Buck's Rock
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Buck's Rock Performing and Creative Arts Camp is an educational summer camp located in New Milford, Connecticut. The camp was established in 1942 by Dr. Ernst Bulova, an educator and psychoanalyst, and his wife Ilse, Austrian educators who had studied under Maria Montessori.
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[edit] Early History
Ernst (1902 - 2001) and Ilse Bulova were Austrian educators living in Germany in the early 20th Century. Dr. Bulova ran an educational radio programme in Berlin, but when the Nazis came to power, the Bulovas fled to England, and established a Montessori school there. However, after a few years, the pressure of World War II became too much, and the Bulovas left for the United States.[1]
The Bulovas originally came to New York (Ernst had relatives at the Bulova watch corporation) but eventually settled in New Milford, Connecticut. There, they chose a camp setting to apply their convictions about how young people learn, and founded Buck's Rock Work Camp.[1]
The hilly farmland was originally intended as a refuge for British children during World War II. However, when the British children never arrived -- one of the earliest evacuee ships was torpedoed by the Nazis -- the Bulovas recruited young people from the Tri-State Area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to work for the war effort by building structures and farming. The emphasis on farm work and construction gradually gave way to an emphasis on creative work as the war ended, and the camp officially changed its name to "Buck's Rock Performing and Creative Arts Camp" in 1975.
[edit] Later History
In 1974, after 32 years as the directors of Buck's Rock Work Camp, Ernst and Ilse invited former counselors Lou and Sybil Simon to become their successors, while they themselves continued to play an important role as consultants to the camp's summertime operations for the remainder of their lives.
Although Buck's Rock has had a series of directors since the Bulovas' retirement, the original vision of a camp offering freedom of choice combined with highly skilled teachers and artists, and a strong emphasis on ensuring effective guidance, has been maintained.
The Simons remained the directors for the next lengthy era of Buck's Rock's life. After a period of changing owners and directors in the late 1980's and early 1990's, Buck's Rock was sold in 1996 to Mickey and Laura Morris, who have directed the camp's operations since that time. Laura is the daughter of former owners/co-directors Irwin and Roberta Berger.
In 2001, coinciding with a memorial ceremony following Dr. Bulova's death, a group of alumni spanning the camp's 50-year history founded a non-profit organization called Friends of Buck's Rock[1], designed to promote the educational ideals and philosophy of the camp's founders. In addition to sponsoring alumni events, Friends of Buck's Rock has served as a fund-raising organization that has partnered with Buck's Rock's current directors to make it possible for less financially able teenagers to attend camp on full or partial scholarships.
[edit] Camp Life
Campers at Buck's Rock range from age 11 to 17. If a camper is 15 1/2 or older, they may apply to become a Counselor-in-Training (CIT) in an area of their choice. A CIT spends half their day working in their shop area, and half the day as a camper. Many CITs go on to become Junior Counselors and full staff in later years; Buck's Rock staff is made up of 50% returning staff each summer.
While no specific schedule exists for when campers may use shop areas, there is a basic daily schedule that dictates when shops open, mealtimes & snack, cleanup, special activities, and put to bed. This schedule is marked by one of the camp's landmarks, the gong, which can be heard throughout the entire camp.
Every evening there are two activities for campers and staff to participate in, including movies, performances, recitals, and exhibits of camper work. From dance shows to improv comedy revues, musicals to music concerts, Buck's Rock puts on more than two dozen performances each summer.
The culminating event of each Buck's Rock summer is a Festival Day to which relatives, friends, and other guests are welcomed to view the artistic work and attend the various performances that the campers have created throughout the summer season.
[edit] Shops & Activities
Buck's Rock offers more than 40 shop areas, performance settings, and other activities in which campers can choose to participate. In addition to the more typical camp activities such as athletics and swimming, Buck's Rock has full facilities for offering expert instruction in the manual arts and crafts as well as in the performing arts. Each area at Buck's Rock is staffed by professional artists, performers, and teachers.
- Performing Arts
- Creative Arts
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- Batik, Book Arts, Ceramics, Computers, Fleen, Glassblowing, Lampworking, Leather, Metals/Jewelry, Painting, Printmaking and Silk Screening (PASS), Photo, Publications, Sculpture, Sewing, Weaving, Wood
- Former Shops
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- Biology Shop, Capable Construction Crew (CCCP), Ham Radio
- Other areas and activities
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- The Animal Farm, Sports, Evening Activities, Spelunking, Horseback Riding, Fencing, Archery, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
[edit] Notable Alumni
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[edit] Notable Staff
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As a known center for liberal thinking and grassroots values, the camp hosted a number of prominent folk performances, including those by Simon & Garfunkel and Pete Seeger. In more recent times, the camp has hosted alumni parent Kevin Bacon's band The Bacon Brothers.
[edit] References
- ^ a b BucksRockCamp.com. Founders. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
[edit] External links
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Buck's Rock (New Milford) | Camp Chinqueka (Bantam) | Camp Jewell YMCA (Colebrook) | Camp Laurelwood (New Haven) | Camp Sloane (Lakeville) | Camp Wah-Nee (Torrington) | Hole in the Wall Gang Camp (Ashford) |
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