Chesapeake Classoree Draws Record Crowd

Story by Samantha Young
Photos by Charles Koerting

Sleeping bags were everywhere at Chesapeake Conference’s Pathfinder Winter Classoree held at Mount Aetna Camp and Retreat Center in Hagerstown, Md. There were 410 Pathfinders registered for the event—a record turnout that far exceeded the center’s lodging capacity—according to Ann Reynolds, a staffer in the conference’s Youth Ministries department. Overflow campers were housed in private homes, the nearby Highland View Academy gym and in the fellowship hall of the Highland View church.

The annual event has become increasing popular. Youth earn honors throughout the weekend choosing from an array of more than 30 classes.

Jamison Moran, a seventh-grader at Eastern Shore Junior Academy in Sudlersville, Md., and member of the Dover Diamonds Pathfinder Club, liked the Esther and Gourmet Cooking class. “We learned how Esther helped the people, then we dipped strawberries in chocolate and learned to cut radishes into the shape of a rose,” he said. “It was really fun.”

Photo: The teen worship praise team