Cheyenne Pago, 9 (left), and Jasmine Caughman, 10, of Alexandria, share a hug at the camp established by the Alexandria Police force as a getaway camp for city kids.

Kids from Alexandria and throughout the Northern Neck attend Camp Kekoka to sail, fish and swim and stay in small, rustic cabins.

LEFT: Courtney Pruitt, 9, of Alexandria talks with Brian Beckham, camp Kekoka director, and Kelly Norman, camp counselor, about being homesick and leaving early. Being away from home for the first time is tough for some kids.

Chasity Caughman of Alexandria, Beau Rose of Farnham and Courtney Pruitt of Alexandria dunk one another in the pool at Camp Kekoka in Kilmarnock. The camp is run by the YMCA and is open to children from all over the region.

Camp is an example of things working out just right

Date published: 7/27/2006

KILMARNOCK--Chasity Caughman, an 11-year-old from Alexandria, has her game face on as she casts her crab-baited hook out into the slight chop at the entrance to Indian Creek.

Here for a week at Camp Kekoka, the city dweller is doing all she can to take advantage of this beautiful waterfront oasis off the Chesapeake Bay at the tip of the Northern Neck.

She doesn't catch a fish on this outing aboard a well-appointed pontoon boat, though she does thrill when a fellow camper reels one in.

But in just one day at this unique camp, started in the '40s to give city kids a week on the shore in the country, the Alexandria youngster does it all.

By the time she digs into a hot dog for lunch in the rustic dining hall, she's already been fishing, swimming and tubing.

In the afternoon and evening to come, she'll squeeze in sailing, arts and crafts, a campfire and a campwide competition between the red and green teams.

Not to mention shooting off a short letter to tell the folks at home what she's up to.

"We don't get to do this kind of stuff back where I live," said the excited youngster, summing up the appeal for so many of this camp, which bears the Indian name for "gathering place."

Bryan Beckham, the 26-year-old who runs the camp that this summer welcomes up to 44 kids per session, said the facility's 70 acres right on Indian Creek make it a special place.

"Just getting away from home on their own is a big thing" for the youngsters, ages 9 to 14, he said. "But the things we can offer, from sailing to skiing to wind surfing, fishing and more, makes this a pretty neat place for kids."

The reason more than 100 kids will get that chance this summer, and more next summer as additional sessions are planned, is a new partnership that makes this camp special.

Part of the camp's board is made up of Alexandria police officers. They own the property and have since Lt. Henry Grimm and others in his family plunked down $14,000 to give Alexandria kids a chance to get out of the city.

'We don't get to do this kind of stuff back where I live.' Chasity Caughman, Camp Kekoka camper

Date published: 7/27/2006