Pipeline Dreams

Pipeline Dreams

I set out with Hollis for a hike up the mountain around ten. The plan was to reach the pipeline clearing that ran across the top of the mountain. It was 1959 - I was 10 and Hollis was 11.

I often played in the woods behind my grandparents’ summer cottage but never walked all the way up to the pipeline. The cottage was in the Blue Ridge Mountains about 25 miles southwest of Gettysburg, just over the border into Maryland.

We brought along canteens with water, pocketknives, Hershey bars, and a compass. There was no defined path, but if we headed straight uphill through the woods, we had to hit the pipeline. Dangers included twisting an ankle on one of the many rocks that littered the ground, and rattlesnakes, which I had never seen, but could certainly imagine.

“Hey Hollis, have you ever seen a rattlesnake in the woods?” I asked.

“Sure, a couple of times, but only because I went looking for them under rocks,” he said.

Hollis lived year-round in a house next to our cottage. His family owned a gift shop right on the two-lane highway below their house. I loved to browse the gift shop. This year I saved my money and bought a slingshot.

We stumbled up the mountain, with Hollis taking the lead since he was a year older and a local mountain kid.

“How long will it take to get to the top?” I asked.

“Probably a half hour,” he said.

Hollis was tall and red-headed. I found him and his family a little exotic, living in these mountains year-round. His dad also had red hair that he wore in a military-style flattop. Each year, they seemed to add something to the property. Three years ago, they installed a small outdoor animal park behind the shop. They had pheasants, raccoons, a hawk, an owl, and a few deer in a large fenced area.

“Where did you get the animals?” I asked.

“Oh, various places,” he said. “Veterinarians, the fire department – most had been injured and couldn’t live in the wild.”

“That’s good,” I said. I was relieved. I had imagined that they had trapped them, being mountain people and all.

“I see you up by the deer pen sometimes,” he said.

“I like to visit the deer with the big antlers,” I said.

Actually, I had grown very attached to this deer. I named him Billy, but didn’t tell Hollis, in case he would think it was babyish. I would go, alone, though the woods to the far end of the fence, and wait for Billy to come over to visit me. If it was late enough in the summer, Billy would have started to shed the velvet off his antlers. He would come over and rub his antlers against the fence. Sometimes I could reach in and grab one of his antlers, and he would shake his head, playful, like tug-o-war. I thought he liked this game, and that I was his best friend.

Through the trees, we could now see more light – another hundred yards and we would be at the pipeline. Once we came out of the woods and into the clearing we stopped for a breather and some water. The clearing was about knee-high in grass and brush, dotted with small trees. It was hot outside the shade of the forest.

“What happens if you walk further up?” I asked.

“Oh, it goes on for a few hundred yards, until you run into a fence,” he said.

“A fence?” I asked. “Way up here?”

“My dad told me to stay away from it – said it was some sort of government property.”

I imagined a secret military base, or a training camp for spies and assassins.

“Can you show me?” I asked.

Hollis looked uncomfortable. “Ok - but then we should head back,” he said.

We walked for 10 minutes and reached the fence that was about eight feet high, topped with barbed wire. Every twenty feet or so there was a sign on the fence that said. “No Trespassing - U.S. Government Property.”

“What do you suppose is on the other side?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Hollis said, “But sometimes you can hear a helicopter coming in low and landing in there somewhere.”

Helicopters, so there must be something top secret, I thought.

Then I noticed, right where the fence met the woods - a tree had fallen and knocked down a section. There had been a thunderstorm the night before. I could see, on the other side of the fence, that there was a dirt road that ran along the whole perimeter.

“Hey look,” I said. “We can get inside.”

“It says no trespassing.”

“Nobody is around way up here.”

“We could get arrested, and my dad would kill me.”

“Let’s just see what is on the other side.”

Hollis reluctantly agreed. We climbed along the tree trunk and jumped down on the dirt road. Woods were all around, with no sign of people or buildings.

“Let’s just walk around that corner, and if we don’t see anything, we’ll head back,” I said. I realized that I wasn’t as afraid as Hollis and that made me feel even more emboldened. I was now leading this expedition, a role I never got to have when playing with my 14-year-old brother and my 12-year-old sister.

I continued to walk on the dirt road. Looking behind me I could see that Hollis was lagging about 20 feet behind. Then I heard a sound – a motor. I saw a jeep – military style, coming quickly up the road, kicking up a cloud of dust. In the jeep were two soldiers, in camouflaged uniforms, with helmets, looking very big and unfriendly.

I turned to look at Hollis – but he was already running back to the broken fence. My first impulse was to run too, but I froze. The jeep stopped and the two soldiers jumped out. I could see pistols strapped to their waists.

