The Beginnings of Camp Fowler

"A Miracle had happened. The Camp was ours. It belonged to us. It had a name, a good name, owned by a man who loved God and His Church, and was greatly esteemed by his fellow men." This phrase found in the Particular Synod of Albany's minutes, May 1954, summarizes the feeling found throughout the Synod upon the purchase of the Anthony Farrell Great Camp situated on Sacandaga Lake in Speculator, NY in February of 1954. The name of Lewis M. Fowler would be memorialized here because of his steady love for his God and church and his wishes that his estate money be used to help youth. But this was not just some pipe dream that had materialized on a whim. It was the result of lots of hard work, planning, and vision.

Camping had been part of the ministry found in the Albany Synod for a number of years. Exact data was never kept and those who were among the forerunners are now either gone or hidden among us somewhere where their stories will probably be left untold. Herm Luben, former pastor at the Jay Gould Memorial Reformed Church in the Albany Synod and influential in the early years of Fowler remembers the individual Classis as taking the reigns and running camping programs for their Senior High, and then in later years Junior High, youth. Locations such as Otsego Lake, Lake Canadaigua, Burdan Lake, and Cooperstown all housed conferences of 60-80 campers. These were organized by pastors in a particular classis and became essentially a family affair staffed by spouses and adult friends and church members. These camping weeks started in 1934 with a youth conference at Burden Lake, NY. A paragraph in the PSA Annual Report, 1935, says how this camp was received:

No references have been made to the Burden Lake summer conference in any of the reports, which is disappointing in view of the fact that we know positively that there is a lively interest by pastors and young people in this recent and new venture by the Church in this area. Many individual youths as well as Churches are already feeling and experiencing the valuable influences of this conference; and it is fully expected that this, the second year, will show gains in every respect over the first year.

Certainly they were running well when Rev Luben came to the Albany Synod in 1948. Luben remembers the Rochester Classis as holding a camping session as early as 1941, when he was a seminarian and was asked to help out.

Camping had grown in popularity by 1950 in the Synod. Particularly for those in the Classis of Montgomery, the idea of a camp owned by the Albany Synod was stewing in the minds of many. Two pastors in particular wished to see this idea through to its fruition. "Cornelius Dykhuizen of Canajoharie, and Chester Chilton of Fort Plain were among the first to become enthused over the possibility of owning this camp." Having camped with children for many years and seeing the rewards in the eyes of the children and adults who helped they were convinced of the value a camp would have for their Classis. A couple of factors put an edge on their decision to look for a permanent camp. They were: 1) Pathfinder Lodge in Cooperstown was where the Mont. Classis had held many of its camps. They could only reserve one week per summer to bring their kids prior to 1952. In 1952 they were offered a second week and "that was the first time in our Synod when we had a Junior conference". Then in 1953 they were only offered one week and after having two weeks the summer before, the ministers were disappointed. 2) There was a growing number of campers wishing to attend camp and Pathfinder Lodge was barely able to hold them in 1952-3. "I think it was out of an overcrowding of the situation that we began to feel that there was a need for a place where we could really expand. Not only to house them but to feed them - we filled the dining hall right out to the windows."

This having to camp at the convenience of others and a growing need led Dykhuizen and Chilton to begin looking for a suitable location. While at Pathfinder, Mrs Dorothy Jenner, the nurse for the week, overheard the pastors talking and said she knew of a place near Speculator that would make a wonderful camp. She thought the Classis could purchase it for around $60,000. This was the spark the flame fire needed and what happened before the 1953 Synod meeting is the stuff that legends are made of. The Montgomery pastors followed up on the lead offered to Dykhuisen and Chilton and contacted Mr Graham Olmstead the owner of the property for sale on Sacandaga Lake, Speculator. Chilton, who was to be chairperson of the drive to raise the $40,000 necessary for the camp, visited the site in February 1953 along with Rev. Dykhuisen, Rev. Jim Benes, and Rev. Ernest Crounse. The following is Ernie Crounse's reflections recorded in 1965 of that day:

