A Short History of Camp Chipinaw, Silver Lake Campus, and the Color War Camp Chipinaw was established

in 1926 in Swan Lake, New York, in the heart of th e Catskill Mountains. A popular camp serving non-religious Jewish children from suburban New York and New Jersey, it was originally established as a sleep-away camp for boys. A girls campus was added in 1938. From the 1940s to the 1970s, Chipinaw occupied the lake along with two other cam ps, Camp Ma-Ho-Ge and Camp Ranger. Both of these camps were eventually sold, wit h some of the staff joining the Chipinaw campus and others heading to Camp Echo Lake in Pennsylvania. In 2004, the current Director and Owner Michael Baer bought a residential orthod ox Jewish camp close to the main campus and renamed it Camp Chipinaw @ Silver La ke. This camp offers shorter sessions than the main campus. One of the great traditions at both camps is the Color War, in which two teams, Red an d Gray, compete for points. The Color War is a yearly event that seeks to create camaraderie, sportsmanship, and teamwork for both counselors and campers alike.