“What are you doing here kid?” said soldier #1.

“I was just out hiking with my friend.”

“How did you get inside the fence?” said soldier #2.

I pointed to the broken fence fifty yards away.

Soldier #1 walked up to that spot, while the other one stayed with me.

“You have trespassed on government property – can’t you read signs?” soldier #2 said.

“Yes sir,” I said sheepishly.

Soldier #1 returned.

“Get in the back,” he said.

I almost started to cry.

“Can’t I just go home?” I pleaded.

“Nope, get in.” He took me by the elbow and put me in the back seat of the jeep.They turned the jeep around and headed downhill.

We came to a group of buildings, all one story and arranged in a semi-circle.They were wooden, and unpainted like you’d see at a state park. They stopped at the middle building and took me inside. A sign posted beside the door read “Camp David Security Headquarters.”

They sat me in a chair in a small lobby area. The inside of the building was modern looking, more like a doctor’s office. The soldiers walked over to a desk to talk to another man, who was also dressed in a uniform. After a few minutes the two soldiers left the building and the man they were talking to came over to me.

“Let’s have a talk in this room,” he said, pointing to a door that was open.

In the room, he placed my canteen, knife, compass, and Hershey bar on a table, and we sat in chairs next to each other.

“I am Captain Reynolds. What is your name and where do you live?” he said.

“Joseph Eckerhoff,” I said. “I live in Harrisburg but am with my family at my grandparents’ cottage on the other side of the mountain.”

“I see. Do you know you were trespassing on government property?”

“I saw the signs.”

“Then why did you cross over the fence?” he said.

I shrugged.

“Who was with you?” he asked.

I hesitated.

“Come on, tell me his name.” he said more insistently, and then more softly said, “Don’t worry – he’ll be ok.”

“That was my friend Hollis Coombs. He lives in the house next to our cottage.”

“Is that the same family who owns Coombs gift shop?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” I said.

“What is the address and phone number of your grandparents’ cottage?”

I had no idea. He asked if my parents and grandparents were also staying there and if the last names were the same as mine. He then stood up.

“Let’s go,” he said.

I stood up quickly, and awkwardly, and caught my knee on the edge of the metal table. I cried out and noticed the blood coming from a gash.

“I cut myself,” I said.

“For Christ’s sake. Smith!” He called out. “Can you get me the first aid kit?”

Another soldier came into the room with a box. The captain took out a few bandages and tried to cover the cut.

“This looks more than we can handle here,” he said.

“Sargeant, can you escort this young man to the infirmary and have the nurse clean this up. Then bring him back here.”

“Yes sir,” he replied.

I got up and limped outside with the sergeant, a tall, skinny soldier. The infirmary was only about one hundred yards away - he asked if I could walk there. I said yes.

As we walked, I wondered if the captain had already called my parents. Did he tell them to come pick me up? Or was I going to be held here in the camp – maybe in a cell?

I then noticed three people walking from the other direction. There was a lady in a yellow dress who looked about the age of my grandmother, another younger woman who looked more like my mom’s age, and a boy, in shorts, tee-shirt, and a baseball cap, around my age.

As they approached, the sergeant took me by the elbow, stopped walking and stood to the side of the road. I wasn’t sure why – there was plenty of room to walk past each other.

“Good morning, Mrs. Eisenhower,” he said. That name was familiar – I remembered from school that our President’s name was Eisenhower, who had been a war hero during World War II. But who was this lady? And why was she here? I had figured that this was some sort of military base. These people didn’t fit that.

“Who do we have here, sergeant?” the older woman asked. She looked at me with very blue eyes. She smiled and leaned over as if to take a better look at me. I noticed a string of pearls around her neck.

The sergeant explained that I was picked up for trespassing, and that we were on the way to the infirmary.

She looked down at my roughly bandaged knee and blood trickling down my leg. “We’re going back that way – why don’t I take him?”

“But ma’am, Captain Reynolds said I was to take him there and return him to the office after he was treated,” he said.

“It’s ok, sergeant,” she said. “Tell Captain Reynolds that Mrs. Eisenhower insisted, and that I will bring him back – doesn’t look like much of a national security threat to me.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said.

The sergeant let go of my elbow and Mrs. Eisenhower took hold of my hand.

I instantly became more relaxed by her motherly touch but also wondered how a lady like her could order soldiers around.

“What’s your name young man?” she asked.

“Joey Eckerhoff,” I said.

