KVUTZA IN THE WEST

A goat farm, twenty sprightly youngsters, and Ben Cherner; these were the ingredients of the first Camp Kvutza in the West in the year 1936.

It was during that summer, with Ben's arrival in Los Angeles, that the idea of Habonim camping ripened and the first camp was established. Sleeping was mostly outdoors, cooking in an abandoned shack, and water had to be brought by car from about a mile away. Swimming was in a public pool. But spirits were high, the determination indomitable, and the results were a full camping season which was followed uninterruptedly for the next twenty-one years.

Old-timers remember the C.C.C. camping experience in 1937 and Azusa in 1938. In 1939, the permanent camp in the Angeles National Forest, fifty-five miles from Los Angeles, was bought and the permanent home for Habonim camping established.

The camp has served Los Angeles Jewish youth for twenty years now and several thousand young people have gone through it.

Situated, as the camp is, on a hilly and wooded thirty-nine-acre estate, its original owner's home was remodeled into a dining room and kitchen. A swimming pool was built and many other facilities added as late as last year.

Last year's camp was a typical Habonim camping year and the following report is characteristic of most of the others:

Camp Duration and Composition

Habonim Camp opened on July 1st in 1956 and lasted for six weeks until August 12th. Campers could register for a minimum period of two weeks; fifteen percent of the campers stayed for the entire six weeks.

During the entire period, 173 campers availed themselves of our facilities and spent with us 498 camper-weeks.

Camp Program and Activities

Our camp program consisted of a general camp theme, the several activities directly associated with it, as well as some that were specifically camp activities.

Our general camp theme was: "Jewish Heroism Through the Ages." Through lectures, discussions, literary trials, models, games, and the arts, the children at camp became acquainted with the heroic moments in Jewish history, beginning with our ancient struggles for freedom and independence and down to the modern deeds of courage and valor of the defenders of the Warsaw Ghetto and of the Hagana. Arts and crafts were integrated into this program.

In addition, the following camp activities were open to all campers: swimming, sports, scouting, hiking, arts and crafts, singing, dancing, photography, and other camp diversions which took place regularly.

Camp Spirit

We would be greatly remiss in our factual report of camp activities and program if we were not to stress the spirit of the camp. Here, and for many campers for the first time, they were in a thoroughly children's atmosphere as well as in a thoroughly Jewish one. The Shabbat celebration, the Shabbat morning Tanach circle, the daily Hebrew classes, the discussion of Jewish problems and of Jewish achievements, the Israel and Zionist spirit of all our activities, all this left an indelible impression upon the campers. We felt it in the expressions of the children at camp; We felt it in the one hundred percent attendance at the first camp reunion; we felt it even more in the conversations with the parents of the campers. Camp accomplished in a very few weeks what efforts by parents could not achieve for years.

Future Plans

All this progress was made possible through a building expansion program undertaken last spring. Four large new cabins were built, including showers, toilets and wash basins. The sports facilities were improved. Much new equipment was purchased.

We anticipate doubling our registration this summer. We also extended our camp season to eight weeks. We are beginning to receive campers from other cities on the West Coast and are rapidly becoming an all-Western camp.

Our plans for this summer are to build a staff building, an arts and crafts pavilion, to improve the present shower building, to build several new concrete platforms, to enlarge and improve our dining and kitchen facilities.

Habonim camping on the West Coast is confidently looking forward to a secure and ever-expanding future along with all Habonim camping in the United States and Canada.

David Yaroslovsky, 1957