Having picked up Mr. Olmstead in Northville, we came on up to Moffitt's Beach which is adjoining the property we wanted to look at and that was as near as we could get to the property itself. So we parked the car off the road and started down through the snowdrifts, just about as high as a man could walk through without snowshoes, without skies, without dogsled, without a snowmobile such as we have today, but we went on foot. The wind was blowing a gale, through the woods, across the lake piling the drifts higher. The winds were bitterly cold that day and we treked down through the woods of Moffitt's Beach, across the boundary line into the property owned by Mr. Olmstead at the time and came to the caretaker's cottage which was nearest to Moffitt's Beach. There we found the haven of a warm fire - getting out of the cold, began to warm up a bit and to appraise the property, after a short stopover at the caretaker's cottage. As I remember, we went on foot to some of the buildings on the property... We looked at it - thought about our situation - talked it over and started back. We were quite impressed even though it was February. We were impressed with the fact that this could make a nice camp ground in the summer time.

The crew fell in love with the place. It wasn't as though it was the only place they had scouted and it wasn't without its problems. The fact that it was (and still is) so far removed from any of the Reformed Churches was a problem. Would people be willing to travel that far on roads that were less than well groomed? Also, additional buildings would have to be built in order to make it a summer camp. A dining hall/kitchen and boy's residence would both have to be built which would cost a projected $22,000 more. The idea of a single Classis owning a camp was quite intimidating and they wisely brought it before the Synod of Albany meeting in May, 1953, where, in retrospect, I suppose a remarkable thing happened. Nine resolutions were proposed by Chilton, et al and they were met with favor. Four main points stood out in the proposal adopted by the Synod. They were: 1) that the PSA go on record in favor of owning and operating a SUMMER CAMP (their emphasis-not mine) where youth and adult conferences and retreats may be held by the Reformed churches in our Synod. 2) An executive committee was formed to consider selection and purchase of property. 3) The property was not to exceed $40,000. 4) A Camp Board of Directors was to be a permanent committee in the PSA. The Synod was willing to step out in faith that a camp would materialize and would be supportable. What makes this decision all the more remarkable was the fact that in conjunction with this decision in 1953 the Synod also committed itself to a new church start in Pitcher Hill, an area near Syracuse which also had a price tag of $40,000. The two major projects were promoted together in 1954 as a symbol of the Synod's "advance" forward. A brochure showing this is included at the end of this paper. (These figures were both later raised to $50,000 each and so that the 1953 Synod was affectionately dubbed "the $100,000 Synod").

After scouting approximately a dozen sites, the search committee decided on the Olmstead property as being the best suited for the PSA's needs. A down payment of $1,000 was made on August 29, 1953 towards a purchase price of $25,000. The purchase included 9 buildings, 165 acres of land, and 1,000' of lakefront. No other significant amount of money had been raised to meet this price, let alone the needed additions to operate.

Chilton began writing letters, "shots in the dark", to people whom he thought might be interested in such a project as this. One of those letters was written to the widow of Mr Lewis Fowler of St Johnsville, NY. Her husband had died in February of 1951 and a fund had been set up as a memorial to him. Apparently he had a very strong love for children and the money was meant to be used to help children and especially those in the St. Johnsville area. Originally a town pool was going to be built with the funds but "that purpose had fallen by the wayside for one reason of another". She decided that Lewis would have liked the money to go to this project. He was a strong Christian and member of the St. Johnsville Reformed Church, but in addition to that, he had grown up in Piseco, a small town about eight miles from where the camp was to be. Chilton was elated that something like this would happen to, but he was wise enough to check to see if the money truly could be used for this purpose. The money had been given by people of various faiths and after some discussion it was agreed that they be called and given the chance to withdraw their donation. Of the $40,000 originally in the fund, $35,000 remained to be used toward the purchase of the property. The check was presented on February 6, 1954.

The camp was now the Synod's. There was still much work to be done on it before it could open. A Board of Director's was elected consisting of one minister and one lay person from each classis in the PSA along with two at large members and the Men's and Women's Synodical Youth Counselors. A purpose statement was drafted: "to provide camping and conference facilities for the people of the RCA, Albany Synod, and such others as the Board of Director's may approve." The first projects to be done were to build a dining hall and boy's residence before the 1954 camping season. In an earlier report, Cornelius Dykhuisen sums up best the task before the Board: "Again may I remind you that this is no ordinary job. This will take lots of work and will cause plenty of worries. But with God's help it will be one of the most blessed projects that our Synod will have taken on in all of its long worthwhile history." Even with Fowler's donation, $35,500 over the $25,000 purchase price was needed to make the camp functional. Classes, churches, and small groups were all solicited to help with the fund drive. "Share your responsibilities and you will share its benefits" was one slogan used. "It's hardly fair to expect the other fellow to carry the load while you reap the benefits -- let's ALL PULL THE LOAD TOGETHER." was another.

