Camp Becket, also known as Camp Becket-in-the-Berkshires, is a YMCA summer camp for boys in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Founded in 1903 by George Hannum on Rudd Pond in Becket, Massachusetts, it is one of the oldest continually operational summer camps in the United States, and is consistently rated among the best camps of its kind. The camp continues to teach core values espoused by its second director, Henry Gibson (tenure, 1904-1927).[1]
The cabins do not have electricity, and each village has a communal bathroom where kids shower and brush their teeth. Each cabin houses eight campers (nine in Ranger), a program staff member, an assistant counselor, and a counselor. In addition to group activities and team-building, campers engage in numerous individual activities, including sports, arts and crafts, boating, ball and team games 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 alumni to reconnect. All of these events are hosted at Chimney Corners Camp because of the heated and insulated cabins. Camp Becket has recently constructed a new dining hall.
Opportunities for Older Boys
Becket offers specialty programs for older campers, such as Construction cabins, for boys interested in carpentry and building skills, and the Adventure Odyssey cabin, for boys interested in rock climbing, bouldering, and backwoods, low-impact camping. One new structure is completed each season The Adventure Odyssey blends sport climbing using a ropes course, climbing tower, various top-roped chimneys on the property, and off-site climbing locations, with off-site camping and hiking. The focus of this program is group building and leave-no-trace camping techniques.
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, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, China, Peru, Armenia, Uruguay and Sweden, each of which lasts for about 35 days. 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. Yellowstone Adventure and Service (YAS) combines adventure activities and service work in Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.
Leadership in Training Programs (LIT)
Aides Program The Aides program is an eight-and-a-half-week leader-in-training program offered to boys finishing their sophomore year in high school. Dr. Russell Irons started the current program in 1951 as the first step in the camp's leadership development program. Its participants consist of approx. 24 former Becket campers selected from a very competitive pool of applicants. A single aides director leads these boys on work projects around camp and provides guidance as the Aides develop counseling strategies. The focus of the Aides Program is to learn how a resident camp operates by assisting in the office, store, infirmary, and kitchen. Aides also partake in lifeguard training and join cabin groups to learn how to become counselors.
Service Corps The Service Corps program was formed later, during Camp Becket's centennial summer in 2003. The Service Corps, formerly a four-week program, became an eight-and-a-half-week program during the summer of 2011. There are 12 boys in the group, with one director. While the Aides spend most of their time planning large camp events and working on camp, the Service Corps do behind the scenes work and build valuable counseling skills in preparation for future work on Camp Becket's staff and help with on camp service projects. The Service Corps also do work off-campus, in soup kitchens, community farms, Habitat for Humanity, and other locations around the Berkshire community. The summer of 2013 was the final year of the program.
REACH The REACH program, which is explained more in the Chimney Corners section, used to be a co-ed program where people are trained to become counselors solely in South Dakota. As of 2012, the REACH program has become single sex, and the participants now spend part of their time working on Native American reservations in South Dakota, and the other part in Camp Becket. It has also become a six-week program.
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,
Guess it's worth the four mile tramp
With a Ra Ra Ra for Becket Camp!
Other traditional Becket songs include Becket in the Berkshires, "Oh, Sweet Becket", Sons of Noble Living, Try to Remember, Pink Pajamas, Mountain Dew, Becket Way, "Beckets for me", "Puff", "If I had a hammer", The Canoe Song, and many songs from the Big Show. The most traditional Becket song is Amici, a song about friendship written by one of the camp directors' wives. The song is only sung after all camp activities, such as campfires and talent shows.
Welles Crowther - Equities trader who saved at least nine on 9/11. While running back into the South Tower with NYFD personnel to save more people, Welles died in the tower's collapse. Also known as "the man in the red bandana."
David Blatt - Princeton basketball star and former head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers
Chapel
Chapel is a non religious time on Sundays when the camp gathers to discuss a topic. The topics are always about the camp values. Chapel is led by a different village every time. Several campers and counselors are chosen to give a speech on the theme. Chapel takes place in Chapel by the Lake. Chapel by the Lake is a quiet grove in the woods and is right on the lake. It consists of a number of wooden benches and one podium. It is outdoors and is one of the most important places at camp.
Chimney Corners Camp
A photo of Chimney Corners campers from the 1930s. Part of the Becket Chimney Corners YMCA 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 (cabins named after famous ships), for girls ages 7–11; The Intermediate Unit (cabins named after mythical places), for girls ages 11–13; and the Senior Unit (named after constellations), for girls ages 13–15. The camp is divided into two four week sessions, although the youngest campers have the opportunity to stay for just two weeks. Girls in the oldest age group can also participate in construction cabins and Adventure Odyssey was reinstated for Chimney Corners in 2014.
Girls older than 14 can take part in travel and service programs, then participate in the Aides Program or travel to a South Dakota Reservation in a program called REACH (Reaching, Educating and Caring for Humanity), 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.
