Camp Dubernwaski

A Brief History of Camp Dubernwaski of Max Creek Village, Virginia
(circa 1935-1941)

By Stephen C. Warren – February, 2025

Background:

During the height of the Great Depression, the United States Congress passed the Federal Emergency Relief Act of May, 1933, and created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Over the next 18 months, more than $3.1 billion would be distributed through projects employing more than 20 million people. What began as relief for basic necessities such as food and shelter eventually turned into work-relief projects to get the unemployed back to work.

Thousands of short-term, often unskilled laborer jobs for men were created to help build or improve roadways, schools, playgrounds and airports. Women were often employed to sew garments for the destitute. By May, 1935, the Works Progress Administration had been formed to take over the work started by FERA, with a focus on enhanced work relief. (1)

It was during this period that the town of Pulaski, Virginia, applied for, and received, funding for a summer camp project that would serve indigent children in low-income families, and provide a segregated camp opportunity for African American children. This camp was named “Dubernwaski,” an amalgamation of Dublin, Newbern, Hiwassee and Pulaski.

A year earlier, Pulaski had operated a similar outdoor program for children of families on relief. It was held at an unreported location, and was directed by Mrs. Jordan Bockock who had experience running a private camp for girls. (2) That first year, an estimated 60 children were served, and camp was divided into three two-week sessions that accommodated white boys in session one, white girls in session two, and black children in session three. This operating model would be adopted by the Camp Dubernwaski planners.

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In the summer of 1935, the first FERA/WPA camp opened along Max Creek in Hiwassee, near the home of Pulaski Board of Supervisors Chairman Charlie Leache. The camp facility was built on private land loaned for five years by W.P. Quesenberry, and was situated near the confluence of Little Max and Big Max Creeks. (Note: In October, 1938, this 28-acre tract was purchased by Pulaski County for future development of the WPA summer camp. The tract would later be sold by the county to the Roanoke Boy Scout council.) (3)

The town supervisors initially approved $200 for materials. Chairman Leache donated lumber, and labor was provided by federally-funded WPA laborers. This project had the overwhelming support of civic organizations and church groups, according to newspaper accounts. The Rotary Club members (predominantly men) and their wives brought in supper for the children during the second week of camp. (4) McCrory’s store donated supplies such as oil cloths for dining tables and benches, as well as “pins, needles, scissors, cereal saucers, forks, spoons and a tea strainer.” (5) Hand-sewn quilts for the campers’ bunks were provided by the WPA sewing room. Local women frequently visited camp to bring delicious pies and desserts.

That first summer of Camp Dubernwaski in 1935, various adult leaders served for the different periods. The camp staff included several cooks, as well as a nurse. Fifty-eight boys attended the first session and gained an average of four pounds during those two weeks. Fifty-one girls, ages 10-14, attended the second session; and an undisclosed number of segregated black campers attended the third session. (6)

The next summer, only two news articles were found in the local papers about the project. These brief clippings verified that camp was held for the same number of sessions during the summer of 1936. News coverage of Camp Dubernwaski picked up considerably in 1937, with forty-two white boys attending the first two-week period, and an equal number of white girls for the second session. Newspaper accounts vary, but the last session was likely shared by African American girls and boys, with between 80 and 116 total campers.

The summer of 1937 was covered very favorably by the local papers. Civic groups from the community made almost daily visits to bring food and camp supplies. At different times, the Pulaski Fire Department band and the Draper Valley Future Farmers of America band went to the camp and performed for the children. Coordination of all this came under the direction of Mr. T.J. McCarthy, a Pulaski hotel man, who organized a donations committee so that money and supplies would help make camp possible. The news coverage focused on the combined effort of the county, the WPA, and private citizens; the rallying point was to provide underprivileged children the chance to enjoy outdoor activities – with special attention being given to “diet, sanitation and recreation.” The local newspaper claimed that “the camp has become Pulaski’s big charity undertaking to provide for the welfare of those who are not abundantly supplied with life’s good things.” In addition, the work of the camp’s directors, Mr. and Mrs. V.W. Moody, drew much praise. (7)

