![]() ![]() No matter where I go or who I meet, I have trouble not comparing new experiences to my time at Camp Laurelwood. Not only was I able to make lifetime friends, learn a new culture and embrace its beautiful people, I was able to play with kids all day! I spent my summers without a care, helping many young people through the trials and tribulations of being a teenager.Īfter four Laurelwood summers it was time to figure myself out- what could I do where I play with kids all year and work at Camp in the summer? One day after camp was over for the summer, my mother effortlessly offered, “Teach.”Īs I prepare to enter my 20th year in Education (after 10 years at Laurelwood), I realize my true passion for teaching was sparked in those first few years at Camp Laurelwood. My name is Jill.” It was the beginning of a new me - my first summer as a Laurelwood counselor. She looked at me and said, “You must be new here. I was the new kid - I didn’t know anyone until another girl sat next to me on the Mess Hall steps while everyone else was greeting each other with laughter, hugs, and tears. My first summer at Camp was the first time I was away from home for more than one week. This connection to Laurelwood lasts a lifetime, making Laurelwood a place you can always call home. At Laurelwood, from the moment a camper arrives, they are immersed in the decades long traditions that allow campers to feel a part of the Laurelwood family. During chilly summer evenings, counselors and staff often huddled in front of a roaring fire set in its massive fieldstone fireplace.įor over 80 years, Camp Laurelwood has operated as the premier overnight Jewish summer camp in Connecticut. The Rec Hall hosted Shabbat services, rainy day movies, camp socials, theatrical productions, and even served as a barbershop in the 1960s. And for many years, it was like a museum with Big “O” flags from years past hanging from its rafters. ![]() Late 20th century to todayīefore the Chuppa was built, the Rec Hall was the official camp gathering place. Thus, in the summer of 1960 - and with a fresh well pumping water - Camp Laurelwood opened its newest place to stay cool. After a few dry holes dug, she successfully located a spring with an abundant supply of water. Chandler who used a forked tree branch found on Main Campus to locate additional ground water. ![]() Borrowing a page from an old dime-novel, Board President Milton Holiner hired a local “diviner” named Mrs. However, swimming pools that large require thousands of gallons of water, which Camp Laurelwood did not have in abundance. Given the board’s fundraising success and the excitement of the greater Jewish community in New Haven for the pool project, Camp Laurelwood quickly raised the $35,000 required to build both the pool and the adjoining shower house facilities. 1950s - the "T" Poolĭuring the 1950s Camp Laurelwood looked to begin construction on a pool, regularly called the “T” pool. Part of the building was used for a small office. The dining hall from the rented location in Northford was disassembled, transported to North Madison, and erected on a new foundation. The first essential need was drinking water, which was obtained by driving a 200-foot deep well into the bedrock. ![]() Tents were staked out to house the children, camp director and staff - one side of the road for girls and the other for boys. A $1,000 loan from the New Haven Jewish Community Center covered more than one-third of the $2,850 purchase price for the North Madison property. After an exhaustive survey to find a suitable permanent location, the current property in North Madison, Connecticut was purchased.Ĭamp Laurelwood started with no money in the bank it had only the spirit, devoted service and will of self-sacrificing men and women, to provide deserving Jewish children from New Haven the benefits of a summer camp experience. But after 1936, the rapidly growing operation no longer fit its rented space along the Pine River in Northford, Connecticut. From 1931 to 1936, and inspired by a Jewish camp in Massachusetts, Camp Laurelwood began as a day camp facility. ![]()
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