Since camp was first purchased, weekend retreats have been a constant source of enjoyment for congregations from New York City. The first retreat at camp was held in May of 1969. Camp hosted the youth groups from the city churches, with about 70 youth attending. Glad Tidings Mennonite Church held the first church retreat in…

Camp Deerpark is where I met the love of my life in the fall of 1969. We’ve been married for over 39 years. I came to New York City as a brand new VSer in the fall of 1969. The VS unit was housed on 19th Street in Manhattan at the time. One night at…

On a Sunday afternoon in the early spring of 1969, Glenn and Florence Zeager took Mim and I to Westbrookville, New York to see the camp property. We traveled in the 1948 Packard that Glenn had recently bought from our neighbor, Mr. Davis. I was very excited about the plan to buy camp. I thought…

Wes Newswanger was a member at Good Shepherd Mennonite Church in New York City when he heard rumors about the Mennonite leaders in the city wanting to buy some property for a camp. When Camp Deerpark opened in 1969, Wes was one of the first persons to work with the children’s summer programming. He also…

One afternoon in the summer of 2008 I found a strange car parked along Brandt Road and saw a young couple walking in the cemetery. Of course I made it my business to find out what they were up to. It turned out that they were descendants of the Skinner family who had traveled from…

Camp Deerpark has benefited greatly from hardworking staff and volunteers since New York City church leaders first visited the property in1968. Belief in the mission of camp has inspired many people to go above and beyond what is asked of them by contributing gifts of labor, vision, knowledge and expertise, donations of equipment and materials,…

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…

Camp Deerpark from its inception has been committed to training and developing young adults as leaders. The summer camp program director position has been fertile ground for growing leaders. From 1969 to 1985 the camp administrator was responsible for providing overall direction to the summer camp program while each weekly session had a different director…

These values articulated in the fall of 2009 are used as a decision making tool and as a guiding reference point for the summer camp program. They are not in order of importance. 1. Responsibility •Responsibility for one’s own self •Responsibility to the family •Responsibility to the community 2. Peacemaking •Resolving conflicts and healing broken…

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…