Camp Susque has more than doubled its acreage in a merger deal that seeks to help further its goal of Christian evangelism in Lewis Township.

The rustic Christian summer camp has recently completed a quasi-merge with Mount Zion Retreat Center, growing its properties by 110 acres and adding several new buildings to the camp’s facilities — including the picturesque Vista Lodge.

“In the midst of this year where there were a lot of unknowns financially, we were offered an opportunity to expand,” said Peter Swift, Camp Susque’s program director. “The directors and board (of Mount Zion) were looking to have someone else fulfill the vision for the property.”

So, Camp Susque stepped up. While Camp Susque and the Mount Zion Retreat Center remain two separate entities, they are both overseen by the same board and program director — although it meant Camp Susque would take over Mount Zion’s debt.

The new property has three fully furnished houses on the property — perfect to help the camp further its goal.

“We’ve been using them throughout the year to serve some families in need and to plan for overflow for staff housing,” Swift said. “I’m not sure we would have been able to provide that service without that property as a housing solution.”

The property also has a recreation hall, a pond and the magnanimous Vista Lodge that peers over the valley.

The Vista Lodge is a manor house constructed in 1914, and sports clay bricks that show very little wear and tear. It boasts a chapel, living room, kitchen and bedrooms that provide for housing.

However, some of the doors and windows are in need of repair, the electricity system is dated and these lead to safety concerns that make the building unable to be used at the current time.

Unfortunately, the renovations that would see the building able to be used will cost around $2 million, Swift estimated. That price tag eclipses the camp’s already hefty budget, especially given the debt Camp Susque took on when it acquired Mount Zion’s property. Still, Swift has hope.

“This has limitless potential,” Swift said. “It needs a lot of work, but it is something worth saving.”

For now, Camp Susque will preserve the Vista Lodge while allowing families in need, as well as pastors looking to go on vacation, to use the second building on the property. The final building, which has a one bedroom, is being used to house Camp Susque staff.

Camp Susque is approaching its 75 anniversary of operation. Although the first camping trip occurred in 1946, it was branded as the Susque Boys’ Club in 1947 as a place to inspire biblical growth while teaching various niche classes and activities throughout its seven-day camp sessions in the summer.

Since then, the Susque Boys’ Club has expanded its properties and programming to include girls, and rebranded itself to Camp Susque in 1956 as it continues its mission of providing camp ministry to area youth.

During the main summer season, Camp Susque runs residential summer camps — boys and girls camps for children through the third and eleventh grades. Meanwhile, a young explorers “mini-camp” runs for children in first to third grade.

“It is a mechanism of evangelism,” Swift said. “It teaches the importance of creation — the environment around us, and seeing God as the creator around us. It is very impactful for many,” Swift said. “We give opportunities to get people away from what they’re used to — to get to know people and their community.”

To emphasize that point, even camp staff are not permitted cell-phones at the camp. Rustic tent platforms alienate campers from electricity and give a very raw exposure to the nature of creation.

These tents sort campers into “families” they sit with at meals, and allow them an opportunity to bond with once-strangers.

“Hospitality is important to us — being able to break bread with others is important to meaningful communication,” Swift said.

Swift said Camp Susque plans outdoor adventure skills, as well as niche classes such as biology, chemistry, anatomy, different arts and literature classes. The camp has its own observatory dome with a high-powered telescope, as well as a pottery studio.

Outdoors, the camp boasts access to the Lycoming Creek, where campers can experience kayaking and canoeing. Alternatively, the camp has a pool campers can swim in — although, Swift said the camp is looking to upgrade its pool facility.

Some distance away, archery and .22 rifle ranges teach children responsibility around firearms — to the point that each camper must memorize a poem about firearm safety before they are even permitted to touch a weapon.

On the opposite side of the camp’s property, honeybee hives allow campers to learn how to harvest honey, while the maple trees provide ample opportunity for campers to learn how to tap trees to harvest sap for maple syrup. Campers are also able to learn from hands-on gardening in sustainability classes.

Low-ropes courses provide a challenge for campers to work as a team, and the camp adopted a rock climbing wall from another location too.

While the focus is on the summer camps, Swift said Camp Susque relies on off-season programming and events to be able to fund its summer programming for children.

“The heart of our ministry is our summer youth camp,” Swift said. “But in order to be a good summer camp, you have to figure out how to best use your other nine months.”

In 2019, that off-season programming was optimized. Camp Susque broke its own record with 166 different events September 2019 through May of 2020 — even when April and May saw decreased activity due to the pandemic.

Camp Susque involves itself in the local community by taking on field trips from local schools — although the COVID-19 has complicated this, as well as many other camp programming.

“Most districts are not doing field trips. Outdoor education is the safest thing here exposure-wise, but the transportation here presents a challenge,” Swift said.

Camp Susque is not a family-run operation — but Swift is the third person from his family to be program director.

“Although my family has been here, other people have been directors. We just stick around,” Swift said.

Camp Susque focuses on delivering a quality summer program, and shells out thousands of dollars in scholarships to ensure every child who wants to attend camp is not impeded by the cost — and the camp has never turned someone down for financial aid, according to Swift.

While the base price to attend camp is $500, it costs the camp around $1,000 to host each individual attendee.

That leaves a lot of ground for the camp to cover in the off-season — to make money to do the important work in the summer, Swift said.

One way Camp Susque is doing that is through a partnership with Alabaster Coffee Roaster & Tea Co. Swift said Carl Fisher, Alabaster’s owner, created the “Campfire Cappuccino” to help the camp collect funds.

“Every few months, they identify a nonprofit, design a drink with the nonprofit in mind and a portion of the sales goes to that group,” Swift said.

The Campfire Cappuccino uses smoked maple syrup harvested on Camp Susque’s property. For every purchase, Alabaster Coffee donates $2 to Camp Susque — however, they’re not the only ones.

Swift said 15 businesses agreed to donate $2 each to Camp Susque — meaning every Campfire Cappuccino purchased at Alabaster Coffee puts $33 into the nonprofit summer camp.

Camp Susque split the $13,000 it collected last year into eight parts, covering camp learning sites, leases, additional costs and more. It intends to use the funds collected this year to help fund an expansion on the Camp Susque mess hall’s kitchen — especially because price increases on materials and project screening has pushed the cost from $90,000 to $300,000.