The father daughter banquet was hosted by the Camp Fire Organization. I loved my Camp Fire group, and as children, we were very close friends. When we reached high school age, Camp Fire became Horizon Club. Our group was together from probably about age 7 until age 17. Every Valentines Day, the organization held a banquet so that the girls could be escorted by their dads to a dinner. A week or so before the banquet, we would decorate special food boxes with hearts, lace, doilies, cupids, etc. at our regular meeting. The day of the banquet our mothers would pack our box with a home cooked meal. Mother was an expert at frying chicken, so that is what was always in our box. She would include homemade potato salad, bread and some kind of dessert.
The evening of Valentines Day, the girls hosted their fathers for an evening out together. We began with the pledge, a prayer, singing songs, and there would be a short program before we had our dinner. Our meetings always ended by singing of Wo He Lo.
I remember when Paula was a senior, my banquet was the same evening, and I could not take Daddy, so I invited Mr. White, an employee for Daddy whom I dearly loved. He made it the best night ever, treating me with a gentleman's etiquette, starting with picking me up at the house with the proper protocol of coming to the door to ring the bell.
These were special days that I will always cherish.
but this picture came up of us at the Homecoming game in 1973.
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-- by Helen Gerrish Hughes, copyright by Camp Fire, 1954
We come, we come to our council fire
with measured tread and slow
To light the fire of our desire
To light the fire of Wo-he-lo.
Wo-he-lo, Wo-he-lo.
The little twinkling stars on high
Are whisp'ring nature lore,
While all about us the soft winds sigh
And Great Wokanda watches o'er.
Wo-he-lo, Wo-he-lo.
["Wokanda" means "God" in one of the Amer-Indian languages.]
