Camp Tekakwitha was a Girl’s Summer Camp located in Carrolton, Kentucky and I had my heart set on attending the site when I was in the third grade. I also had made up my mind to earn the funds to attend the camp session myself.
My family had been in the grocery business since before I was born so my logic of sales to get to my goal seemed obvious. I do not recall where I learned about the Greeting Card Company in Elmira, New York, but after receiving their samples, I began my door-to-door journey down one side of McKsy Sreet and up the other.
With daring resolve, I branched out to neighboring streets when I discovered homemakers were happy to order All Occasion and Christmas boxes of the New York Company’s attractive designs. Delivering orders and counting my earnings filled me with a grand sense of accomplishment. Although I was not selling boxes of Rice Krispies and cans of green beans, I had entered the world of Kernen salespeople and was proud to walk in their shadows and follow in their footsteps.
Among other activities that summer, I learned to swim and weave lanyards. The days were spent making new friends and joining in races and sing-alongs. Evenings provided episodes of telling stories and roasting marshmallows.
I can still recall the night sounds of frogs and crickets as I drifted to sleep in a Camp Tekakwitha cabin. It was a perfect summer for a young salesperson.