The best prank ever played at Sylvan Acres

I have been asked what the best prank ever played at Sylvan Acres was, and I wish I could say that it was one of mine, but I have to give the credit for that to two brothers from Port Alberni, Alvin and Dietmar. 

It was a March break camp, and the weekend stretched from March 30 to April 1.  April Fools days at Sylvan were very rare, and the boys decided to make the most of it. 

It started for me when a camper came to me and asked what they should do if they knew that someone at camp was breaking the camp rules.  I asked if there was a chance that someone could get hurt, and they said that they thought so.  I asked for details, and then went to speak to Alvin and Dietmar.

They were campers in Haida Cabin, and for some unknown reason they had brought a large footlocker to camp, with a padlock on it, and it was sitting at the foot of the bed.  I pulled the boys out of lunch and asked them to open the locker, as I had heard a rumor about what was inside.  I was very disappointed to see that it was true, and was trying to figure out how I was going to deal with it without getting them banned for life, when Alvin offered his explanation.  After I was done laughing, I agreed to keep their secret.

Late that night the sound of loud music started to float down from the top field and over the camp.  This was before there were any houses in the area, and as the music got louder, the director was finally forced to come and investigate.  What she found was her whole staff, and more than half of the campers, up on the field with music and beer.  Enough beer to keep them going for the rest of the weekend at least.   Alvin and Dietmar had brought fifteen cases, along with the stereo and lights.  It was a camp director's nightmare, but with one difference.  The beer bottles were full of apple juice.

Apparently, their father had a home brew operation, and they were able to collect enough bottles and fill them with juice and cap them so they were indistinguishable from regular beer until you opened a bottle and tasted it.   Alvin came over to offer Bev a bottle, and eventually got her to take a drink to put her out of her misery.  It was brilliant.  I really wish I had thought of it.