Published: July 18, 2008 07:08 pm            

Out of his Shell

Texas AgriLife camp fun experience for local kid

How do you get a somewhat shy, 13-year-old kind, generous lad to come out of his shell?

One method is to send him to Texas Brigade Wildlife Leadership Development Camp.

Nathan Paul has been homeschooled since he was in fifth grade, and as he prepares to enter the eighth grade, parents Terry and Monica Paul wondered how to ease his shyness and get him to flourish in a group of his peers.

It all began one Sunday morning when Terry was reading The Dallas Morning News cover to cover. He came across a story about the Texas Brigade looking for more campers for its youth leadership camps. Put on by a cooperative effort of the Texas Agrilife Extension, Texas Wildlife Association, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Chapters of Quail Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Lower Colorado River Authority, the four camps each have a different emphasis.

“We’ve asked him about attending many camps over the years, and this is the first one he’s been interested in,” said Monica Paul.

“We thought it was a hunting camp, and he loves to hunt,” Terry said.

Though his parents figured Nathan would select the Buckskin Brigade, which teaches about deer, they were surprised when he chose instead the Bobwhite Brigade. Nathan wrote a letter to submit for his application, cutting it close to the acceptance deadline. Since only 30 kids are chosen for each camp, he had to scramble to find donors and raise the $300 required.

Nathan very much appreciates the donors who helped him raise his camp money: Terry and Donna Paul, Jerry and Janice West, t2t Ranch (Roger and Barbra DeCapua), A Cut Above (Jerry Davis), Cox’s Carpet (James and Josephine Cox), Royce and Mary Chambers, Betty Sue Cooper, Ray and Deanna Welch, Hank and Cheryl Grounds, and Kathy Herrera.

“The camp was held in Valera, near Coleman, Texas,” Terry said. “It’s about an hour west of Brownwood, in the middle of nowhere. He stayed in the Centennial Lodge, which was once the old Valera school, and is now a renovated hunting lodge.”

The camps are for boys and girls ages 13 to 18, and kids from all over Texas, and one or two from farther away, joined Nathan for the intense four and one-half day camp. Hands-on, fun learning is achieved in the areas of biology, habitat management, watersheds, population dynamics, ecology, botany, photography, journalism, firearm safety, fishing, communication, critical thinking, team building, public speaking and leadership.

“His only experience prior to this with camp was Camp Wanica,” Monica said.

“I was bored, and ready to get out of the house!” replied Nathan.

Weeks of getting clothes ready and reading up about the camp on the Web site didn’t prepare Nathan for what to expect once he arrived.

“He was a nervous wreck when we got there,” Monica said. “I don’t think he slept at all the night before.”

On June 14 - 18, Nathan and his fellow campers, or “covey,” worked more than 100 hours, got less than five hours of sleep per night, and marched every morning before breakfast. Though parts of the camp were similar to the military, many parts were fun, learning experiences.

“Preacher Paul,” as Nathan was dubbed by Dr. Dale Rollins, camp founder, quickly became fast friends with the other members of his covey, the Crazy Quail. Since every kid had a nickname, Preacher knows few of their real names, like the kid from Missouri, “Show Me.”

There were exercises to help them learn responsibility, public speaking, all about quail — both wild and pen raised — working as a team, making a scrapbook, and finding quail using a radio telemetry. None of the exercises caused Nathan more nervousness than the public speaking, though.

“I would rather face a rattlesnake than speak in public,” Nathan said, with a slow smile. “Dr. Dale gave me a ‘magic’ quarter, and told me to rub the head off George Washington if I was nervous while giving my speech. We had to say our ‘Silver Bullet,’ (nugget of wisdom) and they put all the names in a hat. My name was drawn first, and the name ‘Preacher’ just kept getting pulled. I finally found out later Dr. Dale had put my name in there a bunch of times!”

“He had to speak in front of roughly 100 people, and say his Silver Bullet,” Monica said. “When he finished, all his fellow cadets gave him a standing ovation. That’s when I got teared up.”

“He learned a lot of self confidence that week,” Terry said.

“They pushed us to our limits,” Nathan said. “That’s for sure.”

Nathan plans to return to the camp next year, even though he missed the big Paul family reunion in Navarro County this year, and might again next year. His plan is to continue attending the camp until he is qualified to be an assistant covey leader. Some of the treasures he brought home with him from his time in Valera were a trifold display of his week, a silver quail pin to symbolize his “Silver Bullet,” a framed certificate of completion, a quail taxidermy project he made, and a lump of coal in a worn plastic bag, which he wore the first days he was there.

“We started the week off wearing a lump of coal in a baggie pinned to our shirts,” Nathan said. “Once everyone agreed you had done well with your ‘Silver Bullet’ explanation, you could trade the coal in for a pin with your name on it. I think Dr. Dale was picking on me, making me do my ‘Silver Bullet’ over and over ...”

Nathan was one of only two kids who had their gun safety license upon arrival at the camp, so the others worked on obtaining theirs. Meanwhile, Nathan earned the nickname of “Eagle Eye” for his skeet shooting skills. His covey had a quail they named “T-bone,” who they tracked by a collar on its neck and a telemetry radio. Another group’s quail was named “Linebacker II,” because the first was killed during the attempt to put his collar on. They even did projects which taught them about plant identification and collection and how the plants related to quail.

“I’ve had dreams about camp since I got back,” Nathan said. “I’m planning to go back next year.”

“He was supposed to go,” Terry agreed. “Otherwise, I never would have found that article.”

“Camp was the most amazing experience of Nathan’s life,” Monica said. “It really built his self esteem.”

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Deanna Brown may be contacted via e-mail at deanna@corsicanadailysun.com

        

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