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Foreword
This account was originally written in 1995, on the occasion of our 40th anniversary. I would be
remiss if I did not recognize Al Maue’s initial contribution and hard work. It has been my
privilege to collect accounts of the last 10 years and bring this history into the 21st century. I
pray that this will be a blessing to you as a demonstration of the work of our Lord through His
People.
History
Christian Service Brigade, a national youth organization was started in Chicago, Illinois
in 1937. It grew rapidly spreading into the Western New York area by 1940. The Brigade leaders
in the area soon realized a summer camping facility would be a great asset to their program.
They rented camps at Beaver Lake and Lime Lake for several years. The cost of rental for the
summer camping program was over $3000 annually. It was impossible to plan ahead for
programs and staff or to improve facilities. In addition, individual groups were trying to rent sites
for overnight camp outs and found they were not always available. A place for fellowship with
other men and boys through camping was needed. With the number of campers growing each
year, these men had faith to vision owning and operating their own camp facilities.
With God’s direction, the Niagara Frontier Christian Service Camping Association was organized. It was incorporated by the State of New York in 1953 as a non-profit corporation. The following men: James Brandes, Eugene Field (President), Louis Hopper, Allen Lehsten, Robert Louth, Curtise Moore (Secretary), John Newland (Treasurer), Norman Smith (Vice President) and Rev. Robert Vandermey were elected as the Board of Directors. The first order of business was to form a committee to locate property in the Western New York area that could be developed to fulfill their needs. Much prayer and effort went into the search by this committee and their success can only bring praise and thanks to our God for His guidance.
In June of 1955, the board purchased an abandoned dairy farm, centrally located between Buffalo and Rochester, in Johnsonburg, Wyoming County for $6000.00. It was on a good road, and offered a small two story three room house, a large barn with milk shed, a chicken coop, a spring well for drinking water, plus electricity and telephone. The new camp was situated on 189.5 acres of land with mature woods. The original mortgage resulted in a $60 a month payment with the board members placing their own homes as collateral.
With the help of many hands, cleaning up the property commenced. That fall and winter some of the old buildings were torn down or burned, along with much brush. In the spring of 1956, ground was broken for the septic systems for showers in the milk shed and plumbing for the kitchen in the house. The 1956 shower room was in a converted milk-cooling shed, attached to the barn. The water supply consisted of spring water, warmed by the sun in 55 gallons drums on the roof. When you pulled the chain gravity allowed you the pleasure of solar heated water for your shower. There was a wooden trough basin or sink by cabin #8 that allowed campers to brush their teeth and wash their hands and face in cold water. Also the latrines around camp had 55-gallon drums full of water for hand washing.
They converted the house into the Dining Hall and Kitchen and installed electric stoves for cooking. The First Baptist Church of Hamburg built cabin #4 and Curt Moore and Edward Anger used salvaged lumber to build Daniels Den (cabin 11). Plans were completed to build a dike for a lake. Camp Hickory Hill was alive for one week that summer with twenty boys eager to learn about Christ and get to know Him through training in the elements of Christian camping. What a beautiful place God had given us.
An example of God’s leading was choosing the area for the lake. Construction revealed that the spot had a clay bottom and a fresh spring, an ideal location for the lake. It covered almost one acre and was fourteen feet deep when completed. Construction of the Rifle Range was-also completed through the efforts of Ulmont Beers. Three more cabins were added to the facilities giving camp a total of five cabins. Each cabin housed twelve people. With seventy campers in that two-week summer program, construction of more cabins and a larger dining hall and kitchen was proposed for the next year.
In July 1958, ninety-two boys filled the newly completed dining hall and kitchen at meal times. They slept in a total of seven cabins on new mattresses and double bunks and there were four weeks of camping. The next year Pioneer Girls started using these facilities, so camp was in operation for eight weeks. The girls built their Administrative Cabin. Cabins #3 and #5 were also completed. There were 173 boys in camp that year.
