Story by Tamyra Horst
When the Pennsylvania Conference purchased a 150-acre farm outside of Smithport, Pa., in the spring of 1954, it was a dream to create a camp facility for children and families. Leaders would buy additional properties and add to the new camp, and in December 1954, it was voted to call this new ministry Laurel Lake Camp.
Organizers held a four-day summer camp in 1955 for 30 boys from the community. The following year, the conference offered two weeks of “summer training camp,” inviting churches to send children to this new summer camp program.