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.

The Directors:

The Assistant Directors:

Heads of Boys Work:

Austin "Pop" Warren Welch

1941: Founder

1941-1970: Director

1971-1973: Advisor

Austin as a boy. He was

born in Newark, OH on

March 27, 1896.

Graduation from High

School.

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.

Pop's family. That would

be Pop on the right end.

Pop and John Bondarenko surveying

the camp's site in the spring of 1941.

Pop standing in

Section 1 by the

Eagles Cabin.

Boot Hill is

beyond.

Pop with pipe.

Pop in 1962 catching up

on the news while in bed

in the White Cottage.

A Poem written by Pop's sister, Marie Welch. It appears to be about John Bondarenko and was obviously written during World War II.

John of the Berkshires

   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.

Pop in August, 1986.

He has been living at

the Edgecombe

Nursing Home since

1982.

Appearing in the Arlington, MA Advocate newspaper on May 16, 1991:

Austin "Pop" Welch

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.

Pop's final resting place.

Bruno Durand

1971: Director

Workweek at the camp in 1971.

Camp Director in 1971.

Bruno at the October,

2003 Camp Reunion.

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.

Filling the Cube

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.

Bob Gallant

1972: Director

Bob in the early 1970s.

Bob at the camp.

Bob working during pre-camp

workweek.

Tony Balski

1948: Program Director

1950-1967: Assistant Director

1968: General Manager

1969: Camp Operator

Tony at his house on Cape Cod at the time of the 2004 Camp Reunion. (October, 2004)

Appearing in the Boston Globe on June 16, 2012.

Anthony John Balski, "Tony"

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.

Jim Sumner

Assistant Director - under construction

Jurgen Liias

Assistant Director - under construction

Art Fitzgerald

1972: Assistant Director

At the 2003 Camp

Reunion. (October, 2003)