EDITORIAL:Camp Fox era ends, another one begins

Monday marked the end of an era for generations of Glendale children.

The Glendale YMCA rang in 2007 without something it has had for the last 83 years: a lease on Camp Fox on Catalina Island.

It’s sad that the Catalina Island Conservancy — which owns Camp Fox — and the Glendale YMCA couldn’t work out a deal to keep the Glendale YMCA running the camp. But it is time to put that energy into other ventures.

A rich tradition of running the campsite on the island’s three-acre Button Shell Beach ended as of Monday when the nonprofit Guided Discoveries took control of the site as interim manager.

For decades this camp was a summer haven for youngsters — a place where they learned, grew and discovered who they were.

We’re sorry to see it all end this way.

But we take some solace in what the camp has meant for people, and in its legacy.

People cried over this camp.

For many, the time spent there was the best time of their lives. The shaving-cream fights, the football and volleyball games, and the oatmeal wars all went into a mix that made the camp special, but it also created a special brand of adult.

The camp was a place where boys and girls learned to be themselves and where children and counselors could escape the city for a few days to get in touch with their spirits. Bonds were created. Children learned from adults and adults from children.

All we can do now is hope that the future is as bright for the camp as it was in the 1920s, when a volunteer started the camp.

There is hope that Guided Discoveries will continue a great camping tradition, one forged by the Glendale YMCA, whose campers will get priority use of the campsite for summer programs, officials said.

That’s reassuring.

There’s also hope for the future of Glendale YMCA camps, though the YMCA’s year-long leasing days are over for now. The Glendale YMCA, which previously only ran Camp Fox, plans to diversify the kind of camps it offers. There will be a surfing camp in San Diego and a mountain camp at Wrightwood.

We’re hopeful that the Glendale YMCA could start up another tradition for Glendale boys and girls — a place where the oatmeal wars will rage once again.