SUMMER CAMP FOR ME!
Back in my days growing up in North Texas in the 1950s and 60s, it was the in thing for a youth to attend summer camp—whether it was vacation Bible school, baseball, basketball or football camp, or the YMCA or Boys Club summer camp. It was what one did for fun and to give all moms some relief from non-stop kids.
But me? I was a model aircraft kid. I longed to be at that special place for my kind to go. And wow! In 1960, the AMA did it! That was back in the old Navy Nats days and, miracle of miracles, the road-show Nats made a stop at the Naval Air Station in Dallas, Texas. It was heaven on earth!
The Nats had been going on since the early 1930s. One of the founding missions in the original charter of the AMA was the establishment and running of the Nats. Now skip forward 44 years—there has been a lot of water under the bridge since then. I have attended all but two of those 44 AMA Nats—42 in total!
I just wanted to stop and say thank you to our AMA for continuing to make summer camp for me and my kind. Well done, and thank you to all who produce and support the Nats!
More photos, less text
For those who would like to see more text and AMA politics in this column, please contact me at the above address and we can discuss this privately. For all others, please enjoy these collages of the 2004 Nats. I solicit others to submit photos and descriptive text of your local modeling activity to be seen in future columns.
The District VIII column is the place to see photos of modeling action—flying, fun, and fellowship.
Dr. Sandy Frank Representing the membership within AMA District VIII to the AMA Executive Council
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
