Camp Dudley, YMCA

Founded in 1885 by Sumner F. Dudley, Camp Dudley YMCA is the oldest continually running boys camp in the United States. It is located in Westport, New York, on the shores of Lake Champlain.

History and traditions

Early history

Sumner Dudley, long active in both the New York and New Jersey YMCA movements, was asked in 1884 to take "young honor YMCA members" camping. In 1885, he took seven boys for a week’s encampment at Orange Lake, N. J. The next year Dudley moved the site to Twin Islands, Lake Wawayanda, N.J. Ultimately, the camp settled on Lake Champlain, N.Y., in 1908. Dudley referred to the first camp as Camp Baldhead [http://www.riversideymca.org/YMCAhistory.html] , and later the Boys' Camping Society (B.C.S.). After Dudley’s death in 1897, the camp was renamed Camp Dudley.

Camp numbers

Campers are assigned camp numbers in ascending order based on when they first attended Camp. The first camp number (No. 1) was assigned George Peck in 1903. Since then, over 20,000 campers, leaders, and staff have each been given a unique, identifying number. At alumni gatherings, there is often a competition to see who in attendance has the lowest (or oldest) camp number.

Mission and values

No longer officially operated by the YMCA, Camp Dudley still affiliates itself with the group in name. It draws from the YMCA's own tenets of mind, body, and spirit. Though non-denominational, the camp espouses "Christian values" in its teachings and programs, not least of which is its motto, "The Other Fellow First".

Thanks to a strong and financially supportive alumni base, the camp offers scholarships to those in financial need.

In the summer of 2007 Camp Dudley opened a sister camp in Colchester, Vermont called Camp Dudley at Kiniya, after purchasing the former Camp Kiniya from the Williams family. A driving force in this expansion was for the daughters of Camp Dudley alumni to have a place to learn the same ethics and values that their sons could learn at Camp Dudley.

Alumni

One of the unique characteristics of Dudley is the loyalty and support of its alumni. For most campers, their relationship with Dudley does not end with the close of the camping season but continues throughout their lives. Many former campers return as Leaders, and alumni and parents contribute to Dudley through their financial support. All friends of Dudley are invited to attend the alumni gatherings, as well as the August CDA Reunion at Camp. Between 35 and 40 alumni gatherings are held during the year throughout the country and around the world on the Dudley "Reunion Trail". 2008 will be Camp Dudley's 124th summer.

Notable alumni

* Burgess Meredith (1907 - 1997) Actor, film & television
* Bruce Gehrke professional football and basketball player (NY Giants, NY Knicks)
* R. Inslee Clark, Jr. (1935 - 1999) First Dean of Admissions at Yale University to admit women
* Rollie Stichweh Army quarterback, played in first game with tv instant replay (1963 Army Navy Game)
* James Widdoes Actor, director, film and television
* Mark Davenport Actor, film & television
* Russ Gebhardt Pitcher, Montreal Expos

ee also

*Summer camp
*YMCA
*Lake Champlain

External links

* [http://www.campdudley.org Camp Dudley website] - Now includes information about Camp Dudley at Kiniya for Girls
* [http://www.otherfellowfirst.com Camp Dudley South Florida Reunion website]
* [http://www.lastwhistle.com Digitized Last Whistle yearbooks]
* [http://www.riversideymca.org/YMCAhistory.html Riverside YMCA History]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A02E7D91E3DE433A25756C1A9659C94669ED7CF Sumner F. Dudley death notice (NY Times)]