This innovation at Spring Lake was due largely to the activities of
Clifford Long, one of the students. He was a cousin of Marion
Stanlock, and naturally this relationship served to direct his
personal interest toward Hiawatha Institute. Not a few other students
in these two schools were similarly related, some of them being
brothers and sisters.

And so it is not to be wondered at if these two places of learning
became, as it were, twin schools, with much of interest in common and
many of their activities interassociated. They had rival debating
teams between which were held more or less periodic contests, and in
the numerous social events there were frequently exchanges of
invitational courtesies.

The boys plotted their big surprise on the girls in true scout
fashion. There was no real secret in the fact that the Camp Fire Girls
of Hiawatha Institute were planning a big event, but girl-like they
affected secrecy to stimulate interest. The result was more than could
have been expected, although the girls did not realize this until
after it was all over. The curiosity of the Spring Lake boys was
thoroughly alive as soon as they learned of a mysterious "something
big" going on at the institute. True to the character of real scouts
they delegated emissaries, commonly denominated spies, to visit the
stronghold of the Camp Fire Girls, get all the details of their plans
discoverable and report back to headquarters. Greater success than
that which rewarded their efforts could hardly have been wished for.
Half a dozen boys went and returned and then put their heads and their
reports together with the result that the Scouts of the school had
all the information they needed.