Fonds AM1593 - Camp Deka fonds

Camp Deka was established by May Brown and Lorne Brown, who, in 1958, purchased undeveloped land located on the northwestern shore of Deka Lake in the southern Cariboo region of British Columbia with the intention of establishing a private camp for boys 8-14. The Browns spent the summers of 1959 and 1960 clearing the land and constructing the camp buildings, and Camp Deka received its first group of campers in July 1961.

The Camp Deka program was informed by the Browns' belief that boys, especially those raised in cities, needed time in nature in order to develop responsibility, physical fitness, emotional maturity, and respect for the natural environment, as well as to learn to interact constructively with their peers. Campers, grouped by age, slept in tents and cabins and ate meals prepared by the camp's kitchen staff. Activities included canoeing, horseback riding, swimming, and overnight hiking excursions, with outdoor skills being taught throughout by counsellors and counsellors-in-training. A Wilderness Camp for 15-year-old 'graduate' campers, located across the lake from the main camp, was introduced in 1964. Believing that a measure of discomfort was healthy for boys' development, the Browns designed the Wilderness Camp program to instill a sense of independence and leadership in campers, who dug their own pit latrines, planned and cooked their own meals, and learned advanced outdoor and survival skills. Unlike many camps of the era, Camp Deka was non-denominational, and encouraged individual spiritual growth through the inclusion of quiet, unstructured time for campers to reflect on the day's activities. Campers' achievements were recognized at end-of-session Recognition Nights, but no awards were given, in keeping with the camp's emphasis on personal growth and improvement for its own sake. Individual reports to parents assessed each boy's strengths and weaknesses as a camper and development throughout the session.

Camp Deka was held as a partnership between May Brown and Lorne Brown. In 1965, the Browns incorporated as Deka Camp Limited, with the company leasing the site from the partnership and operating the camp. Another company, Drewry Holdings Limited, was established in 1972 with the Browns' two children (then young adults) as 50/50 shareholders; Drewry Holdings Limited subsequently purchased the main camp and wilderness camp properties from the partnership. Following Lorne Brown's death in January 1976, Camp Deka became a sole proprietorship owned by May Brown, who ran the camp with her son Greg for the summer of 1976, then closed the camp. Deka Camp Limited ceased operations in 1978 but continued to exist as a registered corporation. In the 1980s, the Camp Deka site was rented to external organizations operating summer camps, also under the name Camp Deka. May Brown, through Drewry Holdings Limited, sold the main Camp Deka site to the Vancouver YMCA in 1989, dissolving the Camp Deka proprietorship.