B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 07:09, 31 January 2015

B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp (BBPC) is a Jewish summer camp located in Lake Como, Pennsylvania, United States. The camp first opened in 1954 on the site of the former Camp Windsor; it has also been known as Camp B'nai B'rith (CBB). Before being acquired by B'nai B'rith January 1954, the 365-acre (1.48 km²) campground with a 13-acre (53,000 m²) lake was known as Camp Windsor.

Camp B'nai B'rith was renamed B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp (BBPC) on 19 August 1975, after the founder of B'nai B'rith Girls, Anita Perlman, following the purchase of Burr Oaks in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, named that one B'nai B'rith Beber Camp.^[1]

History leading up to B'nai B'rith's acquisition

In 1947, after hearing a report on the subject, the B'nai B'rith Supreme Lodge convention authorized the purchase of a camp to meet the growing need for a youth camp where leadership development and conventions could meet.^[2] In the spring of 1949, the B'nai B'rith-Henry Monsky Foundation was officially formed with the hopes of buying real estate, including a campground.^[3] The search for a campground began to come into life with a run-down property.

B'nai B'rith District 3 operated a home for orphans in Fairview, Pennsylvania^{[disambiguation needed]} for a number of years, though it had become abandoned by the 1940s.^[4] In the early 1950s, District 3's leadership made an offer to make the grounds "available to the Supreme Lodge for a youth encampment."^[5] Because the property was neither in good condition nor a good location, B'nai B'rith was able to close down the property, sell off the assets and transfer them, worth nearly $200,000, to the Monsky Foundation.^[6]

The Foundation was then able to purchase for $175,000, in January 1954, a 365-acre (148 ha) camp with a 13 acres (5.3 ha) lake at an elevation of 1,800 feet (550 m), originally known as Camp Windsor, located in Starlight in the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania.^[7] Five months later, in June, Camp B'nai B'rith was dedicated, and meetings were held there as well as a summer camp season for younger children.^[8]

Youth Camp

Perlman Camp's mission is to provide children with a safe, fun, and enriching summer camp experience in a Jewish environment. The camp offers a fun and inclusive family atmosphere, which provides opportunities for growth and the development of a sense of self. This pluralistic Jewish environment enhances teamwork, cooperation and leadership in the camp community and beyond. B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp is a traditional camping experience that encompasses athletics, arts, aquatics, outdoor adventure, and fosters Jewish values, morals and ethics.

Camp sessions include a 2-week (Rookie Camp), as well as 4- and 7-week sessions. Campers entering grades 3-10 are housed in bunks, and divided into three divisions: freshmores, juniors, and seniors. Teen campers participate in a two-year leadership track program, including the 11th grade Pioneer (PIO) program, and the 12th grade Staff-in-Training (SIT) program.

Campers participate in a variety of activities on a daily basis, including swim and waterfront activities, athletics, arts, drama, and music. Each week, campers may choose to participate in two hobbies, where they can develop skills in their individual areas of interest. Special camp programs include overnights, trips to amusement parks, a 4 July carnival, Israel Day, and Maccabiah (color war).

BBYO Leadership Training

Starting in 1957, BBYO began to hold leadership training programs at the camp. In 1959, the first International Leadership Training Conference was held there. In 1961, Kallah was started to be held there prior to this ILTC. For many years, up until 2005, BBYO's International Convention was held in the summer at B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp.

The Legend of Marcy Diamond

Both alumni and current campers alike all know the story of Marcy Diamond. At the camp, there are two female bunks set a bit further back than all the others known as G11 and G12. The legend has it that one night girls were inappropriately smoking in their bunk, while Marcy Diamond was the counselor on duty that night. All of the campers her bunk all happened to hate Marcy. The campers went to sleep and the bunk bursted into to flames due to the cigarettes left on the wooden floor. Marcy Diamond, in attempt to save all of them, woke up all of the campers and escorted them out of the bunk. As she was helping campers escape the burning bunk, she noticed one of them was still asleep. She sprinted back into the bunk and picked up the camper. She tried carrying her through the door,however, it would not budge. Marcy, being the great counselor she was, despite her campers' hatred toward her, went over to the window and helped the now awake camper through it. After the camper escaped via the window, Marcy Diamond put her hand on the window still to climb out, but the window suddenly closed due to the failing structure of the burning bunk and shopped off her hand. Marcy's entire body, with the exception of her now disconnected hand, burned to ashes with the rest of the bunk. What happened to her free hand, you ask? It roams around B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp all since the 1970's when the tragic incident occurred. The next morning, when the campers were asked what happened that night, they all said that their counselor Marcy was smoking inside of the bunk and threw the ashes on the floor, igniting the fire.