By 1938, other groups began using the camp, including the Pulaski County 4-H club which planned to spend a week there in early June. (8) The county announced improvements would be made for the upcoming season using WPA funds. A new recreation building, personnel quarters, walks, driveways and a bridge would be added that year. (9) The local community chest would provide $1,000 for food during the six weeks of camp. The nature of the camp, by this time, was described as “a WPA nutrition project,” and would incorporate a dietician and registered nurse who supervised the food and care of the children in camp. (10) Several hundred children were served during this summer’s program, and a new activity was started with the children of camp staging a colorful parade through the Pulaski business district to show their appreciation as they returned to their homes. (11)

Nationally, the Works Progress Administration was under pressure for becoming too enmeshed as part of President Roosevelt’s political machine. Over the next year, the WPA was infused with new leadership and was taken over by the Federal Works Agency under the Reorganization Act of 1939. (12) What that would mean in terms of funding at the local level was uncertain. The Pulaski Board of Supervisors in February announced there would be two new bridges constructed over Max Creek “at points where fording had previously been necessary” along the route to camp. Chairman Leache stated this improvement “renders a needed service to those obliged to make many trips to and from the camp during its regular sessions,” and it meant a greater attraction for visitors. (13)

For the 1939 camp, an even greater emphasis was placed on the health and well-being of the Dubernwaski children. The camp’s nutrition planning committee grew during the planning stages to 18 community members, many of whom had previously worked the summer camp sessions. Mrs. V.W. Moody of Draper again was selected to direct the summer program, to be assisted by her husband. Pulaski’s Lillian Smith served as superintendent and D. Mott Robertson was “in charge of the recreational part of the periods.” The staff numbered more than 16 adults, including a dining coordinator with several assistants, camp counselors, a nurse and dietician, and a purchasing agent. Selection of the children attending camp was made by the Welfare Department in Pulaski, in order to enforce immunization requirements for diphtheria and typhoid. (14) By the end of summer, newspapers reported approximately 200 white children were served and an undisclosed number of black children.

The county’s Lillian Smith took over as director in 1940, and recruited many of her counselors from nearby Radford State Teacher’s College. (15) The organization for running the camp appeared to be more regimented this year, as inspections were held to ensure camp readiness, and policies for visitors were trimmed back to 30 minutes daily “so as not to interrupt the camp routine.” The county’s health officer, Dr. H.M. Kelso, took a more active role in overseeing camp protocols and making statements about camp to the newspapers. The local Health Department became a departure point for children going to camp, and school buses were used for ferrying children to and from camp. (16) Attendance figures for the summer showed approximately 80 white girls, 65 white boys, and 65 black children (a combined session); this was a significant drop of more than 25% over prior summers. This may be attributed to the enforcement of minimum weight and immunization requirements by the Health Department.

The 1940 summer camp season appeared to be going smoothly, with over 1,000 visitors logged and many civic groups bringing foods, desserts and supplies to the campers. In early August, a steady rain began and continued until major flooding occurred throughout the New River Valley. The white children had already left Camp Dubernwaski during the early rains, but the black children became trapped in camp as creeks and rivers started to rise. By August 14, all of the bridges over Max Creek were washed out and the food supply was reported to be good for only two more days. The front page of the Southwest Times stated “Durbernwaski’s Campers Happy Though Isolated,” and the county was assuring parents that “their kiddies were alright.” There was no effort made to evacuate the camp, but rather food and supplies were shuttled in over the next few days using the logging road across Max Mountain. Parents were not having it, though, as the newspaper reported five days later that “campees left by any means they could,” and the bridges being washed out caused considerable difficulty. It reportedly took three days to get everyone out. (17)

Over the next eight months, the bridges would not be replaced along Max Creek. The “WPA nutrition project” for 1941 went forward nonetheless, under the direction and planning of Miss Lillian Smith. By mid-April, the counselors and athletic instructors had already been selected. The camp was scheduled for 10 weeks this year, with white girls and boys getting one month each. As in years’ past, the “colored youngsters” were assigned to the final two weeks in a combined setting of boys and girls. The selection criteria for attendees would again be limited only to “undernourished children from needy families.” (18)

