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Camp Hazen YMCA
204 West Main St
Chester, CT 06412

GRIFFITH BEDWORTH

Camper 1929-32
Story told by R. Merrick, March 2007

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Griffith Bedworth was born in 1920, the same year that Camp Hazen YMCA was founded by Senator Edward W. Hazen.  In 1929, at nine years of age, Griffith attended Camp Hazen for the first time and was in the Junior Village.  Griffith remembers that his cousin, George, was the Waterfront Director at the time and it was his involvement with Camp Hazen that persuaded Griffith’s parents to send him to camp.  In 1930, Griffith moved to the ‘Middler’ age group and then to the Seniors in 1931.   In 1932, because of his long time involvement with the camp, Griffith was allowed to come to camp for free and work in the Arts and Crafts department, teaching kids how to construct model airplanes from kits.  This saved him his camp tuition of $6 per week! 

Griffith remembers his cabin group constructing a swordfish raft for the water festival. “We flipped over a canoe and painted an eye on the front, then took a long piece of timber that we fashioned into the sword and painted white before attaching it to the front.  We used the headlights of the staff vehicles to light up the whole waterfront and our swordfish appeared to move all by itself as we swam alongside it out of sight! Out of all of the different floats, ours was the one that stole the show.  The only problem we had was over who was going to pay for the paint that we used.  You see, back then, the Arts and Crafts department sold 6oz tins of paint for 10 cents each and nobody had thought about who was going to pay for it!” 

Back then, the Camp Store was located in the Schoolhouse, which served as the camp office.  Parents would deposit money into the store account much the same way they do now, only that 50 cents or a dollar would last the entire two weeks.  Griffith fondly remembers the 5 cent candy bars that he was able to buy each day – his favorite was the Mars Bar!  Sundays were also one of Griffiths favorite times because that was when ice-cream was served for dessert in the ‘Mess Hall’.   He also describes the large banner that was hung above the Directors’ table in the Dining Hall that proudly read “To live life more abundantly”.  Griffith credits some of his longevity to his experiences at Camp Hazen YMCA and even now, at 87 years of age, is an active and passionate bird watcher. 

As a camper, Griffith tells of some of the mischief that the kids would get up to.  He fondly recalls how he was the youngest person in his tent and the other boys would claim that he was a “scardy cat” and “bet that he wouldn’t go and sleep in the hayloft”.  As a wry smile came across Griffith’s face, he proudly announced that “I climbed out of my bunk and walked right over to the barn.  I climbed up the ladder into the loft and was asleep on that soft hay within minutes.”  He was awoken sometime later when the duty counselor, who had found his bunk empty and questioned his cabin-mates on his whereabouts, came around with a flashlight to chase him back to his bed. 

Some of Griffith’s favorite memories are things that we still do at camp today.  He remembers the great campfire meetings by ‘Thunderbird Rock’ where all of the campers and counselors, who were referred to as ‘Brother’ before their name, would gather to tell stories, sing songs and talk about their camping experiences.  But his fondest memory of all his camp years was a six day canoe trip that he took along the Connecticut River.  He recalls ‘Pop’ Stanley, who was the Camp Director, giving the counselor all of the cash that the group needed to purchase supplies.  At some point the counselor dropped his wallet into the river and all of the campers watched in horror as it sunk all the way to the bottom.  Not knowing what to do next, the counselor remembered a friend who lived in Cromwell that the entire group called upon and borrowed twenty dollars from.  “We paddled all the way from Chester to Springfield, Massachusetts, where we were fortunate enough to spend a night sleeping on the floor of the gym at the Springfield YMCA.  Each of the other nights we camped out along the river which was a great time!” 

Griffith is a man who remembers clearly all of his camping experiences and despite the years that have past since he attended, he still speaks fondly of his time here and recognizes the importance of camp in his life.  It was inspirational for me to speak with him.