Pavi Archives - Bethany Birches Camp

Posts Tagged ‘Pavi’

Ready to Climb…Climb On!

Ben “Flapjack” Hershey

These words were heard consistently throughout cabin challenge and adventure times during the 2024 summer program season. In the past they could only be heard outside as 2-3 campers climbed the rock holds on the outside of the pavilion chimney. Thanks to generous donors, and climbing wall staff, these words were also heard inside on rainy days as more campers climbed more often thanks to the completion of the indoor climbing wall.

As one of the final remaining loose ends of Mission Possible: The Pavilion Project (2014) it was long past time to install the climbing wall. Designs, styles and colors were researched. Bids received from various companies and finally Eldorado arrived for a week of work back in April of 2024. (insert the time lapse videos?). The group of 3 guys worked diligently to erect the BBC indoor climbing wall complete with ? # of holds, 4 “panels” 2 auto belayers and mats for the bottom. Generous donors helped us purchase additional harnesses and climbing shoes. Bring on a summer of climbing!

Recruiting and training additional staff was a key to utilizing the indoor climbing wall. Ben “FlapJack” Hershey was coming back for a third summer of counseling and was asked to be one of the climbing wall managers for the summer. Managing includes teaching campers about the wall and the equipment we use to climb, keeping children (and staff!) safe, and helping campers to improve their climbing skills while encouraging their appreciation for the sport. He accepted the challenge and offers some reflections on his experience.

“Running the rock wall quickly became one of my favorite activities of each week, and something that I looked forward to doing. However, it was not just my mastery of a new activity that made the rock wall a highlight of the summer for me. Getting to witness the campers’ enjoyment of the new rock wall each week from my role was truly what made it stand out at camp for me.

In examining the core values of BBC, I find that the activity of climbing the indoor wall rests on each of these values in a unique manner. While the wall itself may be man-made, scaling it successfully and making the transition from easier to more difficult routes requires the boldness to step outside of your comfort zone. I believe that this boldness extends beyond the wall and is present in the challenge of living outdoors in nature at camp that campers take on for a week (or multiple weeks in some cases) and that staff take on for a summer. Those of us who have had that experience to any extent know how wonderful it can be, but it requires us to go beyond what we know to be comfortable and familiar to appreciate nature in that way. Similarly, climbing the wall is based on a principle of faith. When you begin climbing, you have to trust that your equipment, the ropes, and your belayer on the ground will keep you safe and will catch you if you fall. Though it may seem trivial, this exercise is analogous to trusting in God and His promise to carry us through every storm that enters our lives. The wall also embodies a certain sort of community. Climbers have to be able to work and communicate with their belayer (and vice versa) and to be able to accept the help of staff in making sure that their equipment is functional and safe, and it was not an uncommon occurrence this summer to watch campers who had already climbed the wall give advice and tips to their peers who had yet to reach the top. If you’ve ever climbed a rock wall, it is almost challenging for it not to be fun. There is nothing quite like the feeling of hearing cheers and encouragement from an audience of campers below, or the sense of accomplishment that you receive once you reach the final hold.

An added incentive of the rock wall for campers this summer was a reward of “cabin points” in the weekly Crazy Camp Cabin Competition for climbing to the top of the wall. One of my own campers this summer was determined to get to the top of the wall, despite never having done it before, to earn those points for our cabin. He didn’t make it all the way on his first attempt, and nearly resigned himself to the conclusion that it was too difficult of a challenge. But with some encouragement from myself and his cabin mates who were also participating, he gave it another shot. From the ground, the other campers and I tried to direct his attention to good handholds and footholds, all while encouraging him to take his time and trust in his abilities. After a few minutes, he found himself looking down at us from the top of the wall with a smile on his face, satisfied with the feat he had just accomplished. Throughout the rest of the week, he continued to talk about how his ascent of the wall would be one of his favorite moments from camp that year. The wall only adds to the wonderful camp experience at Bethany Birches that I have had the privilege to be a part of as a counselor for three summers and that campers come back year after year to enjoy. I am grateful that I was able to witness this new aspect of camp in the role that I did this summer, and I have no doubt that climbing will continue to bring camper smiles for many years to come.”

Thanks to the many people who helped make the rock wall a reality. Consider a visit to BBC to try out the indoor climbing wall for yourself!

