Latitude: 37.23368°N.
Longitude: 97.01331°W.
Sunday
September 15, 2002
12:56 PM
| | About Stillwater Camp …
“circa 1975” — that has become an integral part of the name of this camp. Stillwater was one of the first group camps at Winfield and it started sometime in the mid-1970's (memories of the 1970's tend to be vague, don't they?). The core of this camp is a group of people who either live in Stillwater, Oklahoma or have some connection with that town (like being OSU alumni).
Being one of the oldest camps (perhaps the oldest), Stillwater has developed a number of traditions. Their camp banner is carefully crafted from the purple bags that come with Crown Royal bottles. (It took a lot of work to make that sign!) In Stillwater, as in other college towns, students acquire and abuse used furniture and then dispose of it when leaving town. These campers gather such junked furniture and then give it one last use by hauling it to Winfield. Traditionally, at the end of the festival, this furniture would be burned in a huge bonfire. Recent fire restrictions have put an end to this part of the tradition.
Comfortable living goes beyond the stuffed furniture. This group has an army tent for jamming regardless of weather, a custom-built smoker for cooking meats and such recreational amenities as horseshoes and a pool table.
The song they volunteered was their camp song — a ballad that tells some of the camp's history.
Many of those in this camp form the core of the staff and volunteers of a newer festival: the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival held in Guthrie on the first weekend of October (shortly after Winfield).
If you are a part of Stillwater Camp and have more information to include here, send it to don@shorock.com.
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