The Becket Chimney Corners YMCA, also known as the BCCYMCA, is a independent YMCA located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Since opening in 1903 with the founding of a residential [[[summer camp]]] for boys, the BCCYMCA has expanded to include a residential summer camp for girls, a day camp, domestic and international youth travel programs and a year-round outdoor education center. All are located on the same 1350 acre property in the woods of Becket, Massachusetts and operate under the direction of the Becket Chimney Corners board of directors and CEO Phillip Connors.[1] Each department of the organization operates under its own director and staff, but retains the same character and goals.
Through the application of Judeo-Christian principles, the Becket Chimney Corners YMCA builds communities, which nurture personal growth in spirit, mind and body. We develop, conduct, and support programs which foster responsible citizenship, healthy lifestyles, environmental stewardship, international understanding and cooperation, concern for others and respect for individual differences. Supported by volunteers, our YMCA encourages participation by men, women, and children regardless of age, race, creed, socioeconomic condition or cultural heritage.[2]
Two State YMCA that established the Camp Becket in 1903 with 21 boys and a weekly fee of $4.50. Henry William Gibson, formerly Boys Work Secretary for the Lancaster Pennsylvania YMCA, assumed the role of director later the same year and continued is this role until his retirement in 1927.[3] Early material promoted the camp as “a place of beauty, a center of happiness, a strong educational force, with a deep spiritual influence”.[4]
In 1931 Henry Gibson came out of retirement to start Chimney Corners Camp with his wife Ina Pound Gibson. Chimney Corners operated as a private residential summer camp until the Two State YMCA bought it in 1972. [5]
Becket campers and staff pose in front of their cabin, 1922Chimney Corners campers and staff in mid 1930s
Both Camp Becket and Chimney Corners run two four-week sessions. The camp program is based around Cabin groups- eight campers and two staff living and working together for the duration of the session. Through daily cabin activities, group tasks and community living, cabin groups form a bond that many campers come to think of as a family within camp. Small group activity is part of the overall BCCYMCA goal of character development. It is each camps goal that campers “learn through taking risks, trying new things and doing their best”.[6] Both camps are accredited through the American Camp Association. [7]
Since 1903 Becket campers and staff, affectionately referred to as “Becketites,” have prided themselves on the values that guide them through the summer. Over the years these values have come to be known as “The Becket Way," described as the foundation upon which the community comes together.[8]
Camp Becket is divided into four age groups, known as villages. Each village consists of eight to ten cabins, and a village director. Villages act as an extended family within camp, and are grouped together for various evening activities throughout the session. The youngest campers live in Iroquois Village, whose cabins are named after The Native American tribes of the Iroquois Nation; Pioneer Village, with cabins named after famous explorers; Frontier Village’s cabins are named after U.S. Forts; the oldest campers live in U.S. National Parks themed Ranger Village.
At the beginning of the session, each camper chooses four activities to participate in. The following is a list of common activity offerings, though the list varies slightly from year to year. [9]
Land Sports: Baseball, Basketball, Cross-training, Disk Golf, Dodge ball/Floor Hockey, Flag Football, Kickball/Whiffleball, Lacrosse, Lawn sports, Rugby, Soccer, Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, Archery, Riflery
Like many summer camps, singing is an important part of the Camp Becket tradition. It is an enthusiastic way in which campers and staff alike express their camp spirit.
To really appreciate it you have to hear some 280 boys, ages 8 to 16, send it bouncing off the walls of Paul Dudley White Dining Hall like rolling thunder. The sound is enough to scatter even jaded blue jays.[10]
One of the oldest and most often sung songs at Camp Becket is Four Miles Up, referring to the four miles Beketites used to hike from the Becket train station in the town of Becket MA to get to camp.[11]
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
Another important song at Camp Becket is Amici, which was written by Mrs. Perry, wife of former village director Bob Perry. Unlike the rambunctious atmosphere of most other camp songs, Amici is a calming song, sung at the end of the day to mark special events. The spirit of Amici transcends the song and is a way in which Becketites express their fraternity toward one another. [12]
Amici
Sung to the tune of the Cornell University alma matter
Chimney Corners Camp is located on Smith Pond, one mile away from Camp Becket. The camp focuses on character development through the YMCA values of Caring, Respect, Responsibility, and Honesty.[14] In addition, CCC has recently adopted the concept of Agape as a guiding principle of camp life. The spirit of Agape was described by Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech Loving Your Enemy:
agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive
goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return. It is an
overflowing love; it's what theologians would call the love of God working
in the lives of men. And when you rise to love on this level, you begin to
love men, not because they are likeable, but because God loves them.[15]
It is this sentiment that best describes the atmosphere of community Chimney Corners tries to promote.
