Camp Becket - Chimney Corners Camp
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Camp Becket, also known as Camp Becket-in-the-Berkshires, is a YMCA summer camp for boys in the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts. It was founded in 1903 by George Hannum on Rudd Pond in Becket, Massachusetts.[1] It is the oldest continually running summer camp in the United States. The camp is a single-sex environment for boys to concentrate on traditional values while building a sense of teamwork. The camp still teaches many of the values, such as building individual character by achieving goals in the context of a group setting[2], espoused by its second director, Henry Gibson (tenure, 1904-1927).[3]
The camp teaches eight Becket Mottos:
- Do your best
- Play the game
- Manners make the man
- Peace through understanding
- I can and I will
- Each for all—all for each
- Better faithful than famous
- Help the other fellow
The camp is divided into four units, called villages, that contain eight to ten cabins each. From from youngest to oldest, these are:
- Iroquois (cabins named after the American Indian tribes of the Iroquois Nation, and Algonquin and Erie)
- Pioneer (cabins named after famous explorers)
- Frontier (cabins named after U.S. Forts)
- Ranger (cabins named after U.S. National Parks)
Each cabin houses eight campers (all close in age), an assistant counselor, and a counselor. In addition to group activities and team-building, campers engage in numerous individual activities, including sports to arts and crafts, boating, and nature activities.
During the off-seasons, there are work weekends, during which alumni, staff, and kids participate in work activities, such as wood chip spreading or fixing roofs. An Alumni weekend provides an opportunity for alums to reconnect. All of these events are hosted at Chimney Corners Camp (mentioned below) because of the heated, and insulated cabins.
[edit] Life At Camp
[edit] Week 1
This week is mostly about getting acquainted with cabin mates, and the regular structure of camp. All campers take a swim assessment on the first day, and begin taking afternoon activities on Tuesday (Monday during a normal week).
[edit] Week 2
The second week marks the beginning of regular camp activities. A weekly non-religious chapel discusses morals, values, and readings).
[edit] Week 3
On Dad's Weekend, fathers (or in Chimney moms) come to camp to spend a weekend with their children. Parents share a tent and participate in activities.
[edit] Week 4
The end of camp is celebrated with a big show (a (play), Candlelight (a ceremony that reflects on camp) and a final banquet, the last dinner of camp. Campers and staff perform entertainments for the rest of the camp.
[edit] Opportunities for Older Boys
Becket offers specialty programs for older campers. The Construction cabins, for boys interested in carpentry and building skills; the Climbing cabin, for boys interested in rock climbing and bouldering; and Odyssey, for boys with an interest in backwoods, low-impact camping.
Construction Cabin: The boys in this program are supervised by an experienced foreman, as well as their counselors. One new structure is completed each season, currently new camper cabins in Iroquois village.
Climbing Cabin: Climbing Cabin is dedicated to sport climbing using a ropes course, climbing tower, various top-roped chimneys on the property, and off-site climbing locations.
Odyssey: These campers spend four weeks living outdoors, both on camp property and off-site. The focus of this program is group building and leave-no-trace camping techniques.
[edit] Travel Service Programs (TSP)
Each summer since 1963, the Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA sends teenagers around the United States and around the world. The International Camper Exchange Programs (ICEP) focus on service work and cultural exchange in Vietnam, Chile, Costa Rica, Japan, New Zealand, China, Peru, and a trip to both Sweden and Russia. The REACH program sends groups to the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota to do service work and learn about Native American life today. The Teen Leadership and Service (TLS) program combines biking and community service in Vermont and New York State. And Yellowstone Adventure and Service (YAS) combines adventure activities and service work in Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.
[edit] The Aides and Service Corps Programs
The Aides program is an eight and a half week leader-in-training program offered to boys finishing their sophomore year in high school (an identical program is offered to girls at Chimney Corners). Dr. Russell Irons started the program in 1951, as the first step in the camp's leadership development program. Its participants consist of 22-27 former Becket campers selected from a very competitive pool of applicants. A single aides director leads these boys on work projects around camp.
The Service Corps formed later, during Camp Becket's centennial summer in 2003. There are two Service Corps groups, one for each session. There are 8 or 9 boys in each group, with two directors. While the Aides spend most of their time doing on camp work, the Service Corps do most of their work off campus, in soup kitchens, community farms, Habitat for Humanity, and other locations around the Berkshire community.
[edit] Songs
Becket has a tradition of singing songs in the dining hall after meals. It is an enthusiastic way in which campers and staff alike express their love for the camp.