Every summer, around the time of the incident, Marcy's dislodged hand vandalizes various buildings and other structures around the camp. She frequently uses shaving cream and gloves symbolizing her lost hand when making a mess of the grounds.

Because of Marcy's vandalism, it has become a tradition that the oldest bunks on both the boys and girls side, known at the camp as the OB's, pull pranks and various other practical jokes on the rest. For some odd reason, it is frequent that the second oldest campers wake up in the morning claiming that they had a oddly terrifying experience during the night, in the dark, but nobody else can help them to prove this. On this night, the legend of Marcy Diamond is always told.

References

^ Baer, Max F. Dealing in Futures: The Story of a Jewish Youth Movement. Washington, DC: B’nai B’rith International, 1983, p. 301.
^ Edward E. Grusd, B’nai B’rith: The Story of a Covenant (New York: Appleton-Century, 1966), 240.
^ Edward E. Grusd, B’nai B’rith: The Story of a Covenant (New York: Appleton-Century, 1966), 246.
^ Dedicated to a Great Humanitarian, [Plaque] B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp, Starlight, PA: The Adult Lodge.
^ Max F. Baer, Dealing in Futures: The Story of a Jewish Youth Movement (Washington, DC: B'nai B'rith International, 1983), 296.
^ Edward E. Grusd, B'nai B'rith: The Story of a Covenant (New York: Appleton-Century, 1966), 247.
^ Max F. Baer, Dealing in Futures: The Story of a Jewish Youth Movement (Washington, DC: B'nai B'rith International, 1983), 297.
^ Edward E. Grusd, B'nai B'rith: The Story of a Covenant (New York: Appleton-Century, 1966), 263.

External links

Official site
Housing BBYO Leadership (PDF) paper on BBYO's acquisition of camps

41°51′59″N 75°19′43″W / 41.866495°N 75.328694°W / 41.866495; -75.328694

[1] Baer, Max F. Dealing in Futures: The Story of a Jewish Youth Movement. Washington, DC: B’nai B’rith International, 1983, p. 301.

[2] Edward E. Grusd, B’nai B’rith: The Story of a Covenant (New York: Appleton-Century, 1966), 240.

[3] Edward E. Grusd, B’nai B’rith: The Story of a Covenant (New York: Appleton-Century, 1966), 246.

[4] Dedicated to a Great Humanitarian, [Plaque] B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp, Starlight, PA: The Adult Lodge.

[5] Max F. Baer, Dealing in Futures: The Story of a Jewish Youth Movement (Washington, DC: B'nai B'rith International, 1983), 296.

[6] Edward E. Grusd, B'nai B'rith: The Story of a Covenant (New York: Appleton-Century, 1966), 247.

[7] Max F. Baer, Dealing in Futures: The Story of a Jewish Youth Movement (Washington, DC: B'nai B'rith International, 1983), 297.

[8] Edward E. Grusd, B'nai B'rith: The Story of a Covenant (New York: Appleton-Century, 1966), 263.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 Perlman Camp's mission is to provide children with a safe, fun, and enriching summer camp experience in a [[Jewish]] environment. The camp offers a fun and inclusive family atmosphere, which provides opportunities for growth and the development of a sense of self. This pluralistic Jewish environment enhances teamwork, cooperation and leadership in the camp community and beyond. B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp is a traditional camping experience that encompasses athletics, arts, aquatics, outdoor adventure, and fosters Jewish values, morals and ethics.
-Camp sessions include a 2-week (Rookie Camp), as well as 3-, 4-, and 7-week sessions. Campers entering grades 3-10 are housed in bunks, and divided into three Divisions. Teen campers participate in a two-year leadership track program, including the 11th grade Pioneer (PIO) program, and the 12th grade Staff-in-Training (SIT) program.
+Camp sessions include a 2-week (Rookie Camp), as well as 4- and 7-week sessions. Campers entering grades 3-10 are housed in bunks, and divided into three divisions: freshmores, juniors, and seniors. Teen campers participate in a two-year leadership track program, including the 11th grade Pioneer (PIO) program, and the 12th grade Staff-in-Training (SIT) program.
 Campers participate in a variety of activities on a daily basis, including swim and waterfront activities, athletics, arts, drama, and music. Each week, campers may choose to participate in two hobbies, where they can develop skills in their individual areas of interest. Special camp programs include overnights, trips to amusement parks, a 4 July carnival, Israel Day, and Maccabiah (color war).
 ==BBYO Leadership Training==