Growing Up With Camp Geddie

by Kevin MacDonell

On this sunny Saturday morning, parents are waving goodbye and
retreating back up the dusty gravel road. Another week's campers line up to register before joining the general assembly.

This area of grassy fields and woods by the Northumberland Strait in Pictou County was bought by the Presbyterian Church of Canada in 1946, and summer camps have been held here for children of all denominations ever since.

Camp Geddie, named after well-known Presbyterian missionary John Geddie, has come a long way since its humble beginnings.

"It started out in tents with about 20 kids," says camp director
Ian MacDonald. "Now we take about 75 a week." Campers slept in war surplus tents and bathed in a nearby lake. The main building was a ramshackle former lobster factory and dance hall.

Cabins and electricity were added over the years. Today there is a
nurse's cabin, a wash house, an all-purpose building for craft programs and rainy-day activities, a winterized cottage for visiting chaplains, six main cabins and two extra cabins. Each cabin accommodates 15 campers.

The old lobster factory was intentionally burned down in 1990 and replaced with the attractively shingled Irwin Lodge, named after a New Brunswick family who were major benefactors. Irwin Lodge houses the dining hall and offices and rooms for program staff.

Ian MacDonald practically grew up here. His father, a Presbyterian
minister, came to Geddie with his family to conduct a camp when Ian was just four or five months old.

"This is my 26th year here, and I'm only 28," laughs the University
of Toronto student, now studying to become a Presbyterian minister.

"Everybody who works here, with the exception of maybe two, have
been campers," he says. "And most of the counsellors have been going to camp here together and have known each other since they were nine or ten."

Most of the staff have come up through the camp's Leaders in
Training program, run along with the regular summer program once a year for ages 16-18.

The Camp Geddie experience has a lifelong influence for some. Rev. Donald MacKay, on the staff of the Presbyterian Synod of the Atlantic
Provinces, was a camper back in 1952. He returned every summer until he started university in 1961.

"Most of the counsellors have known each other since they were nine or ten." - Ian MacDonald, Camp Director

"This is a place that's had a lot of influence (on me)," says MacKay, who was ordained in the camp's rustic outdoor chapel in 1968, and has been back for part of almost every summer since.

"We keep working at the content and the purpose of the camp," MacKay adds.The influence of religion on the camp has changed with the times, he says.

"When I was a camper, you weren't allowed to swim on Sunday."

Until about 1980, camps were conducted by visiting ministers. The
church later switched from volunteers to paid staff, so workers and
counsellors now tend to be younger, yet know the camp well.

There are six counsellors, a waterfront director, a canoe instructor, an arts, music and drama instructor, and a nature instructor - all working full-time.

Although there may be less direct religious instruction, religion is still the primary reason for the camp's existence. There is a daily Bible study period and a nightly church service which campers themselves plan and take part in.

Only half the campers are Presbyterian. Many of the rest are Roman
Catholic, United Baptist and Anglican.

"A lot of the kids who come have no real church connection at all." - Ian MacDonald, Camp Director

"A lot of the kids who come have no real church connection at all,"
MacDonald says. Although applications are distributed by Presbyterian
churches, many campers are here because of word-of-mouth, or are friends of other campers. Most are from Pictou County, but some come from Halifax, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island. Every year there are even a few from Ontario and U.S families vacationing in the area.

It's a beautiful spot. A wide sand beach stretches up the coast, offering campers ocean swimming. The lake, behind the beach, has a boat house and dock for canoeing. The wooded land surrounding the camp also belongs to the church and is used for interpretive nature hikes.

"I'm not sure whether it's the beauty of the place or the fun of the place, but it calls people back over and over again," MacDonald says.

Or maybe, he muses, it's all the attention kids get here. There are no computers and not much television and recorded music, so there's plenty of time for getting to know one another.

Location:

On the Northumberland Strait, off Highway 245 near Merigomish, N.S. The camp sign may not be in place, so watch carefully for a small green sign that says Geddie Road -- turn onto this gravel road and follow it to the shore.

Fees and Registration:

Camp runs from June 27 to August 30 this year. Schedule changes from year to year, so check with camp for most recent information. Length of camps varies with age. 1998 rates: $25 per full day, $18.50 per half-day (first and last days of each camp). For example, fees range from $62 for three-day camps for 7- to 8-year-olds, up to $162 for one-week camps for older children. There is also a three-day Senior Co-Ed camp (15-17), operated as a conference in which campers organize their activities, for $62. A graduated fee scale is in place for families sending more than one child to camp. A Family Camp is held in August.

Outdoor Programs and General Services:

Bible study, worship, singing, campfires, cookouts, canoeing, swimming, outdoor education, campcraft, archery, sports. Most camp activities are organized on a unit basis, with campers divided into about six units. Meals, sports, campfire and evening worship are done on a camp-wide basis.

Kids Should Bring:

Clothes for all types of weather -- sweaters, rain jackets, bathing suits,
pants, shorts, sunscreen, etc., Bible, sleeping bag and pillow, soap, face
cloth, bath and/or beach towel, toothpaste and brush. Encouraged to also bring notebook and pencil, flashlight, camera. Do NOT bring portable stereos, radios, food or electronic toys.

Camp Contacts:

Camp Geddie, Merigomish, N.S. B0K 1G0. 902-926-2632. The registrar is Marjorie Jeans, RR 1, Thorburn, N.S. B0K 1W0. 902-922-2653 or emjeans@north.nsis.com. The treasurer for Camp Geddie is Gordon MacNeil, P.O. Box 1825, Stellarton, N.S. B0K 1S0. For information on the Leaders In Training (LIT) program e-mail:  dlaing@north.nsis.com.