When I Met Your Dad

Shortly after I married your dad, the movie (romantic comedy) "When Harry Met Sally" came out.  What I'm going to write about won't be super funny, but it's the story that ultimately led to the two of you.  Here goes "when Bob met Chris"....   We met when I was 15 and your Dad was 20.  

After graduating from Wyoming Area in 1978, your Dad was going to King's College (he studied Communications and Government, I'm pretty sure he had a double major).  He had worked one summer at Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips in Dallas, which he said had a batter or some other recipe that was a secret (?) - whatever it was he never did tell what the special ingredients were.  Anyway, after that in 1979 he became a counselor at Camp Lackawanna, in Vosburg (out past Tunkhannock).  It's affiliated with the Presbytery of Lackawanna (and as you know, Dad's home church was Wyoming Presbyterian).  I was in high school and wanted to work at Camp, after going there is a camper.  In 1980, I became a Counselor in Training.  As a CIT, I went to counselor training in June then came back two assigned weeks over the summer.  The next 2  years I was at camp all summer - I was a maintenance/janitor person, and then a lifeguard the final year (believe me, the lifeguarding was much easier).  I first met your Dad at the counselor training in June.  He was good friends with Virginia Miner, who was another counselor.  (In 1982, they were co-Directors for a week of camp - and Virginia went on to seminary at Princeton then became a Presbyterian minister in the Scranton area.)  My first impressions of your Dad was that he had a nice twinkle in his blue eyes, was intelligent and reserved.

Your Dad and I started to "go together" the summer of 1981, even though relationships among camp staff were discouraged.  It was pretty obvious, since I sat his cabin's table for meals.  Camp was my favorite place to be - it was great to be involved in a camp ministry, play my guitar & sing after meals and at campfires, and develop friendships with the counselors and other staff (not to mention being away from Philadelphia!).  During that summer, I went to his house in Wyoming for the first time where I met Dad's parents and sister.  Did I ever tell you I found his Dad (Grandpa) to be intimidating?  Very kind, but a tall and intimidating person.  And his Mom (Grandma) was very sweet, as you know.  Dad also came to my grandmother Phyllis Rivers's house in Beaumont (where I typically stayed over weekends), which was my grandparents' retirement home.  Later, Dad and I helped Nana with packing and moving into town at a rented house in Dallas.

Your Dad and I definitely had fun at camp - canoeing on the Susquehanna River was the best part.  We would typically paddle from Laceyville (long trip, with a stop to eat soggy sandwiches) or Meshoppen (short trip) back to Camp.  It was interesting to go by the river bank where my family swam when we stayed summers at the Mehoopany cabin years before - and then pass the Charmin (now Proctor & Gamble) plant.  

Camp Lackawanna, outdoor chapel - July, 1981:

The relationship continued over the next school year, which was senior year for both us.  I came up to visit Dad in Wyoming, also he came down to visit me in Philadelphia.  We wrote letters in between, and once a week on Friday nights we talked on the phone (which was quite expensive in those days).  I was back at camp the summer of 1982, after graduating  high school.  I then went on to King's College myself, living with my grandmother.  I will write more about that in a later post.

I remember this song from the summer of 1981, which happened to be from another romantic comedy movie "Arthur":