Camp Becket - Chimney Corners Camp

Camp Becket, also known as Camp Becket-in-the-Berkshires, summer camp for boys in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, run by the YMCA. It was founded in 1903 by George Hannum on Rudd Pond in Becket, Massachusetts. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=tbsUhgnVe0IC&pg=PA107&dq=%22camp+becket%22&ie=ISO-8859-1#PPA103,M1 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")] ] 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 [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=uug1AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA260&dq=%22camp+becket%22&ie=ISO-8859-1 Cheley & Baker, Camp and Outing Activities, p. 260, Assoc. Press, 1915 (describing a Personal Attainment Plan used at Becket in the early 20th Century)] ] in the context of a group setting, that were espoused by its second director Henry Gibson (tenure 1904-1927). [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=uug1AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA260&dq=%22camp+becket%22&ie=ISO-8859-1#PPP7,M1 Cheley & Baker, Camp and Outing Activities, Introduction by HW Gibson, Assoc. Press, 1915] ]

The camp is divided into 4 units called villages, listed here from youngest to oldest: Iroquois (cabins named after the Native American tribes of the Iroquois Nation, with the exception of Algonquin and Erie), Pioneer (cabins named after famous explorers), Frontier (cabins named after U.S. Forts) and Ranger (cabins named after U.S. National Parks). Within each village are 8 to 10 cabins. Each cabin consists of eight boys (all close in age), an assistant counselor, and a counselor.

In addition to a focus on group activities and team-building within the cabin group, campers have the opportunity to engage in numerous individual activities, ranging from sports to arts and crafts, boating, and nature activities. There are many opportunities to get involved in the Becket community during the all seasons, including fall and spring, by going to a work weekend. During these work weekends, alumni, staff, and kids participate in work activities, such as wood chip spreading or fixing a roof. There is also an Alumni weekend, a chance for alums to reconnect, and for father and son or mother and daughter to hike around the grounds. All of these events are hosted at Chimney Corners Camp (mentioned below) because of their heated, and insulated cabins.

Life At Camp

Week 1

This week is mostly about getting acquainted with cabin mates. Although campers all need to take a swim test to show ability. There are five swimming tags show ability:
*Red: Cannot Swim - Can only take out rowboat on the lake.
*White: Can swim but still needs lessons - Can only take rowboat on the lake.
*Yellow: Almost a perfect swimmer - Can take Canoe or Kyak (Must pass test) out on lake.
*Green: Good Swimmer - Can take every boat (including JY sailboat) out on lake, they must pass kayaking test.
*Purple: Can swim to 440 rocks, in Rudd Pond and back, can take out every boat.

Week 2

This is really the beginning of camp, you start your activities, and your cabin teamwork builds.(There is non-religious chapel every week that include morals, values, and readings).

Week 3

Dads Weekend is when the campers' dads (or in Chimney moms) come to camp to spend a weekend with their sons. This is a great experience for moms and dads who share a tent and activities with their sons. This is the highlight of the session for many kids.

Week 4

The End of camp there is the Big Show (a play), Candelight (a ceremony reflecting on camp where every camper is given a candle) and there is final banquet, the last dinner of camp where a specialty meal is always served.

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 Becket's 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 during several off-site trips. 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 has sent 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, and 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.

The Aides and Service Corps Programs

The Aides program is an eight week leader-in-training program offered to boys finishing their sophomore year in high school. The program was started by Dr. Russell Irons 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 each summer. These boys are led by a single aides director, and together they do work around camp, and be positive role models for campers of all ages to look up to.. Similar to the Aides Program is the Service Corps. The Service Corps was 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 places like Soup Kitchens, Community farms, Habitat for Humanity, and other locations around the Berkshire community, spreading the Becket Spirit.

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. It goes as follows:

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

Four miles up can be sung in a gospel version or in a traditional version, both of which are embraced by the camp.

Other traditional Becket songs consist of Becket in the Berkshires, Sons of Noble Living, Try to Remember, Pink Pajamas, Mountain Dew, Becket Way, and the Canoe Song.

The lyrics to the Canoe Song are:

My paddle's keen and bright,
flashing like silver!
Swift as the wild goose flight,
Dip dip and swing

Dip dip and swing her back,
flashing like silver!
Swift as the wild goose flight,
Dip dip and swing

The most traditional Becket song is called 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.

Dad and Moms Weekends

At Becket although campers are separated from their parents, they can visit you during the weekend of the third week. If you go to Becket it is called Dads weekend. Your Dad comes up and he participates in all of the sons activities but first has to participate in a quick swim test. On Sunday Moms can visit the camp with siblings as well. Chimney Corners has a moms weekend.

New Camp Becket Director

The BCCYMCA family recently welcomed its new Camp Becket Director Chris Burke. He was director of YMCA Camp Lincoln in Kingston, NH. He also was boys director of YMCA Camp Coniston in Grantham, NH as well. He graduated from
Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Recreation & Park Management. He has been employed by the YMCA for seven years and holds a YMCA Senior Directorship and serves on the ACA New England Program Committee.

Chimney Corners Camp

Chimney Corners is a single-sex girls camp that acts as a sister camp to Camp Becket. It is situated about one mile away from Becket, 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, directed by Shannon Donovan Monti, 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.

Many girls start going to Chimney Corners at ages seven or eight and end up returning to camp every summer until they are 13 or 14. Girls older than 14 can take part in one of the youth travel 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), 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 enable teens to develop leadership skills through a service-oriented experience, based in a Lakota Sioux Native American community in South Dakota. The services our teens will provide may involve physical labor, humanitarian service, or a combination of both, and are designed to 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 Monument.

Located in the southwestern corner of the Cheyenne River Reservation, participants will 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 weeks. The girls live in one building called the Aides Quarters with their leader, provide services for the camp, participate in leadership training programs, and interact with the campers. The Aides program involves many traditions, including the important process of a name selection. Each Aides group must come up with a name with the word "aide" in it, such as "Invaiders" or "Illuminaides." The Aides will also have to write a song to go with their name. Most songs reffer to events of the summer and include some of the Aides' inside jokes. Both Becket and Chimey Corners Aides often say that they will never forget their Aides summer. Almost every Aide or former Aide will agree that their Aide's summer was the best summer of her life (as said in the Incineraide's song) and they all reffer to their fellow Aides as sisters.

Chimney Corners Camp Aides Names:
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

Specialty Cabins

Chimney Corners also has specialty cabins. The specialty cabins include the 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. The specialty cabins will do their activity once a day every day, or in the case of the climbing cabin once every other day. The climbing cabin also goes on a few trips to off Camp locations for rock climbing. The construction cabin though, is the most coveted cabin. Led by the foreman, Terry Murphy, the girls in the 4 construction cabins will work together (at separate times)to build one of the new cabins. The first session girls build the foundation and walls, while second session builds the roof. The Becket boys also have specialty cabins, but the number of cabins in each one range.

References

External links

* [http://bccymca.org BCCYMCA.org]