l Adventureland Day Camp: Our Story
Adventureland Day Camp find your true north 6401 Hulmeville Road Bensalem, PA www.adventurelanddaycamp.com adaycamp@aol.com
It’s very difficult to describe the camp experience to someone who hasn’t lived it, but suffice it to say camp gets in your blood. There are many in this world who count their summers at camp as among the best times of their lives. That’s what camp does for you. It challenges you. It brings you joy. It helps you grow. And it creates memories that last a lifetime. For us, as second generation camp owners, everyday at Adventureland brings back memories of times gone by. Our camp’s history is a personal one and always leads back to our father and founder Lou DeVicaris. He loved summer and he loved this camp. He loved the land along with the fish, turtles, birds and animals that call it home. But most of all he loved the people who have been a part of Adventureland. This love is the 5 decade legacy we proudly carry on today and hopefully carry far into the future.
Career educator Mr. Louis DeVicaris (Mr. D.) founded Adventureland Day Camp in 1960. His career with the Philadelphia School District as teacher, coach and principal is still legendary. As a young man Mr D. worked as a Philadelphia Rec playground instructor evenings and summers and our day camp is an outgrowth of this earlier work. You see, our father loved kids and never wanted to stop working with them, mainly because he was a child on the inside as well. Camp was the place where he could share this joyous and child-like nature with the world. Adventureland Day Camp began in PENNYPACK PARK and originally consisted of only two camp groups. Mr. D. was one counselor and his fellow football coach and phys-ed teacher Mr. Dick Bauder was the other. In the early days Mr. D. drove the bus. A deli man delivered sandwiches and milk each day for lunch. Tuesday’s were trip days and the campers went bowling, roller skating, or to the movies. Since there was no pool at Pennypack Park, Mr D. used Highway Pools for his swim program. Originally located along the Boulevard, HIGHWAY POOLS were open to the public and since the camp wasn’t big enough to rent the whold facility, the public was there as well. Mr. D. used to fondly remember how he would be teaching swimming to Adventureland campers when the next thing he knew there were additional kids in the group. Children who were not part of the camp would see what he was doing and join in the fun. These kids didn’t pay for lessons, but such was the heart of this man that he never turned them away. He continued teaching swimming at Adventureland well into his 70’S, and literally thousands of campers credit their first dive in deep water to Mr. D. In 1962 Adventurelanders arrived in Pennypack for their first day of camp and discovered that because the day camp was a for profit business they were not allowed to use the park anymore. Our father always thought it was funny for the camp to be considered a for-profit business since, like most small businesses, we’ve never made lots of money. Anyway, without the use of a regular site most people would have thrown in the towel, but not our dad. He spent that summer taking the campers to a different playground around the city each day for the entire summer. This was the beginning of Adventureland’s “Never Quit” attitude and not once has an issue, natural disaster, or anything else caused us to ever consider closing our doors. The enrollment of our camp was steadily increasing so Mr D. located and purchased our current 30 acre site at 6401 Hulmeville Road here in Bensalem along the Neshaminy creek. Prior to being a day camp, our present campus was, at one time, a tree farm and a fishing club. If you look closely at the nature and arts & crafts buildings you can see they were once fishermen cabins. They are the only original structures left.
In 1963 construction began on our main office building, locker rooms, 10 foot diving and baby pools.
A new wing with more locker rooms, the present day WII room, nurse’s station, and Lakeside Pavilion were built several years later. Our 5 foot training pool complex (now called The Annex) including the Sunset Pavilion and our miniature golf course were added in the late 60’s. The golf area was supposed to be an area for trampolines, but accidents at other camps prompted Mr. D. to change it to miniature golf.