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Camp Awosting, founded in 1900 by Dr. Walter Truslow, is the oldest private boys camp in continuous operation in the United States.
Originally, the camp was located on Lake Awosting in New York State. In the early 1900's, the campers spent much
of their days walking – some days as far as 25-30 miles. Campers woke up at 6:30am to do a half hour of exercises
followed by a quick dip in the lake. Camp was much less structured than it is today and it had very few activities
– mostly sports.
In 1905, Jerome F. Kidder and Ralph Woodwood purchased the camp from Dr. Truslow. They introduced the famous
Awosting Tribal system. The tribal system was institued by Fred Dolbeare in 1910, modeled after the famous
club system at St. Paul's School of Concord, NH. Tribes competed for 1,000 points, had perpetual
membership and a distinct method of choosing club members. Mr. Kidder and Mr. Woodwood also were responsible for
bringing in camp traditions like our "Highest Camp Honors" award, squad duties (now called "Good Earth Teams"),
and the central bathhouses, affectionately known to campers as "The Mines".
William Faber Davis, a first-year camper in 1903, purchased the camp from Jerome F. Kidder in 1925. He ran the
camp until he sold it to Preston Beaver in 1947.
In the mid 1930s, the late Oscar Ebner Sr. was a counselor at various camps in New York, Connecticut and Maine,
including Camp Awosting. In 1948, Mr. Ebner Sr. and his wife, Virginia, purchased Camp Awosting from Preston Beaver.
Seven years later, in 1955, Oscar and Virginia founded Camp Chinqueka for Girls, located a few miles away in
Litchfield, CT on Mt. Tom Pond.
Cabin grove with original cabins of chestnut - 1936
Prior to devoting their lives to camping, the Ebners spent many years working with children in the field of Education.
The late Oscar Ebner Sr. retired from his position of teaching Industrial Arts to spend more time to managing the two
camps. His late wife Virginia was formerly a music teacher in the public schools before becoming active in camping.
Their three children, Barb, Buzz and Bob were all teachers in the NJ and CT school systems, before retiring to operate
the camps full time in the 1970's. All three of them have been licensed by the state of Connecticut as Camp Directors
of both camps. Barb is Director Emeritus of Camp Chinqueka, She has been a member of Chinqueka's staff since it's
founding in 1955.
Today, Buzz and his wife Sherry, live next to Camp Awosting during the summer and are very active in the camp program.
Buzz is Awosting's Director Emeritus and Sherry is a Registered Nurse, overseeing the health services and food programs
of both camps. Their children Kristin, Kevin & Kurt all grew up at camp and are now co-owners of Ebner Camps, Inc.,
running the business full time. Kristin is Director of Camp Chinqueka, having been on the staff for over 20 years.
Kevin is the General Manager of The Village at Boulder Ridge and Founder and Co-Director of Boulder Ridge Day Camp.
Despite not working full-time for Ebner Camps, Kurt leads the marketing efforts of the camps, along with his wife Kristen.
About Awosting |
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