and all the madness associated with it.

Ghosts

There are various areas around camp that are haunted. One such place is the fourth A-frame. I have spent enough time there to say it's true. But is it really true- that's the mystery.

MLV

If you've been to camp since the 80s, you know that the staff do this weird thing one day at lunch. We all get up, play Follow the Leader while singing, and jump in the ocean. Followed, of course, by a buddy check and inevitably by some sort of water war. Well, the first time I saw this I wondered what they were singing (along with "wow, they are crazy"). So here are the words to Man's Life's a Vapor (our MLV song):

Man's life's a vapor, full of woe

He pulls a caper, down he goes

Down he, down he, down he, down he

Down he goes.

Requirements for the Patch

Every year the patch is redesigned, but some things remain constant. Each patch must have:

- a fleur-de-lis

- the year

- "Camp Emerald Bay"

- a pirate

- one more unmentionable

Some years the requirements are harder to find, such as the pirate in the 2000 patch. Others are not, such as the pirate on the 1999 patch. The mystery is finding them every year and figuring out the unmentionable part.