People's Educational Camp Society and Camp Tamiment Records
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The People's Educational Camp Society (PECS) owned and operated Camp Tamiment, an educational and recreational summer resort (originally) for socialists and their families near Bushkill, Pa., from 1920 until its sale in 1965 to commercial interests. Camp revenues helped support the Rand School of Social Science and other progressive organizations. Camp Tamiment's success led to the revoking of PECS' tax exempt status in 1963. In 1972 PECS became the Tamiment Institute, thus taking the name of, and becoming identical with its subsidiary, founded in 1935 as the educational arm of Camp Tamiment. This collection contains minutes, correspondence, documents pertaining to PECS' tax status, brochures, programs, announcements and a brief history of the camp and the Tamiment Institute.
Historical/Biographical Note
The People's Educational Camp Society (PECS), incorporated in New York in 1920, owned and operated Camp Tamiment, an educational and recreational summer resort (originally) for socialists and their families near Bushkill, Pa., until its sale in 1965 to commercial interests. As envisioned by its founders, members of the American Socialist Society, the Rand School's governing body, Camp Tamiment revenues helped support the Rand School and other progressive organizations, and provided the majority of the Rand School's funds between 1937 and 1956. In 1951, PECS took title to People's House, the home of the Rand School, and in 1956 the the title to the Rand School was transferred to PECS from the American Socialist Society. Camp Tamiment's success as a recreational resort under managing director Ben Josephson came to overshadow its educational activities, in the opinion of the Internal Revenue Service, which revoked the tax exempt status of PECS in 1963. This action contributed to the decision, later that year, to donate the Tamiment Institute Library (formerly the Meyer London Memorial Library of the Rand School), to New York University. On September 11, 1972, PECS became the Tamiment Institute, thus taking the name of, and becoming identical with, its subsidiary which was founded in 1935 as the educational arm of Camp Tamiment, and which later administered the Tamiment Institute Library for PECS from 1957 to 1963.
Arrangement
The folders in each series are arranged alphabetically.
Organized into three series:
Missing Title
- 1. Incorporation and Minutes
- 2. PECS Tax Case and Camp Tamiment History and Activities
- 3. Addendum
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains minutes of the board of directors (1920-1968) and membership meetings; articles of incorporation and by-laws; reports, including those of the managing directors (including Ben Josephson) and educational directors of the Camp; correspondence, including that of Bertha Mailly, first director of the camp, of board chair Stephen C. Vladeck, and also correspondence with the Rand School of Social Science; documents pertaining to the PECS tax case; financial records; brochures, programs, announcements and a brief history of the camp and Tamiment Institute.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
Places
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by the People's Educational Camp Society, was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Collection name; Collection number; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by the People's Educational Camp Society, 1963. The accession number associated with this gift is 1963.007.
A Camp Tamiment Schedule of Rates was found in repository in April of 2014 and added to this collection. The accession number associated with this material is 2014.057.
Custodial History
The People's Educational Camp Society and Camp Tamiment records were transferred to New York University in 1963 by the People's Educational Camp Society (later renamed the Tamiment Institute), as part of a larger transfer of records of the Rand School of Social Science and of organizations associated with the founding and maintenance of the School (including the American Socialist Society, The Society of the Commonwealth Center, and the People's Educational Camp Society) as well as the contents of the School's library, the Meyer London Memorial Library.