A Blind Man’s Vision Became a Place of Belonging
In 1948, Carl Shoemaker of Lewistown began developing a summer camp near Mount Union where blind and visually impaired Pennsylvanians could experience recreation, nature, friendship, and greater independence. Shoemaker was himself blind and led the effort through his work with the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind. What began as Vacations for the Blind, Inc. grew into Pennsylvania Lions Beacon Lodge Camp, an institution whose mission now embraces children and adults with a wide range of disabilities.
How Beacon Lodge Began
Carl Shoemaker
As executive director of the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind, Shoemaker recognized the need for a Pennsylvania summer camp designed specifically for people who were blind or visually impaired. Only about sixteen comparable camps existed nationally. He studied those programs and pursued a place where Pennsylvanians could enjoy the same opportunities.
A Property Near Mount Union
Shoemaker and his research team selected a property in the Juniata River Valley near Mount Union, formed a nonprofit corporation, and began purchasing and developing the site. Within the next year, its first group of blind children attended the camp then known as Vacations for the Blind, Inc.
Growing Through Lions and Community Support
As the camp expanded, its name became Pennsylvania Lions Beacon Lodge Camp to reflect the financial and volunteer support of Lions Clubs throughout Pennsylvania. Its purpose also broadened. Accessible facilities, adaptive equipment, and specialized programs now serve campers with visual, physical, and developmental disabilities.
Community and Independence
The Adult Camp includes lodging, dining and kitchen facilities, an infirmary, arts and crafts space, a canteen, camper housing, outdoor gathering areas, and other accessible amenities.
A Camp Built for Young People
The Children’s Village includes cabins, dining and activity buildings, an infirmary, arts and crafts and nature spaces, and shared areas designed around the needs of younger campers.
Adventure Made Accessible
Camp activities include swimming, outdoor bowling, a pond, camping, a climbing tower, zip line, and the distinctive Hodges Hand Car Railroad.
Blue Springs and R.P.M. Davis
Before the camp era, the Beacon Lodge property was the home and estate of Roy Paul Miller Davis, commonly known as R.P.M. Davis. The estate was called Blue Springs. That name is documented in a 1969 Altoona Mirror history of Beacon Lodge, which describes Blue Springs near Newton Hamilton as one of the sites considered for the camp.
Home, Gardens, and Family Gatherings
Newspaper accounts describe Blue Springs as the Davis family’s beautiful summer home. Flowers from its gardens decorated the house for an October 1928 women’s-club gathering, and the estate hosted the weddings of daughters Helen Robison Davis in 1926 and Margaret MacGregor Davis in 1930.
Water Recreation and a Lost Bridge
An area of the Juniata River was developed for water sports. A bridge crossed the river from the Blue Springs property to provide access to the separate Juniata Valley Colony Club grounds. The bridge was among the structures lost during the destructive 1936 flood.
From Blue Springs to Beacon Lodge
The estate passed through several stages before becoming Beacon Lodge. It was sold to the nonprofit Blue Springs Club in 1943 and became a setting for community dinners, dances, picnics, and celebrations. The Shapiro brothers purchased the approximately 567-acre property in 1947 for $15,000. Carl Shoemaker began organizing the camp program in 1948, and a 1982 newspaper retrospective reports that Beacon Lodge purchased the former Blue Springs property from the Shapiro brothers in 1950. Lions Clubs across Pennsylvania then became central to fundraising, construction, expansion, and governance.
Read the American Legion Country Club biography of R.P.M. Davis
Beacon Lodge in Postcards
Postcards preserved views of the camp’s buildings, swimming pool, pond, river recreation, and mountain setting. These restored scans retain the original postcard compositions and details.
Postcard images supplied to BrickTownPA and digitally restored without recreating their content.
A Living Local Institution
Beacon Lodge has served thousands of campers. Alumni often return as volunteers and staff, extending the relationships formed there across generations. Its history is both a Mount Union-area story and a statewide story of disability inclusion, service, recreation, and belonging.
Contact and Location
Address: 114 State Route 103 South, Mount Union, PA 17066
Phone: (814) 542-2511
Email: office@beaconlodge.org
Website: beaconlodge.org
Beacon Lodge advises visitors using GPS to search for “PA Lions Beacon Lodge Camp” rather than relying only on the street address.
Continue Exploring
Return to the Locations homepage, browse the Landmarks directory, or explore another landmark through The Thousand Steps.
Sources
- Beacon Lodge, The History Behind Beacon Lodge: 75 Years of Camp Memories.
- Beacon Lodge, About Us.
- Beacon Lodge, Facilities.
- Beacon Lodge, Contact Us.
- Altoona Mirror, “Lions’ Efforts Provide Camp for Blind Persons of Pennsylvania,” August 16, 1969, p. 22; identifies the property as Blue Springs and documents the camp’s early organization and development.
- The Daily News, “Miss Davis and Mr. Sterling to Wed,” June 9, 1926, p. 7; announces Helen Robison Davis’s wedding at Blue Springs.
- The Daily News, “Mrs. R. P. M. Davis Entertains Mt. Union Women’s Clubs,” October 8, 1928, p. 1; describes the Davis summer home and flowers from its gardens.
- The Daily News, “Colorful Wedding at Blue Springs, R.P.M. Davis Home,” June 26, 1930, p. 8; reports the wedding of Margaret MacGregor Davis.
- The Daily News, “Shapiros Buy Blue Springs Site for $15,000,” September 18, 1947, p. 6; traces the property through the Blue Springs Club to the Shapiro brothers.
- The Daily News, May 24, 1982, p. 3; identifies Beacon Lodge as a 567-acre estate purchased from the Shapiro brothers in 1950.
- Bedford Gazette, “Beacon Lodge Founder in Bedford,” July 13, 1982, p. 6; identifies Carl Shoemaker as the camp’s founder and describes its growth from four buildings to 36.
- American Legion Country Club, R.P.M. Davis; confirms Davis’s home at the present Beacon Lodge site and his role in developing the neighboring country club.
- American Legion Country Club, History; used for the separate Juniata Valley Colony Club property and the 1936 flood.
- Locally provided Davis family and property history describing the Blue Springs gardens, family weddings, river recreation, and connecting bridge. Submitted family photographs are reproduced in the BrickTownPA Landmarks Directory.
- Six Beacon Lodge postcard images supplied to BrickTownPA, including dated views from 1973 and 1974 and a bird’s-eye illustration signed by Frank Thomas. The scans were digitally restored without recreating their content.