Figure 1.--Here is Munira and her friends at a Young Pioneer Camp in 1964. It was a treasured Summer memory before entering high School.

We also have an image of Munira and Pioneer Camp. Soviet children were virtually compelled to join the Pioneers and most children in the post World War Ii era went to Pioneer summer camps. It was a warm summer in 1964 and Munira was a 12 year old girl. She and her 10 year old brother had gone to the Pioneer Camp at Chyeka, in the Varzob valley. Here they stayed for about two months. Munira and her brother, Farruk, went on vacation to the pioneer camp. What a time we had. They were happy days. We were kept busy because there was a lot to do. There was tennis, table tennis, volleyball, swimming in the pool and hiking into the mountains. We had lots of hikes into the hills. We liked this activity. Twice a week there was a movie show. Other night time activity was dancing and music. We took part in drama and put on a play and musical concerts. We dressed in formal clothes. The boys wore shirts and short trousers, girls wore dresses. We had less formal clothes when we went hiking. I don’t remember wearing a uniform like you see in lots of pictures about the camps in Russia. When we first arrived we had an opening ceremony. This was a big fire and we sat around it singing songs and drinking juice. At the end of the camp there was a similar closing concert and ceremony.

William Fergusson

Created: 8:36 PM 11/8/2004
Last updated: 8:44 PM 11/8/2004