By Bill Pumford, Image from ROWHS Collection
TITLE: CAMP MOZUMDAR IN CEDARPINES PARK — PART I: Many people have heard of Mozumdar, but few have visited Camp Mozumdar and fewer yet know much about the man who started it all. Akhoy Kumar Mozumdar was born in India in 1881 to a higher caste family, which allowed him much more education than available to most people in India. Although raised as a Hindu, Mozumdar converted to Christianity prior to coming to the United States in 1905. He traveled and wrote extensively including articles in the Christian Yoga Monthly, and became a US citizen in 1913. While teaching in Redlands in 1920 he decided to purchase 10 acres in the San Bernadino Mountains on Job’s Peak because he said it reminded him of home. Mozumdar had a variety of patrons who helped him with his publishing, travels, and the mountain retreat. William and Minnie Splane were two of his most ardent and wealthy patrons. After purchasing an additional 90 acres, Mozumdar constructed a cabin to live in while visiting (his primary residence at that time was in Los Angeles). In 1926 William Splane died and Minnie started contributing more funds to Mozumdar. This led to the building of a large lodge in 1932 and later a nice pool in 1935. The lodge was 60 feet in length, had a dining facility, and a large lecture room. The pool was constructed of white cement with green tile for a trim and included a rock wall, the remnants of which can still be seen. The Pillars of God amphitheater was built in the mid-1930s and was dedicated to Minnie’s son Alvin who was killed in an aircraft training accident in 1918. The name ‘Camp Mozumdar’ was never used until after the property was purchased by the YMCA in 1950; but more of that next week.