Bob Walks For the Pavilion Project: Central Market and Pavi History

For the past few months of my Bethany Birches Camp (BBC) WALK, my footprints have trod 20-25 miles of sidewalks in the City of Lancaster, PA, population 59,000. I chose to walk in an environment different from the countryside, suburbia, and township parks I was familiar with. The walk concentrated on 110 acres of Downtown Lancaster 1/4^th mile N-S-E-W outward from City Square, the Center of Downtown Lancaster. The Square provides resources of banking, food service, a 297 room hotel, and perhaps the most known and visited icon, the Lancaster Central Market, tucked into the N.W. corner of The Square. This Square is surrounded by Queen, King, Duke, and Prince Streets, whose names bear the influence of Old English Royalty. This historical market established in 1889 is visited annually by thousands of locals and tourists, even though it is located in a small corner of The Square. The Central Market is the magnetic force which attracts so many people nationally and internationally, to mingle with friends and visitors, and taste the vendors’ best of food fare, including shoofly pies.

One day I stopped off at The Central Market on my WALK and visited with patrons seated at a table. In less than an hour’s time, three of us learned that each was a walker; one, along with her friend, had walked 5 miles together to the market, known to them as a common place of meeting, to strengthen their friendship, and the two of them learned about Bethany Birches Camp for Children in Vermont. We wished each other well in our individual WALKING lives. What a nice memory!

My intentional WALK experience Downtown found me reviewing 50+ years of footprints at Bethany Birches Camp located on 100 acres tucked into a small mountain top beside Lynds Hill Road in Plymouth, Vermont. It was begun in 1965. BBC is by now experiencing an adolescence of growing and developing an exciting camp program which is meeting the needs of a growing number of children, youth, and families, many of whom lack a significant church family life. The establishment of BBC was not influenced by Old English Royalty but by newly immigrated residents, a married couple from Pennsylvania who invested in land. Their hope was to establish a camp which would help youth and children develop a relationship with God. The Camp “square” is the Pavilion (PAVI) which contains the main support services of the camp and from which many activities flow. The PAVI is not surrounded by streets influenced by banking and commercial influences, but by trees, mountains, and open skies. It provides a view of mountain ranges for a distance of 4 to 5 miles (quite unthinkable for market-goers gazing anywhere within 1/4^th mile of Lancaster city square). Rainy weather, though not necessarily welcome, is managed well since the open side of the PAVI can be quickly enclosed with solidly constructed curtains and storm doors; so most activities can continue rain or shine. From the PAVI, a road extends into the woodland which leads to five cabins for girls on one side, and five cabins for boys on the other. Each cabin bears the name of a bird, not inspired by Old English Royalty, but by the fact that the “ten birds” are at home in the mountain top. The camp is blessed with resources such as; a caring Christian Director and Administration, trained counselors, pastor, swimming pool, nature trails, Bible and nature classes, and most importantly, the prayers and support of committed board members as well as many financial supporters.

Central Market in Downtown Lancaster, PA, has a 125 year history of providing experiences for people who can satisfy their food tastes, along with meeting new people, and renewing older and lasting friendships. They return year after year to experience more of the same.

BBC in Plymouth, VT., has a 52 year history of providing an experience for children and youth to have safe and secure camping activities with new and former friends, and to become acquainted with God who loves them. And yes, they return year after year for more of the same. Can you imagine my smile as I tell you my wife Anna Mae and I are planning to spend a week at Bethany Birches Camp this summer?

~ Bob Weaver

Finishing The Pavilion One Step At A Time

This past summer a camp supporter, Yogi, noted that the kitchen was not near complete. He asked me what one of the next steps was to finish it. A week later, a friend of his and camp supporter, Mark, asked him what else was needed at camp on the pavilion project. Yogi told him quite simply, a stainless steel table. This wasn’t just any table, as you’ll see in the photos below. It took design and special manufacturing and would be expensive! The table was envisioned especially to help with the famous BBC fire side cooking. This table is the backbone of the crate packing and storage process.

To make a long story short, Mark mentioned the mini project to one of his friends Wil. Together they paid for the table and got the project under way. Today, during Lynx Winter Camp, the good folks over at Steiger Supply North dropped the table off and helped to set it in place. Campers even pitched in to peel off the annoying protective tape.

For me, this web of people making this small project happen in cooperation and team work is a vision of the community of God.

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey

Construction Update – Week of June 8

This week has been stressful! We had an electrical inspection on Monday (passed). Building inspection on Tuesday (allowed access to a couple areas). We are still needing a visit from the health department. And, on top of that, staff are showing up. In fact, summer staff orientation starts on Saturday!

In the building lots of progress has happened. Wall finishes are going on. Fire alarm has been completed. The kitchen is almost entirely set up (and is now being clean). Final grading and seeding has happened everywhere. Porch railings are being installed. The boiler is supposed to come on line Friday.

And yet, there is still lots to do. Some lighting fixtures have to be installed and there is plenty of finish carpentry to do. And of course after that, the upstairs has to be finished, chimney installed, big garage doors and wood boiler installed, climbing wall built and some other things. But, we are headed toward completion on phase 1 and that feels good.

Check out the latest photos.

