Meet Beaver Camp! Beaver Camp is a year-round retreat center and summer camp in the Adirondacks; the organization is celebrating over 50 years of dynamic friendships, fun adventures, and songs around the campfire. Beaver Camp was awarded this feature as a nominee for the 2022 Lewis County Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards! As a long-time Chamber of Commerce member, this nomination was more than deserved! We chatted with Mike Judd for all of the deets on this incredible organization; read below!
Owner: Adirondack Mennonite Camping Association, Inc
Year Established: 1969
Describe your start-up story:
In the late 1950s, it became apparent to the Mennonite churches in Northern New York that there was a need for a church camp, especially for children. The First Mennonite Church of New Bremen
provided a camping program immediately following summer Bible School and, because of such a large attendance, moved into tents at Whetstone Gulf State Park near Martinsburg. Meanwhile, Abner Zehr opened his own Lake Ontario camp to the Woodville Mennonite congregation for a day camp. They too began to run out of room.
Together, with those concerned from Lewis County, a committee was formed in 1964 to investigate a land purchase suitable for a camp. Five years later, in April of 1969, the Adirondack Mennonite Camping Association purchased Beaver Camp. The Amca has sponsored successive Christian summer children's camps here since the summer of 1969. Initially, the summer was staffed with volunteers who would come in for a week at a time, meaning a new staff team was formed for each week. In 1979 the first year-round director was hired and year-round programming began.
The mid-80s saw the camp increasingly being used throughout the year. A challenge course was installed in 1986, which is expanded on an ongoing basis, for use in our children's camp programs as well as with other groups. In 1987, 36 weekends were used throughout the year, which included camp-sponsored adult retreats, youth winter camps, and weekend adult and youth rental groups. In addition, seven weeks of summer resident camps, one week of day camp, and several weeks of wilderness camps are held at Beaver Camp each year. In 1992, the summer camp program was split into 2 camps that would run simultaneously. A program for older age groups and one for younger age groups was implemented, allowing for more campers than ever. Creation Investigation, a nature study program for Christian schools, was also first offered in 1992.
Originally, Mary Fisher owned the Beaver Camp property, then sold it to Dorothy Jackson in 1914. Oran Fenton built the main lodge, and Dorothy Jackson and her husband owned the furniture still existing in the lodge. Beaver Camp for Boys began in 1946 when Rev. O.T. Anderson purchased the camp.
He named the cabins, and the original names are still in use. James Shapland purchased the camp in 1959 and continued Beaver Camp for Boys. He was the last owner before the AMCA bought the property in 1969.
What does Beaver Camp offer?
Beaver Camp is primarily a children's summer camp, with year-round retreats and other programming for everyone- grandparents, families, young adults, men, and women. Our goal is to serve the community well through all of the various things we do.
Beaver Camp also offers team-building experiences on our challenge course. This is valuable for people across various experiences and age groups. Team Building experiences are valuable because they teach teamwork cooperation skills, communication skills, leadership skills, and time management.
Beaver Camp is unique because it's a place to grow, no matter what age or background someone comes from. Camp is able to impact many people from our local community every year.
Why did you choose Lewis County? What are the advantages & opportunities of housing your organization here?
In the late 1950s, it became apparent to the Mennonite churches in Northern New York that there was a need for a children's camp. A local church provided a popular camping program that, because of such a large attendance, moved into tents at Whetstone Gulf State Park. At the same time, a church in Jefferson County began a day camp that started to run out of room. Together, with those concerned from Lewis County, a committee was formed in 1964 to investigate a land purchase suitable for a camp. Five years later, in April of 1969, AMCA purchased Beaver Camp. Prior to ACMA's purchase of Beaver Camp, it had been a successful Boys' Camp for over 25 years, so it had an established facility. That, combined with its location on the shores of Beaver Lake, made it ideal for launching a new children's camping program.
What are some of the current projects you are working on and what are you looking forward to in the next year?
Currently, we are working to expand our team-building experiences on the challenge course. We are trying to promote it to more local businesses. In the past, many of our participants have been school-aged children, which is a wonderful experience for them. However, we want to promote the challenge course as a team-building, leadership-building experience for families, businesses, sports teams, and other groups outside of kids. 
The benefits of the challenge course can be: greater trust and teamwork within the group, increased sense of self-esteem and confidence, improved collaboration and communication skills, shared experience of adventure and fun in a safety-minded environment, setting and achieving goals, shared experience of success by working together to solve problems or elements, individual experience of success by pushing oneself and accepting challenges, and processing and learning from experiences.
Are there any local partnerships or organizations that have helped you along in your journey?
Beaver Camp is financially supported by a number of churches, who, along with several grant agencies and many individuals, offset the cost of operation. Approximately 20% of the camp's annual expenses are covered by donations and grants. Additionally, Beaver Camp is a long-time member of the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce!
What advice would you give to someone leading an organization in Lewis County?
Our advice to anyone starting a business or leading an organization in Lewis County is to take advantage of the wonderful resources - both its people and natural beauty.