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…

Charlie and Joyce Martin first learned about Camp Deerpark through their daughter, who volunteered as part of a Sunday School group from Sandy Hill Church when she was about 14 years old. This was in 1969, shortly after camp was purchased. But it wasn’t until several years later, around 1978, when Charlie and Joyce became…

When Ken and Jan Kurtz came to Camp Deerpark, camp had only been running for two summers. They came through the Mennonite Voluntary Service unit, a program that emphasized service ministry in communities and was located in New York City. “We were there from April of 1971 to April of 1973, and we had just…

Her name was Valerie. She was fighting two major life battles and was really close to losing them both. One was against cancer; she had lost all her hair and a lot of her weight. Her strength had gone and her body was plenty evidence of that. The other battle was against Santeria, an Afro-Latin…

The first year that I was on staff at camp was 1990. I had been coming to camp on retreats and for summer camp since I was a young child, but I didn’t work on staff until I was 19. Camp didn’t have the counselor-in-training program yet when I was in my late teens. I…

Ray and Annie sit at picnic tables beside the main house. It is an overcast day. As we talk, passersby casually interrupt to greet them. They are all members of the Torres family, who host yearly family reunions at Camp Deerpark. Ray and Annie live in Puerto Rico now, but in the late ’60s, as…

What can I say about Camp Deerpark? Camp Deerpark is the place where I got to meet the Savior, in a place that is so peaceful and wholesome. The many people I met there have become a part of who I am today. I have so much love for former campers and staff. Campers like…