Camp is About Family Coming Together

My family was involved with camp from the beginning. Camp was purchased when I was 7 years old, and I remember my family helped to clean it out and prepare for the first summer camp. The chapel was originally a bar, and my family and the Torres family had to help clean out the bottles and grime and turn it into the chapel. My uncle, who was a chef, was one of the first cooks.

Because we were among the first to go to camp from our church, First Mennonite Church of Brooklyn, I remember the original house, before the kitchen and the dining room were extended. I also remember the old swimming pool. There is no way that we could use a pool like that now. It would violate so many health codes; but back then, it was what we had. There were snakes and creatures in the pool, and the water just sat there. There were no filters, no circulation system, nothing to really keep it clean. The current flowed into the middle of the pool, and the moss and crud would just buildup along the sides. You would step into the pool from any side and just slide right into the middle. I remember that on one retreat, my cousin got pushed into the pool. She didn’t want to go in because she did not know how to swim. It would have been fine, except that the lifeguard, one of my cousins, also could not swim. Can you imagine that? Someone finally jumped in and pulled her out. When we got a real pool that was safe, clean and more fun, it was great.

I also remember the fun we had on the hayrides with actual hay. (What happened to all the hay? I think we should at least throw some hay on now to make it more realistic.)

We were always getting into trouble at camp, always plotting and staying up too late at night. When we had retreats, the people on the hayride would always be bombarded with water balloons when they returned. That was the tradition. There is no annex (Locust Haven) anymore, but before it was torn down, people would hide behind it and wait for the hayride to go past. Now you would have to be a lot more sneaky about it. The planning that went into these ambushes was very complicated. Directions were given about where people were to hide and how long to wait before throwing. On later retreats, people started to catch on. Some would jump off before the ride was over, to avoid the ambush, and others started bringing umbrellas so that they could cover up and not get wet.

I also remember that there was an aluminum bucket on the floor beside every table in the dining room. The person who sat by the bucket had to clear all the food off of the table and throw it away when we were done eating. It would be amazing how that bucket would make it from one side to the other of the table. People would kick it further under the table. They would sneak it around because no one wanted to get stuck with the bucket. It was hilarious.

It was a big to-do when our church would go out for our retreat. Getting to and from camp was almost as big of an experience as being there. We would get into that school bus and would be talking junk, singing songs and having a great time on the ride. Sometimes we would get lost on the way, though I never understood how you could get lost going to the same place every year.

For the past 50 years, camp has been like an extension of our family; it was built into our summer plans. Camp is about family coming together. You can exhale. It is always such a relief when you are there. To this day, I still look forward to going to camp. I still have memories of that feeling. The most impactful thing is walking into Spruce Lodge and seeing that it still looks the same as when we bought it. That room does not change. The day that room changes is the day that camp will never be the same. How many memories have been made in that room?

—Written by Malachi Bontrager, former camper and staff.

Nancy Lopez, a volunteer and board member, attended First Mennonite Church of Brooklyn.

Related Entries

• 50 Years of Camp Deerpark Buildings
• 50 Years of Camp Deerpark Directors
• A Beautiful Scene
• A Conscious Decision
• A Place on the Hill