The first session of the 1941 season ended by mid-July and the girls, ranging in ages from seven to twelve, were reportedly “weeping” when it was time to go home. “No wonder they hated to go,” wrote Southwest Times columnist Peg O’Loughlin. “Though red-eyed now, they were rosy-cheeked and well fed. All month long they played, went swimming, learned songs and held camp fires at night. They made dolls and embroidered dish towels to take home as souvenirs.” Miss Smith, camp supervisor, was already known to many of the campers from her role as principal of Pico Terrace school during the year. While at camp, she “would play harp for them and sing them to sleep.” The children were described as quite poor, having left camp with only a few suitcases, while many of them “went as they came, with nothing but the clothes they had on – with maybe a hankie or a candy sucker added.” As bus driver Henry Williams dropped off a few campers at Dublin, Belspring, Parrott and Draper, the majority of the children were returned to Pulaski. “Think up a good song when we come into town,” Williams said. “I’ll drive you around the block so everyone can hear you.” And loudly they sang the praises of “Dear Old Dubernwaski, the camp everyone wants to come back to next year.” (19)

Epilogue:

The United States entered World War II in December of 1941, and Camp Dubernwaski was indirectly shuttered as the community’s attentions were redirected toward enlistments, scrap drives and victory gardens. The regional 4-H Club would use the county property for one more week in July, 1942, followed by the Boy Scouts of Troops 47 and 49 (Pulaski) who held a two-week summer camp there. The camp site was so well-received by the scouts that they were quick to suggest its use again next summer. “It would make an excellent permanent site” the newspaper declared prophetically. (20)

From this point forward, the property lay dormant while Boy Scout troops in the New River began using it for occasional campouts. As the county’s need for the property waned, the Boy Scouts’ Roanoke Area Council determined that Camp Dubernwaski was ideal for its expanding summer programs, and purchased the tract from Pulaski County in late 1944. Four months later, it was reported that the council’s plan to spend thousands of dollars on site improvements and bridges across Max Creek would not be possible until after the war. The lack of bridges would be a determining factor in the council’s decision to keep using Camp Powhatan in the Natural Bridge section. (21)

For the next few years, scout troops in the New River used the property in its undeveloped state for various camping programs, and the council set in motion a fundraising plan for camp improvements. In 1948, the Norfolk and Western Railway assisted the scout council by installing new bridges across the creek. The next year, a decision was made by the council to abandon the Natural Bridge camp after the 1949 season and begin using the Max Creek property the next year. In another dramatic turn, the scout council determined in late 1949 that the Dubernwaski property conveyed by Pulaski County did not include mineral rights. With the help of Radford lawyer and then-state-senator Ted Dalton, a last-minute property exchange was negotiated with Radford College for an equivalent tract of land situated less than a mile upstream. (That eleventh-hour drama will be told in another article.)

At this writing in 2025, Camp Powhatan will celebrate its 75^th anniversary at the Max Creek location, and the property that was once named Dubernwaski has been home to the Williams family for several generations. To this day, the Williams display a small wooden sign by their mailbox with the name of the original camp for underprivileged children.

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Camp Dubernwaski Leaders

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Footnotes

1) https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/fall/fera.html

2) Southwest Times; 1935-7-21

3) SWT; 1935-05-31; SWT 1938-10-23

4) SWT; 1935-7-29

5) SWT; 8-8-1935

6) Roanoke Times; 1935-8-11

7) RT; 1937-07-15; SWT 7-1-37; 7-18-1937; 7-23-1937; 8-8-1937; 8-15-1937; & 8-30-1937

8) RT; 5-29-38

9) RT; 4-24-38

10) RT; 6-12-38

11) RT; 8-18-38

12) Wikepedia 2-4-25; Works Progress Administration; Retrieved from “https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Works_Progress_Administration&oldid=1273345913”

13) SWT; 1939-02-05 “Spans Eliminate Fords Upon Road Leading to Camp”

14) RT; 5-28-39 “Camp in Pulsaski to Open in June;” SWT; 06-06-29 “Camp to Start about June 12;” SWT 06-13-39.

15) RT; 05-25-1940 “Pulaski WPA Camp to Open June 12”

16) RT; 07-04-40; 07-12-40

17) SWT; 08-19-40

18) RT; 3-29-41; and Daily News Leader; 4-1-41

19) SWT; 7-13-1941, “68 Girls Close Camp Outing and Sob They Hate to Leave”

20) SWT; 8-10-1942

21) SWT; 4-5-1945