Masonic camp on Little Balboa

Gay Wassall-Kelly

Did you know there was a Masonic children’s camp on Little Balboa

Island from 1914 to 1944? Most answer, “Where?”

In 1914, W.S. Collins, an early Newport Beach developer, donated a

large parcel of land -- 28 lots -- on Little Balboa Island bordered

by Grand Canal, Park Avenue, Abalone and Balboa Avenue to the camp

known then as Camp Collins. The parcel would be used by the Masonic

Home during the summer -- July to September -- for their children.

The first year, 52 children slept on the sand with the bay a few

feet away -- though sometimes high tide would soak everyone. During

the day, they would swim, fish and boat.

The first Masonic Home for Children was built for children of

deceased Masons in 1899 in Northern California. It moved to the San

Gabriel Valley, its final home, in 1915 to the hills of Covina

surrounded by orange groves.

The Covina home was funded by the Masons devoting time for

education of children whose parents did not feel they had the skills

to rear their children. Camp Collins was a needed summer diversion

for the children because “they had too much time on their hands.”

In 1919, John Tucker donated $2,000 to Camp Collins, which became

Camp Tucker. This allowed construction of a recreation-cultural

building, 21 dormitory tents and several smaller tents. In 1925, 13

buildings were constructed, cement walks were laid and trees were

planted.

Ralph Short, of the Balboa Peninsula and Costa Mesa, vividly

remembers an August day in 1928.

“My dad packed us kids up, me and my sisters Dorothy and Beth,

into the Essex and drove from the San Francisco area to Balboa,” he

said. “My mother had recently passed away, and my dad didn’t feel

that he had the ability or resources to care for us. I was only 6, so

this was a great adventure for me. My dad and Dorothy were crying,

and Beth got carsick.

“The day we arrived, there were 175 kids waiting for us,” he said.

“There were bungalows all over the place. As we settled in, we would

swim in the canal, in our wool bathing suits, go out on the sand bars

and come back with buckets of clams to feed to all of the camp, even

set off our own fireworks on the bay front.

“Sometimes, we would hike over to the mud flats, now the Dunes,”

he said. “We danced, played bingo, listened to the radio and put on

plays each Saturday. At the end of summer, we returned to the Masonic

Home in Covina.”

In 1935, one of the boys who had left the home to become an Air

Force pilot, Lt. Eddie Bundy, flew this stubby little plane from

March Air Force Base in Riverside to visit the camp. He landed on a

small airstrip that is now Promontory Point Apartments. The kids were

able to see him land and ran up to greet him.

“Joe Beek, Balboa Island Ferry, generously donated a barge with

battery-operated lights on it to the camp so we kids could enter a

float in the Tournament of Lights some years,” Short said. “Mr. Beek

was a generous man.”

At Christmastime, the children were all given a Sears catalog with

a budget of $1.50 to spend. Short bought a hammer that he still owns

to this day.

In 1942, because of World War II, Camp Tucker activities carried

on at Covina instead of Balboa. Parts of the Camp were leased to

Newport Beach Grammar School and the Girls Scouts.

Camp Tucker closed in 1944. The superintendent of the Masons

noticed that many houses and people were now living close to the camp

on the island.

“The environment has deteriorated,” he said.

A big change came about in the ‘90s when a Newport Beach Mason,

Mr. Tait of the Seafarer’s Lodge, donated undisclosed millions,

creating a grant to the Masonic Home in Covina with a proviso that

they allow children of nonaffiliated Mason families enter their

children’s home. Today, his dream has been accomplished.

The Masonic Home continues to operate in Covina. With state rules

and regulations, they are only allowed 80 kids instead of 175.

“We enjoy a very large and active alumni group that meet often,”

Short said. “We are very proud of our heritage and thank the Masons

for the basics in life that we will carry in our hearts forever.”

* GAY WASSALL-KELLY, 61, is the editor of a Balboa newspaper and

is active in the community.

* LOOKING BACK runs Sundays. Do you know of a person, place or

event that deserves a historical Look Back? Let us know. Contact

James Meier by fax at (949) 646-4170; e-mail at

james.meier@latimes.com; or mail him at c/o Daily Pilot, 330 W. Bay

St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627.