|
Whispering Pines College Camp
The Camp
Whispering Pines covers a square mile of New York southern tier woodland in Franklinville, New York, about 70 miles south of Buffalo. The camp includes two visitors lodges and a dwelling. The lodges can accommodate about 100 total overnight guests in bunk rooms and feature full kitchen facilities.
The camp is available for rental year-round, with only a few periodic shut-downs for maintenance and vacations. USG member organizations are given priority but the camp can be rented by any public or private group that can fulfill a short list of requirements.
See the Accommodations Page for more on the lodges and activities available at the Pines.
See the Booking Page for current pricing info and policies for camp use.
A Short History of Whispering Pines
The College Camp was essentially born on Moving Up Day, Friday, May 23, 1952, when the deed to the property was presented by the Camp Commission to the Faculty Student Association. The Commission, made up of faculty and students and chaired by Dr. John Urban, had been formed the previous year to find and purchase land for a camp. The property in Franklinville, NY was purchased from four different owners to create a large camp reservation of 433 acres.
Previously, the land had been a dairy farm with hay fields and forest. There were a few structures but nothing habitable. Plans for a recreational building were solicited from other college departments, and even welcomed from the student body. At the time George Laug of the college's Science Department was working toward a doctorate from Syracuse University on the topic "How College Students Work with College Camps." Mr. Laug became an obvious choice to oversee the development of the land and its use. One of Laug's first actions was to arrange the purchase and planting of 3000 Norway spruce trees to return some of the farm land to forest. At this point the Camp was only available for day-trips.
By the fall of 1953 the Camp Commission had been reorganized as the College Camp Board - still consisting of student and faculty members and still led by Dr. Urban. Plans had been drawn up for a lodge that would accommodate 40 overnight guests and construction was completed in December 1953 at a cost of approximately $35,000. A full calendar of users, including a Sophomore Snow Party and weekends dedicated to the Women's Glee Club and Casting Hall, was drawn up for the 1954 Spring Semester. From the beginning the Camp Board had a policy of having at least one Board member accompany groups using the camp.
In addition to the lodge's amenities - sleeping areas, kitchen facilities, fireplaces, bathrooms, etc., the camp owned skiis and toboggans. A ski and toboggan slope had been one of the first features added to the camp once the lodge location was established.
It's unclear exactly when the Whispering Pines name was adopted. It didn't make it onto official printed material until the end of the 1960s but had apparently been used for some years before that.
Throughout the '50s and '60s the camp was very active. Groups requesting dates (both campus organizations and off-campus groups) were frequently turned away because the camp was fully booked. This heavy demand eventually led to the construction of a second lodge just down the hill from the original structure. The new "Ski Lodge" was completed in 1969 at a cost of about $106,000. Unfortunately the facility was plagued by poor construction and an inadequate heating system. The lodge was shut down at the beginning of 1973 for the installation of a new heating system - a job that was never completed. The building was destroyed by fire on February 13, 1973 and wasn't replaced until 1976 when a new lodge (eventually costing over $180,000) was opened.
Over the years the camp land area was expanded as adjoining property became available until it covered over 500 acres. A final purchase was made in 1974 (after some discussion with the SUNY Central as to its legality) and the camp reached its current size: 617 acres - approximately one square mile.
Also during those years a couple of camp features were dedicated in tribute to the camp founders. A small bell tower out side of the original lodge still features a plaque thanking Dr. John Urban and Dr. Louis Callan for their efforts on behalf of the camp. It was dedicated during a ceremony in the fall of 1970. In October 1972 the old lodge was named Laug Lodge in honor of George Laug. By the time of these dedications, the Camp Board was a part of the student government and the Camp operation was almost entirely in the hands of students - no faculty or staff member held an official position on the Board. In 1984 the new lodge was named the Aliamo Lodge in honor of Dr. Sam Aliamo and his wife Marge.
In June 1994 Mike Lynch was hired as the camp caretaker, (later his title was changed to Camp Director) and shortly afterward plans were begun to replace the caretaker's dwelling - a house trailer - with a permanent log home. The house was finally constructed in 1997 and included an environment-friendly geothermal heating system that certainly would have pleased the camp's founders. The system was considered so efficient that the Aliamo Lodge was converted to geothermal heating several years later.
Unfortunately, around the same time, the Camp Board - the student organization that had scheduled dates, run open weekends and other events, and regularly visited camp for "work weekends" - became defunct. The organization fell prey to the same maladies that have bedeviled other extracurricular activities: students' increasing lack of spare time and need for money. It became more and more difficult for students to give up a weekend and their part-time job hours to go to camp and supervise visitors or help with maintenance. Also the organization was unable to keep office hours on campus consistently enough to adequately handle booking requests, and their ability to fill dates, avoid conflicts, and organize and promote open weekends eroded. Finally, the Camp Board treasurer failed to submit a budget request for the 1998-1999 year, and the group was struck from the books. Since that time the United Students Government has handled all of the Camp affairs. However, there is an active Camp Board Alumni group that holds frequent reunions at the camp. They can be contacted through the Buffalo State Alumni Association.
Though USG had been considered the camp's owner since at least the incorporation of the student government in 1977, the lease was held by FSA until 2002. Now the Whispering Pines Camp is officially the property of the students of Buffalo State.
|
