History
Early History
Camp Linden originated as a summer program for the youth of Southwark House, a settlement house serving a poverty stricken Irish immigrant community. Southwark House was established in 1906 as a project of the Philadelphia Ethical Society through the efforts of Jenny Fels and Society Leader W. Burns Weston, who volunteered as its Head Worker. After years of camping on borrowed property, in 1914 the Society purchased land in the Perkiomen Valley to serve as a rudimentary base for tent camping. That property was sold after Jenny's husband, Samuel Fels, donated a sixty-two-acre farm in Chester County, the current site of Camp Linden. The barn was converted to a dining hall and a pool, bathhouse and bunkhouses were constructed. The property was put into service as a children's overnight camp in 1926.
In 1946, through a series of mergers with other settlement houses, Southwark House became a part of United Communities of Southeast Philadelphia, which took over management of Camp Linden. While United Communities ran the camp, the Ethical Society continued to hold title to the property. Around 1960 United Communities secured funding and replaced the original stream-fed pool with a modern concrete pool and pool house. However, maintenance of the cabins and dining hall was neglected.
Transition to Ethical Society Management
In 1981, United Communities closed Camp Linden because it was unable to secure funds to make necessary repairs. The Ethical Society was unable to find an organization willing to operate a children's camp at the site. At the Ethical Society's Annual Meeting in 1984, a proposal was brought to the membership to sell the Camp Linden real estate for residential development and use the proceeds to increase the Society's endowment. Dr. Carol Love argued that because the property had been given to the Society to provide a summer camp experience for inner-city children, the Society had an ethical obligation to ensure that it was used for that purpose. She made a motion to table pending further investigation, which was approved by the membership.
Dr. Love went on to enlist other members of the Society in a campaign to restore and reopen the camp. Richard Kiniry, who later became the Society Leader, played a leading role. In 1987 they sold eleven acres, including the old house, the barn, and part of the frontage on the creek, to generate funds for the camp’s restoration. A stalwart group of volunteers undertook the demolition, renovations, and construction - much of it with their own labor. The pool and bathhouse were upgraded. The main cabin and the sleeping cabins were demolished. A smaller cabin was stripped and rebuilt on its existing foundation and structure. Lewis Buckingham, who served as resident caretaker for 18 years, built the main cabin, which was completed in 1989. This cabin, which houses the Camp Linden office and the caretaker's residence, was dedicated to Richard Kiniry after he passed away in 2019.
Dr. Love took the lead in raising money for Camp Linden. She personally funded construction of an enlarged septic system. In 1992 she initiated the Friends of Camp Linden, asking supporters to pledge $100 a year. She organized an annual Caribbean pool party as a fundraiser. Additional income was derived from rentals and donations from the Philadelphia Ethical Society, the Rose Rappaport Long fund, the Schreiber family foundation through Ellen McBride, the Sara Bowers Fund of the Kennett Monthly Meeting and other grants and individual contributions. Other individuals who were part of the effort to rebuild and reopen the camp in the early days are Jean Bradley, Chuck and Felicia Hinson, Bertha Waters, Susan Jo Klein (now D'Alessio), Deborah Hodes, Joe and Jesse Zelnick, and Temma and Arnold Fishman.
Ethical Society volunteers began transporting children to Camp Linden for day trips in 1988. In 1990, and for a few years thereafter, members paid for a bus, a lifeguard and extra food for the children. By 1993, counselors were hired to serve a few city day camps, two or three days a week. The program gradually expanded to providing services five days a week, with a different group attending each weekday and returning the same weekday for six weeks.
Recent History
Richard Kiniry was President of the camp "Board of Trustees" from its formation in 1987 through 2002, followed by Dr. Love (2003- 2005) and Dr. Jeffrey Dubb from 2006 to 2010, when the camp's governing body was transformed into a committee of the Ethical Society with Dr. Dubb as its Chair. Dr. Dubb also assumed responsibility for fundraising as Chair of Friends of Camp Linden. Jean Bradley was hired as Camp Linden Executive Director in 1997. She hired her partner, Saul Machles, as Director of the Children's Program in 2004. Jean and Saul left the Ethical Society in 2010. Tristan Zeigler served as Camp Director in 2010 and 2011.
In 2012 Leonard Weeks, a retired former executive director of a social service agency, volunteered to serve as Manager of Camp Linden and his wife, Sharon Wallis, an attorney, volunteered as Program Director of the Children's Summer Program. They converted the bunk house to a nature center and developed a six-week curriculum which is the basis for the current Camp Linden program. In 2012, they secured a grant from the Sara Bowers Fund to fund Chief Shelley DePaul of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania to present her Native American culture program at Camp Linden for five consecutive days. Chief DePaul returned to Camp Linden for a week every summer from 2012 until she retired following the summer of 2016.
Amy Johnston, an experienced environmental educator, was hired as Sharon's assistant for the summer of 2022. That fall, Amy was promoted to Co-Program Director with Sharon, a part-time position during the off-season, which became full-time when camp was in session. In October 2025, Amy took over as Executive Director of Camp Linden. Leonard and Sharon continue to volunteer in supportive roles as Associate Directors. In 2026, Dr. Dubb retired as Chair of the Camp Linden Committee, and Sharon Wallis assumed that position. Dr. Dubb remains Chair of Friends of Camp Linden.
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