Appreciating the History of Camp Massasoit at East Campus
Ted France '91, G'93, has called East Campus home for nearly 40 years.
By: Damon Markiewicz
Springfield College professor of Physical Education and 2026-27 Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics Ted France '91, G'93, has called East Campus home for nearly 40 years. During his first year as a professor in the early 1990s, France served as director of East Campus. During this time, it was a conversation he had with a well-respected colleague that also led him to a leadership role with Camp Massasoit.
“It was Gretchen Brockmeyer, G'66, who called me into her office to discuss Camp Massasoit and she explained that camp attendees had dipped, and we weren’t seeing as many Springfield College students working the camp in the summer and taking advantage of the learning opportunities in the Physical Education and Outdoor Recreation majors,” explained France. “We agreed that the Camp Massasoit experience was a major part of East Campus’ mission as an outdoor learning laboratory.”
As the campus community continues preparations to celebrate 90 years of Camp Massasoit at Springfield College, France is proud to be a part of the camp’s long-standing history. One of the first steps France took to help enhance the camp was to reconceive the curriculum at Camp Massasoit to mirror the mission of East Campus. It was at this time that the “Four Areas of Respect” were integrated into the Camp Massasoit culture.
“When we were training the students who were going to lead the activities and camp programming, we wanted to come up with one thing that grounded everything together when making our decisions for camp,” explained France. “We came up with four areas of respect and they are: respect yourself, respect the environment, respect your peers, and respect your counselors. Those four areas of respect are still used today. When discussing what we would teach and how we would teach it when working with campers, we always came back to these four areas.”
From these four areas of respect, all of the Camp Massasoit program areas were aligned with the outcomes defined by this philosophy. If anyone wanted to run an activity at camp, they had to first explain how the experience would contribute to one or more of the areas of respect and how the outdoors would be integrated.
"Camp Massasoit provides the perfect laboratory for students to experience leadership and service using the outdoors,” explained France. “There was a lot of trial and error. The staff was only four to five years younger than me when I first started. Over time, we were able to build a curriculum in running the camp and incorporate that into the Camp Programing and Administration class I was teaching. Running the camp became the assignments for the class. It was perfect because now my staff was getting 15 weeks with me in learning how to develop programs for campers to be more engaged with the outdoors.”
The redesign of Camp Massasoit, which France was leading, was all about making programs that would be meaningful to families and youth, while also providing an educational experience for Springfield College students. France helped create an environment during the summer months at East Campus that was founded on exploration and adventure for the campers, yet it was also a summer of service and learning for the students working as counselors.
“One major goal was to make sure we weren’t replicating what other camps were doing,” explained France. “Camp Massasoit presented a lot of synergistic opportunities for the counselors who were learning how to lead, while the attendees in camp were also learning new skills. They were both learning at the same time, and that’s a very powerful environment when it is working well. The process was fun and provided many great conversations with students in the Camp Programming and Design course that I was teaching. I learned so much about the notion of ‘less being more’ when it comes to being intentional in program design, implementation, and the many ways in which experiential learning can be at the heart of all learning at camp.”
As France continues to watch Camp Massasoit flourish under the guidance and leadership of Director of East Campus and Outdoor Programs Ben Taylor '99, G'16, and Associate Director of East Campus and Outdoor Programs Angela Veatch, G'07, he relishes the fact that many youngsters start participating in Camp Massasoit as early as 5 or 6 years old, and they stay with the camp well into their teenage years.
“Camp Massasoit is so important to our campus community because it’s an environment that forces college students to challenge themselves in leading youth and doing physical activities in the outdoors,” explained France. “But just as important, you want them to take those lessons learned and apply them in other classes on campus as they engage in other opportunities.”
France went on to explain, “When you look at kids nowadays, they can often be overscheduled. It’s not to say what they are doing is bad. Camp Massasoit provides something different that is very important. There should be opportunities for kids to slow down, reflect and think. Camp Massasoit allows youth to have self-reflection. There should be a good pace and sequence during camp, and the kids should always be in charge of that pace. This is where they will learn autonomy and independence. I think it’s those characteristics that make camp so important to youth and their families.”
France has also lived the Camp Massasoit experience from a parent perspective. His son Hayden '22 worked as a counselor during his time on campus as a student. When France arrived at Springfield College in the fall of 1987 as a 17-year-old undergraduate student, he found a home at East Campus, which has blossomed into the centerpiece of a dedication to leading youth while staying true to the four levels of respect.
“Each experience I have had working at Camp Massasoit has reinforced what I had always known about teaching students at Springfield College: service is not something that we do to other people, it is something that we do with them,” explained France.
As France heads into his year as the current Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics, the lessons he learned being involved with Camp Massasoit have led him to ideas that are centered on how the learning at East Campus has a centralized focus.
“You have to get to know people before you can serve them as a teacher, coach, or recreation professional, and we do this very well at Springfield College,” explained France. “East Campus is not just a facility where discrete learning experiences happen. East Campus is a way of learning and teaching. It’s a setting that provides opportunities for leaders and participants to have experiences. The intentional learning that happens during Camp Massasoit is realized through the process-oriented mission that defines all that happens at East Campus.
With the 90th anniversary of Camp Massasoit set to begin this summer, the appreciation for the history of the camp remains as strong as ever.
“I am proud to have played a small part in the history of our outdoor learning laboratory, Camp Massasoit at East Campus,” explained France. “I am proud that the mission, programs, and high-quality learning are still happening today. Knowing that I helped continue to meet the mission that was passed on to me by the faculty that came before, and to pass it along to those that came after.”
