It was one of those hot and humid Taipei summer days in 1971.
Milt Doyle and friends from the barracks at Taipei Air Station head out of town toward Camp McCauley for a weekend of swimming, relaxing with a few adult beverages and having fun at the HSA Special Services Camp McCauley Beach and Recreation Area, located on the north coast.
We pass the facade of the recently constructed Taipei Baseball Stadium.
On toward Camp McCauley. Do you recognize the truck up the street?
Moving along as we head out of town. The streets are nearly deserted.
The mountains look closer as we move farther along. There's that truck again farther up the street.
More new buildings, the area is thinning out, we'll soon be out of the city. We're catching up to that familiar truck.
If you click on this photo it becomes larger and easier to see. On top of the building on the left hand side of this photograph a flag is fluttering. It looks like a US flag, but possibly not, as the star area of the flag appears to be something else. Can someone identify the building or possibly the flag?
If you click on this photo it becomes larger and easier to see. On top of the building on the left hand side of this photograph a flag is fluttering. It looks like a US flag, but possibly not, as the star area of the flag appears to be something else. Can someone identify the building or possibly the flag?
We've traveled for some time now and we've lost the truck.
The sign welcomes us to our weekend destination.
Checked in, we can relax, grab a smoke and talk story in the fresh beach air and cool temperatures. These buildings are naturally air conditioned for cool nights and restful sleep.
We're on the path to the beach, you can see the water just across the highway.
Now this is nice! To be here for a cool weekend of fun and relaxation is well worth the long drive.That truck we were following back in town. It's the Foremost Dairy delivery van. He could have been on his way to Camp McCauley to deliver milk and ice cream. Foremost had the military concession for ice cream and some dairy products. During the 1960's they came up with the powered milk interlaced with coconut oil which made the milk taste much like whole homogenized milk. I remember drinking their chocolate milk.
Can anyone comment on the Foremost Dairy homogenized local fresh milk that was sold in clear soda type bottles with the Foremost logo? I remember going to the Foremost plant, which had a small retail store and purchasing the fresh milk. Does anyone remember the plant and store?
Can anyone comment on the Foremost Dairy homogenized local fresh milk that was sold in clear soda type bottles with the Foremost logo? I remember going to the Foremost plant, which had a small retail store and purchasing the fresh milk. Does anyone remember the plant and store?
Camp McCauley was used extensively by the Boy Scouts of Taiwan for many of their camps.
AND, the last question to be resolved......
Which spelling is correct, the road sign Mc Cauley or the common spelling McCauley?
AND, the last question to be resolved......
Which spelling is correct, the road sign Mc Cauley or the common spelling McCauley?
Photos courtesy of Milt Doyle and Gary Wilson, both assigned to Taipei Air Station.
16 comments:
For these photos as far as I can recognize, the first one from the top, Taipei Baseball Stadium, was built in 1957 and demolished in 2000. It was planned to be a baseball dome accommodating up to 30,000 audience. But it is now rebuilt as one for pop music concert like ONJ (Oliver Newton John) or Air Supply’s. We are still waiting a new ball park at the downtown.
Bt contrast, there is a photo of Taipei Baseball Stadium, characterized by the Chinese style façade (before demolition): http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyschannel/2804160225/
The third photo could be taken near the Tunhwa-Pade circle. Seemingly the statue standing in the middle of the circle is Chiang Kai-Shek who liked to set up his statues all over the island until his death. The 3-story concrete building behind the bus in the distance seems to be Songshan Sanatorium (Songshan Liaoyangyuan, built in 1965. Check the old photo http://blog.roodo.com/johnnyschannel/1cbd1e32.jpg) which is now the Taiwan Adventist Hospital located on Pade Road. The circle has also been removed.
The Foremost store was at the corner of Chungshan Bei Lu and Chungcheng Lu, at least it was in the '70s.
Basically, heading out of Tienmu you went across the circle infront of Ricardo Lynn's and headed over the bridge (with the bump) and it was on the left corner of the first major junction.
They served an excellent banana sundae.
The fifth photo from the top could be Xinyi (Hsinyi) road heading east.
There are several cues:
1. Bus No.20. It ran along Xinyi Road before and so does it now.
2. The bus stand sign 38. The route of Bus No.38 also follows Xinyi Road.
3. The mountain at the end of the road. Mr. Chen Kai-Shao, a local professional in architect has provided a photo as evidence. The profile of the mountain is quite similar despite a bit of vagueness http://photo.kaishao.idv.tw/2009/06/30/DSCN7270.JPG
BTW, I might be wrong about my answer to the third photo in the previous comment. The statue seemed not Chiang and the building is not a 2-story house either.
On 4th picture, the flag looked like the chinese national flag as it was raised on top of the building that carried the sign of "chinese printing factory" (a rather famous company that still exists today. probably we can call the company and ask where it was in the early 70's to determine the road.
