Starlit Nights
In September 1968, I continued my voluntary service under Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions in New York City following a summer at Camp Hebron, where I was the assistant director. Pastors of the Mennonite churches had begun to dream about a camp for city children and families. I believe it was in 1969 that the first summer camps were organized. A committee consisting of Lucy Vance, director of the Seventh Avenue Mennonite Church Head Start program; Norma Brenner, director of the Bible Club program at Good Shepherd Mennonite Church; Dale Stoltzfus, overseer of the Lancaster Conference Mennonite Churches; and I began planning for several camps during this first year of operations. Dale and I directed the first weekend of the first camping season. Dale was the first director of Camp Deerpark.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, Mennonite Youth Fellowship (MYF) was an important program of the Mennonite churches. Under the leadership of Damaris Lugo, Sis-Obed Torres, Ruth Villanueva and others, the camp pro-vided a place where city youth could explore the Christian faith and God’s creation in an environment totally different from New York City. For many, it was the first time that they were in a place of quiet, starlit nights and strange noises. The camp director and board decided that “boom boxes” would not be permitted at camp.
A favorite activity was singing around a campfire. One of the camp-fire sites was developed by Jose Cruz and Paul “Tommy” Villanueva and named appropriately JCTV. Another was located on the hill above the site of the future swimming pool. Campers marveled at the starry sky, the moon which could be a sliver or full or somewhere in between, and the sounds of the night.
I was a board member in the early years of Camp Deerpark. The board and staff worked faithfully in developing programs that would speak to the desire of New York City churches to have a place for weekend retreats and summer camp. I enjoyed seeing the smiling faces of children and adults as they exited vans, cars and the camp bus, eager to explore the camp, meet old friends, and make new friends. I quickly learned that Camp Deerpark would be an integral part of the mission and ministry of churches and other programs in the city.
Richard Frey, a former board member and youth leader, attended Glad Tidings Mennonite Church in the Bronx.