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  Ruth Beverstock, Keene High School, 1920 The first edition of Takodah Whispers was mimeographed by Ruth Beverstock at the Keene Chamber of Commerce in late February, 1924, and was mailed out in early March to 77 boys and 43 girls. Whispers was originally conceived as a way to increase awareness, registration, and excitement for the summer seasons ahead. While no copy of the first edition has ever been located, it’s possible that there is a copy – or the mention of its contents in the records – still awaiting discovery somewhere deep within our Lake Street Archives. We do have copies dat ..read more

We are excited to announce that Chris Burke will serve as the new Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2024. He will succeed Jim Doremus who has served as Interim Executive Director & CEO since October, 2022. Chris brings extensive experience in independent residential camping, youth development, and mission-focused non-profit programs. He will be the 12th executive leader of our award-winning organization that has been serving children and families in and around the Cheshire County region for over a century. Chris has spent the past sixteen years with Becke ..read more

Our full-time staff has changed a lot over the last year. Along with our Interim Executive Director, Jim Doremus, we have Sarah, Shawn, Trevor, and Jill. We’re super excited to have such an awesome team and look forward to welcoming a new CEO to Camp Takodah soon. We asked the team some questions about their favorite things at camp this past summer and the upcoming summer. Sarah Cunningham | Camp Director   Favorite camp song: Let Me Go Favorite camp meal: Gyros Favorite location: Allen’s Way Memory from this summer: 4th of July when everyone was gathered on the shore and we had the firew ..read more

The 107th summer at YMCA Camp Takodah was quite a success! Though we endured more rainy days than we would like to admit, had an unusual amount of turtles hatching at camp, and sustained a brief closure of the lake, the staff and campers had a memorable summer. From Opening Campfire to CT Cremony and everything in between, our days were filled with trying new things, enjoying time outside, and making lifelong friends.  This summer, 1,270 campers and 157 staff lived together amongst the trees. Making candles and friendship bracelets in the Hobby Nook, conquering the rock wall and the verti ..read more

You might imagine camp is done for the season when session four ends. However, Camp Takodah has many things that go on in the off-season! Each fall we host Family Camp and Women’s Weekend as well as welcomed several weddings and other events to Takodah. We started off the fall season with our first-ever Labor Day Weekend Family Camp, which was an absolute blast! Many families joined us for the weekend, which included all sorts of activities, and was the first program to get to use our brand new tie-dye beach (check out the Instagram to see it!). We ended with one of the best candlelights I’ve ..read more

Camp Takodah is often described as “rustic” and it’s absolutely true. It is that way by design. But what we consider that term to be these days is nothing compared to what it was if we go all the way back to the beginning of our Y. With the construction of the new Buffalo Twins completed for the 107th summer, let’s look at just how rustic camp was when it came time to “do your business” back in the day. Camp Primitive on Swanzey Lake, 1914 In the two years before Takodah, Camp Primitive thoroughly lived up to its name. Under the direction of Howard T. Ball, a dashing young graduate from Dartmo ..read more