On the statue in the 3rd picture, Johnny was right to say it is not that of a Chiang's, as the one sat in Tunhua and Pade should be that of Wu's (antoher early Chinese revolutionary figure)until it was removed some time back.
However, i am also confused over where is the exact location of that picture, as it certainly looked too desolated even by the early 1970's standard.
The roundabout in the third photo is on Tunhwa N. Rd.(敦化北路) and Nanking E, Rd.(南京東路). The statue standing in the middle is Wu, Ji-Hui(吳稚輝), a trusted follower of CKS, who passed away in 1953. The sign on the building in the 5th photo reads "Chinese Printing Company"(中華印刷廠), a business used to be operated by KMT(the Nationalist party) and now called Yuhua Printing Company(裕華彩藝公司). The flag on the top of the building is the national flag of ROC.
Great pictures! I was in Troop 82 of the BSA in Kaoshiung and we went to Camp Mc Cauley every summer. Caught a lot of snakes and did overnight survival campouts. Some US Green Berets came and cooked a Luau for the whole jamboree. This was from 1966 to 1971.
The fourth photo is definitely 信義Hsinyi Rd. That mountain is 拇指山Thumb Mountain. When the photo was taken, I was living in 國際學舍the International House, now submerged under the Forest Park.
Oh how I remember Camp Mc Cauley. My family stayed in the "cabins" at least 3 times while we were stationed in Taiwan from 1970-1972. We had one of the best pig roasts I've ever had in my life while there. A huge STRATCOM function with my Dad, Albert Philbrick and good friend Tom Mattingly acting as head chef's and having such a great time. The beach was great, huge waves to body surf with; lots of stinking jelly fish, and lots of strange creatures washing ashore during the days - first time I ever saw a horseshoe crab was at Camp Mc Cauley. I was between 10 and 12 years old while living there and we were able at 11 or 12 to ride the bus from the base in Taipei all the way to the beach by ourselves - it was fantastic! Such innocent times (Yeah, right!) and so many fantastic memories of a great tour with fantastic locals that treated us all so well. Hau bu Hau! Wo Hun Hau, she she...or something like that - gosh that was so long ago!
My dad was the general manager of Foremost Dairy in Taiwan from 1968 till 1972 and oversaw the construction and development of that factory and diner. When did it close down? I have some fond memories of that diner. I was fairly young at the time though. Milk was extremely rare there so I believe it was mostly for the GI's during the war. Great pictures of that era!
My dad was stationed at TDC from 71 to 73. We stayed at Camp McCauley often. I was also in the Boy Scouts who planted a lot of trees around Camp McCauley. I remember taking the atg bus from grass Mountain down to East compound Taipei then going to Camp McCauley With Friends. I really like the cabins cuz it felt like we were camping out even when it rained, of course my parents loved the club and we also frequent movie night at Camp McCauley.
Summer of 1965 I worked at the camp. Great time, lots of fun.
Camp McCauley located at Guoshengpu beach nowaday.
My Dad was stationed at TDC in 70-73, but our tour was cut short by Typhoon Bess. Our house on Grass Mountain was storm damaged and unlivable, so we stayed in a Tianmu guesthouse until arrangements could be made for us to return stateside. Anyway, my fondest memories were visits to Camp Mc Cauley. I fondly recall Pig roasts, unbelievable freedom to explore the camp and move around from cabin to beach with my friend at a place and time that was so innocent and free from concerns of stranger-danger. I remember the sand- bar, the big crab we tied a string to and took for a walk, the jellyfish. . . I did not know it at the time, but my time in Taiwan, though brief, was the best time of my childhood.
I went to a camp for girls in the late 50s at this site. There were no buildings there at the time, only tents. I have mixed memories of the experience: The beach was great, but the only other "camping" activity was the constant Sisyphean task of digging a trench in the sand around the tents, supposedly to keep them from flooding in case of rain. I loathe snakes, and over 40 poisonous ones were killed in the two weeks we were there—some of them kraits. I have a vivid memory of seeing a cobra undulating its head behind a girl I was playing cards with. There were certainly no delicious pig roasts—more like bologna sandwiches and Kool-Aid. I ate bugs, hoping to get sick enough to be sent home. LOL. I loved living in Taiwan so much, but this isn't my favorite memory.
My family and I lived in Taipei from 1973 to the summer of 1976. My dad was stationed at the Embassy as the NCOIC of the Marine Guard. During our time there, I attended the Taipei American School for grades 9th to 11th.
We often visited Camp McCauley, and on one occasion, my dad and I even biked there from our home in Taipei. I also spent two summer camps in the area with the Boy Scouts (Troop 82). As other visitors have said, it was a place of freedom within our bubble, and some of my fondest teenage memories were created there.
Sadly, my final memory of Camp McCauley was a somber one. On what proved to be our last trip, we were awoken by the manager to the news that General Chiang Kai-shek had passed away, and the camp was being closed.
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