“Ah, a German name, like Eisenhower,” she said. “I am President Eisenhower’s wife. This is Barbara, my daughter-in-law, and my grandson David.” They were walking on the other side of Mrs. Eisenhower, and each looked around her to give me a little hello wave. I waved back with my free hand. With each step I began to forget about my knee and accept that I was next to the family of the President of the United States. I had never been in the presence of a famous person, like John Wayne or Mickey Mantle. I wasn’t sure how to act or what to say, so I just held onto Mrs. Eisenhower’s hand.

Mrs. Eisenhower then explained that we were at Camp David, named after the President’s father and grandson David, who was next to her, and that it was a retreat for presidents and their families – a place to get away to the coolness of the mountains and a break from their busy life in Washington. She also said that her husband, the President, was not with them on this trip.

“Do the soldiers live here?” I asked.

“The camp is run by the Navy,” she said. “And those men who picked you up are Marines.”

I didn’t get the whole idea of the place. But I understood that the older woman holding my hand was the President’s wife, and I was glad that there were regular people here, and not just soldiers.

We arrived at the infirmary. Mrs. Eisenhower led me in; her daughter-in-law and grandson stayed outside. The staff seemed very surprised to see her. I don’t think they even noticed me at first. She explained what had happened to me and a nurse took me into a small examination room. Mrs. Eisenhower stayed behind. I could hear her having a friendly chat with the staff – there was even some laughing.

The nurse put some liquid on the cut – it stung a little.

“You did a job on this,” she said. “But doesn’t need stitches.”

She finished bandaging my knee, put a few supplies in a paper bag for me to take home.

“Thank you,” I said.

“You’ll be fine – you are lucky to have the First Lady looking after you.” That’s the first time I heard that phrase and wondered if that meant that she was sort of like a queen.

We started to walk back to the security office. I was hoping that, as someone who could tell the soldiers what to do, Mrs. Eisenhower would tell the captain to let me go home.

David was now walking beside me.“Are you ok?” he asked. “Yes, thanks,” I replied.

“Tell me about your family, Joey,” she said.

“I was born in Harrisburg, where my parents are from too. My grandparents both grew up in Gettysburg,” I said.

“Gettysburg!” she said. “My husband and I have a farm in Gettysburg. We will all live there when my husband, the President, leaves office next year."

I imagined that meant they would be farmers, with animals and all. I didn’t know any farmers. My only impressions of them came from TV and movies. It seemed odd to me that someone as distinguished as an Army General and President would be a farmer. But I also remembered learning in school that George Washington was a farmer, so maybe lots of Presidents were.

David leaned over and asked me “Have you ever been on the battlefield?”

“Sure, lots of times – to Little Roundtop and Big Roundtop. My uncle Jim in Gettysburg collects Civil War things.”

“I’ve been to those places too,” David said. “Pretty neat, huh?”

“I like climbing the big boulders,” I said.

I glanced over at David, a little surprised that I could have anything in common with the grandson of the President. He was now looking straight ahead and kicked a stone that was in the path. I watched it bouncing along into the grass. I also liked to kick stones while walking.

“Ok, boys,” Mrs. Eisenhower said as we arrived outside the office. “I have to take Joey inside.

“Goodbye,” said Barbara. “Nice to meet you.”

“So long,” said David.

I gave a little wave intended for them both. David seemed really nice, and I imagined seeing him again, maybe in Gettysburg. We could run around the battlefield.

Inside, Mrs. Eisenhower asked me to sit in the reception area. Captain Reynolds appeared on the other side of the room and Mrs. Eisenhower went over to talk with him.

She returned and sat on the chair next to me and took my hand again.

“Joey, you know what did was serious, right?” she asked.

I looked at my shoes. “Yes mam,” I said.

“I told Captain Reynolds that I was sure you were just being curious, like my grandson David,” she said. “Still, he did call your mother.”

I wondered if my mom was mad, let alone my dad.

“Captain Reynolds told your mother that someone would drive you back home.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said, much relieved.

“I’m going to leave you now and rejoin Barbara and David,” she said.

She stood up to leave. I stood up too, mimicking the respect that all the adults had given her. She then leaned over and said softly so only I could hear her, “Rules serve a purpose, but I also like boys and girls who sometimes make their own rules.” Then she straightened up, smiled, and reached out to shake my hand.

I sat back down and the captain came over and sat in the chair next to me.

“I trust that you won’t try such a stunt again?” he said.

“No, sir, I won’t do it again,” I said. I knew that this was what I needed to say in order to go home. But I also knew that I might do something like that again, because it was fun or exciting – and besides, I would not have met the President’s family if I had run away like Hollis.

The skinny soldier drove me back to the cottage, to an uncertain reception. But my thoughts mostly centered on David, a kid from a famous family who also liked running around the battlefield and kicking stones. I imagined us becoming friends but had no idea yet how that could ever happen.