THE HISTORY OF CAMP CUBBER
Founded: 1992
Founded By: Palm Harbor United Methodist Church under the direction of former Director, Lavonne Caple
Average Weekly Camp Attendance in 1992: 30
Average Weekly Camp Attendance in 2023: 450+
Total Staff in 1992: 4
Total Staff in 2022: 106
Typical Summer Length:
7 - 9 weeks depending on summer length. Summer 2024 will be 9 weeks.
Other Camp CUBBER
Memorable Dates:
Summer 2002:
Camp holds the first Camp Talent Show (now an annual event)
Summer 2003:
Camp expanded to include 6th - 8th grade students
Summer 2006:
Chris Steurnagel takes over as Camp Director
Summer 2012: Camp volunteer program (for prior campers) begins.
Summer 2016:
Camp attendance reaches over 500 campers in one week for the first time
Summer 2020:
The Coronavirus Pandemic hits, but camp opens with lots of safety protocols including new limited capacities.
Camp CUBBER began in the summer of 1992 under the leadership of Mrs. Lavonne Caple and the guidance of Palm Harbor United Methodist Church. Camp CUBBER began as an expansion from the existing school age before and after school care ministry, Stars & Comets. In it’s early days, Camp CUBBER was a small camp of 30, 45, and eventually 60 campers and was located at Palm Harbor United Methodist’s previous location on Michigan Ave. in downtown Palm Harbor.
But moving to the church's new site (where it is currently located) was always part of the master plan for Camp CUBBER. In fact, Camp CUBBER was actually named with the current campus in mind. Though we have adopted a bear logo and theme throughout the years, CUBBER is actually an acronym that stands for Church Under the Big Blue Enormous Roof. And no we're not making that up!
With the move to the current location on Belcher Rd. (originally known as 21st St.) in 1997, growth became possible and soon classes and groups began to be added. Several other campus and facility expansions since that time have also helped give the program the opportunity to expand. Weekly attendance went from around 75 in 2002 to over 490 in 2018.
In 1998, Mr. Chris Steurnagel joined the Camp CUBBER team as a group leader while attending college, a position he held until late 2000. In 2002, Mr. Chris Steurnagel returned to the program as assistant director and eventually took over as director following Mrs. Lavonne Caple's retirement in early 2006.
During the mid 2000’s Camp CUBBER also began to expand it’s educational offerings. Classes like art, music, and sports & rec. have been a part of camp since its inception, but new classes like Creative Writing and Reading, Science or STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), and more have helped Camp CUBBER evolve into the camp that it is today... one that is both fun and educational.
