“The first swimming pool was a flow-through pool,” Dale said. “We would drain the pool early in spring to clean it out before summer camps began, and the water was ice cold. It would be full of leaves and dirt. Everything came running into it and would accumulate at the bottom. “The pool was about…

First Mennonite congregation established in NYC (Fox Street) 1949 First organized camping for NYC youth (Camp Tel Hai) 1953 First meeting to discuss purchasing a camp specifically for NYC Mennonites October 1968 Property at Brandt Road, Westbrookville, NY purchased May 6, 1969 Youth Retreat, first program at Camp Deerpark May 30, 1969 First children’s camp at…

Reuben and Dorothy Stoltzfus never came to Camp Deerpark empty-handed. In what became a summer tradition, they would drive to camp from their home in Pennsylvania in a car loaded with tomatoes, sweet corn and other fresh food—enough for all of the campers and staff members. Everyone especially enjoyed the corn-on-the-cob, often served at an…