|
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 |
KILMARNOCK--Chasity Caughman,
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.
The others on a new camp board are part of the group that's operating it, the Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA. That Y includes branches in the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and Tidewater areas.
M.J. Anderson, the associate executive director for the Peninsula Y, said the partnership between the police group and the Y is made in heaven.
"They were looking for someone to run the camp, and we're in the business of programming for kids and families. This is such a great property and facility for doing that," said Anderson.
And the Y has big plans for the facility
By next year, the handful of cabins will grow, expanding the current capacity of 44. By design, the cabins give campers a rustic, summertime feel of the waterfront.
Also in the works: a building/lab that will allow campers and visitors to study ecology and science on site, as well as an alpine tower, tennis courts, a chapel and more.
Down the road, the camp's board and Y officials have talked about putting a climate-controlled lodge on the property that would allow for it to be used by families, Y programs and outside groups year-round.
"The beautiful thing that the Grimm family did was put two stipulations in place for the way this property will be used," said Anderson. "First, it's dedicated to be used by children and second, by Alexandria police officers and their spouses. Otherwise, it would probably have been sold off or developed long ago."
The best thing about the camp sessions--there are four this year, with plans for nine next summer--is that any child can attend.
"We'd love to have kids from the Fredericksburg area come," said Beckham. "Or from anywhere else. Our mission here is to help kids enjoy this beautiful spot and learn a little independence in the process."
To those ends, this camp has about everything you could ask for in a waterside facility.
Kids can ski, tube, sail, canoe, kayak, fish, wind surf, swim, knee board and cruise about on a paddle boat, in addition to playing basketball, and creating crafts using shells and such.
There's a pool, an office, a rustic dining hall and a spot for evening campfires, complete with wooden benches and a fire pit.
The cabins, all with Indian names, offer simple bunks quickly filled up with Star Wars sleeping bags, flashlights and gallons of bug spray.
Food and gizmos like iPods aren't allowed, as the point is experiencing nature, not being overrun by bugs or tuning out the sounds of the night.
Kids at the session I visited were from Warsaw to White Stone to Woodbridge, and spots in between.
Part of the Y's deal with the Alexandria police: 20 spots per session will be reserved for kids from and near Alexandria.
"That preserves the desires of the people who created this place," Anderson said.
Inmar Cruz, an 11-year-old from Alexandria, didn't care about all that.
He was just thrilled to reel in a big croaker when it was his turn to fish, even if the wiggling little rascal did slip away as he tried to land it.
"I caught it," he told a friend, his face aglow. "That's all that counts."
For more information, go online to peninsulaymca.org or call 804/435-0223.
To reach ROB HEDELT:
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com
| 'We don't get to do this kind of stuff back where I live.' Chasity Caughman, Camp Kekoka camper |
