Camp La Verne: Memories of the Past It was the summer of 1924 when the Church of the Brethren organized three camp sitesCamp Harmony, near Johnstown, Pa.; Tinker Mountain, near Roanoke, Va.; and Camp La Verne, near Big Bear in the San Bernardino Mountains.

n 1923, the new pastor of the La Verne Church of the Brethren, Reverend Edgar Rothrock, was confronted with a problem: Should he take a group of boys from the La Verne Church of the Brethren camping with the Pomona Y.M.C.A. group? His response was simple—the boys should wait until the following year so that the girls of the La Verne Church could be included. This idea would allow the children to go to camp as a church group rather than as a Y.M.C.A. group.

Rev. Rothrock had experience setting up camping programs. During his first pastorate at Bethel Church of the Brethren, he helped with the camping program. Following, as pastor of the Church of the Brethren in South Beatrice, Neb., he promoted summer camps for children.

Acting as a leader of the first Brethren camping program on the west coast, Rev. Rothrock took the initiative and promoted the idea of aquiring the site for Camp La Verne. Due to the great support, leadership and hard work from volunteers in his home Church, the idea of naming the site “Camp La Verne” was established.

In 1928, he became involved in the printing business and stayed active in church and community affairs. The seed for an enduring camp program was planted. Following Rev. Rothrock’s lead, support for the camping program spread beyond the La Verne Church. Today, nine Church of the Brethren congregations in the Pacific Southwest District plus many outside organizations send children to Camp. During the first year at Camp La Verne, there were an estimated 40 campers and leaders in attendance. The period between 1924 and 1930 represented a time of continued growth for Brethren camping, as camp attendance and the production of more camp sites increased. At the first camp excursion of summer 1924, the cost per camper was $1, and a total of 35 campers attended.

The first two Camp directors were Marguerite Dickey and Chase Harper, both former Y.M.C.A. camp directors who used Y.M.C.A. material for songs and other activities. The directors wrote a Camp La Verne leadership manual. In 1928, Mary Shaffer served as the girls camp director, a post she held for the next 16 years.