Campfire Fire Food Traditions at Camp Quinebarge

Campfires remain a deep-rooted tradition of the New England summer camp experience that Camp Quinebarge in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, practices. The campfire provides a place for community, storytelling, skill sharing, songs, connection, and food, such as s'mores.

Campers enjoy sitting around the fire under the stars with s’mores. These gooey concoctions combine three simple ingredients: marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. Marshmallows, an age-old tradition, originally used the marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) root, which the ancient Greeks and Romans considered a cure for inflammation. The French combined marshmallow root juice with beaten sugar and eggs to create a foamy, soft paste that soothed the throat. By the late 19th century, marshmallow-based medicines gave way to marshmallow lozenges, which used gelatin as a cheaper alternative.

Next, 19th-century New Jersey Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham created Graham crackers to promote a temperate and moderate lifestyle. He sought to develop a simple cracker with ingredients restricted to wheat bran, coarsely ground germ, and unbleached wheat flour. Dry and bland, the Graham cracker offers the perfect structure, providing a counterpoint to fire-toasted marshmallow and chocolate.

Researchers have not agreed on the exact creation date of s’mores. However, they believe the snack became an outgrowth of popular marshmallow-chocolate treats of the early 20th century, such as Mallomars, introduced in 1913, and Moonpies, a few years later. “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts,” a 1927 scouting guidebook, published the first official s'mores recipe.

Troop leader Loretta Scott Crew receives credit for the original recipe for the “Some More,” designed to fill the stomachs of eight hungry scouts. The recipe called for 16 marshmallows, 16 graham crackers, and eight plain chocolate bars. Crew’s instructions asked readers to toast the marshmallows on sticks over an open fire, until they developed a "crispy, gooey state.” Next, readers would place the toasted marshmallow on top of a half-bar of chocolate, which helped melt it, and the graham crackers adhere on both sides. Even though “s’mores” quickly became the popular term for the treat, Girl Scout publications kept the traditional “Some More” name until the early 1970s.

S’mores are not the only unique campfire fire (not a typo) food tradition at Camp Quinebarge. The Piney Point campfire occurs on the first Sunday night, which brings the entire camp together for a welcoming ceremony. For many campers, a highlight of this wholesome event is “Drinking of the Turtle Blood.” This tradition dates back to the camp’s founding years, when campers drank the camp director's concoction.

Today, the camp has reversed the scenario. The director drinks a brew painstakingly recreated from alumni’s recollections. It combines Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of cayenne, ketchup, and an instant drink mix known as bug juice (this makes the concoction slightly palatable).

Campers enjoy the director's exaggerated reaction as they drink the turtle’s blood from the outsized QuineCup. Inevitably, peals of laughter follow when the campers discover that the brew consists of gross but harmless ingredients. The first campfire fire at Quinebarge ends with the Friendship Circle Song and Taps, which helps campers remember the day and give gratitude for future adventures.

Camp Quinebarge

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