Camp Christopher celebrates a century

by Emily Canning-Dean

Since the 1920s, Camp Christopher has promoted adventure, the great outdoors and community spirit to people of all ages and abilities and this fall, the organization will celebrate 100 years of serving the community.

“We are going to kick off the celebration with our fall festival which will be Oct. 12,” said camp Director Olivia Mackey.

The event will be from 1-7 p.m. at 1930 N. Hametown Rd. and will include live music, carnival games, trick-or-treating, food trucks, drinks and other activities.

“Camp Christopher is part of Cleveland Catholic Charities, so the bishop from the Cleveland Diocese will be coming to celebrate with us,” she said.

As part of the centennial year, Camp Christopher also held a staff reunion on Aug. 17 with staff members from different decades.

History

The camp, now located on N. Hametown Road, has expanded from its humble beginnings.

“The first Camp Christopher location was near the Portage Lakes,” Mackey said. “It was founded by the Knights of Columbus in the 1920s. Their purpose was to promote Catholic values and after World War I, they had some extra money and decided they wanted to create a camping program for children.

“It was very primitive back then at the back of a farm where there were tents and a swimming hole. Seminarians and Sisters [nuns] ran the camp and there was no electricity.”

Mackey said the camp was eventually relocated off Bath Road closer to its current location and then in 1953, the camp was moved to its current spot at N. Hametown Road.

“We now have 165 acres, four lakes, hiking trails, a natural bridge, a cave and 16 cabins,” Mackey said. “It is such a beautiful place. We used to have boys only and girls only leagues, but in 1974, we went co-ed.”

During the summer, Camp Christopher offers six weeks of a weeklong residential camp for children ages 7 to 16.

“We serve about 200 kids a week during the residential camps, but we also have eight weeks of day camp for ages 5 to 12 where we serve about 150 kids a week,” Mackey said. “All campers get to enjoy lake swimming, horses, archery, fishing, crafts, a hiking challenge, a zip line and a rock wall. We also have a lot of fun camp activities like a carnival, a dance and a color run.”

Family camp sessions allow families to engage in activities together, with the option of children enjoying activities under the supervision of a camp counselor while parents enjoy adult activities.

“We also have a day camp for children with disabilities and a weeklong camp for adults with disabilities,” Mackey said.

While Camp Christopher is part of Cleveland Catholic Charities, Mackey said the camp is open to individuals and families of all beliefs and backgrounds.

Summer is the busy season for Camp Christopher, but Mackey said there are activities taking place year-round at the camp.

“Spring and fall are mainly our environmental education seasons,” she said. “We will have students from both public and private schools come to the camp for field trips where they will learn about the great outdoors, trees, soil and water.”

Mackey said organizations including Boy Scout or Girl Scout Troops, or corporate groups, can rent space at the camp to host retreats.

Personal experience

For many families, Camp Christopher becomes a family tradition.

“You see parents and grandparents who want to bring their kids and grandkids here,” Mackey said. “My mom worked here when she was 15 or 16. I first started working here in 2015 and helped in a variety of roles and now I’ve been the full-time director for the last three years.”

Deacon Will Yoho said that his first visit to Camp Christopher ended up being a turning point in his life.

“The funny thing is that I never went to camp there as a kid,” he said. “I was 19 when I first went on a youth retreat at Camp Christopher.”

Yoho attended a peer ministry known as Search, which was a program at the camp for nearly 50 years. He said he believes this program was the catalyst to his eventually becoming a deacon.

“Being in peer ministry, it wasn’t a bunch of old people talking to you and it was one of those places that were great for kids who didn’t really have a community at their own school or their church,” he said.

Yoho said he made many lasting relationships through his time at Camp Christopher and even met his wife, Liz, at the Search event. Later Yoho, who has been a deacon since 2007, became the spiritual director of the program.

Camp Christopher became a significant place for his family over the years. One of his sons was a camp counselor and three of his other sons completed their Eagle Scout projects at the property, which included the construction of a horse corral, a bridge over a ravine and a deck in front of the bathrooms.

“So many other camps are struggling, but at Camp Christopher there is a waiting list to get in,” Yoho said. “I think that is really a tribute to the leadership. We are so blessed to have Olivia as the camp director. We also have great support from Friends of Camp and the ladies auxiliary which hold fundraisers to create scholarships that pay for kids to attend camp.”

Mackey said that she thinks the camp has lasted for so long in part due to the support it receives from Cleveland Catholic Charities as well as the Cleveland Diocese, which has helped to cover improvements and updates to some of the older facilities at the camp.

“We have thousands of people come through here and I think it’s a special place where kids gain social skills and get to know a lot of other kids after coming here year after year,” she said. ∞

A group of campers plunge into the lake for a swim. Photo courtesy of Camp Christopher.

On our cover (photos): Campers have fun dancing and trying the agility course at Camp Christopher, which has been in its current Bath location on N. Hametown Road for 71 of its 100 years of existence. Photos courtesy of Camp Christopher.