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Camp Reed, 90 Years
and still camping
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 Established
in 1915, Camp Reed has never wavered from its quest to provide
wholesome summer experiences for youths and counselors alike. Story
by Rich Landers! Outdoors editor Spokesman Review
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The singing at Fan
Lake will be temporarily left to the birds after this weekend, and the
painted turtles will finally get a chance to soak up the sunshine on a
log without fear of capture.
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The 2005 season’s
last group of Camp Reed campers headed home Saturday, packing along a
good share of Pend Oreille County dirt in their skin, hair and
clothing, sporting a few scabs and skeeter bites and brimming with
outdoor group experiences that will help shape their lives. That much
has been the same for 90 years. “Camp Reed is the first chance many of
these kids get to sleep outside under the stars,” said Tom “Bucky”
Vogt who teams with his wife, Lisa “Loco” Vogt, to direct the popular
YMCA facility.
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The camp was founded
as a boys camp in 1915 following a donation of about 14 acres by Deer
Park banker Frank Reed. “The ‘Y” camp was never allowed to become just
a recreational camp,” says a historical account compiled by aging Camp
Reed veterans for the Camp Reed Web site. “We kept in mind the YMCA
purpose of serving the spirit, mind and body of the youngsters with
the spiritual emphasis of the program being given full attention by
having chapel every morning and special campfire programs.
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“We knew the
youngsters were very impressionable around the campfire with the
flickering light of the campfire backed by all the night noises of the
woods and shoreline. The eeriness of the night was greatly magnified
in the minds of the youngsters by all these sights and sounds.”
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The first summer
campers were a tough bunch of boys who hiked back to Hillyard after
the session in a 35-mile trek that extended through the night.
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Nowadays the kids
still find plenty of challenges, such as the morning Jolly Joggers
program or the pre-breakfast “polar bear swim” to Shark Island. The
counselor-in-training program involves a week of hard labor followed
by week of bike touring that begins with a 95-mile day.
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Rather than praying
at morning chapel, the camp counselors toss out a short inspirational
message, such as “Never give up,” to stimulate a few minutes of
discussion among their cabin groups. Then the campers head out for
morning activities at various units, including the waterfront,
climbing tower, ropes and hiking trails.
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Visionaries saw the
value of a lakeside youth camp. More land was bestowed and businesses
and civic groups donated services and materials to build cabins, docks
and facilities on a camp that now spreads over 444 acres.
Lisa Vogt was introduced to Camp Reed as a 7-year-old in 1969, a year
after girls were first allowed to join the fun.
“The camp experience sticks with you for life,” she said, noting that
many former campers send their children to a Camp Reed summer session
even though their families may have moved away from the Spokane area.
“Loco” put her career as an attorney on hold to become the Camp Reed
executive director four years ago. “Bucky,” who teaches at Longfellow
Elementary, came along with the package as a summer director. Like all
camp directors and counselors, the Vogts are known by the camp name
assigned to them by a vote of their peers.
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“The list of camp
directors is fairly short over 90 years because most of them tend to
stay on a long time,” Bucky said. “Working with these kids is
tremendously rewarding.” He’s referring not just to the campers, but
also to the teenage counselors who show up weeks before the first
session in June to train and get the camp in shape.
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“I’ve learned to
step back and let them figure things out,” Bucky said in mid-June as
the young waterfront supervisors confronted the task of getting the
floating boat house to the water from its off-season storage area on
the shore without the help of motorized equipment.
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After a brief spell
of brainstorming, they recruited all the counselors, enough to ring
the boathouse, girls and boys, shoulder to shoulder. At the count of
three, they effortlessly lifted a ton of boathouse — even with the
leader standing aboard and giving commands as though he were a
portrait of George Washington crossing the Potomac.
They marched the boathouse into the water without a hint of hesitation
about getting soaked or a shred of fear about the heavy log foundation
hovering over feet that were protected by little more than sandals or
flip-flops.
Job done, the counselors scattered into groups to tackle countless
other tasks.
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“They usually come
up with better ways to get things done than I could have imagined,”
Bucky said. Camp counselors, who are 17-18 years old, go through
several years of training, absorbing the work ethic and traditions
before they take charge of a cabin of campers ranging in ages from 6-8
for the “mini-camps” and 8-14 for the traditional weeklong camps.
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“The counselors are
certified in CPR, blood-borne pathogens, food handling, and we have 19
certified life guards plus people trained in the other activities,”
Bucky said. The 33 counselors and 22 junior counselors supervise mere
than 200 campers that check in for each
one-week session.
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“Our counselors
don’t foster trendiness; we don’t go for suggestive clothing and they
don’t have time for worrying about makeup,” he added as the teens went
about their work wearing various themes of shorts and
T-shirts. “There’s enough of that on the outside. Here at Camp Reed,
we want kids to be kids.” The result is a program that embraces low
income youths while being equally prized by the offspring of Spokane’s
upper crust.
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The long, long list
of achievers who sprouted from Camp Reed leadership positions includes
former Speaker of the House Tom Foley and Olympic marathoner Don
Kardong.
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“It’s hard to find a
traditional summer camp anymore,” Bucky said. “Most have some emphasis
— soccer, basketball or something like that. We have no agenda here
other than fostering respect, honesty, responsibility and caring.”
Camp Reed kids get a shot at old favorite activities such as archery
and air rifles as well as more recent activities such as kayaking and
mountain biking.
The camp’s annual fund-raising auction and other contributions have
helped make major improvements, such as the new docks, rowboats and
canoes.
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“This is our first
year to replace the old aluminum canoes we got from the Boy Scouts
after their Jamboree at Farragut State Park in 1968,” Bucky said.
“People will be able to bid on some of the old canoes at the next
auction so they can have some memorabilia from Camp Reed.”
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Another new addition
is war canoes that hold 14 paddlers — room for an entire cabin group.
Meanwhile, the basic camp format hasn’t changed much in 40 years.
Skits, chores and other group activities are daily staples followed by
a different evening activity each night.
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“Ducky” Dave
Stenersen, a former Camp Reed director and now the principal at
Northwoods Middle School, might show up for the hike to up to Graves
Castle (the foundation Of a home that burned in 1939) and continue the
tradition of passing down oral lore ghost stories that let young minds
revel in fantasy. Each cabin group heads out separately to camp under
the stars on Tuesday night and Wednesday night the entire camp comes
together for campfire songs and skits.
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A carnival and dance
is arranged for Thursday night followed by the Friday night stick
ceremony that starts with each camper bringing a stick for the
campfire and discussion that brings closure to a big week away from
home.
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“We no longer
transport kids to activities in the back of a pickup,” Bucky said as
he cited the many modern changes owing to the age, of liability. “We
no longer do night swimming and the old tree house is gone.
“All the medicines have to be checked in to the nurse,” he added’
noting that he has a waiting list of nurses who volunteer their time
at, the camp. “But all the values of the Camp Reed experience are
still here.”
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Parents who have
never had a camp experience don’t always know what to expect when they
drop their
kids off. - “Some have asked if there are air conditioners in the
cabins or if we have heaters to warm the lake for swimming,” Bucky
said. “But we teach every camper and counselor to take everything as
it comes, good or bad, and greet it with our motto: ‘It’s the best!’
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“If there’s one
thing we want every camper to go home with, it’s the attitude that
there can be a positive side to everything that - happens in their
lives.”
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