Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp

Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp
Location Fort Hill, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°47′54″N 79°11′23″W / 39.79838°N 79.18962°W / 39.79838; -79.18962Coordinates: 39°47′54″N 79°11′23″W / 39.79838°N 79.18962°W / 39.79838; -79.18962
Operated by YMCA of Pittsburgh
Established 1956 (1956)
Website deervalleyymca.org
Mario Martin Lodge
Hecker Hall

Deer Valley YMCA Camp is a YMCA summer camp located between Fort Hill, Pennsylvania and Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. It sits on 742 acres[1] of mountainous lands near Mount Davis, the highest peak in Pennsylvania, and includes 125 acre Deer Valley Lake. Deer Valley operates 10 months out of the year and offers summer camp experience to families and various organizations from all around the country.

History

The land that Deer Valley currently occupies belonged to the family of Howard G. Peck from about the time of the Revolutionary War. In the year of 1931 Curtis Howe "Doc" Springer came from Florida to open a health resort. He purchased and constructed his resort on the Peck property.[2] “Haven of Rest” was a free resort, running solely on donations. Springer was forced to close the resort in 1937 when the cost of construction resulted in money problems. The land was reverted to Howard Peck. Soon after, Captain Colon B. Harris rented the land and the winter resort “Ski Trains” was born. This resort became well known throughout the late 1930s among the neighboring states. But in the year 1938 Harris left to take a job in Washington DC, and due to the poor health of Howard Peck, resulted in the sale of the Deer Valley property to The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (O.I.O.F.). The O.I.O.F had plans to open a vacation spot for families but due to disagreements forfeited the land back to Howard Peck. During this time a group of six men purchased the land. They named the new company “Deer Valley Inc” and went about constructing a large 125-acre lake on the property. Deer Valley Inc. tried to sell the property to the Boy Scouts but was unsuccessful. The Director of Camping Services for the Pittsburgh YMCA Thomas Reid Alexander was then introduced to the property by his son, Thomas Reid Alexander Jr. On December 30, 1952 the YMCA of Pittsburgh purchased the property and is still the current owner. Thomas Reid Alexander Sr, his Wife Gladys, their children Molly and Thomas ran the camp at Deer Valley, until Thomas Reid Alexander's death in 1966.

In 1957 Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp opened for the first season of family camp.[1] This first summer the camp served 838 campers, during an eight-week season. In 1972 the camp underwent construction to winterize the facilities to become a year round experience and now operates 10 months out of the year.

Campers

Since 1993 the camp has been running at full capacity and has a 93% return rate of campers. The campers range in age with family members of all ages. It is common for the families who camp at Deer Valley to have deep roots there and some have as much as four generations of family camping tradition.

Staff

The camp is currently directed year round by Dave Riether whose family also lives at Deer Valley year round. The summer staff is generally college-aged adults and the majority of these young adults were campers themselves at Deer Valley growing up. The camp also employs staff from other countries through their international program. The camp also has a volunteer program available to high school aged students.

Currently

The camp currently has around 40 cabins, two shower houses, a program lodge which includes a very popular snackbar and a craftshop, waterfront, campfire circle, dining hall, a horse barn, zip line, high ropes course, an archery and pellets range, a multipurpose hall, and many sports fields and facilities. Families camp for seven-day sessions in the summer. Deer Valley was most recently featured on the news program The Today Show in the summer of 2010.

Frozen Deer Valley Lake and Kissing Bridge

References

  1. 1 2 "Deer Valley YMCA Camp". DeerVAlleyYMCA.org. Retrieved September 2012. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. ↑ Manning, Maureen. "Camp History". Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
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