Chimney Corners also has its own set of mottos:
Agape: Unconditional love for all of humanity
PACE: Positive Attitude Changes Everything
HELPS: Healthy Living, Empowering Girls and Women, Leadership and Learning, Positive Relationships, and Social Responsibility.
Chimney Corners is also rich with traditions. These include song and dance competitions called Wiff N' Poof and Song and Sign, a 5K color run during first session, and Chimney Palooza, a dance party run by the Aides, during second session.
Aides
The Aides program at Chimney provides the opportunity for around 20-30 young women to connect with each other for eight-and-a-half weeks. The girls live in the Ina Gibson Lodge, or the IGL, with group leader/s. The group works to provide services for the camp such as working in the kitchen, office, camp store, and helping out with camper activities. They participate in leadership training programs, learn lifeguarding skills, and interact with campers while simultaneously maintaining camp traditions. One of these traditions is the important process of name selection. Each Aides group must come up with a name with the word "aide" in it, such as "Deviaides" or "Ebulaides." After choosing a name, the Aides write a song that describes their group as well as their name, while also building a sign that represents the group. Most songs refer to events of the summer and include inside jokes.
2023: Amoraides
2022: Kalonaides
2021: Amalgamaides
2019: Ebulaides
2018: Deviaides
2017: Revelaides
2016: Coronaides
2015: Syncopaides
2014: Insigniaides
2013: Liberaides
2012: Constellaides
2011: Exuberaides
2010: Escapaides
2009: Reverberaides
2008: Scintillaides
2007: Jubilaides
2006: Invaiders
2005: Incineraides
2004: Exhiliraides
2003: Brigaides
2002: Discombobulaides
2001: Tornaideos
2000: Yippi-Ai-Aides
1999: Milleniaides
1998: Renegaides
1997: Milky Waides
1996: C.I. Aides
1995: Illuminaides
1994: Ricochaides
1993: Hip Hop Hooraides
1992: Grenaides
1991: Masqueraides
1990: Shaides
1989: Decaides
1988: Reggaides
1987: Gatoraides
1986: The Live Aides
1985: Kool - Aides
1984: Band - Aides
Related Research Articles
David Endicott Putnam was an American flying ace of World War I. He was known as the “Ace of Aces,” for thirteen confirmed kills, and thirty cumulative unconfirmed. He was shot down by German ace Georg von Hantelmann.
Founded in 1885 by Sumner F. Dudley, Camp Dudley is the oldest continually running boys camp in the United States. It is located in Westport, New York, on the shores of Lake Champlain. In 1993, it was included within the Camp Dudley Road Historic District when listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Camp Timanous is a historic boys' summer camp in Raymond, Maine, United States. It offers a "traditional" program of land and water activities, aimed at developing "Body, Mind, and Spirit". Camp Timanous is both a progenitor of the Maine sleepaway camping tradition and industry and is one of the oldest continually operating summer camps in America. Across Maine in a typical summer, some 40,000 children participate in youth summer programs, mostly at one of Maine's 200 licensed summer camps, such as Camp Timanous.
Yawgoog Scout Reservation is a 1,800-acre (7 km2) reservation for scouting located in Rockville, Rhode Island and operated by the Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Founded in 1916, Yawgoog is the fifth oldest Boy Scout camp in the United States. At the camp is run an eight-week camping program every summer where Boy Scouts stay for a week with their troops. The reservation is divided into three camps: Three Point, Medicine Bow, and Sandy Beach.
Frost Valley YMCA is a camping, environmental education, and conferencing center located in Claryville, New York, part of the Catskill Mountains. Founded in 1901 as Camp Wawayanda, the camp moved to its present location in 1958.
Camp Sealth is owned and operated by Camp Fire, a non-profit youth organization, and located on Vashon Island, Washington. Sealth hosts resident and day camp during the summer, environmental education for school groups during the spring and fall, and is a year-round conference and retreat center. Camp Sealth is accredited by the American Camp Association.
Camp Tousey was a YMCA summer camp located about two miles (3 km) from the village of Redwood in Jefferson County, New York in the United States, and about eight miles (13 km) from Alexandria Bay, New York, a small resort town on the St. Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands area. The camp was operated by the Syracuse, New York YMCA for many decades during the twentieth century. Non-Christians were not excluded from the camp and many attended. The camp comprised 500 acres (2.0 km2) wooded on the shores of Millsite Lake and of Sixberry Lake and also included Royale Island on Millsite Lake, just offshore from the main camp. The terrain was rugged, with a tall rocky cliff backing the buildings of the main camp, clustered along Millsite Lake. Standing atop the cliffs provided an expansive view of the camp and of Millsite Lake.
Raquette Lake Camps is a group of summer camps located in the center of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, west of Lake George and south of Lake Placid. Campers can canoe for a radius of 100 miles (160 km) in all directions. The majority of the adjacent land is owned by the state and is utilized as a state park.
