Hyde Bay Camp was located on the northeastern end of Otsego Lake. It was founded in 1927 by former history teacher Herbert Pickett as a summer tutoring project to help struggling students. The camp closed in 1969 because of many "circumstantial things" such as state regulations and expenses, according to the grandson of the camp’s founder, Russell "Rusty" Pickett.

Rusty, who resides in Charleston, S.C., hosted this year’s reunion at the Otesaga and said he has been holding the event for about four years. He said the men try to reunite every four years, but it is very informal.

"We come to enjoy Cooperstown," said Rusty. "It is a wonderful area."

According to Rusty, the reunions are very unstructured, much in the way the camp was run itself. He said everyone’s interests are different so they kind of do their own thing when in Cooperstown. He said some play golf, some go to the local museums, some go to see the property Rusty owns in Middlefield, and some tour the town. Rusty said the men had gone to the old Hyde Bay Camp site and spent much time looking at old pictures of different generations, enjoying time at the camp.

"It’s funny because we are now the older generation," said Rusty.

Larry Pickett, Rusty’s cousin from St. Lewis, Miss., does not make it back to Cooperstown as much as some of the others, but said, "It is an excuse to have fun."

Larry said his grandfather’s vision for the camp was giving kids something to do.

"Kids will stay busy if you give them something to do," he said.

Larry said the reasoning for the camp’s "loose structure" was because his grandfather thought kids had enough structure throughout the year with school.

"It was just really good times," said Larry. "It was basically about how much fun you could pack in one day."

Rusty’s fondest memories of the camp were the lasting relationships formed.

"These were closer friends than you had back home," Rusty said.

The two cousins said Cooperstown has surprisingly changed little over the years. They agreed the village does not look a lot different, but said it has a lot more people and is busier than in the past.

Rusty and Larry said the east side of the lake has not been built up too much in all the years they have been coming back to Cooperstown and were glad to see there have not been many chain stores built in Cooperstown.

Rusty said the Dreams Park has "really altered" Cooperstown. He also said he believes Main Street has lost a lot of its charm because it has become ``touristier.’’

"Everything is baseball," he said. "There is only so much baseball you can take."

When reminiscing about the "good old days," Rusty said the Great American used to be a bowling alley.

"It was the big hang out," Rusty said. "It had bands on the weekends and that’s where we would bring our dates."

He said the Tap Room, also known as "The Pit," was another favorite hangout.

Rusty said his kids did not have the chance to experience the close one-on-one relationships and bonds formed at the Hyde Bay Boys Camp, so once his generation is gone, that is the end of the memories of the camp.