Silver Bay Association

The Silver Bay Association (SBA) was founded in 1902 to provide a setting for Christian Conferences, training for YMCA workers, summer and other conferences for religious and other groups, and to provide educational and recreational opportunities as part of the moral and religious studies. It is a successful organization with a large and loyal membership, staff alumni, and regular attendees of conferences. A typical year at SBA will witness meetings and conferences of over 300 groups attended by thousands of people and there are over 4000 members of the Association.

The SBA campus has grown to 700 acres along the northwest shore of Lake George and includes over sixty buildings with a variety of functions. Many of the buildings date from the founding and early years of the organization, notably the Inn, Paine and Morse Halls, Fisher Gymnasium, and the Auditorium. The campus is on the National Register of Historic Places. Modern recreational facilities are also part of the complex.

The Association was founded in 1902 by Dr. Luther D.Wishard and in 1904 the Association was incorporated. Initially the Association was created for the training of leaders in the evangelical and missionary movements of the Protestant churches in the United States. In 1902, the Young People's Missionary Movement, later known as the Missionary Education Movement, was begun at SBA. In 1903 the first YMCA summer school was held. In 1909, the first YWCA city conference for factory girls was held; in 1910 the first experimental camp at the Council Ring at SBA for Boy Scout Leaders and attended by Ernest Thompson Seton and others took place; in 1918 and the first of many Human Relations in Industry conferences convened in 1918.

SBA has been a seedbed for many schools. The first YMCA Secretaries School began in 1903 there and the Eastern Association School was founded there in 1913. The Silver Bay Boy's School, a year-round school that gave boys a good academic education, emphasized character and moral education and included a large element of outdoor work and education was founded in 1918 and continued until 1935.

The SBA has always had a policy of openness to diversity and from its earliest years women, people of all races and creeds and foreign students have been welcomed to summer conferences and as summer workers (Emps). The Emps are college age students who work at a variety of jobs during the summer months at SBA. They have been integral to the mission of SBA since its earliest years. They help with the running of the kitchens, the Inn, conference programs and activities and are the creators of plays, musical entertainment and other diversions for the guests of the Association. Alumni of the Emps regularly have reunions at the SBA campus.

A unique feature of the Silver Bay Association is the annual vacation conference held each year by many groups. For instance, there is an annual Lutheran Vacation Conference, as well as a conference of the New York Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends, Industrial Relations Conference and many others.

The Association has always maintained its principles, while changing its focus to meet changing needs of society and the world at large. For instance, while environmental concerns played only a small part in the early work of the Association, they play an increasingly important role in the programs of summer conferences.

From the description of Repository description. (New York State Historical Documents). WorldCat record id: 155424761