Camp Agawam is a boys' camp located on Crescent Lake in

Raymond, Maine Raymond is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,536 at the 2020 census. It is a summer recreation area and is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. Ra ...

, U.S., and is one of the oldest

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

s for boys in the United States. Collins, Susan. Sunlight Foundation
Capitol Words: Senate: Additional Statements: Sen. Susan Collins
(August 5, 2009) (accessed 14 March 2013) The camp was founded in 1919 by Appleton A. Mason, and remained in the Mason family until 1985. The ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' described the camp in 1988 as "an old camp with old ideas."Anderson, Peter
The time of their lives
''

'' (June 26, 1988) (accessed 14 March 2013) However, in 2009, Senator

Susan Collins Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, she has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving member of Con ...

described its program as "unique and exciting." It is noted for its award-winning charitable program, Main Idea, which enables underprivileged boys to attend the camp. The camp is run as a non-profit organization, directed by Erik Calhoun.

History

Camp Agawam was founded in 1919 by Appleton A. Mason, known as "The Governor", an

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player, coach of football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and physical education instructor.Sayer, Deborah
Turning Boys Into Men
'

Portland Press Herald The ''Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram'' is a morning daily newspaper with a website that serves southern Maine and is focused on the greater metropolitan area around Portland, Maine, in the United States. Founded in 1862, its roots e ...

'' (accessed 13 March 2013)Camp Agawan: Some Important Dates In Agawam's History
(accessed 13 March 2013) The camp was run by him until his death in 1938, and then taken over by his sons, Appleton Mason, Jr (1939–1956) and David W. Mason (1957–1985). Since David Mason's retirement, it has been managed by Agawam Council, a non-profit organization, whose board is composed of former campers. The camp in the late 1980s was still run along traditional lines, according to Peter Anderson of the ''

'', writing in 1988, who calls it "an old camp with old ideas." He describes traditions such as

bugle The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, normally having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure. History The bugle developed from early musical or communication ...

calls for

reveille "Reveille" ( , ), called in French "Le Réveil" is a bugle call, trumpet call, drum, fife-and-drum or pipes call most often associated with the military; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise. The name comes from (or ), th ...

and retreat, when the camp's flag is lowered, candle-lit processions, and former campers being remembered with flat stones and

totem pole Totem poles ( hai, gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually ...

s dating back to 1934.

Camp Program

The camp is for boys aged eight to fifteen years of age. The season lasts about seven weeks in the summer. The program includes activities such as hiking, fishing, swimming, sailing, archery, and other sports. Throughout the camp season, boys compete in the Ag vs. Wam season. The boys are split into one of two teams, Ag or Wam, of which you are a member for life. The boys compete in all different activities so that one team will prevail. However, their main focus is "leadership and character building that is developed through daily interaction with mentors and peers."Sayer, Deborah
Turning Boys Into Men
'

'' (accessed 13 March 2013)

Main Idea Program

David Mason and his wife Peg founded the Main Idea program in 1971, a charitable project that sponsors attendance at the camp for disadvantaged boys from southern Maine towns.Anon
Maine boys slated to attend free week at Camp Agawam
'' Sun Journal'' (June 12, 1988) (accessed 14 March 2013) Mason states: "I wanted to do something for the boys living around here, who see out-of-state campers come and go each year, but think that camp is an experience that will never come their way." By 2005, the program had involved over 2,600 boys, and had gained local and national media coverage. Senator

described the initiative in 2009 as "truly a meaningful investment in Maine's most precious resource—our children." As of 2014, the program is offered to over one hundred boys aged 9–15 years annually a free week's camp attendance in June.

Awards

Main Idea was awarded the

American Camp Association The American Camp Association (ACA), formerly known as the American Camping Association, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves the United States. It is an association for camp owners, camp professionals and others interested in summer camps and ...

's Eleanor P. Eells Award for Program Excellence in 2004/2005, and also was recognized as one of the top summer camps according to Richard Kennedy.The 2005 Halsey Gulick Award: Presented to David W. Mason
(accessed 14 March 2013) Two past camp directors, David Mason and his successor Garth R. Nelson, received Halsey Gulick Awards for their services to the "organized youth camping movement in Maine".

In popular culture

Camp Agawam is mentioned in two novels set in Maine by Stephen King, ''

Pet Sematary ''Pet Sematary'' is a 1983 horror novel by American writer Stephen King. The novel was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1984, and adapted into two films: one in 1989 and another in 2019. In November 2013, PS Publishing r ...

'' and ''

Dreamcatcher In some Native American and First Nations cultures, a dreamcatcher ( oj, asabikeshiinh, the inanimate form of the word for 'spider') is a handmade willow hoop, on which is woven a net or web. It may also be decorated with sacred items such as ...

''.King, Stephen. ''Dreamcatcher''
Google Books

Notes

References

External links

* {{Summer camps in Maine Agawam Buildings and structures in Cumberland County, Maine Raymond, Maine Youth organizations established in 1919 1919 establishments in Maine