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In 1939, Jim Rattery felt the need to provide a camping experience for 11 boys that he knew. Challenged to do this himself, he answered a newspaper ad and rented a duplex on Anvil Island for $15.00 for 2 weeks.
The Island was originally the location of the Anvil Island Brick Company and also boasted a fine orchard from which the apples won an award at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933.
Arriving at night and aided only by flashlight, Jim and his charges made mattresses by filling sacks with straw from the barn. They ate out under the trees and the total grocery bill was between $56.00 - $58.00, never to be repeated.
The water source was a well, which also served as refrigeration. 1941 marked the beginning of the camp as an operation although no formal society was yet formed. Work parties began even though the property had not been purchased.
...how the name came to be
One morning, Jim Rattery got up very early and just in time to see the sun come up over the mountains. Impressed with the beauty of the scene before him, he determined the name should be Daybreak Point Bible Camp. The name encapsulated the beautiful scenery as well as the purpose of the camp—to bring light and life through Jesus Christ into the lives of children and young people.
In 1944 a Society was formed to purchase the 96-acre property for $3,000 down and $1,000 per year for three years. Ten years later through growth and change, what had begun as the ambitious venture of a young Sunday school teacher, was now a full-scale summer camp program.
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