Camp Lore Uncovered

Camp Burgess and Hayward Fri 14, 2012

by Asa Gallagher, Camp Burgess Director

The Day That Changed Camp Forever: August 19th, 1991

It seems fitting that a month after Hurricane Sandy passed through our area, we go back and take a brief look at a storm that changed the face of Camp Burgess and Hayward forever.  That storm is the epic Hurricane Bob.  At approximately 9:00a.m. on Monday, August 19, 1991, one of the strongest storms on record for the Northeast roared its way through our camp.  And get this – the camp was full to capacity on that day with campers and staff.   Both Burgess and Hayward were evacuated to a nearby school as the storm approached.  The following is an excerpt from our 1991 summer camp newsletter:

“The hurricane hit the Cape about 2:00p.m.  From our shelter at the Oak Ridge elementary school, campers and staff thought little of the storm…They played games in the school gyms…Our food service staff provided lunch for everyone…The two Great Escapes groups weathered the storm in shelters in Hyannis and Wellfleet…The first reports of the tremendous devastation of the camps came from Bob Vreeland, the Camp Properties Director…He reported that camp was in terrible shape, “as if a bomb had hit it”, that several buildings had been destroyed…Just before nightfall the administrative staff toured camp and saw the wreckage – 14 horses on the loose, over 500 trees down, damaged docks and boats, 6 cabins destroyed, shredded tents and trees through the rooftops of many buildings.  They quickly realized that for 1991, summer camp was over!”

           A cabin left in ruins

What a wild end to a summer for those campers and staff.  For anyone there at the time, I am sure you have some poignant memories of that day.  The year 1991 has gone down in our record books as a year of both great destruction and renewal for Burgess and Hayward.  On one hand we lost a few days of camp, along with many trees and buildings, on the other hand Hurricane Bob led to the creation of many new buildings that still stand at camp today.  The storm led to the construction of 10 new “winterized” cabins in the Cape and Lakeview cabin units, as well as our beautiful Burgess Lodge on the edge of the ball field.  These new structures have bolstered the summer camp experience as well as the success of the camps’ year round outdoor education and retreats program. 

It seems worth our time to look back and see how the weather can change things so much, so quickly.  Hurricane Bob was a force of change on a grand scale, for both our camp and for the region.  In one brief moment, the story of our camp’s history became inextricably tied to a mammoth storm.

 

September 3, 1991 newspaper headline depicting Bob’s wrath on Camp

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