The cabins were built by the following:
In the beginning, summer camp programs started and ended on Saturday morning. The previous weeks’ campers went home at 9 A.M. and by 11 A.M. the new campers had finished registration and cabin assignment check up by the Nurse and testing at the waterfront. Lunch followed with the afternoon being packed full of activity, allowing sufficient time for orientation and organization. Sunday was a day of activity different from other days. “Roving Sunday School” was a traditional feature combined with a hike by all Senior and Junior Leaders and the campers. Monday through Friday it was reveille at 7:15, physical training, cleanup, personal devotions, line up and flag raising, then breakfast at 8:00. Craft hour was next, then competition sports for 45 minutes: Bible hour and at 12:30 lunch. Achievement hour followed, and then 90 minutes of crafts 4:00 was swim time at the lake with supper at 5:30. Flag lowering was at 8 P.M. and the evening campfire followed. 9:30 was personal clean up and taps at 10 P.M.
The Craft program in Battalion Camp was geared to advance a boy in Brigade achievements, teaching interesting and useful skills (that were not available to him at home) in five sessions of 90 minutes each. Stockade Camp was similar, with the main emphasis being on activity and having an introduction to the various crafts. The training in God’s Word included both personal and group devotions and a counselor directed Bible Studies, exploring the Scriptures and teaching Bible Memory Verses.
Battalion and Stockade leaders from the area churches administrated all operations at camp. They usually brought with them many of their own group as campers. There was no camp staff per-se, other than the cook and nurse. Each adult gave of his time to supervise with a cabin, instruct crafts, lead games, Bible studies and evening campfires. The junior leader was the assistant in the cabin and games. He was an important link between the Senior Leader and campers. This was a valuable training period for personal development and growth for all.
The physical toll on the senior leaders was tremendous and changes were made throughout the year. Senior Leaders were recruited for either cabins or crafts and collegians assumed new roles in the program areas. The addition of a camp pastor, program directors, junior leaders and the service crew has developed into a model that serves us well today.
By 1962, Camp Hickory Hill was winning and training boys and girls for Christ. The number of boys was 207 with an equal number of girls. The roadway to the lake and a bridge over Gull Creek was built.
Allan Lehsten was an active Battalion Captain at Fitch Baptist Church of Buffalo. He served on the camp board and as a counselor during summer camp. He died as a result of a hunting accident in November 1962. The new lodge/office (Lehsten Lodge) was dedicated in his memory.
On August 10,1967 the camp board obtained a mortgage of $24,900 for construction of a duplex building to serve as the caretaker home and expand the Dining Hall kitchen. Also that year Karl Polland built the handcraft building. In 1968 the men from Wesleyan Methodist of Orchard Park disassembled a small barn for reassembly on camp. In 1969 the Brethren in Christ Church of Clarence Center put in the foundation for the barn and did the reassembling at the end of the camping season. The lake was drained so that it could be dredged the next spring of silt that had accumulated from rain run off.
In 1969 Ulmont Beers secured the donation of 10 election booths for craft cabins. These were used to house the Archery, Auto repair, Horse and Tack, Nature, Radio, and Riflery craft programs. In addition three booths were placed at the lake for over night adventures. Thirty-six years later two booths remain, one at the rifle range and one at the archery range.
A concrete block shower house was built containing a large round sink (bird bath) and a gas heated water tank.
In 1967 the Pioneer Girls purchased 125 acres in Hunt, NY for their own camp. They moved into their own facility after 10 years at Hickory Hill.
To facilitate the year round use of camp the Dining Hall and Lehsten Lodge were winterized in the fall of 1970. On April 17, 1972 the Camp Board mortgaged an additional $24,938 to construct the Activities Building. The original barn, which had been used for equipment storage, handcraft and inclement weather game area, was destroyed by fire in the fall of 1963. The ground floor of the new Activities building had a kitchen, toilets and showers for boys and girls and bunks to sleep twenty-four persons. The upper level housed a heated gym with storage room for sports equipment.
In 1975 a drainage ditch was dug around the lake to prevent contamination from pollution and run off from the neighboring hills. In spite of these efforts the County Health Department closed the lake for swimming in 1978. As a result of the Health Department ruling, a campaign to raise funds to build an in-ground pool was started. On September 6, 1980 a new pool was completed and dedicated. The Medical (First Aid) Building, built in memory of Karl Polland was completed in 1981.
