(source: Living Stones: A History of West Abbotsford Mennonite Church 1936 to 1986)

• In 1958, West Abbotsford Mennonite Church purchased the property from Peter and Sara Funk for $1.00 – their generous gift made the camp possible
• Abe Buhler and Jack Nichel worked for Peter Funk clearing the land that would be flooded by Alcan
• Peter Funk had purchased about 5 acres of land that would become lakefront when the flooding occurred
• Several cabins from the surrounding area were moved to the property at this time
• Abe Buhler was the Young People’s leader and felt the young people needed a challenge
• 1956 – the first camp
• 2 major reasons for bringing the camp into existence were 1) to teach the children of God’s love and inviting them to faith, and 2) to give the young people an avenue of service
• Jack Nichel and others prepared the buildings for the first camp in 1956, and the Abbotsford church canned a quarter of beef, as there was no electricity and no way to keep food fresh
• 30 attended the first camp in August of 1956
• the next camp was held at Mollice Lake Camp, as OLBC could not meet the health regulations in time for 1957
• 1959 – the first camper’s cabin was constructed
• 1969 – the first log cabin was constructed, followed by 3 more in 1971
• In May of 1970, the chapel/kitchen was constructed
• The entire building was constructed with volunteer labor and donated materials (W. Abbotsford Church brought a load of materials)
• The total cost for the building was $22, which was the stumpage paid for the logs
• The property originally belong to the Young People of West Abbotsford Church, and then was transferred to the West Abbotsford Mennonite Church
• Two committees were established 1) southern = West Abbotsford group and 2) northern = Burns Lake Church and Grassy Plains Church
• The first years of camp were mostly staffed by Abbotsford Church
• In 1966, West Abbotsford was offered $5000 and up to $10,000 for the property – lakeshore was in high demand
• They considered selling and moving the camp closer to Burns Lake, but did not move the camp
• Camp was two weeks long for the first 10 years of operation, and has expanded up to seven weeks today
• Camp costs were $3.00 per week in 1960, $30.00 per week in 1984 and $110.00 per week in 2006

The camp continues to meet the original objectives:

1. children/youth and adults are taught of God’s love, and are continuing to be invited to faith and
2. the camp continues to give young people and adults alike, an avenue for service

We are so thankful for how God has provided – abundantly provided – for the camp in the last 50 years.