Alan Arbuse

Trip Coordinator, 1968-1992



For more than two decades, the "Buse" was the man in charge of the trips. With his partner in crime, Gary Kasten, he coordinated most of the canoe trips down the Delaware River. The older boys' and girls' groups often went on one or two night trips down that river, providing campers with what many of them remember as the highlight of their summers. Following the departure of Sy Sokol, Al was in charge of the cookouts on the river's shore, and is credited with introducing the "One-Eyed Sailor" egg breakfast to his young river travelers. Al and Gary also handled many of the in-camp cookouts, as well as the trips out of camp, where the two big men also provided security for the campers.

Al is also credited for helping Tyler Hill Camp to be the first among the other competing camps to begin taking the "big trips," which were multiple-day excursions to places such as F&M, and Hershey Park. He also accompanied the older boys on the famous trips to Bridgeport, Conn., to see the Jets-Giants exhibition games in the early seventies.

Al was viewed in camp as a giant of a man, built like an NFL linebacker, tall and barrel-chested, acting as a kind of bodyguard and enforcer for Bill and Joe. His physical presence on those out of camp trips sent a clear message to those who may have had an idea about harassing the campers that they should think again and walk away. He also ran football clinics for the boys, providing them instruction from his own playing days and as a physical education teacher.

But Al is most remembered as a big loveable character, well known for his hi-jinx, often entertaining his friends, as well as the campers with his great sense of humor. Every year, at the Carnival, Al would don clown makeup and serve as the circus barker, sparing no one from his biting wisecracks. He was a familiar sight, driving around with Gary, in their Tyler Hill Camp blue GMC pickup truck at all hours of the day and night. During the infamous Counselor Show, which came at the end of the summer, Al would show up on stage wearing some kind of horrific costume, sometimes a gown. He loved his time in camp with great gusto and in return, many of his friends, including Herman Pingel, loved being around him. He and his wife, Diane, have a son Scott, who was a lifelong camper and waiter at THC.

Bill viewed Al as a loyal soldier and just about everyone saw him as a valued member of the Tyler Hill Camp family.