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YMCA Camp Tecumseh Outdoor Center is located in Indiana near the towns of Brookston, Indiana and Delphi, Indiana on the Tippecanoe River. The closest large city to Camp Tecumseh is Lafayette, Indiana, which is just across the Wabash River from West Lafayette (home of Purdue University). Camp Tecumseh was established in 1924 when citizens of Delphi raised $3000 to purchase the land which lies on a bend on the Tippecanoe river. The camp is named after Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief. Camp Tecumseh is fully accredited by the American Camping Association and currently serves over 4,000 campers every summer from throughout the midwest USA and the world. Camp Tecumseh is also open throughout the year, providing an Outdoor Education service for schools and a facility for retreats and conferences of all kinds. The facility serves over 30,000 people per year. It is an independent YMCA branch and is operated independently of other metro YMCAs. ==History== In 1922, the YMCA of Indiana wanted to establish camps in Indiana. Most YMCAs in the state were too small to host a camp on their own, so regional camps, combining the resources of several YMCAs were pursued as the solution. The YMCA of Indiana raised funds for property in southern part of the state near Bedford, Indiana. The fund drive a success, netting the over $20,000 needed to establish their first State YMCA camp, Camp Bedford in 1923. The success of the Camp Bedford campaign encouraged a drive for a YMCA State Camp to placed in Northern Indiana. The citizens of Delphi, Indiana presented a petition to the YMCA of Indiana asking that the camp be placed at a Carroll county site located on the Tippecanoe river, one of many sites under consideration for the new Northern Indiana State camp. The owner of the proposed site was J. Reid McCain, a local farmer, who promised to sell the for $3,000 for the camping site. The YMCA of Indiana the pledged that if Delphi could provide the $3,000 for the land, keep a good road to the camp, and insure a "friendly attitude" towards the camp that they would agree to the Carroll county site for the new camp. In a burst of activity and a one day fund drive, the citizens of Delphi provided a total of $3,775 for purchase of the land. The new Northern Indiana State Camp to be founded on the Tippecanoe River was not yet named, so a "name-the-camp" contest was conducted by the YMCA of Indiana. The grand prize was a free two-week stay at the new camp. Jack Fisher, an 11-year-old from Battle Ground, Indiana submitted "Camp Tecumseh," a name closely associated with the local history, which includes the Battle of Tippecanoe. Fisher's contribution won the contest and he attended the first session of camp held in 1924. Girls camps have always been included at Camp Tecumseh. Camp sessions in 1924 included two 10-day sessions for girls and three for boys. In 1965, separate sessions ended following the national YMCA's push for co-educational camping. Camp Tecumseh has also closely allied itself with other youth organizations from the early days, and 1924 included a "Week for Agricultural Clubs" which became known as "4-H Camp." This camp continues yearly to the present day. In 1924 cabins were not complete, and campers stayed in tents. Early Camp Tecumseh cabins were wood frames with canvas roofs and canvas sides. Eventually the canvas was replaced by wooden shutters, but the same basic cabin structures were used until they were replaced in 1979. One of these old cabins remains on the camp grounds as a historical monument. All waterfront activities were held in the Tippecanoe river until 1950, when concerns over pollution and possible infections to campers prompted a drive to build a pool. The main donor for the pool was then President of the Camp Committee, Joe Shirk. The pool, along with an additional pool added in 1996 remain in use today. In 1991, Camp Tecumseh held a fund drive to build a man made lake. Karl and Marietta Kettelhut gladly met this request by providing 95% of the donations. They deferred the name of the lake to Camp Director Dick Marsh because he had been so instrumental in the formation of Camp Tecumseh. There is now a chapel above the lake to thank the Kettelhut's for their contribution. The lake allowed campers to once again swim in a "natural" body of water, and is a camper favorite. In 1968, the Illinois and Indiana YMCAs merged to become the new Region I of the YMCA of the USA. With this change many involved in the operations of Camp Tecumseh felt that they no longer wanted to have to rely on YMCA hierarchy for the support of camp they needed. Much of the facility was out of shape and at various points during the 1960s board members feared that Tecumseh would be shut down by the YMCA of Indiana due to financial difficulties. The next logical step for the Camp Tecumseh was to become an independent YMCA. On October 16, 1970, Camp Tecumseh requested Independent YMCA status and it was granted by the YMCA of the USA the next day. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「YMCA Camp Tecumseh」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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