Camp Beaverbrook
Established1961
FoundersRobert and Marian Brown
Defunct1985
Location
Coordinates38°51′16″N 122°45′39″W / 38.854360°N 122.760930°W / 38.854360; -122.760930

Camp Beaverbrook was a co-educational overnight summer camp located at 14117 Bottle Rock Road, Cobb, California, near Cobb Mountain, in Lake County, California from 1961 - 1985.[1]

History

Camp Beaverbrook was founded in 1956 by Robert and Marian Lessman Brown of Orinda, California, opening to campers in 1961. Known as Amee and Niha, Pomo language for "Father" and "Mother," in honor of the Pomo people indigenous to the area, the Browns operated the camp until their retirement in 1979.[2] In later years, the camp was operated by Ronald and Lynn Garrison of Auburn, California.[3][4]

Activities

Camp activities included riflery, archery, horseback riding, hiking, nature walks, backpacking, arts and crafts projects, drama (the camp regularly produced several musicals each summer),[5] swimming, water skiing at nearby Clear Lake, music, volleyball, boating and overnight canoe trips on the Russian River.

Campers, known as "Beaverbods", were mainly from the San Francisco Bay Area, though some came from as far away as Europe, Mexico, Canada and Japan. A unique feature of the camp was a relative lack of competitiveness. Campers were rarely put into direct competition with one another, rather, a supportive and mutually nurturing environment was cultivated. Thousands of youngsters attended the camp, and a Yahoo! interest group exists for them to stay in touch with one another as well as a dedicated Facebook group.

Like most sleep away summer camps, Camp Beaverbrook lived and thrived as an isolated community, cut off from the outside world. Campers were deprived of television, radio, candy, hair dryers, and many other creature comforts. While a rigid daily structure was in place, there was also an abundance of choice and each day included several unstructured "free time" periods. Each camper could select his or her own activities for the day at the beginning of each activity period with as many as seven or eight choices.

A large contingent of campers came back year after year and some stayed for several sessions each summer. Many campers came for three or four or even five summers in a row. A few campers returned for more than ten summers, many went on to become counselors.

Legacy

Matthew C. "Flash" Callahan, who attended Camp Beaverbrook from 1977–1985, developed a one-man show, Campfire Stories, loosely based on his camp experiences.[6] In 2010, Callahan completed a 68-minute documentary film, Beaverbrook, that screened at the Black Hills Film Festival, DocUtah, and San Francisco DocFest in 2011. The documentary was broadcast as part of KQED's Truly CA documentary series in 2012.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Lynn Neary (July 8, 2004). "Analysis: Summer Camp Stories, Then and Now". NPR. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Marian Lessmann Brown". Contra Costa Times. 4 May 2008. She worked as a "stay-at-home-Mom" until she and her late husband, Robert W. Brown built and founded Camp Beaverbrook in 1956. Together, they operated and directed their private children's camp located in Cobb Mountain, Lake County, Calif., until they retired in 1979.
  3. ↑ "A list of some camps available in the Redwood Empire". The Press Democrat. Santa Rosa, CA. 1 April 1982. p. 17.
  4. ↑ Cohen, Bonnie (22 July 1985). "Beaverbrook campers recall the good times". The Press Democrat. Santa Rosa, CA. p. 10. Today two former counselors, Lynn and Ron Garrison, have taken over for the Browns.
  5. ↑ Perkins, Broderick (27 April 1986). "Summer Camp a Place for Every Interest". The Mercury News. San Jose, CA. p. 1L. Lynn Garrison, one of the camp directors, says kids aged 6 to 17 won't perform just typical camp skits but will prepare full one-act productions of popular musicals. . . the kids will be schooled in acting, singing, improvisation and mime as well as makeup, costuming and both set design and construction. . . . The summer stock (in the past, everything from Neil Simon to Shakespeare) is presented to parents, other campers and neighbors in nearby cities.
  6. ↑ Whited, Scott (25 February 2005). "Californian brings 'Campfire Stories'". The Pueblo Chieftain. Callahan is bringing his one-man show, "Campfire Stories," to Hoag Hall on the Colorado State University-Pueblo campus for a free, one-night-only performance at 7:30 p.m. March 5. The play is loosely based on his experiences at Camp Beaverbrook, located about 100 miles north of the Bay City, where he spent 10 years of his youth more than two decades ago.
  7. ↑ "Beaverbook". KQED. 29 Jul 2012.

Further reading

  • Brown, Marian L. (1998). Past Tents: A Book about Camp Beaverbrook. Small Poetry Press.
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