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Opening date was scheduled for July 12, 1954 and there was much to be done. Standing committees were established. Rev. Louis Chisman was elected chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee which was to be of utmost importance the first few years. Rev Herm Luben was chairman of the Program Committee. His was the design that existed until 1976 when William Faulkner would become Director. Luben's design was an obvious one in relation to his previous experience with camping. Leaders ("directors") were chosen for the various weeks. Most of these were pastors though one woman made the list in 1954: Mrs George Sluyter. The Reverend Floyd Nagel had the dubious honor of being the director of the first camp ever run at Fowler. Once the program committee chose directors, it became the director's responsibility to recruit volunteer counselors, a nurse, and to design their own programing materials. The camp hired a summer manager, kitchen staff, and waterfront personal. This is the exact situation the Classes had faced in running their own programs, so this system stayed in place, transported as it was to its new location in the Adirondacks. Many of the long term pastors in the Albany Synod still look back on that design with bittersweet memories.

As the opening date approached, a dedication service was scheduled for July 11. It was to be complete with a "massed choir" where music was sent out ahead of time. A lage crowd came out to the dedication, though no numbers were recorded. Various men's groups came up that spring to clear and burn off brush, paint, and renovate buildings. It was by all appearances truly to be a Synod camp as groups came from all over to help. One man, instrumental in the early days, was Harry Spencer. Luben remembers him working constantly to get the brush cleared around the dining hall as it was being built. The work was completed one day before camp opened! A short message from L. Boutelle, secretary of the Board, is the only remaining official record of Spencer's efforts: "I, personally, know of the many hours you spent at Camp Fowler and I am very pleased to be able to send you the sincere appreciation and heartfelt thanks of the Board." Perhaps a more vivid memorial is the fact that the largest original building was ultimately named after Spencer.

Of the first years, no remaining record has been found of what the conferences consisted of programmatically. An October 11-12 meeting of the Board did list the early themes. A summer theme for 1954 was: "When Christ Takes Over". The 1955 theme was to be: "Life, Liberty, and Happiness in Christ Jesus." The permanent camp theme was: "Christ For All Of Life".

The demands of operating a camp was made obvious to the Board after the first season and it was voted in November, 1954 to hire Rev. Louis Chisman as "Executive Secretary". Chisman had served on the Building and Grounds Committee and was very active in the Fowler operation. His duties were: 1) Solicit funds for the needs of the Camp. 2) Organize Camp Fowler Chapters throughout the Synod. 3) Assume the duties of Building Chairman and Camp Manager. 4) Assume the duties of the Publicity Committe. 5) Honor all speaking engagements. Though the position was only thought to be temporary to relief the extra load the Camp encumbered on those involved, Louis was to be at the helm of Fowler for the next twenty some years.

Many things began to happen now. The Classis of Rochester announced that they too would participate in the 1955 camping season and no longer run their own program. Fowler also became incorporated on March 8, 1955 and the papers were signed at First Reformed Church in Schenectady. The Certificate read: we "desire to form a corporation for the purpose of organizing and maintaining mission schools and sunday schools and of acquiring property therefore." Brochures for both youth and adult camps were printed and "Meet the Master" was ultimately decided on as the theme (as opposed to the earlier chosen: "Life, Liberty, and Happiness in Christ Jesus). Participating ministers were asked to be allowed excused Sunday absence from their home church so they could fulfill their obligations to the program.

With the hiring of and "Executive Secretary", Incorporation of the Camp, the completion of the first major building program, and functioning committees, Fowler was grounded well. Its course had been set and few things would alter that course in the ensuing years. There were additions: cabin areas were built through donations and memorial funds to accomodate campers, a beautiful chapel was built in 1961 in honor of Rev Raymond Clee of First Reformed Albany, and a Conference Retreat House was built in 1964 to hold retreats year round at Fowler.