A Faithful Legacy

June Stump (“Stumpy”), the regional representative to clubs in this area, began a long search for property to meet the growing need. June was persistent in her search for just the right property. In 1964, Bruce Baker, field rep and director of the Christian Service Brigade camp, told June of a property available near Glens Falls, New York that was perfect for camping in the Adirondacks. The seller, Dr. Alvah Davignon of Albany, hoped to see his father’s 500-acre farm used as a camp, preferably for boys. With its 45-acre lake (a former potato field) and hundreds of acres of Adirondack forest and varied terrain, the beautiful property was the perfect fit for a ministry of camping in the Adirondacks.

To help him understand the value of camping for girls, Stumpy invited Dr. Davignon to visit Pocono Camp Cherith in Pennsylvania during the summer of 1965. Seeing the joy of the campers, he was persuaded a girls camp was the correct use for his land. In October 1965, Dr. Davignon agreed to sell the property to the newly-formed Board of Trustees for a price that was amenable to all. At the time of the purchase, the property had just two buildings: a farmhouse and a barn.

On July 1, 1966—June Stump's birthday—after a breakneck building program and thousands of volunteer hours, Camp Cherith in the Adirondacks was opened with a wonderful dedication day. In that first summer, more than 1,000 camper weeks were filled, demonstrating to all how much the camp was needed.

June Stump directed the 1966–68 camp seasons. Several dedicated women have directed camp over the years: Barbara Zimmerman (1969–73), Lenore Hurley (1974), Jan Wood (1975–77), Lynn Vanderhoof (1978), Debbie Nickols (1999), Nancy Halliday (1979–98, 2000–2015) and currently Amy Culhane. Camp Administrators have been Jan Wood, Cathy Porter, Dianne Liddy. Assistant Directors have been Danielle Hedgepeth and currently Megan Morgan. In 2009 the name Camp Cedarbook in the Adirondacks was adopted.

In the ensuing years, more than 20,000 girls have gone camping in the Adirondacks at Cedarbrook. They are a testimony to the value of a camping experience which emphasizes the importance of building self-esteem and character through the small-group, family-type structure and the beauty and challenge of living in the out-of-doors.