Pavi Construction Update Week of Mar. 2:

Weather is getting better! Today (tues.) being town meeting day meant very few people on site. Happy Birthday to Jerry (of Jenne construction) and a big thanks to Rich Landis and Nanuk for putting a full day in today.

This week brings more heating system work, framing the mudroom, blocking in the walls and the beginning of siding staining. A big thanks to Fred Schlabach and Paul Derksen for putting in windows yesterday. Most of the windows are in now which is very exciting.

Volunteer opportunities for the very near future include mudroom framing (skilled), radiant tubing help (un-skilled) and siding staining (un-skilled). Contact Amber (802-672-5220) to help.

Challenges Experienced in Pavi Construction

Greetings all. I have been somewhat silent lately related to the pavilion project. I had been hyping it for so long and I was so excited about it… I was always talking about it. And then we ran into challenges. And I got a little lost for a time. And you may not have heard much from me in general nor about the project. I’d like to use this space to share about some of the challenges we’ve experienced and how things are going now.

Some challenges I’ve experienced as a member of the pavi design team and owner’s representative:

Alternative building and contracts model – we received counsel (from a trusted advisor) that money could be saved by utilizing what’s known as an agency approach. This is different than the General Contractor approach in the sense that the lead contractor receives a fee or salary rather than making their money on markups and changes. If done well, this provides freedom to alter plans as well as savings. In our case, it seemed ideal because there are materials donors happy to offer discounts directly to the camp without going through the contractor. Well, this approach is somewhat new to some on the design team and we are learning.
Relationships – human relationships are often one of the most challenging (and rewarding) aspects to anyone’s life. This has been true in our working relationships as well.
Budget – this has perhaps provided the greatest source of stress for me. Related to the two above challenges, it was a challenge to finish construction documents. Resulting from that was an incomplete understanding of budget. Resulting from that was a design that was more than we budgeted. To be clear, the building that has been designed, and is being built, is an awesome building. It’s exactly what the camp needs to maximize ministry and program. It’s the building the board wanted and approved. It’s also more expensive than we wanted it to be (up from the desired $1.4 million to $2 million).
Timeline – And almost all of this could have much more easily been overcome if we did not have a tight timeline. Because the new pavilion was to replace the old in the same exact location and because skipping a summer of camp was not an option, we had only from mid August till the end of May to complete the project. Doing things fast and well typically costs more than if you can do them slowly and well. And constructing this building poorly was not an option.

So what are we doing?

We decided to move ahead with the preferred design in the face of budget challenges and look to save in two ways:

Phasing whatever did not have to be completed to use the space for summer 2015
Seeking volunteerism wherever possible

With phasing, volunteerism and a loan of $400,000 we are hoping to complete the building enough to get a certificate of occupancy by the end of May, 2015. We hope then to finish the building entirely over the following couple years and pay off the loan at the same time.

This is both not what we planned and not uncommon for large building projects (so I’m told). We knew from the very beginning that a project of this scale would be a great challenge for Bethany Birches Camp. We knew that using volunteers and keeping a tight budget would add to the challenge. We even felt at times like it was an impossible project. And that’s why the name Mission Possible: The Pavilion Project was selected. It harkens back to something Jesus says in Matthew 19:26: “with God, all things are possible.” We know this is true and we continue to put our trust in God.

We welcome your gifts of time and money, as God leads. We thank you for your ongoing interest and support of Bethany Birches Camp. Pray with us that all who use the new pavilion will be blessed and experience God’s love.

Tuna

aka Brandon Bergey

Executive Director

Pavi Blasting (with dynamite!)

In order to sink the new pavilion into the ground just the way we wanted it, we needed to do some blasting. With dynamite. The very competent folks at Main Drilling and Blasting did a great job. And now the ground is prepared to finish excavation!

Sparkles put together a video so you could see it – make sure to watch in full screen!

Would you consider helping from a distance by purchasing tickets for the mini bike raffle?!

See The Bike

August 9: Pavilion Teardown Hoedown Celebration

It’s a sad day and a glad day. As you probably already know, our plan, in faith (and assuming all the necessary permits are finalized), is to tear the pavilion down starting in August. To commemorate the building and the many memories, experiences, transformations, weddings, meals, (fill in the blank – seriously, which memories do you have from the pavi?) that happened under the original pavi roof, a party is being thrown! And you’re invited.

Come one, come all.

Where: Bethany Birches Camp’s Pavilion

When: August 9, 2014 @ 2pm

What: First, work. We’ll haul a bunch of stuff out of the building. Second, party. BBQ and square dance

See you there?

Tuna

Pavi Virtual Tour

Check this out! Architect Robert Buchan created this short video tour through the building for the recent Camp Association Meeting. We suspect the building to look something like this: