Generations of Dedication
Inside the Lives of Ibis' Summer Camp Owners
What makes a person choose to run a sleep-away camp for hundreds of children each summer and continue to do it for decades?
Since we have three such camp directors right here in Ibis, we decided to ask them.
For Ibis Isles resident Amy Stein, it was a family affair. Her parents, NYC school teachers, founded Camp Echo Lake in Warrensburg, NY in 1946, when other New York teachers were buying up camps inexpensively to help get kids out of the city during the hot summer months.
She was just eight years old at the time and she and her sister, Laurie Alexander, also an Ibis resident, grew up spending their summers there.
After college and marriage, at the mere age of 26, Amy and her husband Morry bought the camp from her parents.
“It was our life,” reflected Stein, who is now 85. “ I taught for a short time and then Morry and I decided to make this our sole source of income. In the beginning, we had 120 campers and it cost $485 for the season. It’s a much bigger operation now with 500 boys and girls attending each summer.”
Her middle son Tony and his wife Emily now run the camp.
Camp Echo Lake’s motto: "Dedicated to human development with a loving supportive camp community that looks to bring out the best in every camper and staff member."
Bent Creek resident Jeffrey Konigsberg has owned and run all-boys Camp Takajo in Naples, Maine for 35 years. Ten years after running Camp Takajo he bought Tripp Lake Camp, an all-girl's camp nearby.
Konigsberg started as a Takajo camper in 1970 at the age of nine. His dad was the first Takajo camper when the camp opened in 1947.
When Jeff graduated from college, owner Morty Goldman asked him to help recruit campers.
He must have done a pretty good job because when he was 27 years old Goldman offered to sell him the camp.
For the past 35 years, Konigsburg has owned and run Camp Takajo which now averages 385 boys ages 7-15 each summer; and for the past 25 years, he's owned and run Tripp Lake Camp which averages 300 girls ages 7-16 each summer. Now that’s a lot of campers!!!
"Our children are growing up in a fast, complex world". Konigsberg explained. The camps' fundamental emphasis is to instill strong moral and ethical standards that build character through an extensive range of activities.
Villagio residents Bernice and Mark Glaser met at Camp Nock-A-Mixon in Kintnersville, PA 54 years ago this coming summer. While Mark started as a camper at the age of five, he met Bernice in 1970 when she was hired as a counselor several years later. They eventually became Head Counselors, got married, and when the previous owner was ready to retire, they both said "YES" when he offered to sell them the camp.
Today, there are 500 boys and girls ages 7-15 who attend each summer, and their sons Gary and Jay help run the camp with them. The camp values each person's individuality while also emphasizing community. It is a place where campers gain independence and self-confidence while having the summer of a lifetime.
All the camps take great pride in their dedicated well-trained staff, healthful environments, huge variety of activities (you would have to go to each camp's website to see the long list of activities that they each offer) and building the characters of our children.
Kudos to them all for the good work they do.
We are proud to have them as our neighbors in Ibis.
CAMP TAKAJO LOGO
TRIPP LAKE CAMP LOGO
jeff@camptakajo.com
914-273-5020
CAMP NOCK A MIXIN LOGO
Camp Nock-A-Mixon
610-941-0128
CAMP ECHO LAKE LOGO
Camp Echo Lake
(518) 623-9635
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How many of you met your spouse or significant other at camp? We would like to share your story. Please contact Karen Galinko at kgalinko@yahoo.com.