The name honored Mahackemo, the chief of the Norwalke Indians, who in the early 1600s used the property as a summer home lodge. The next year - at Fred’s request - it was changed to Mahackeno. In 1945 the Y moved onto the new land, which they called Bedford Camp. Fred Bedford (Briggs II’s father-in-law, and III’s grandfather) said the Bedford Trust Fund would pay half of the cost - provided the Westport community matched it. In 1944 the Y was offered 30 acres of land off Sunny Lane, near their newly established camp. The Cunningham-Bedford Y connection is indeed strong. She’s a Westporter - III lives in Kentucky - and 2 of her 5 children are Y board members.) (Briggs III’s sister, Lucie McKinney, pledged $500,000. So I’m guessing the $250,000 his son - Briggs III - just pledged to the Y isn’t going to break the bank. (“The H-Bomb In Color” rated only a ribbon at the top.) On ApBriggs II was on the cover of Time magazine, with 3 of his Cunningham racing cars. In 1951 he designed and built the Cunningham C-4R, a race car with “a sleek, hand-hammered aluminum body and Chrysler’s newly introduced V-8 engine, (which) has been called America’s first sports car.”īriggs Cunningham II, on the cover of Time. In addition to sailboat racing, II competed in the 24-hour auto race at Le Mans. Briggs II left Yale to marry Lucy Bedford - daughter of Standard Oil heir F.T. He began racing at 17, out of Pequot Yacht Club. “He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia in the 1958 America’s Cup race, and invented the eponymous device, the Cunningham, to increase the speed of racing sailboats.” He was, that impeccable source says, “an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. The inventor - Briggs Cunningham II - has quite an entry in Wikipedia. Though it sounds like something right out of the Kama Sutra, via The Onion. “Applying the Cunningham” is apparently a favorite sailing technique. The 1-week program on Lake George brought together scores of children of 9/11 victims. Their daughter Aly was 5 months old.įive years later, she attended Camp Better Days. Rory Murray’s husband was killed in the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. Many members of the planning committee lost a parent, sibling or spouse at an early age. Points are awarded for spirit, fundraising, cheering and more. Twenty teams of 10 to 15 people each (kindergarten through adult) compete in sponge races, an obstacle course, toothpick pickup contest with oven mitts, archery and others activities. The “Day of Champions” is set for Camp Mahackeno - a perfect choice for this camp-like color war/field day. Money raised will keep camp free, for every youngster who attends. But on May 20 Experience Camp holds its first-ever fundraiser. The national organization has kept a low profile in town. It’s headquartered right here in Westport.
Together with a hard-working committee, they launched the first Day of Champions in 2018.Ī week at Experience Camp is filled with fun.Įxperience Camp is directed by Westporters Jon and Sara Deren. But they realized the best way to raise money for kids was to involve kids themselves. They thought about the usual events, like cocktail parties. She teamed with Melissa Post, who like Grove loved the idea of the camp. In 2017 Deren asked fellow Westport resident Gery Grove to help raise funds here. Of course, running such a life-changing program costs money: $1,000 for a week at camp.įor much of its first decade, Experience Camps - founded by Westporter Sara Deren - relied on gala fundraisers in big cities, and foundation grants.
This year, Experience Camps will serve 1,000 boys and girls, at 5 locations from Maine to California. The program builds confidence, encourages laughter, and allows them to navigate grief through friendship, teamwork, sports and the common bond of loss. Not to mention unique, cool, and tons of fun.Įxperience Camp is the Westport-based network of summer camps for youngsters who have lost a parent, sibling or primary caregiver. That’s why Experience Camp’s Day of Champions is so wonderful.
Westporters support them generously, with time as well as money.īut most of these kid-focused groups’ events don’t actually involve young people themselves. It’s one of the strengths of our community. Westport is awash in organizations that benefit young people - here, in the rest of Fairfield County, the country and the world.