The Barn Raising

In the early 1980s Jim Baer and Dale Stoltzfus began talking about how beneficial it would be for campers to have the chance to interact with a variety of animals at camp. Jim specifically wanted to have cows. “A goal was to have the summer program oriented toward nature,” Dale said, “and we began to dream about building a barn.”

Dale knew a barn would need to be built on a very limited budget. “I asked my dad how we could do it,” Dale said. “He suggested I go to my uncle Christian Diener Kennel II—my mother’s brother. He was a master carpenter and had done barn raisings with the Amish.”

Dale asked Christian if he would help to build the barn, and Christian agreed to lead a barn raising at camp. Christian’s son, Chris Kennel III, had been a counselor at camp in 1978 and worked as a lifeguard and nature teacher in 1979. Chris was also a skilled carpenter and wanted to help out. “Then I went to my Amish relatives,” Dale said. “My dad had been raised Amish and I had many Amish uncles, aunts and cousins in Lancaster and Lebanon counties in Pennsylvania.”

As the idea of a barn raising became a reality, a spot was chosen for the barn. In the small field east of the front lawn, Jim began preliminary work for the foundation. He bought all of the lumber from Zeager Brothers Sawmill near Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. “I had negotiated a good price with them,” Jim said. “It was pretty much a donation, and they delivered the wood a couple of weeks before we began building. On the Friday evening before the barn raising, a couple of us set all the vertical posts so the larger group could get right to work Saturday morning.”

Dale envisioned the barn raising as not just a time to build a barn, but as a chance for a rare community experience for both the Amish and Mennonites coming from Pennsylvania, camp staff, and people from the city. People from the churches in New York were invited to come and help work if they were interested.

On the morning of the barn raising, in early June of 1983, about 14 Amish relatives of Dale’s arrived at 9 a.m., ready to work. As Dale remembers it, there were about eight men and six women. They arrived in vans with hired drivers. Christian, Chris, and Reuben and Dorothy Stoltzfus (Dale’s parents) also came from Pennsylvania.

“I know the trip seemed far,” said Rebecca Stoltzfus, an Amish cousin to Dale. “We had to leave around five o’clock in the morning.” Rebecca’s father, Elam, also came along. He was 90 years old and wanted to watch. Rebecca brought homemade cream-filled donuts she had baked, along with freshly made lemonade. “I believe Uncle Reuben asked me to make donuts,” Rebecca said. “We set the donuts and drinks on some boards by the side of the barn and served them that way.” Rebecca believed in camp and its mission. She and her husband, John, traveled to New York City every summer for 20 years to pick up children involved in the Herald Tribune Fresh Air Fund program and take them by train or bus to Pennsylvania. (Paul Bur-kholder, a pastor of Glad Tidings Mennonite Church, was a leader in this program during the 1960s.)

With the Kennels giving direction, the barn began to take shape. The more experienced workers “framed it up” and added the structure of the roof. “After the structure was in place, more inexperienced workers were able to join in to help,” Dale said. “There were probably around 75 people assisting that day.” Donna Stoltzfus, Dale’s daughter, remembers climbing up to the roof—about 20–25 feet off the ground—determined to hammer in one nail and be a part of the building process. The rafters were up and carpenters were nailing on the cross pieces. “It didn’t look that scary from the ground, but when you got up there, it seemed pretty high up,” Donna said. “The way I remember it, if you didn’t watch your step, you could easily fall off. The Amish men walking around on the beams were very sure-footed, but I couldn’t wait to get down. I did slowly hammer in my one nail, with an Amish man looking on, impatiently waiting for me to give him back his hammer.”

“I was on the roof hammering in some roof boards and sweating because I didn’t like heights,” Jesus Cruz said. “I went up to be a part of it. I wanted to have that experience. I remember the Amish men walking back and forth like it was nothing.”

“What I remember,” Mim Cruz said, “was the delicious strawberry pie.” The Amish women brought fresh strawberries and helped Valerie Baer make at least fifteen pies.

“We had some people with a lot of experience—like Dale’s Amish cousins—and some volunteers who were very inexperienced,” Chris said. “But everyone pitched in and had a lot of fun. That’s what I remember. That we all had a lot of fun together.”

The experience made an impression on participants from the city. Dale remembers standing next to Louis Gonzalez, who repeatedly said, “I can’t believe this.” Frank Freeman remembers helping to nail boards and “whatever else they needed me to do.” “I didn’t have any experience with carpentry, but they gave good direction and I felt like I was able to contribute,” he said. “The clearest impression I have was how the city churches and the Amish worked together. I had never experienced anything like that before.” That is also what Doris Stoltzfus remembers best about that day: “What struck me was how everyone worked so well together. It was amazing how quickly a group of people working together could accomplish something like raising a barn.” A finished barn was completed by late afternoon. Dale’s relatives returned to Pennsylvania that evening. “Valerie’s dad—my father-in-law—worked a good bit of the summer of ’83 building fences and feeders,” Jim said. “The ‘pasture’ included the area where the gazebo is now located. People enjoyed seeing the black Angus cows and calves grazing in the evening as they sat on the front porch of Spruce Lodge. The cows were loaned from Walter Mehr, who lived up the road.” Over the years the barn housed cows, steers, horses, pigs and chickens. Alvin Horning loaned horses for several summers and horseback rides became a popular activity for campers. The barn has not held animals in recent years, but as it sits close to the new cabins, Ken Bontrager sees the possibility of again having more animals incorporated into camp programming for educational purposes. “I know I am a dreamer, but I see us one day running water and electricity to the barn so it can be used as a nature center and place where animals are kept at least for the summer,” Ken said. “But at present, our kids get the farm experience by visiting Freedom Hill Farm—a visitor-friendly farm in Otisville.”

—Written by Donna Stoltzfus, former camper and summer staff

.Jim Baer, volunteer at camp from 1977–78, returned to work at camp with wife Valerie from 1981–83.

Jesus Cruz, former board member and board chair, attended Glad Tidings Mennonite Church in the Bronx.

Mim Cruz, former camp director, attended Glad Tidings Mennonite Church.

Frank Freeman, teen camper in 1970; counselor and maintenance from1971–1975; helped build House #3 and House #5; former board member.

Chris Kennel III, former counselor, lifeguard and nature teacher, 1978–79.

Rebecca Stoltzfus, Amish cousin to Dale Stoltzfus.

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