1910 YMCA Camp Congamond Photo and Narrative Album - A Record of the Doings at Camp Congamond in the Year Nineteen Ten
- Southwick, Massachusetts , 1910
Southwick, Massachusetts, 1910. Good. Dust soiling with the occasional stain or short tear. Binding very worn with spine/hinges tender. Lacking at least one photo.. A one-of-a-kind photo and narrative album memorializing the summer of 1910 at Camp Congamond. The camp was first held in 1908 for Y.M.C.A. boys, and was located at Congamond Lake in Southwick, Massachusetts. A later iteration would also be established for girls. The present photo album contains approx. forty (40) photos, and describes in detail the myriad activities enjoyed by the campers, as well as the days' events, with several longer excerpts by some of the boys themselves ("The Leaders"). Activities enjoyed by the campers included fishing, canoeing, baseball, fireworks, bon fires, and hiking. Campers were also taught life skills and had regular tent inspections. The narrative includes detailed descriptions of some of the boys' best qualities, as well: "Miller was big and steady with an eye out for the pleasure of the little fellows and with a fine sense of justice. Uhlig was careful of details and liked to see things in good order" (p.14). Some social history of note: one of the activities was a minstrel show, and there is some anti-Italian sentiment on pp. 26-7. A unique item providing valuable insight into boyhood in the early 1910s. Single vol. (15" by 9"), approx. thirty-two (32) leaves of typewritten narrative interleaved with approx. 40 leaves of thicker card with mounted snapshot photos, all in contemporary dark green cloth stamped on upper cover with title and date: "Camp Congamond 1910