LDBC: Enduring Traditions for Today’s Campers

Every Sunday afternoon at LDBC, the campers march in the parade field in their dress uniforms to show off the results of that week’s practice; the results of the parade are announced during dinner. Following the moving Sunday evening chapel service of Evensong, echo taps is played by four different buglers as the campers get ready for sleep. This routine has taken place weekly for over 100 years and says much about what LDBC is today. As a New York Times reporter wrote on LDBC’s centennial anniversary in 2009, “The camp ethos seems immutable: build self reliance, self discipline and camaraderie in boys who show an aptitude for leadership.” Campers experience a program designed to enhance physical, intellectual and spiritual growth in boys. Personal growth will occur while competing with fellow campers on our athletic fields and in weekly parades. Campers gain an appreciation for God’s creation as they hike and camp in our beautiful Catskill Mountain surroundings, and again at chapel services which campers, whether religious or not, routinely cite as a profound experience. LDBC’s program helps boys develop the core values and character needed to become upstanding young men today. The proof is the hundreds of alumni, parents and friends of LDBC who give their time, talent and treasure to ensure that LDBC will be there for future generations of campers. We hope you will want your son to join in that experience.