Before Covid-19 swept the entire world, I had planned to return to URJ Crane Lake Camp in West Stockbridge for my eleventh and final summer, and for my second summer as a paid staff member. At the end of April, the camp directors announced that Crane Lake would be closed this summer along with all of the other URJ camps and, subsequently, all sleepaway camps in Massachusetts.
I was devastated. But thankfully, I was able to get a remote internship for BTW Berkshires, and from mid-June until August, I had the freedom to write about whatever I wanted, as long as it related to the Berkshires. So, I wrote about something close to home — Berkshire summer camps.
Through these three articles, I explore the impact of camp closures on camp communities and local businesses as well as take a closer look into how some day camps are able to be open with new health protocols. I hope that these articles can keep people connected to camp in a summer that has been isolating for many and give readers a glimpse into the importance of summer camps and their impacts on people and communities.
~ Bellamy Richardson, summer intern