In 1989, funds were raised to enhance the facilities. A new concrete shower house, with flush toilets, washbasins and separate facilities for boys and girls was erected. This building is heated and winterized for year round use.
Summer Camp '98 was eventful at Hickory Hill in more ways than one. Our first full day of precamp (July 8th) brought eight inches of rain that took away our bridge to the pond, put mud in our pool, gravel every where it shouldn't be and destroyed Centerline Road starting immediately below our camp entrance.
God took care of us through all of this!!! We put the gravel back on the roads, the pool was clear by Saturday (July 11th) and Centerline Road was rebuilt for local traffic by Sunday. Centerline Road above camp was protected so that we always had a way in and out! PTL!!! On August 3rd, we watched a flatbed railroad car being installed as our new bridge. The railings were put on the next day. The cost of the bridge was $10,000 and we were not eligible for any flood relief or insurance. That's okay, God provided over $6,000 towards the bridge before it was put in and the rest of it and more came in that week. PTL!!
These physical things are fun to describe and we will always remember them, but what is more exciting is the lives that God has changed this summer. First, we watched as God used the storm to draw this army of summer camp workers together. I hope I never forget the campfire time we had that July 8th. I dismissed the staff and they didn't leave. We sang and worshipped and encouraged and confessed and praised the Lord for at least an hour after the campfire time was "over".
God used this staff to win and train many boys for Christ that summer. We will never know the exact numbers, but we did note 29 salvation decisions, 33 counseling’s of assurance, and 44 decisions of dedication. This stuff is better than bridges!!! It is wonderful to be a small part of what is happening. I am humbled as I see God work in this place. (Sam Richbart 1998)
In 2000 the purchase of paintball equipment and the addition of father/Son golf camp provided exciting additions to our program.
Our current dining hall had served us well since 1958 but as programs grew we were forced to eat in shifts because we had outgrown our facility. In 1997 plans were set in motion to expand the current dining hall with a wing extending to the east with rooms on the lower level. The design was developed and a model built. However as architectural and Health Department issues were identified the original plan became impractical. In a step of faith the board decided change course and build a stand-alone facility capable of seating and feeding 300. This twoyear, $500,000 effort was the most significant decision since the initial purchase of the camp. Through the efforts and generosity of many the beautiful new Dining hall/Chapel with commercial kitchen and restrooms was dedicated November 17, 2001.
In February 2001 we launched the Blueprint for the Future, to specifically address the need to retire the debt on the new Dining Hall and to provide a planning process for future needs. The Blueprint is our tool to enable us to look forward from one to five years. The Blueprint is laid out in phases that allow us to analyze growth needs such as traffic flow, major repairs and facilities improvements.
The old dining hall is currently being used as a recreation hall with carpetball, pool, pingpong and air hockey. The remainder of the space is utilized as a laundry and storage. The Blueprint for the Future also includes renovating and developing this building further.
In the 1990’s CSB Ministries developed Girls Alive to compliment their Brigade programs for men and boys. Girls Alive is a gender specific program that enables moms and/or committed Christian women to serve the girls, introducing them to Christ and mentoring them to become women of God. The board moved decisively to support this ministry and in the Spring 2002 we hosted our first ever Girls Alive weekend. This mother daughter event has grown steadily from 34 in 2002 to 173 in 2005. During the summer of 2004 we had our first ever Girls Alive summer camp with 57 girls enjoying this half-week event. We expanded in 2005 to include a full week program with Kathy McIntosh serving as the director.
Hickory Hill offers many year round opportunities for fathers and mothers to spend time with their children. Every October the camp is alive with over 350 men and boys enjoying two father/Son weekends. In January we host separate father/Son and Father/daughter snow days. Our summer camp programs offer both Father/Son weekends and Father/Son Golf camps. Our spring Mother/daughter weekend is a tremendous success with an attendance of 173 in 2005.
