editor, RVtravel.com
I received a message last week from a woman named Louise Schlosser who was horrified that a New York RV park did not supply toilet paper or paper towels in its restrooms. “The greeting on the restroom door was No toilet paper supplied,” she wrote, adding “Camping has reached a new low.”
My first reaction was to agree with her. In this troubled economy it didn’t surprise me that an RV park might resort to such a drastic (and stupid) cost-cutting measure.
I decided I should call the park for an explanation. Frank Scotti, the owner of the Blue Jay Campsite at Tupper Lake, answered the phone. “That’s right, there is no toilet paper in the restrooms,” he said, not hesitating for even an instant.
He and his family have owned the RV park since 1960. In all that time they have dealt with all kinds of campers, most considerate and respectful. But not all of them.
The Scotti family has successfully tweaked its marketing efforts through the years to attract a good crowd. Today, said Frank, “they’re like family.” The drunken weekend party goers of yesteryear have been mostly eliminated. Ninety percent of the campers these days are well-behaved “regulars.”
BUT THERE ARE BAD APPLES, and that is why there’s no toilet paper or paper towels in the restrooms. Too many times, kids stuffed the toilets with paper just to watch them overflow. The park’s well and sewer system could not deal with the excess usage. Scotti received permission from the local health department before discontinuing the restroom paper. Still, that has not stopped the vandalism. Right now he’s trying to locate a “Phantom Pooper,” who regularly uses a shower stall instead of a toilet. “We think it’s a visitor, but we don’t know for sure,” he says. “I lose sleep at night thinking about it.”
Talking to Frank Scotti, you instantly realize he’s a good guy with the best interests of his campers in mind. You understand why the “No paper” signs are posted on the restroom doors. I’d do the same.
It saddens me how people can be so disrespectful, so malicious. Thankfully, these creeps are few and far between. But they sure do mess things up for the rest of us.
