A climbing tower is nearing completion on the campus of the Pok-O-MacCready Camps just north of the Village of Willsboro. Professionally designed and built, the 40-foot facility will serve the campers and, off season, the public.

This interest in serving campers and encouraging the public to use the campus facilities off season is one of the unique features characterizing the Pok-O-MacCready Camps. It enables the camps to function year round and adds visibility to this century-old Essex County camp complex.

Three years ago, the Pok-O-MacCready Camps celebrated their 105th birthday. They are still owned and run by the direct descendants of Dr. Robinson, the founder. Today, the fourth generation of the family continues to lead Pok-O-MacCready.

Founded in 1905, the camp initially opened with a handful of boys on vacation from a military academy in Peekskill, N.Y. Add to this span of years the fact that direct descendants of the founders still own and direct the camps. This makes Pok-O-MacCready the oldest camps of their kind in the Northeast.

Pok-O-MacCready today hosts more than 300 campers. They come from all over the map including France, Germany and Canada. During the 1920s and '30s, there were more than 350 camps in the Adirondacks. Today, only 75 remain. Some sold their land to developers for a large profit; others were economic failures.

The Pok-O-MacCready Camps are two camps, one for boys and, after 1967, one for girls. Both share the 300-acre campus on Long Pond just north of the Village of Willsboro.

Campers from both camps select their individual program from the same list of more than 35 different activities of interest. While many of the activities are co-ed, the boys and girls eat at different times and have different evening schedules. Some clearly expressed gender preferences are apparent. Boys opt for the fast and furious hockey team and girls predominate in horsemanship classes and competitions.

The executive director of Pok-O-MacCready, Sharp Swan, emphasizes that the camp balances tradition with creativity. The development of self confidence and self assurance are balanced with an emphasis on concern for others.

"In an age when the family is in decline, we look for ways to instill the values of family living in children's lives," Swan said. "Camp is a constant in a world of change.

"We have a 70 percent retention rate; the average camp percentage is 60 percent or less nationwide," Swan added. "This factor helps contribute to our strength and stability. Many of our future counselors come from experienced campers."

Ken "Squeaky" Herz arrived at Pok-O-MacCready as a camper in 1969. He is still with the camp as an experienced counselor, a man of many talents, "the ETC man," he calls himself. He teaches elementary school in the winter.

"This is where I spent my childhood. I learned to be tough and adventurous and at the same time embraced service to others and communal living. The balance feels good."

Both Swan and Herz refer to the traditional camp "games."

Every year, campers participate in an all-camp American Revolution War Game, a classical Greek heritage Game, the Blue and the Gray Civil War Game and a game based on American Indian culture. These one-day events become part of every camper's active experiences and associations.

"We also take advantage of our setting," Swan said. "We have a group of campers who execute a surprise marine attack via Long Pond on the British in the American Revolution Game."

Traditions are altered over time to reflect social changes and changes in need. In its earliest years, counselors held formal academic classes of study during the mornings. Today, there are ESL classes for the campers whose native language is not English if requested by parents. Sunday vespers were once entirely based on Christianity. Inspirational sources are now more universal.

The camp uses its setting and its focus on tradition to encourage campers to dig into history, archeology and historic preservation. Swan leads one of the wilderness trips developed for campers. The Santa Clara Lumber Co. was one of the many. Only vestiges of these lumbering activities remain, but photographs exist and company records reveal some of the history. Campers who elect this three-day trip explore the remains of the Santa Clara Lumber Camp.

He and his campers discover debris revealing the existence of a blacksmith shop and earth formations which reveal dormitory foundations, findings which Swan expects to donate to museum collections and archives. Campers have the opportunity to sign up for the wilderness trips of choice.

The affiliated 1812 Homestead and outbuildings occupy a nearby site of 125 acres. The pioneer lifestyle is reenacted here.

Open to the public, this site is also available to campers as one of the activities or classes of choice.

"This is not a country-club camp," Swan said. "Our focus is on family living. Children come here to have fun and be safe. The Robinson Dining Hall isn't run as a cafeteria. We serve our meals family style and a counselor joins each group. We prepare food that campers like."

Campers wear their own, and all receive a list of clothes and supplies they must bring, Swan continued. "At the same time, we want our kids to experience what they normally wouldn't. We subtly encourage them to do more, to become more self sufficient. Those who ride have to assume all the responsibilities for the care of the horses."

Erin Shishilla, a first-time counselor this year, a senior at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, shares a cabin with another counselor and nine girls who are all Horsemasters.

The girls all have to be up at 6:30 a.m., then head over to the barn to muck out, clean tack, groom and feed the horses. In the evening, they have to go back and feed them again.

"I have a hard time getting them up in the morning," she said. "They have a full day.

"Counselors do more than lead activities," she explained. "They are expected to serve as role models. We select them very carefully. They've either been campers here or they come highly recommended through people we know. They don't make much money, but they love to work with kids."

The Pok-O-MacCready Camps are run as a business, a profit-making enterprise.

"Our margin of profit is slim," Swan said. "On the average, we have a $300,000 (surplus) every year. Our profit is in turn reinvested in Pok-O-MacCready. We are constantly renovating and improving our facilities. This year, we're putting in a new outdoor ring for riding, one with rubber matting. The surface will be easier on horses' feet and should provide a better cushion if a rider has a fall."

Swan said one of the largest investments is the construction of a climbing tower. "This investment required us to take out a mortgage," he said. "It's a fully professional facility, 40 feet in its highest section with all walls climbable. Varying elements make each climbing route unique. As with many of our other programs requiring specialized skills, it will be staffed with specialists. We plan to have it in use and fully secured 12 months a year, so it can be used by our campers as well as the public."

The climbing tower should be ready in late summer or early fall. When camp is not in session, it will be open to the public on weekends. Admission regulations and a fee structure for public use have yet to be determined.

Fees for Pok-O-MacCready vary depending upon the selected season of choice. The seven-week season, June 28 to Aug. 15, is $5,950; the four-week session, June 28 to July 26, is $4,400; the short, three-week session, July 28 to Aug. 15, is $2,800.

Scholarships are available through the Adirondack Scholarship Foundation. A committee of former campers actively works on funding this foundation.

In the mid 1970s, Camp Pok-O MacCready set up an Outdoor Education Center also administered by Swan. Unlike the Pok-O-MacCready Camps, it is a non-profit facility featuring outdoor programs open to the public. Although local school districts and individuals are its primary patrons, its programs attract children and adults from all over Essex County to enjoy and learn from camping trips, nature studies, wildlife tracking, astronomy studies, snowshoeing, hiking and survival skills. Fees, tax-deductible donations and minimal grant monies support the Outdoor Education Center.

"The things I love about this place — it's great to see kids come through this camp," Swan said. "We're helping kids mature. It's fulfilling. We do this job because we're doing things for the kids."