Lake Fairlee Camp Records

Collection

Identifier: JHCI-023

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of materials spanning the decade when Lake Fairlee Camp was most active, including records and schedules belonging to camp staff, programming materials such as sheet music, scripts, and service outlines, photographs, yearbooks, and Judaica. It also contains personal materials belonging to camp director Herb Kummel, including correspondence, biographical information, and more. The collection contains a few wood carvings hand-carved by campers, exemplifying the commitment to and resources available for the arts at Lake Fairlee Camp. Along with the wood carvings, a copy of the siddur used by the camp and a tallis bag containing two tallitot and one kippah make up the artifacts within this collection.

Dates

undated, 1958-1994
Majority of material found within 1960-1970

Creator

Kummel, Herbert, 1923-2021 (Person)
Kummel, Marion, 1926-2020 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for researcher use. Box 3 Folders 1 and 2 are restricted. Please contact us to request access or to make an appointment to view this collection at jhcreference@nehgs.org.

Conditions Governing Use

There may be some restrictions on the use of this collection. For more information contact jhcreference@nehgs.org.

Historical Note

Lake Fairlee Camp was a Conservative Jewish summer camp located on Lake Fairlee in the village of Ely, Vermont, from the early 1960s to the early 1970s. Founded and directed by Herb Kummel, who had prior experience working at two other Jewish summer camps beforehand (Brandeis and B’nai Brith), the camp incorporated Jewish tradition with a well-rounded curriculum of classic camp activities such as swimming, sports, and the arts. LFC did have somewhat of a focus on the arts, given Kummel’s background as a professional dancer as well as his wife and co-director Marion’s background in the fine arts.

While the camp was not around for a long time, only an estimated 10-15 years, it clearly provided a vibrant, welcoming community that brought campers back year after year. The quality of the arts programs was above and beyond the average for summer camps at the time given Herb Kummel’s background, with LFC hiring instructors in dance, drama, and more of a highly professional caliber.

It is unclear exactly when LFC shut down, and little to no information is available about it publicly. Lake Fairlee itself has remained a home to many summer camps since LFC, and Herb Kummel continued teaching dance for decades after the camp’s closing.

References

Materials from the collection.

Chronology

c. 1960
: Lake Fairlee Camp is founded by Herb Kummel.
c. 1970
: Lake Fairlee Camp closes.

Extent

5 linear feet (4 manuscript boxes, 2 oversized boxes.)

Language of Materials

English

Hebrew

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection contains a variety of different materials from the former Lake Fairlee Camp in Ely, Vermont. Materials include camp newspapers and yearbooks, photographs, wood carvings hand-carved by campers, sheet music, event outlines, and more. The collection also contains some personal materials belonging to director and founder Herb Kummel.