In 2003 we erected a six-sided climbing wall complex, 36 feet high with a covered deck on top. The climbing walls range from beginner, (less than vertical) to advanced, (with projections) and one wall for rappelling. Grant Gehman and Stan Friesen managed the design and construction.
A picnic pavilion was erected north of our dining hall in memory of Steven Havens. This pavilion provides the perfect setting for the weekly chicken barbeques and bible explorations during summer camp and the perfect spot for group picnics and outings.
With the addition of the new double cabin and the expansion of all the other cabins to a capacity of twelve the current shower house was at capacity. To alleviate the strain, in 2005 we constructed a new shower house at the top of the hill near cabin 5. Like the original shower house the new building has separate men’s and women’s facilities as well as laundry, and three 1000-gallon water tanks to chlorinate and distribute water for the entire camp. Doug Ludwig and a dedicated crew of volunteers constructed a frontier style fort in the meadow “under the power lines”. This fort is a perfect setting for adventure games, Bible studies and overnight campouts.
Hickory Hill has partnered with Elim Fellowship’s Camp Judah for over 10 years. Camp Judah fills the camp for two weeks each summer with Junior and Senior High camp programs. Literally hundreds of boys and girls have had their lives changed by this dynamic ministry. We would also like to thank Chris Lonneville, the camp Judah Board and all the men and women associated with Camp Judah for their assistance over the years. Camp Judah has contributed in countless ways to Hickory Hill. They were instrumental in the start of the new dining hall, sided buildings, run electrical wires, built and repaired cabins – and the list goes on.
Epilogue
Today Hickory Hill is more than the original members envisioned. There are Nature rails,
a climbing wall, a Soccer Field, Archery and Rifle Range. An area for Recreation Trailers,
thirteen heated cabins for winter camping, Dining Hall and Kitchen camp Trading Post, Lehsten
Lodge/Camp Office, Polland Lodge/First Aid, Craft Building, and a duplex house for year round
caretakers.
We can look around camp and see the results of the work of God’s people who dedicated both their time and money to the development of these grounds. God has accomplished much through His people. Praise His name.
In writing this document I was struck by the parallels between those listed in Hebrews 11 “Hall of Faith” and the men and women who have served Hickory Hill over the last half century. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the Elders obtained a good report” Hebrews 11 1,2 KJV – this is a “good report”.
Jim Brandes, one of our founding board members, went home to be with the Lord in 2002. As a tribute to her grandfather, Jennifer Brandes wrote the following article:
“Captain Jim Brandes, one of the original founders of Camp Hickory Hill, went to be with his savior on June 25th of this year. [2002] He died four days after his 96th birthday in Detroit, Michigan. He was called home after many years of faithful service to the Lord.
Jim shared a vision with several other men that is today called Camp Hickory Hill. During the formative years, he could be found each Friday night and Saturday, building a cabin, or rehabbing the farmhouse or barn. His greatest joy was seeing boys come to Christ whether during a walk through nature or at a “campfire”. His love for Camp Hickory hill was further demonstrated during his retirement years as business manager.
In his final hours of life, something said about my grandfather struck me. It was a testimony to the impact of his life on those around him. As we said our good-byes, someone said, “he lived the life.” This wasn’t about any great adventures that he embarked on, but it was truly a comment about the way my grandfather lived. One of grandpa’s favorite sayings was “Only one life, t’will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” He was a man committed to serving God in all things.
His legacy is a family full of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who have a strong example of a faithful follower of Christ. He also left behind his dream that there would be a place where boys could learn of the glory of Christ and the Heavenly father. He would be pleased to know that the camp is still serving the needs of young men as they come to know the love and power of Jesus. Camp Hickory hill will always be in our prayers.”
We all know we are much more than the “brick and mortar” of a new dining hall, nature trail or heated shower. Our beautiful facility is just an enabler for the true work of our Lord. We will never know the full spiritual impact this side of heaven. The camp has touched thousands of lives and we rejoice for those who have raised their hands at countless campfires. Many have written to tell us how their lives were changed through the programs, counselors and staff. We also know that many seeds were planted at camp, seeds that matured years later in missionaries, pastors, teachers, and godly fathers and mothers in all walks of life – there is no better legacy.