Chimney Corners is organized into three age groups, known as units, consisting of ten cabins and a unit leader. During the summer units act an extended family for campers, each with their own theme, cheers, activities and traditions. The youngest campers live in cabins named after boats in the Junior Unit. Intermediates live in fantasy-land themed cabins. The oldest campers live in the Senior Unit’s goddess and constellation-themed cabins.
At the beginning of the session, each camper chooses four activities to participate in for the duration of camp.[16] Though activities vary slightly by year, standard offerings include:
Land Sports: Aerobics/Fitness, Archery, Basketball, Flag Football, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Tennis, Soccer, Volleyball
As with Camp Becket, Chimney Corners campers maintain a steady stream of songs throughout their day as an expression of camp spirit. Many songs have passed in and out of favor through camp history, but the tradition remains. In addition to loud and energetic singing, Chimney Corners also maintains a tradition of gathering in a circle at the end of the day and serenading each other in Goodnight Circle. Many of the songs have been written or adapted for this tradition. One example is Magical Land, composed by Chimney alum Deb Klieman.[17]
Magical Land
I want to take you far away where moonbeams can sing
And show you all the sunshine togetherness can bring
We’ll laugh and dance with the trees and stars
Everyday there would be spring.
But for now we’re so apart in dreams and hopes, everything.
There’s a place where friendships strive on working hand-in-hand
Starlight skates on glistening mud in my magical land.
The clouds know when its time to go,
to let the sunshine stand.
In between the trees that dance, the lake and rain and sand.
Yes I’d like to walk through cabin doors, have cabin chat again.
So many dreams I’d share with you,
your hurt and tears I’d mend.
Don’t be afraid to share yourself, your loneliness would end.
Let Chimney Corners love inside, you’ll have a lifelong friend.
Let Chimney Corners love inside, you’ll have a lifelong friend.
Teens have participated in the Becket Chimney Corners co-ed leadership development programs since 1966.[18] In groups of around 12 campers with two leaders, participants travel for four to five weeks on domestic and international trips. The purpose of all Youth Travel Programs is to challenge each participant to develop a stronger sense of self-confidence, independence and purpose. [19]
Teen Leadership & Service (TLS) is a four week biking trip through New England and New York. Along the way participants plan and participate in service projects
Reaching, Educating and Caring for Humanity (REACH), is based on Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. During their four week stay, participants gain awareness of Native American culture and complete service projects in Bear Butte State Park and Badlands National Park.
Yellowstone Adventure & Service (YAS) participants travel through Yellowstone and other National Parks camping, hiking, rock climbing, and learning about the environment. They also participate in service projects during their four week stay.
International Camper Exchange Program (ICEP) is a cultural exchange between the BCCYMCA and partner YMCAs around the world. During their five weeks abroad, participants interact with other youth, complete home stays, and engage in community service. Recent destinations have included Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Costa Rica, Japan, Russia and Sweden. [20]
The Outdoor Center offers year-round programs for individuals, families and organizations. Offerings run from day trips to week long programs in which participants are housed on site.[21] Some programs include:
Becket Day Camp, operated by the Outdoor Center, runs for ten sessions of one week each during the summer. As with the residential camps, focus is on individual and small group development.
Environmental Education programs are run using the BCCYMCA’s 1350 acre property. Through a mix of classroom instruction and hands on experience in the forests, ponds and bogs that make up the area, groups learn about local ecosystems, outdoor living skills, and environmental stewardship.
Through the use of teambuilding, the Alpine Tower and low and high ropes courses, Leadership Development programs seeks to enhance participants’ abilities to work together and engage in new experiences. Groups range from schools, to religious groups to businesses.
Family Camps are based on the same values and overall program as the BCCYMCA resident camps. Programming is offered for all ages, and varies between the summer, fall and winter.
Winter Camp is a week long co-ed residential camping experience run during February school vacation. Program and philosophy are similar to the summer camps, with emphasis on the small group. Campers participate in activities unique to the winter experience, such as ice skating, cross country skiing, and tubing.
The Outdoor Center also offers its facilities and food services for the use of groups with their own programming.
