Camp Columbus near Bamber Lake

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jmccarty

New Member
Jan 29, 2007
24
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camp columbus pictures

Teegate, The photo of the entrance (welcome sign) is great as is the group picture taken in 1965. I'm not in it, there was a 1 in 7 chance I would be. This has really gotten the memories flowing. I tried posting at that thread but it hasn't shown up. I'm doing something wrong, when I figure it out I'll do it again. Thank you for directing me there. John McCarty
 
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Kevin early

New Member
Apr 20, 2007
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Hello everybody... I attended Camp Columbus in the early 1970's. I think I was there the last year. By the time I arrived, the camp was showing its age. I attended Camp Columbus for three years. Much of what I've read from the other postings rings true. It was alotta fun. A little rough for a kid from the city, though. No lights in the cabins. Hoppers (bathrooms) across the length of the camp. I don't remember the showers. Does anybody remember Ghost Factory? How about the wet hikes?
Some time ago I did some research. I actually reached the man how was the head Knight of Columbus for the state.
Sorry, I don't remember his name. He told me that at one time Camp Columbus was a camp for both boys and girls.
He also told me there was a second Camp Columbus in northern New Jersey. I don't know where. I asked about a rumor about a boy drowning at Bamber lake resulting in the closing of the camps. He had no information about that. Did I imagine reading it somewhere? I might have some pictures of the camp that I will post if I can recover them. By the way, I
was walking around Bamber Lake today exactly where the camp was located. These days, there's a zoo for injured animals several miles down the road. The name of the zoo is the Popcorn Zoo. While I was there I heard the roar of a lion. Of course, the zoo was not there when I attended the camp. Can you imagine what a bunch of boys away from home might have imagined if they heard that same roar back in the heyday of Camp Columbus!

Hail, O hail, Oh Camp Columbus
In the Jersey Pines
Boys will wander here forever
Hail, Columbus Hail!

Softly falls the light of day
As our campfire fades away
Silently, each boy should ask...
"Have I done my daily task?
Have I kept my honor bright?"...

more lines to the camp theme song.

Kevin
 
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Kevin early

New Member
Apr 20, 2007
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I can't say for sure. What do you really know when you're
10 years old? This was always a big draw when it was offered as an activity. All I remember is walking into the forest for about 15-20 minutes. We would come upon a brick foundation of a building. Nothing much was left. Just enough for the counselor to whip up some spooky talk that held us all spellbound. We were also told this was a favorite haunt of the Jersey Devil. By the way, this was the first time in my life I had even heard of the Jersey Devil. We were all sure that he lived somewhere in the forest just beyond the camp clearing. Anyway, I'm wondering if Ghost Factory is somehow connected with the Ferrago(?)
Iron Works/Forge that was in the area in 1809.
 
james ungehajer

james ungehajer

Piney
Oct 25, 2006
1,757
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Sorry Kevin i do not,there are other members on this website who have a very good info on the camp,and i am sure they will respond to you.I have only been to the area once,only briefly.
 
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chrisw

New Member
Feb 15, 2008
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TeeGate said:
I think that was mentioned before. Can you give a description on how you got there so we can figure out where that was?

Welcome Kevin!

Guy
Click to expand...
Sorry if this has been posted, but I haven't finished reading through the other Camp Columbus thread (13+ pages).
I was a camper there for 2 summers in the early 70's.
To get there from Willingboro we take Rt70 east out to Whiting,NJ . Then Rt530 through Whiting and fork right onto Lacey Rd heading towards the shore. Right on Dover rd (dirt at the time) and a left fork onto Hurry rd. Go to the end and turn right. You're in the middle of the camp. Good Luck Rd split the camp. Today it's a township Park.

GPS coordinates:
39 degrees, 53' 44.18" N
74 degrees, 19' 20.29" W
 
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donjuanmonn

New Member
Apr 7, 2008
2
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Deland Florida
Camp Columbus.

I Know all about this.For I attended Camp Columbus in the 1960s & 70s.
Camp was closed in the late 1970s and most was torn down.It was originally built as a CCC camp during the depression.
I visited the site in the early 1980s and found only the boat dock.
 
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TEWoerner

New Member
Jan 3, 2010
1
0
The Knights of Columbus stopped running Camp Columbus in the late 70's / early 80's. My parents retired to Toms River from Bergen County. In the mid-90's, while visiting them, I had some spare time to go exploring for it. My father suggested I was wasting my time as the land is there, of course, but the buildings are gone.

In the summer of 1973 I was a counselor and my two younger brothers attended the camp. Even then, the buildings were of a condition where significant investment was needed to keep them operational.
 
Teegate

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,951
8,694
TEWoerner said:
The Knights of Columbus stopped running Camp Columbus in the late 70's / early 80's. My parents retired to Toms River from Bergen County. In the mid-90's, while visiting them, I had some spare time to go exploring for it. My father suggested I was wasting my time as the land is there, of course, but the buildings are gone.

In the summer of 1973 I was a counselor and my two younger brothers attended the camp. Even then, the buildings were of a condition where significant investment was needed to keep them operational.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Welcome to the site.

Guy
 
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cblkdog

New Member
Jul 10, 2009
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Hi, I went to Camp Columbus sometime around '63-65, I was only there for a week but it was alot of fun. I remember the wet hikes and swimming in the lake. I was from Sea Bright and was used to swimming in the ocean but the lake was something different. KoolAid with all the meals, no milk like at home. I think it had something to do with the Catholic church but aren't sure.
 
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johnm1961

New Member
Jan 12, 2010
4
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cblkdog said:
Hi, I went to Camp Columbus sometime around '63-65, I was only there for a week but it was alot of fun. I remember the wet hikes and swimming in the lake. I was from Sea Bright and was used to swimming in the ocean but the lake was something different. KoolAid with all the meals, no milk like at home. I think it had something to do with the Catholic church but aren't sure.
Click to expand...

There is a page on facebook with some neat pictures.
 
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SolarD

New Member
Jul 8, 2010
2
0
Camp Columbus was a boys summer camp on the north side of Bamber Lake in Whiting NJ. It was run by the K of C (Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization for fellowship and philanthropy). My brothers and I went there for a week each summer ( to give our parents a vacation, one year we got to stay 2 weeks), we got to go: swimming, hiking, canoeing, archery, tetherball, softball, arts & crafts, etc. My fondest memories were: Camper of the week, my first stirches, winning the three legged race and camp fires, and the rattlesnake that got run over on the road in the middle of camp. I saw the area on Bing maps and the Cabins are gone but the lake lives on. I had a lot of fun there in the 60's
 
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