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Lifelong memories start at Church Hill day camp
LIBERTY — Children at Church Hill Park Summer Day Camp make memories that last a lifetime.
For some 50 years, the campers have taken creek walks, made crafts, performed skits, played kickball and basketball and just had a lot of summertime fun.
Just ask Rosie Rokus Boehlke, who attended as a child. “This park has been part of my life since I was 5 years old,” she said. Her mother, Juanita Rokus, supervised the camp in its early years and again in the late 1990s. She was a cook in Liberty School District until her retirement in 2002. Peter Prokop, who has been involved with the camp for years, then recruited Boehlke as program director, starting in 1998.
Boehlke said she learned about the history of the camp from Prokop, who handles fundraising. The camp was started in 1956 by Joe Horn, a teacher and football coach at The Rayen School. He and his wife headed a fund-raising committee, and donations from local residents and businesses made the camp possible.
Prokop and his wife, Helen, eventually took over fundraising. Funding has come from Liberty Community Chest, Youngstown Community Chest and Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way. This year’s budget was $3,700, and participants also paid $20. The money goes to supplies and staff. Prokop said he already is seeking funding sources for next year, as he was notified that no money will be coming from United Way.
“The camp is important for the simple reason some families can’t afford to send their kids to a swim club or take a vacation. This gives the kids a place to go and have fun,” Prokop said, adding that the creek is a favorite spot with kids. He also noted that Liberty trustees have funded improvements at the park that have helped make it a “beautiful place.”
Boehlke said the five-week camp is geared to 5- to 12-year-olds. This year’s camp began June 8 and will conclude with a party Friday. There will be a balloon artist.
Boehlke said she has 103 children registered for the camp. Boehlke and her staff of high school students have the responsibility of supervising and coordinating activities and monitoring children.
For the participants, it’s all about fun. And fun that involves being outdoors in the sunshine and moving around. It’s the opposite of sitting at home alone playing a video game. The children go on creek walks (wearing appropriate shoes) to find crayfish and minnows to catch – and release — so that they might be caught again the next day.
There are crafts such as making jewelry, potholders, picture frames and tote bags and decorating hats that engage children’s creativity.
“Showtime in the Park,” Boehlke said, involves skits that the children devise and perform — wearing an array of hats, boas and whatever else their imaginations put to use.
Physical activities such as basketball, baseball, four-square and jump rope help children keep fit and burn off energy.
Boehlke said camp activities have obvious pluses but other benefits are more subtle. “Children meet a diverse group here,” she said. Games and skits are ways for children to develop skills such as teamwork and cooperation.
“The camp is a place for children to connect,” Boehlke said. “It also helps them appreciate nature and life itself.”
Maddi Hudack, 8, said that “catching crayfish is special to me.” But she always lets them go. Savanna Houk, 7, agreed, saying she liked to catch and release.