Nestled on the serene shores of Cable Lake, the modest grounds of Fitch Camp have served as the canvas for many a summertime memory for Dowagiac residents.

A new generation of area youth will soon have opportunity to spend their upcoming vacations enjoying days of playing, learning and sharing the company of others, as the fabled campgrounds opens its gates for the 74th season next month.

The camp is currently accepting applications for the upcoming season, which runs from June 22-July 29. Registration is open to any second through seventh-grade student attending school in the Dowagiac Union Schools district — with fees costing merely a $1 per day, which includes meals and transportation.

We encourage parents to sign their children up for the summer program, if they haven’t already.

One of the common complaints that is made by many residents around the Dowagiac area is that there’s not a whole lot of venues for entertainment, especially for children. Outside of a few locations in the area, like the Five Mile Drive-In Theater on the outskirts of town and Ramona Roller Rink in Sister Lakes, this is mostly true.

There’s some activities that families can enjoy on the area’s the lakes and creek, but these can often be costly endeavors, requiring a boat or fishing equipment to fully enjoy.

Other than that, parents have a few options for their kids: either spend a lot of money on vacations to keep them occupied, or let them loose on the streets, which can sometimes lead to trouble.

Fitch Camp solves this dilemma, by giving kids a lots of fun (and supervised) outdoor activities and games, without charging an arm and leg.

Not only that, it also allows elementary-aged students an opportunity to meet and socialize with kids outside of their classmates at their particular school. It’s a great time for them to make friends with a larger circle of people, before they are all put together at the middle school.

While there are certainly summer camps in the area that are larger, Fitch Camp is a uniquely Dowagiac institution, run, supported and staffed by men and women from the community. We would love to see this camp continue, for the sake of the next generation of campers.

 

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Ambrosia Neldon, Craig Haupert, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.