Local Note
Begun in 1922, Skidmore Camp was first mentioned as “870. Camp Craft” under the Health and Physical Education course listings of the 1922-1923 catalogue with the following description: “Work done at Camp Mesacosa on Efner Lake, Corinth, New York, during the first three weeks in September, and covers hockey, soccer, riding, swimming, camp management, overnight walking and canoe trips. Open to Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors in the Health and Physical Education Department, and in other departments on invitation. Total enrollment limited to 40.”
Participants were divided into two teams – “Picks” and “Pies” – and each team had its own captain, banner, colors, songs and mascot – “Picks” (colors: green and white) used the symbol of a pickaxe and “Pies” (colors: orange and blue) the Greek letter pi. (Though the exact origin of these names is unclear, the choices may have had something to do with their similarity as drawn symbols – see “Skidmore Camp, 1930-1945,” p.14 recto – and as time progressed, various spellings arose in both the captions in the albums and in publications of the college, including “Pie’s,” “Pis,” “Pi’s,” “Pick’s,” “Pics” and “Pic’s.”) The teams competed against one another in various sports and activities, such as soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, tennis, canoeing, swimming, riding and singing.
From 1922-early-1940s, camp was held at Camp Mesacosa on Efner Lake in Corinth; during the war years, 1942-1944, camp was held on campus at least once; in 1945 and 1946, camp was held on Long Island, in Peconic and Pinecrest Dunes respectively; and from 1947 onwards, camp was held at Pine Log on Lake Luzerne. Skidmore Camp had a long life at the college. Indeed, camp did not disappear from the curriculum for Physical Education majors until the 1968-1969 catalogue, at which time it was replaced with “203, 204. Sports Workshop,” which was held for two weeks at the end of freshman and sophomore years. (Note: the “Pick” and “Pi” symbols lived on though – see “Skidmore Physical Education,” June, 1970, p.14.)
