History

Six cabins were built down by the water and the beautiful beach. Each Saturday, large numbers of volunteers came to erect these small buildings that would house eight campers, a senior, and a junior counsellor. The entire camp staff volunteered their time to care for the spiritual and physical needs of the campers. To add to the pleasure of the campers, a canteen was built. The Tuck Shop became a favourite pastime of the afternoon, where one could purchase ice cream, pop, chips, candy, etc. A large new canteen was built in 2002. This also housed the craft shop upstairs.

Archie Hall was hired to build the beautiful lodge building with Jim McCulloch and many volunteers. Volunteers came from Halifax, Truro, Sydney, Moncton, and Charlottetown, especially on Saturdays, some during the week, some even giving their entire vacation time to help in this large undertaking. Joan and the children joined Archie for the entire spring and summer, so there would be someone on site at all times and the work could progress much more quickly. The campers now had the enjoyment of eating wonderful meals in a large dining room. Chapel time and other functions were held in the lounge.

In the summer of '76, a bridge was built to facilitate getting across the brook from the lodge to the church, adding an aesthetically pleasing addition to the grounds. The same year the camp bought the United church, which was located up on the main road. During the winter, when the ground was frozen and covered with snow, capable volunteers under the supervision of Weldon Cameron, used two large log skids and two tractors to move the church down near the other facilities to its present location set among the trees. This was wonderfully used for the chapel services and as a place where children could be entertained on rainy days. The church has been used for many weddings and special functions over the subsequent years.

Speaker's cabins were built to accommodate the able preachers who came to teach the Word of God, which to this day is a very important focus of the camp.

The need for a manager's house soon became apparent. Again, the work was done by volunteers, and a comfortable home was made available to the new hired manager and his wife. At this time there was an office in the basement where registrations and inquiries were made.

During the '80's, a super cabin was erected under the direction of Paul Stewart, Philip Mack, and Gordon Mack. It was the cabin of choice, as the cabin was large, with built-in bunks and its own bathroom facilities.

An interesting opportunity came when a motel used for snowmobile travellers in Folly Mountain was put up for sale. An offer to buy was made and accepted. It had to be transported to where it now sits on the campgrounds. This was quite a feat and carried out within a short period of time. The motel was completely renovated to serve the needs of camp, particularly family camp and weekend retreats.

Water was always a problem at camp. At least four wells had been dug with little success. Finally, a new reverse osmosis treatment plant was put in place, and it is exciting to say that this has made a tremendous difference in the quality of the water and the general operation of camp.

The bathrooms in the lodge were updated during 2011-2012. The Sysco driver who made a delivery at camp, used the facilities and said, "I didn't know if I was at Malagash or the Fox Harbour Resort.".