I quiz my CITs every August with this one: I was taught it started in 1916 at Camp Androscoggin, but I’ve heard 1903 floated and even a Schroon Lake claim — anyone have a definitive source? I want to pass along the real story when we talk about why healthy rivalry belongs in leadership, not just lore.
Quick tip that’s worked for me: call Camp Androscoggin and ask for scans of their oldest August program or camper booklet — if there’s a 1916 “Color War” schedule in there, that’s the cleanest primary you can show your CITs. For the Schroon Lake claim, run a 1900–1910 search on Chronicling America for “Schroon Lake” plus “color war” or “field day” and clip what turns up: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. Small caveat: camps often ran rivalry games before the label stuck, so you may find precursors without the name.