Camp Sloane on Indian Mountain Road started out in New York

SALISBURY — How many of you know the back story about Camp Sloane tucked away on Indian Mountain Road in Lakeville? Not many, I’ll bet.  This independent YMCA camp began life in New York state.  The camp began on Calves Island off the coast of Long Island. The main office was located in White Plains, N.Y., and was known as the Westchester County YMCA Camp. It moved up to Lakeville in 1928. 

Originally there were two four-week sessions: all of July or all of August. Roberts D. Burr was executive director of the Lake-ville camp from 1953-1968 — still with two four-week sessions, which was a hallmark of the times. This was and still is a true tent camp, not with barracks-like buildings, but 10-by10-foot real canvas tents on raised wooden platforms. 

By 1970, Camp Sloane was reputed to be the largest co-ed YMCA camp in the United States, with 250 boys and 250 girls in equal but separate facilities, and a staff of 150 (at Camp Sloane for Girls and Camp Sloane for Boys).  

In 1975, a young man named Stephen Orova, Columbia University’s crew coach, was hired as small crafts director. This summer will be his 40th year at Camp Sloane. He initiated a crew program that was unique at the time.  

In 1983, Mike Beck (the town of Salisbury’s municipal agent for senior services) extended the camping season to include early fall and late spring activities for environmental and adventure programs. These included a ropes course, group problem solving and similar activities. 

A decade later the camping sessions changed to one four-week session and two two-week sessions, to comply with the changing times and interests of the campers.

John Hedbavny (who is the past president of Salisbury Rotary) began his camping experiences as an 8-year-old boy at Camp Sloane in 1954 and continued until 1972.  

As a young lad he started as just a camper, but was bitten by the camping bug. He went on to direct leadership training, ran the riding program and became a section head. He also directed the junior counselor program and then was Boys Camp director for four seasons. He eventually returned to Camp Sloane as executive director from 1995 to 2006, when he retired. 

While executive director, he worked out a collaborative effort with Berkshire School in Sheffield, Mass., for their respective crew programs. This was made possible because of a major donation from an interested party involved with both the school and the camp. Berkshire would store its equipment in a newly built boathouse at Camp Sloane and bus the students down for daily practice. 

Hedbavny also partnered the camp with the Young Adult Institute of New York, creating MAC (Mainstreaming at Camp).  This program provided a normal camp life for children with disabilities.  At the beginning, there were three YMCA camps in the Northeast that participated, but the Camp Sloane program was discontinued after five summers, due to both the difficulty of the terrain and the tent housing. 

International young people have been a part of this camp for a very long time, as both campers and staff. Camp Sloane has hosted campers from Spain, Germany, Japan and other countries over the years. 

The camp motto, “Others,” is taken from the Golden Rule.

By 2006 the camp was serving some 10,000 participants in non-summer activities through its Education & Training programs for schools and other groups under the directorship of Mike Beck and Lisa McAuliffe (who is now the recreation director for Salisbury).

Paul Bryant, the current executive director, is focused on the summer camp programs but stays true to the Sloane tent camping tradition. 

Camp Sloane is a very special hidden asset. Camping is a marvelous experience for anyone to learn about the environment, acquire new skills and meet different people from other cultures.  

Jean McMillen is the historian for the town of Salisbury. These memories were collected from Mike Beck and John Hedbavny.