One of the oldest, and most often sung songs at Becket is Four Miles Up, sung in a gospel or traditional version:
Four Miles Up
Four miles up
Four miles down
Four miles away from Becket Town
Yes it's worth the four mile tramp
With a Ra Ra Ra for Becket Camp
Other traditional Becket songs include Becket in the Berkshires, Sons of Noble Living, Try to Remember, Pink Pajamas, Mountain Dew, Becket Way, and The Canoe Song. The most traditional Becket song is Amici, a song about friendship written by one of the camp directors wives. The song is always sung after all camp activities such as campfires, and village activities. Also, taps is played almost every night at Camp Becket.
[edit] Dad and Mom's Weekends
Parents visit during the weekend of the third week. In Becket, this is called Dads Weekend. Fathers participate activities (after a quick swim test). On Sunday, mothers and siblings visit. Chimney Corners has a Mom's Weekend.
[edit] Chimney Corners Camp
Chimney Corners is a single-sex girl's sister camp to Camp Becket situated about a mile away, on Smith Pond. Chimney Corners offers many opportunities for young girls, including horseback riding, tennis, soccer and many other sports and arts activities. The camp is divided into three different age groups: The Junior Unit, for girls ages 7-12; The Intermediate Unit, for girls ages 12-13; and the Senior Unit, for girls ages 13-14.
Girls older than 14 can take part in travel and service programs, then become an Aide in the Aides Program or travel to a South Dakota Reservation in a program called REACH (Reaching, Educating and Caring for Humanity)or do community service in the Becket are as part of Service Corps, and then become an Assistant Counselor and Counselor. Some of the oldest Chimney Corners staff members have been to the camp for over 13 years.
Initiated in 1991, the primary goal of the REACH Program is to help teens develop leadership skills through a service-oriented experience, based in a Lakota Sioux community in South Dakota. The services heighten the importance of volunteer service for the benefit of others. The REACH Program incorporates visits to pow-wows, Badlands National Park, Wounded Knee, Mount Rushmore, and the Crazy Horse Memorial.
In the southwestern corner of the Cheyenne River Reservation, participants stay in the Red Scaffold community center. Red Scaffold is a small town consisting of 15 -30 homes, churches, cemeteries, and playgrounds with a population of approximately 100 - 150 people. REACH groups will also partner with the Sioux YMCA located in the town of Dupree.
The Aides program at Chimney provides the opportunity for around 30 young women to connect with each other for eight-and-a-half weeks. The girls live in the Aides Quarters with their leader, provide services for the camp, participate in leadership training programs, and interact with campers. The Aides program involves many traditions, including the important process of name selection. Each Aides group must come up with a name with the word "aide" in it, such as "Invaiders" or "Illuminaides." The Aides write a song to go with their name. Most songs refer to events of the summer and include inside jokes.
Chimney Corners Camp Aides Names:
2009- Reverberaides
2008- Scintillaides
2007- Jubilaides
2006- Invaiders
2005- Incineraides
2004- Exhiliraides
2003- Brigaides
2002- Discombobulaides
2001- Tornaidoes
2000- Yippie-Ai-Aides
1999- Millenniaides
1998- Renegaides
1997- Milky Waides
1996- C.I.Aides
1995- Illuminaides
1994- Ricochaides/ 1990- Shaides (Shades)
1989- Decaides
the first Aides Group to have a name was the Band-Aides
[edit] Specialty Cabins
Chimney Corners specialty cabins include riding, climbing, and construction cabins. While the riding cabin is available in the intermediate and senior units, the climbing and construction is limited to the senior unit. Specialty cabins do their activity once a day or, in the case of the climbing cabin, once every other day. The climbing cabin also goes to off-site locations for rock climbing. The construction cabin is led by a foreman. Girls in the four construction cabins work together to build a new cabin. First-session girls build the foundation and walls, second-session girls build the roof.
[edit] References
- ^ H.W. Gibson, Twenty-five Years of Organized Boys Work in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, 1891-1915, 103-107, YMCA (an account of the founding of Becket, stating that the purpose of the camp is "character-making rather than profit-making")
- ^ Cheley & Baker, Camp and Outing Activities, p. 260, Assoc. Press, 1915 (describing a Personal Attainment Plan used at Becket in the early 20th Century)
- ^ Cheley & Baker, Camp and Outing Activities, Introduction by HW Gibson, Assoc. Press, 1915
[edit] External links
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