Up on Scaffold Camp Creek
A long time ago,
My uncles and my dad
A fishin' they would go.
That Scaffold Camp Creek
Ran right through the pasture field,
And the boys always dreamed
Of the trout that it might yield.
They didn't have any a' them
Store-bought fishin' poles,
But they spent a lot of time
At their favorite fishin' holes.
A sapling and a string,
A worm on a safety pin.
Get the old gang together
And we'll go fishin' once again.
The boys grew into men
And they drifted far apart,
But those lazy summer days
Stayed forever in their hearts.
They got expensive rods n' reels,
They got rubber wading boots,
They got handsome fishing vests,
But they never forgot their roots.
A sapling and a string,
A worm on a safety pin.
Get the old gang together
And we'll go fishin' once again.
Up on Scaffold Camp Creek
A long time ago,
My uncles and my dad
A fishin' they would go.
The brothers, they grew old
As their fortunes they did seek,
But they never forgot those days
Up on Scaffold Camp Creek.
A sapling and a string,
A worm on a safety pin.
Get the old gang together
And we'll go fishin' once again.
Oh, get the old gang together
And we'll all go fishin' once again.
Song notes
"Scaffold Camp Creek" is a contemporary folk/bluegrass narrative, rooted in western Pennsylvania. It tells a warm and nostalgic story built around a creek as both a real place and a symbolic anchor for memory. The song reflects on the childhood adventures of several brothers, fishing with handmade gear along the stream that runs through the pasture on the family farm. It then follows them as they grow into men and drift apart, while the creek remains a reminder of their shared roots and the simple summer days that shaped them. Its recurring refrain — wishing for the "old gang" to go fishing together one more time — captures the enduring pull of heritage, personal storytelling, and the memories that stay with us for a lifetime.
Inspiration and artistic license
"Scaffold Camp Creek" is a song, rather than a history lesson. Nevertheless it is based on a real place, real people, and real events. In the song, reality is blended with — shall we say — a bit of artistic license. Since this is a history website, I feel a certain duty to disclose the artistic license elements of the song in the following comments.
The lyrics were inspired by the following:
A few weeks before he died, my uncle Ralph Dietle told me about fishing with a safety pin in the little creek that runs through the farm where he and his sister and brothers were raised. His story, followed so soon by his death, helped to inspire the song. Although long known as "Wills Creek," in the late 1700s the section of creek that runs through the farm was known by the tantalizing name "Scaffold Camp Run." Instead of using that old name exactly, I used the modified name "Scaffold Camp Creek" because I thought it sounded better in the song. Artistic license.
The evocative vintage photograph below, which Ralph gave to me a few weeks before he died, shows a group of four boys using saplings and string to fish on the farm where Ralph, his three older brothers, and his sister were raised. That picture alone is inspiration enough for a song, and I used it as the basis for the "Scaffold Camp Creek"cover artwork. I don't recognize the boys in the photo, but I have many fond memories of the farm.
Knowing that my father Roy Dietle and my uncle Ralph Dietle fished in the stream as children, I thought it was safe to assume that all four of the brothers did. Without explicitly saying so, the song implies that they all fished in the stream together as children. In reality, the older brothers reached adulthood before Ralph was old enough to fish. Nevertheless, as adults at least three of the brothers — including Ralph — liked to go fishing together.
This vintage photo of the Irvin H. Dietle farm in Larimer Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania was one of the inspirations for the song "Scaffold Camp Creek."
This photo shows Roy Dietle (left) and his youngest brother Ralph Dietle (right) fishing together as adults.
Interpretation
In the song, the phrase "drifted far apart" is intended to mean whatever the listener wants it to mean, but to me it is a reference to physical distance. Throughout their lives, the brothers kept in touch with each other despite living far apart, and they also maintained a nostalgic connection to the farm where they were raised.
The phrase, "Get the old gang together" is also intended to mean whatever the listener wants it to mean, but to me it is a lament that they are all gone now, and will never go fishing together again.
