It was another 90-degree July day in Boston’s neighborhoods and a heat advisory from City Hall advised residents, particularly older adults, to stay cool and indoors.
But on this particular Wednesday, at a lakefront setting about 30 miles southwest of the city, a group of seniors from Brockton, Dorchester and Roxbury were having an outdoor adventure as part of a five-day “sleep-away” camp offered through the Salvation Army’s Kroc Center on Dudley Street.
Camp Wonderland, as it’s called, is set on 116 acres on land along the shores of Lake Massapoag in the town of Sharon. For most of the summer, it’s a haven for kids and teens. But for two weeks, the Salvation Army runs a special program for adults 55 and over, some of whom never had the summer camp experience as youngsters.
“As a kid growing up, camp was never an option; it was never even discussed,” said Shirley A. Smith Downie, a longtime Mattapan resident who was enjoying the week away in the woods and on the water.
“I had two younger brothers, 14 months apart,” she said. “At nine, I had a baby on each hip. Going to camp was not an option.”
Above, Bobbie Williams (left) and Shiarley A. Smith Downie both attended the camp for the first time this summer. Cassidy McNeeley photo
Now 83, Smith Downie had the chance to act like a kid herself. Sitting with new and old friends halfway through her week-long experience, she told The Reporter that “I asked yesterday, where do I sign up for next year?”
The Salvation Army calls the camp “The Happy Summer Place.” The organization also offers low-cost opportunities for campers ages 6 to 12. The same goes for the seniors at the Adult Ministries Camp. The going rate for a shared room is $40 [a week], and the private rooms are $75.
Said Major Judson Laidlaw: “We have devotions every day, and then there is a series of electives that they have. They can sign up for a different elective every day. One of them is an art class making scrap books, another is a pontoon boat ride, and there is a prayer journaling class.”
Smith Downie, who joined through the Kroc Center, said the boat ride was the best part of her week.
“It was the most serene and beautiful event,” she said. “I signed up the first day because the people who’ve been here before know that that’s the highlight. It was just beautiful.”
Robert Malenich, the director of the camp’s conference center, piloted the small craft around the lake. Twice a day, he is taking a group of seven seniors on a scenic ride from Camp Wonderland’s dock past the Massapoag Yacht Club, by the Sturges Road Wetlands, toward Memorial Park Beach, and back.
“He told us a lot about the history of the area and a lot about the boat itself,” said Smith Downie, a retired federal regional nurse facilitator. “We went around the entire area one time, but you just want to keep going.”
“I love trying to help people, serving them, working with them. Everyone is so nice and appreciative of what we can provide for them,” said Malenich. “At this program, we’re not only getting people out of their homes and getting into a community with people, but also giving them activities that they can do.”
As the seniors prepared to shove off on their boat ride, Major Brian Thomas from the Salvation Army North Shore Corps in Salem helped them board and put on life jackets.
“It’s just fun to be with everybody, be silly and be helpful,” said Thomas about his time at Wonderland. “That’s what Salvation Army officers do, be silly and helpful, not necessarily in that order.”
While Smith Downie loved the boat, 74-year-old Josephine Taylor preferred playing Bingo, an activity many of the campers participated in every day.
Laidlaw described Bingo as “a big deal,” adding, “We have donated bingo prizes. It’s quite a feeding frenzy around the prize table.”
In addition to bingo, Taylor also liked the staff and the food. She joked that they eat between just about every activity and that she thinks she’s “gaining a pound a day.”
But that isn’t all that hard to do when the camp offers top-notch food, from fresh-baked bread and classic pot roasts prepared by Chef Michalina “Lina” Colafrancesco.
Taylor, who previously worked at an assisted living facility, was getting her steps in every morning, too, beginning each day with a walk around the same camp and lake that she sent her children to years ago.
“I have four daughters, and some of them came here to Camp Wonderland,” said Taylor, who was marking her fifth summer at the camp.
Alma Harris, a 77-year-old former BPS second-grade teacher from Dorchester, attends the sleep-away camp every year. Originally from Georgia, Harris (pictured below) said that she had “never heard of camp before because we lived on the farm, which was my camp. I learned about camp through the Salvation Army.”
She added, “What I like about Salvation Army in general is they’re giving, they’re always giving and giving and giving. This week has been like a blessing to me to meet other seniors who come out here to relax. Some of them are going through a lot of things. When you see the others in the devotion services get up and talk about things, it helps me to hold on and keep moving forward.”
One way Harris likes to keep her wits about her by playing dominoes, which she does at camp and the Kroc Center. This year at camp, she learned how to play cornhole.
“It’s exciting to come here and learn new games, talk to new people, and have fellowship together.”
Like Harris, 87-year-old Bobbie Williams was happy to leave Dorchester for scenic Sharon for the week. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Williams said camp wasn’t a possibility for her as a kid because of the racial discrimination she faced in the South. At Camp Wonderland, Williams was thriving in a safe, welcoming, and diverse community.
Williams, a retired nurse who raised her family in Boston, says she hopes to be back next summer.
“If life lasts, sure, I plan to,” she said. “I like to keep busy.”
