Going thru some of my Dad's stuff (his house was mostly destroyed by Sandy), I found some old lists from his camping days in the 1950s/1960s, and got quite a laugh from them. He had his lists organized by numbers, not sure if that meant a specific destination or a duration--he can't remember either.

List #1
Chicken Soup
Small Franks
B. [bouillon] Cube
Candy - 2 Charms
Candle
Matches + K. Cube [some sort of Esbit?]
Band Aids, Burn S., Merc. [Mercurochrome?], Razor Blades

List #5
Foot Ice or Rock Spikes [maybe a winter trek?]
Knife and Sheath
Matches
15' Nylon Rope
Plastic Cover
Goggles
Candy
Head Net [maybe not a winter trek...]
First Aid Kit
1 - Kindle Light [related to K. Cube? Hard to search on anything named Kindle these days]
1 - Pea Soup

List #6
1 Small Bar Soap [LNT was years away...]
Vega Rice
2 Sugars [sounds like a short trip...]
1 Cigar
3 Matches [not 5 or 4, but THREE!]
Toilet Paper
3 Bouillon Cubes
Nails [I bet these weren't tent stakes...]
String
Fuel
Candle
Adhesive Tape
Brillo Pad
1 Rag
1 Pencil
3 Sheets of Small Paper
1st Aid Kit
2 Bandaids [not 5 or 4 or 3, but...]
1 sm. [and] 1 lrg. Vial of Iodine
Aspirin
Halazone Tablets [water purification]
1 French Saw [for felled wood, I'm sure...]

List #10
11 oz. Can of Brown Bread [not sure what that is]
8 oz. Can of Sardine Fillets [yuck!]
2-1/8 oz. pkg. of Chicken Soup [certainly not cup-a-soup]
1 Cigar
1 Blake and Lamb #1 1/2 Trap [I have no idea what that is]
2 Candles
1 Snow Goggles
1 Sand Paper
1 Pencil

I assume these lists were made after the trips, as they read like "oh, yeah, next time I should bring..." There is an absence of the Big Three, which I assume were already packed, or organized so they couldn't be left behind. Although we went camping as a family when I was 4-5 years old, I don't remember any of these items (well, maybe the franks and the toilet paper), which suggests he used these lists going solo or with my mother.

And if anyone recognizes Brown Bread, K. Cube, and the Blake and Lamb item, I'd be glad to hear what those are.

Blake and Lamb are trap makers. The #1 1/2 references the model or spring type of the trap.
This is a #1 1/2


I remember seeing some of these in my grandpa's garage; he got them from his father.

Brown bread -- dense dark bread, sold in a can. With or without raisins. Served with baked beans. Popular in New England. B&M brand still available. Google for recipe.

Blake and Lamb trap is an animal trap...

"Brown bread"

It used to be called Boston Brown Bread. I make it every year. You bake it in an empty steel can.

--B.G.--

I've never had it from a can, but Eat'n Park still has it.

Thanks for the info., much appreciated.

Geesh, an animal trap? I had to ask him about that, and he says there was small game in Harriman State Park (NY), but never did any trapping of any kind. Like I said, wish list kind of stuff.

My intent is to locate the old camping site that we went to. By the early 1970s, the camping scene had gone downhill, and we rarely went back. But I have pics and a cruddy trail map with an X on it, so for a few hours' walk, maybe I can find it. Hey, maybe it's all back to normal now...