Bar 49 Recreation Ranch

=Bar 49 Ranch=

Introduction

The Bar 49 Recreation Ranch no longer exists, but was a prototype of a new modern type of summer camp. It was operated from its opening in 1949 to its closing in 1977 in the Chiles Valley of Saint Helena, California, serving campers from 6 to 15 years from all socio-economic levels.

Description

In 1949, when it was originated by famous motivational writer and New York Times Book Review Editor Charles Simmons, the Bar 49 represented a new and different approach to summer camps which focused on motivating children to learn by enticing them to learn rewarding and fun activities, rather than by the authoritarian imposition of discipline or "boot camp" style that was the summer camp prototype in the 1950's and before.

Following its modest beginnings in the 1960s, Edward Alvin Keith bought out the other owners, made the improvements, and provided the organization and marketing to make the concept and dream of the Bar 49 Recreation Ranch a success by providing more and more campers with the positive formative experiences and memories that would last a lifetime.

Theory and Practice

The Bar 49 was one of the first camps to focus on character building and motivating children to learn positive values, self discipline, responsibility, and confidence by teaching them how to excel at fun recreational activities which they wanted to learn, such as horseback riding, swimming, and sailing.

A Different Approach Based on a New Developmental Theories

The new approach of the Bar 49 emerged at a time when the prior child development models which emphasized the imposition of external discipline, such as those of Sigmund Freud (Freud 1930), were giving way to new models of child development emphasizing internal motivational, such as those of Abraham Maslow(Maslow 1943), and Benjamin Spock (Spock 1946). The influence of these new concepts in child development were accentuated by the post-World War II emergence of numerous similar types of summer camps throughout the United States to serve the "baby boom" generation.

References

*Freud, Sigmund (1930). Civilization and Its Discontents (Da Unbehagen in der Kulture, 1930). .

*Maslow, Abraham (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370-96, 1943. .

*Spock, Benjamin (1946). Baby and Child Care, 1946. .