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Cliff Haven Catholic School
While I was helping my "Aunt Theresa" Venne clear out boxes of memorabilia collected by her late husband "Uncle Bob" Venne, I came upon a brochure titled CLIFF HAVEN ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. Now this might be something even our oldest of readers may not know about.
Between the 1890s and the 1940s the area now known as "Cliff Haven" was home to a nationally-heralded Catholic Summer School of America. Families from all around the country visited the area for the summer and participated in the summer program.
The school was actually chartered by the Board of Regents of the State of New York. Religious instruction, guidance and recreational activities were provided throughout the day. Camp Lavelle, for boys 7 to 16 years of age, was part of the summer school program. Sessions ran from July 1st until August 31st, and families could stay for one week or the entire session. In 1935 one week cost $12 and the entire summer session fee was $100.
Guests were housed in cottages on the grounds along Lake Champlain. To call them cottages, however, might be a misnomer. They were actually two-or-three story homes which housed as many as fifty guests. They were owned by people from Rochester or Philadelphia or Buffalo or New York City, for example, and were rented through the owners, not via the Diocese of Ogdensburg.
I wonder if any of those beautiful original cottages remain at Cliff Haven today. It seems as though following World War II the Catholic Summer School ceased operations.
I listed the CLIFF HAVEN ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN brochure for auction on eBay, and it drew a winning bid of nearly $300! The new owner of the book, who lives in New York City, wrote to me that she had attended Cliff Haven for 17 summers.
Has anyone ever heard of this Catholic Summer School of America?
Comments
Dear Foxy,
I have a picture of the CSSA looking from the water to Cliff Haven that I want to use in a history of St. Patrick's Cathedral I am publishing for them. I'd send you the pic if I had an e-mail address. I need to know who if anyone has rights to the picture. Desperately, George
Posted by: George McCauley, S.J. | December 19, 2006 8:07 AM
Lisa McDonald (PHS around '64)'s mother owned one of the houses at Cliff Haven in the early 50's. i remember going there and getting into the church's choir loft and the barber shop. Especially remember the wonderful cottonwoods.
Posted by: Bob Buck | November 29, 2006 1:06 PM
My parents were one of the first home buyers in Cliff Haven in the '50's. The model home was a split level home now part of an apartment project just north of the entrance to Clinton Community College. It was a luxury home unlike any in this area. I also remember several buildings that were still standing including the large Washington Hotel located on what is Washington Place today. We played in the large old building before it was torn down. We biked on the many old roads that criss-crossed Cliff Haven. I remember a large wooden cross on the point by the beach at Cliff Haven - it was very impressive. The time of the summer school must have been an interesting era in Plattsburgh.
(Foxy's note: From seeing the pictures of the so-called cottages, the entire area must have been beautiful ... and, apparantly, none of the original buildings remain. What a shame!)
Posted by: Gale Carroll | October 25, 2006 10:55 PM
Hi, Foxy. I remember living at the small motel like places along the waterfront northside of Cliff Haven during a few summers back in the 40's. Used to spend lots of time on that nice beach and remember watching Doc DeGrandpre swim to Crab Island and back. I didn't think anybody could do that.. And that's where I learned to swim too. One of my best friends lived at Cliff Haven at that time too.
Posted by: Ray Ducatte | October 13, 2006 12:42 PM
I have the pleasure of living in Cliff Haven and have done quite a bit of research into the remarkable history of the Catholic Summer School of America. It started in 1896 and its last session was the summer of 1941. Once WWII started and rationing went into effect, its gradual decline became permanent.
As you said, the "cottages" were large and beautiful. A neighbor of mine has over 60 postcards showing most of them as well as other CSSA scenes.
Two U.S. presidents (McKinley, Taft) visited the Catholic Summer School as well as every N.Y. governor of the time, several U.S. VPs, Congressional leaders and many other VIPs.
I recommend you visit the Cliff Haven Web site (http://www.cliffhaven.org/catholicss.htm) to read more about CSSA and to view many of the postcards.
If anyone has any other documentation from the CSSA, we would sure like to see it.
(Foxy's note: Roger, thanks for sharing the history of early Cliff Haven. It's very likely that many Cliff Haven residents aren't aware of the interesting background of this area. The website is excellent.)
Posted by: Roger Black | October 11, 2006 11:30 AM
The Catholic Summer School of America ceased to exist as an operating experience sometime in the fortys. The buildings and grounds stayed around for a few years but never had the numbers of people there after the closure. The main building was long and large and faced Route 9 about 100 yards back. Many of the "cottages" were also quite large and with many bedrooms. At this time Mr. MacCambly was the caretaker. A local family, the Haleys, rented one of these cottages "The Philadelphia" for the summers. Since I was a friend of their son I got to spend many days and nights on location. They had a wonderful beach which is still in use today as far as I know. I think that is where the Pearls and Quinns kids learned to swim and all became part of the great St. John's swim teams a few years back. Two of the beach huts became our first hunting camp. My last rememberence of the area was being in the wedding party when Jack Haley and Gail Aichen were married in the chapel just a few yards from the cottage. Also going strong just up the road was the Hotel Champlain but that may be a later topic.
(Foxy's note: As always, thanks for the history!)
Posted by: The Old Timer | October 10, 2006 2:55 PM