YMCA Camp Fitch is a year-round camp in North Springfield, Pennsylvania, owned and operated by the YMCA of Youngstown, Ohio. Prior to 1914, all summer camps operated by the YMCA of Youngstown were experimental and temporary in nature. Since its founding in 1914, Camp Fitch has hosted campers every year to date. Originally a program of the YMCA's downtown branch, Camp Fitch now exists as a YMCA branch owned by the YMCA of Youngstown.
YMCA Camp Belknap is an all-boys summer resident camp in Tuftonboro, New Hampshire, on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. Founded in 1903, on Winnipesaukee's Timber Island, in the shadow of Belknap Mountain, its likely namesake. Relocated to Tuftonboro in 1907, this boys' camp was owned and operated by the New Hampshire YMCA until the demise of the state Y in 1996. It is now an independent non-profit affiliated with the national Y. Belknap celebrated its 100th year in operation in 2003, making it one of the oldest continuously operating camps in the United States.
YMCA Camp Tecumseh Outdoor Center is located in Indiana near the towns of Brookston, Indiana and Delphi, Indiana on the Tippecanoe River. The closest large city to Camp Tecumseh is Lafayette, Indiana, which is just across the Wabash River from West Lafayette. Camp Tecumseh was established in 1924 when citizens of Delphi raised $3000 to purchase the land which lies on a bend on the Tippecanoe river. The camp is named after Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief. Camp Tecumseh is fully accredited by the American Camping Association and currently serves over 4,000 campers every summer from throughout the midwest USA and the world. Camp Tecumseh is also open throughout the year, providing an Outdoor Education service for schools and a facility for retreats and conferences of all kinds. The facility serves over 30,000 people per year. It is an independent YMCA branch and is operated independently of other metro YMCAs.
YMCA Camp Minikani is a residential summer camp located along the shores of Lake Amy Belle in Hubertus, in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States. YMCA Camp Minikani was established in 1919 by the Milwaukee YMCA. Minikani is also home to Amy Belle Lake. At its conception, Minikani served as a summer camp for boys living in the Milwaukee area who came for two weeks to learn camp skills and participated in competitive athletic events. Minikani has since transformed to a co-ed camp that has shifted from competitive activities to challenge by choice to eliminate the emotional pressure of competitions. Minikani still offers its traditional summer programs such as the Pioneer Unit, the Trail Blazer Unit, and the Explorer Unit, and has since begun to offer day camp and equestrian camps.
Camp Hi-Rock is a YMCA summer camp for boys and girls in the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts. They were founded in 1948 around Plantain Pond on Mt. Washington.
Camp Anokijig is a residential youth summer camp located in Plymouth, Wisconsin on Little Elkhart Lake. Founded in 1926 by the Racine YMCA, Camp Anokijig is now independently owned and operated by the non-profit group Friends of Camp Anokijig, and operates year-round. Camp Anokijig is accredited by the American Camping Association.
YMCA Camp Mason is a YMCA summer camp located in Hardwick Township, New Jersey. The 650-acre site is located next to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Camp Mason annually serves approximately 800 campers in its summer camp programs, and 7,000 participants at its outdoor center.
Located on 150 acres on Cedar Lake in Chester, Connecticut, Camp Hazen YMCA provides positive youth camping experiences for over 1500 boys and girls each year from throughout the state. Group camping includes over 6000 participants annually. Camp Hazen YMCA serves youth from throughout Connecticut, New England and many states around the country. Each summer, Camp Hazen YMCA is also home to campers and counselors from more than 25 different countries. Campers come from all socio-economic backgrounds, and range in age from 5 to 18. Over 800 campers were provided with financial assistance in 2009. These funds, over $205,000, were provided through the generosity of individuals, foundations, businesses and service clubs.
YMCA Wanakita is a camp located on Koshlong Lake near Haliburton in central Ontario, Canada. It is run by the YMCA of Hamilton, Burlington and Brantford and attracts campers from throughout Ontario and sometimes internationally. The name "Wanakita" comes from a legend of the Wendat people.
RKY Camp is a non-profit organization and summer camp, accredited by the Ontario Camping Association, in Parham, Ontario, Canada, north of Kingston, Ontario. Operating since 1929 on Eagle Lake, RKY Camp was founded by The Rotary Club, Kiwanis International, and the YMCA of Kingston, making up the abbreviation 'R.K.Y.'. RKY Camp ran as an all-boys camp until 1969. The camp provides outdoor education and camping opportunities to people of all backgrounds, including integrated summer camping for children and young adults with disabilities through a combined effort with Reach for the Rainbow. RKY Camp provides financial assistance, or "camperships" to ensure any youth has an opportunity to attend.
Camp Nyoda, located in Oak Ridge, New Jersey, is among the oldest overnight summer camps for girls in the United States. Founded in 1917 by Lee and Grover Smith, Camp Nyoda was initially affiliated with the Camp Fire Girls of America. Though it no longer retains this affiliation, many of Nyoda's songs and traditions can be traced back to its Camp Fire roots. Throughout its history, Nyoda has been continuously owned and led by women - the female descendants of the Smiths and their families.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
