Greetings campy people, it’s Hummingbird! Around here in the Valley we do a whole lot of walking: we walk to our classes, to the llama pen to see what’s going on with Pippin and the gang, to the dining hall for three delicious feasts a day, to our cabins to rest and load up on some last minute sunscreen. Which makes me wonder… what do all the HVC cars and vehicles do all day??
Camp is home to a surprising number of vehicles ranging from the Green Pig– the oldschool green truck that sits in the front yard– to the PD buggies, whose colorful faces were painted on over the years by artistic staff members. What do they do all day while campers are walking around on those ever-trusty feet? And how’d they find their way onto camp anyway? I decided to find out.
First, I flapped over to the Green Pig to ask my questions. Here’s what I learned…
The Green Pig was used back in the old days of camp as a luggage hauler! It drove to Connecticut and back to bring campers’ luggage up to the Valley. Far from its glory days, it spent a while just sitting idly by in a scrap heap and watching camp happen all around it, until Peter and Meg decided to put it back to work. Now it hauls campers around on Peter’s forbidden hidden tour on Electives nights!
Across from the Green Pig sits the Firetruck, which no longer works as a driving vehicle. It told me that sometimes it gets a little jealous of the Green Pig’s fame around the Valley, but it has a pretty impressive history itself! For years it was used on the Danbury Country Fairgrounds in Connecticut. When it was auctioned off years ago, the then-owners of the camp called first dibs and brought it on up to HVC! Though it can’t drive anymore, the old Firetruck is an iconic staple, sitting stoically just in front of the llama pen. It makes a charming backdrop for wedding photos and llama photos alike!
The Snacktor, a real-life tractor, used to do all the lawn mowing around camp! Here’s the thing…. it’s very slow. So, like the Green Pig, it ditched its dayjob and now spends most of its time carrying campers around to distribute snack or go for a fun ride on Dance nights! Don’t worry, we have a faster lawnmower now. Our groundskeeper, Al, can sometimes be seen mowing the rolling fields around camp.
Finally, the PD buggies! These repurposed golf carts get their fair share of work zipping around with Peter, Meg, and the rest of the PDs as they check out fun activities happening all around camp! One buggy is reserved for our unstoppable housekeeping staff, who work tirelessly to keep our camp looking and feeling clean every day. The buggies may look small, but HVC is no golf course. They handle every hill, tree root, and painted puddle like the smooth coasters they are! Each cart was hand painted by our artistic staff to resemble a lady bug, a butterfly, a bumble bee, and a dragonfly, respectively!
So I guess while we’re walking around all day, our vehicles are doing the stuff that keeps camp running as smoothly as it does! Whether they’re living out their glory days or their golden years at camp, each vehicle has a history– and a present place– at HVC!
Ooh! I think I hear the Snacktor coming now…. I hope it’s teddy grahams today!
Hummingbird 🙂
