Camp History

Who would have ever thought in the summer of 1914, when boys from the YMCA of Youngstown made the great trek by train to the Little Beaver River in West Point, Ohio to start Camp Fitch, that nearly one hundred years later Camp Fitch would still be going strong and serving over 19,000 campers a year. When John Fitch gave the first gift to get Camp Fitch off the ground, Woodrow Wilson was President and World War I was looming on the horizon. Here we are in the next century and tens of thousands of campers get a smile on their faces as memories of Camp Fitch come to mind.

We certainly give thanks to the foresight of great visionaries like Leonard Skeggs and Paul Davies to buy land, ten years later, on the shores of Lake Erie to meet the ever-growing needs of Camp Fitch. Men such as these and Curly Johnson (writer of the Candlelight Service still used today) gave us an incredible foundation to build on. Speaking of solid foundations – in 1930 the Kane and McCleary families gave money to build a new Dining Hall and Recreation Lodge that are still being used today.

Many campers and staff, even going back to the roaring twenties, the depression years of the 30s, and the war years of the 40s, not to mention the countless alumni from the second half of the century, come up to North Springfield not knowing exactly what to expect. Would they recognize camp, would it feel the same, would they know anybody there? The camp and staff now take it as the highest compliment when alumni say, “"Gee the place sure has grown but you know what it still feels the same."

What is camp like at the dawn of a new century? The old traditions of summer camp like Candlelight, Order of the Oar and Polar Bear are still as much of camp as ever. Change is a part of camp as in every aspect of life in America. When camp started on Lake Erie swimming was limited to the lake, but in 1960 Lake Mvima was built and in 1977 a swimming pool was added. Campers can now not only shoot a bow & arrow at the Johnson Archery Range, but climb the 40-foot Diebel - Smith Climbing Tower at Beedes Flat, sea kayak on Lake Erie, and mountain board on the hills in camp.

Walking through the early morning dew to the bathrooms is still a part of camp, but now instead of walking to the Kings and Queens campers walk to tiled and partitioned new bathrooms at Christman & Russell Lodges. Walking from the upper flat to the lower flat no longer entails the adventure of the Archery Path and railroad tie steps but is now a breeze of going down beautiful wooden stairs to a wooden boardwalk. Camp has changed but always for the better.

Probably the biggest change comes with the advent of year-round camping. Under Bill Lyder's leadership, who was the longest tenured camp director in camp history (1966 - 2007), camp has evolved from a summer camp to a year-round juggernaut. Camp Fitch has campers all seasons of the year with folks in camp approximately 340 days a year. Children can now watch sunsets over the lake in the summer but also watch it standing in two feet of snow as it sets earlier much further to the southwest.

The Outdoor Education Program works with approximately 80 schools each year. This valuable program started in 1973 and has served thousands of children throughout the years. Camp Fitch has had many schools that have come for well over thirty years – talk about engrained traditions! Our Weekend Retreats have served a variety of groups throughout the years. Everything from parent - child YMCA programs, to church groups, women’s retreats and even family reunions have enjoyed camp through the seasons.

The latest exciting development and by far the biggest is the new dining hall complex built in 2005. Skeggs Lodge is our new dining hall with breathtaking views of Lake Erie. Keeping with our traditions the old dining hall was completely remodeled and a new state-of-the-art kitchen was built serving both dining halls. We don't have to eat in shifts anymore, now we can serve upwards of 750 people at the same time.

Making camp better to serve the needs of a new generation of campers has always been our goal, but holding onto our traditions and philosophy is equally as important. Camp keeps changing but always for the better!