Rally-goers return to a Pennsylvania campground that holds fond memories.
By Elaine Mills, F104146
January 2020
Nearly 50 Capitol chapter members, old and new, gathered for a rally from October 3 to 6, 2019, to mark the chapter’s 50th anniversary.
The rally site — Old Mill Stream Campground in Lancaster, Pennsylvania — has hosted more of the chapter’s rallies than any other location. Members shared memories, re-created favorite rally pastimes such as the Yankee Swap, and spent time reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.
On behalf of FMCA, Tom Hoffmeier, northern regional vice president of FMCA’s Eastern Area, presented the anniversary certificate and check.
The chapter’s history was featured in a 50-minute video that was shown several times during the weekend. The video, which included rally locations, activities, and officers from 1969 through 2019, elicited much laughter, many comments, and some questions. Three “match games” challenged attendees to use multiple resources at hand to identify prior rally locations, officers, and member “F” numbers.
Breakfast was provided Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the campground pavilion, as well as a luncheon on Saturday afternoon. Fay Levine, a founding member of the chapter, led a brigade of volunteer cooks in preparing the “legacy” pancake recipe from an early member, Rodney Pugh.
Several new members joined the chapter during the rally weekend. The chapter draws RVers from the area around Washington D.C., including Maryland; northern Virginia and Virginia’s eastern shore; Delaware; eastern West Virginia; southern Pennsylvania; and southern New Jersey.
For more information or to view pictures of the gathering, visit www.capitolchapter-fmca.com.