The Directors
For much of its life the camp had a director, Austin "Pop" Welch, and an assistant director, Tony Balski. But over time there were a number of people who played a major role in the operation of the camp. This is an archive dedicated to those people.
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The Directors:
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The Assistant Directors:
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Heads of Boys Work:
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Austin "Pop" Warren Welch
1941: Founder
1941-1970: Director
1971-1973: Advisor
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Austin as a boy. He was
born in Newark, OH on
March 27, 1896.
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Graduation from High
School.
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Stint in the military. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and was 5-foot 3-1/2 inches tall. His enlistment papers said that his occupation was a forester. He was inducted on August 5, 1918 and he was honorably discharged on February 7, 1919 from Camp Custer in MI. His rank was Private.
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Pop's family. That would
be Pop on the right end.
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Pop and John Bondarenko surveying
the camp's site in the spring of 1941.
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Pop standing in
Section 1 by the
Eagles Cabin.
Boot Hill is
beyond.
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Pop with pipe.
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Pop in 1962 catching up
on the news while in bed
in the White Cottage.
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A Poem written by Pop's sister, Marie Welch. It appears to be about John Bondarenko and was obviously written during World War II.
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John of the Berkshires
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Stalwart, strong, and humble he stands
Before his house on the hill.
Weather-beated from wintry blasts,
Both he and his house instill
A feeling of strength in humble things -
Like his plot of land to till;
Or perhaps - I do not know, but perhaps,
His corncob pipe to fill.
He has cabins to let at the end of the pond,
Down the hill from the house where he stands.
Where the dam turns the water well over the rocks,
Laughing merrily down where it lands.
He has rowboats to rent to fishermen, whom
Of all men, he well understands,
And his love for the land shines forth from his face
As his honest smile slowly expands.
I wish I could paint John;s house on the hill
As seen through my hungry eyes.
All the paint I need is a little drab,
Some green, and the blue from the skies.
A tumble-down house, but the lines are good,
And the quaint picturesqueness survives,
Reminiscent of pioneer days which made
Such sturdy New England lives.
The nearest call to his house is down
To Algerie Road, and there
His mailbox tells to the passerby
That John has a cabin to spare.
No telephone line has found its way
To these hills where talk is rare,
Where honest necessity causes their speech -
And there's heart, and tang, in the air.
The times are hard for him now, you see,
As rationing keeps away
Those lovers of wild and secluded spots,
To await a more peaceful day.
But John has visions all aglow
With faith, and who can say
These hills will not resound again
With the quiet of the fisherman's play.
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Pop in August, 1986.
He has been living at
the Edgecombe
Nursing Home since
1982.
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Appearing in the Arlington, MA Advocate newspaper on May 16, 1991:
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Austin "Pop" Welch
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Austin "Pop" welch, a volunteer for the Arlington Boys' and Girls' Club, died on May 9 at Eastman Nursing Home in Lenox. He was 95.
Mr. Welch, a resident of Arlington for more than 30 years, was active as a social worker for many Boston area clubs and organizations. He was also the founder and owner of Berkshire Boys Camp, a wilderness camp he built himself on Watson Pond in the Berkshires in the 1930s.
In addition to working for the Arlington Boys' and Girls' Club for more than 20 years, he worked for Fidelity House and a number of other local clubs for the benefit of Arlington youths.
He was born in Newark, Ohio and was a World War I Army veteran.
He leaves his close friend, George Faulkner of Arlington.
A funeral Mass was said in St. Agnes Church on May 13. Burial was in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Arlington Boys' and Girls' Club, 60 Pond Lane, Arlington 02174.
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Pop's final resting place.
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Bruno Durand
1971: Director
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Workweek at the camp in 1971.
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Camp Director in 1971.
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Bruno at the October,
2003 Camp Reunion.
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Easter Lilies
Original artwork by
John Durand.
© Copyright John Durand.
All international rights
reserved. This picture may
not be copied or used in
whole or in part in any way
without written permission
from the artist's estate.
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Filling the Cube
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Original artwork by
John Durand.
© Copyright John Durand.
All international rights
reserved. This picture may
not be copied or used in
whole or in part in any way
without written permission
from the artist's estate.
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Bob Gallant
1972: Director
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Bob in the early 1970s.​
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Bob at the camp.
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Bob working during pre-camp
workweek.
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Tony Balski
1948: Program Director
1950-1967: Assistant Director
1968: General Manager
1969: Camp Operator
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Tony at his house on Cape Cod at the time of the 2004 Camp Reunion. (October, 2004)
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Appearing in the Boston Globe on June 16, 2012.
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Anthony John Balski, "Tony"
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BALSKI, Anthony John "Tony" Of Harwich died on Sunday, June 10, 2012 at his home with his family by his side. Tony was married to the late Edna Balski and leaves two children, Diana McKanas of Salem, MA and Keith Dennehy of Billerica, MA. He is also survived by 8 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Tony received a purple heart from injuries sustained during WW II, and a certificate of Honorable Service in the Armed Forces. He was the Associate Director at the Berkshire Boys Camp for 20 years and was a teacher in the Arlington, MA school system for 25 years. A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 10:00 AM at Holy Trinity Church, Rte. 28, Harwich, MA. In lieu of flowers donations in Tony's name can be made to St. Jude Tribute Program, P. O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38148-0142.
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Jim Sumner
Assistant Director - under construction
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Jurgen Liias
Assistant Director - under construction
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Art Fitzgerald
1972: Assistant Director
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At the 2003 Camp
Reunion. (October, 2003)
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Jerry Denman
1950-1951: Program Director- under construction
1952: Camp Manager
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Jim Sumner
1955: Associate Director- under construction
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Barry Adams
1958: Head of Boys Work
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Barry at the 2003 Camp
Reunion. (October, 2003)
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Bill Wright
1966: Head of Boys Work- under construction
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Jurgen Liias
1970: Program Coordinator- under construction
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Richard Gropman
1970: Camp Manager - under construction
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Gene Plasse
1967-1970: Head of Boys Work
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Gene at the 2003 Camp
Reunion. (October, 2003)
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