Summer Camps

A group of children walk down the trail with their necks craned upward, practicing identifying trees for a scavenger hunt.  Counselors direct their campers in clearing their fire pit of pine needles so they can roast marshmallows after dinner.  From the lake come the distant voices of campers singing a nonsense song about a moose while they learn to paddle a canoe.  This is summer camp, an American tradition that has shaped children's wilderness experiences for generations.  The Adirondacks' many summer camps play an important role in fostering appreciation for the park in campers at a young age as well as providing environments where kids can learn about themselves and the world around them.

Growing belief in the restorative power of nature during the late 1800s inspired the creation of the first summer camps.  The earliest were designed for small groups of older boys, who many at the time feared would grow up without the skills they needed due to the emasculating nature of modern industrialized life.  After the success of these camps, which sprung up in the woods of New Hampshire, the phenomenon quickly spread and adapted (Van Slyck).  

One of the early Adirondack summer camps, called simply "Adirondack Camp for Boys," was established in 1904 on a peninsula on Lake George.  According to the modern day camp's website (now called simply "Adirondack Camp"), Dr. Elias G. Brown, a "renowned educator," traveled with an assistant and "six intrepid boys," the first in their tradition of "building the future leaders of our world" ("History").  Camps like these valued the ruggedness of the wilderness as a setting for teamwork and leadership development.  After WWII Adirondack Camp for Boys took on many military traditions in their practices as further encouragement of "character development."  Today the camp is much less disciplinarian, however the now co-ed camp still values its history and has altered some songs and traditions to "create a more creative, nurturing environment" ("History").

Not all camps have gone through such transitions.  After a few decades of successful summer camping, some religious organizations decided to embrace the connection of spirituality and nature that many camps hinted at or mildly incorporated.  Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish camps became common, each varying in their specific missions and degrees of religiosity (Van Slyck).  Skye Farm, the camp I've grown up with and work for, was a part of this new wave of summer camps.  Founded in 1942, the camp says of its founders:

The chapel at Skye Farm

"They were sensitive to the Eternal Presence in this setting of natural beauty. What if such a place as this could be used to inspire boys and girls with the same awareness of God that they felt? Surely this was the ideal spot for a Christian adventure camp."  ("Site History")

Located on Sherman Lake, Skye Farm combines the usual camp activities with United Methodist ministry, in the form of songs, outdoor worship, and an all around spirit of Christian community that has kept people like me coming back for generations.  For many, explicitly acknowledging a spiritual connection to the wilderness feels like the optimum way to connect with campers, with each other, and with the world.  I know that when I sit in the outdoor chapel at Skye Farm, looking out at the lake, I feel a true and deep love for this piece of creation that remains forever wild.



 Sources:
"The History of Adirondack Camp."  Adirondack Camp.  Web.  19 March 2016.

"Site History."  Skye Farm Camp and Retreat Center.  The Upper New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, 2016.  Web.  19 March 2016.

Van Slyck, Abigail A.  "Summer Camps."  Encyclopoedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society.  The Gail Group, Inc., 2008.  Web.  19 March 2016.