STOCKTON SPRINGS – Children ran down a grassy slope, earnestly trying to catch the breeze with their kites, some of them becoming bright spots of color against a nearly cloudless summer sky, while others were snagged by tree branches or plunged suddenly to the ground.

Parents untangled and rewound snarled strings and offered advice. Later, a water slide gave young and old a welcome chance to cool off. “You zoom down wicked fast,” Lindsey Spratt, 7, exclaimed through a toothy grin.

As dusk fell, families gravitated to a bayside campfire. Children took turns throwing armloads of seaweed on the flames to create firework-like showers of sparks. Blonde, apple-cheeked Samuel Mescon, 2, savored his very first toasted marshmallow.

Late August Family Camp Week at Hersey Retreat offered something for everyone, but the activities mostly provided quality “together time.” Morning blueberry camp for grade-school youngsters gave moms and dads some freedom as stretches of sandy beach and fields of ripe blueberries beckoned to childre. Rooms were available in the Victorian-style lodge with its views of Penobscot Bay and popular attic dress-up room, and in the cozy cottage set in the woods.

The family camp and a series of children’s camps held earlier in the summer shared a Hersey tenet: the building of intentional community. At the beginning of each session, participants were encouraged to share needs and goals. At meals they took turns on setup, jumping (supplying tables with hot food) and cleanup.

“The idea is to have everyone participate in the life of the retreat,” Penny White, retreat executive director, explained. “It’s not a resort where you just kick back. Folks come to be part of creating a sense of community, a sense of responsibility to each other. It’s a way of participating in the creation of spirituality.”

In this creation of spiritual community, campers of all ages are guided by the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism, the rules by which denomination members conduct their lives. The rules range from encouragement of a free and independent search for truth, through government by democratic process, to respect for the interdependent web of life.

The seeds of the retreat were sown 125 years ago at the bequest of Samuel Freeman Hersey, a prominent Maine businessman and legislator. Hersey was born in Sumner in 1812 and moved to Bangor when he was 20. His first job was as a store clerk. Later, he was a banker, merchant, and lumberman. His 1875 obituary in the Bangor Whig and Courier noted, “During this time, Gen. Hersey had not only prospered in his mercantile and lumbering business, but having largely invested his early gains in timber lands at a time when many doubted its wisdom, his foresight and judgment were confirmed by an enchancement in value which secured to him a large fortune.”

Hersey’s life was not untouched by tragedy. He outlived two wives, Eliza Ann Stowell and Jane Ann Davis. His only daughter, Dorothy, died in infancy. The same year he buried his first bride – after fewer than two years of marriage – the Panic of 1836 wiped out almost all the profits of his first business, forcing him to buy out his partner and pay off their debts.

Hersey served several terms in the Legislature and from 1864 to 1868 was a member of the National Republican Committee and a delegate to the conventions that nominated Lincoln and Grant. After rising to the rank of major general in the Maine militia, he helped organize and equip Civil War troops. After the war, in 1872 and 1874, he was elected to the U.S. Congress.

Hersey was a prominent member of the First Universalist Society of Bangor and never missed church unless he was ill or out of town. In a eulogy, a Mr. Frye recalled, “He was no sectarian; he was no bigot; but he loved with all his heart the church of his choice.”

Hersey taught young men in Sunday school, where he was assistant superintendent. He contributed books and money to the church library and when he met children of the congregation on the street, he enjoyed talking with them.

He was a believer in the benefits of “rest, relaxation, and innocent recreation,” and sponsored many boat and train excursions for church youths. It was his bequest to build a retreat on an island or secluded bay location at which each summer children and youths of the parish and chaperones would have equal time. “This monument I wish to erect in the hearts of the pupils of the Sunday School, which I love so much,” he wrote of the project.

The original lodge was built in 1885 but burned down and was replaced in 1908. Two additional buildings were acquired. The Cottage is a favorite dormitory for families with young children seeking quiet. The French House, which dates to the 18th century and once was a tavern, offers family-style dining.

A sealed tunnel on the property is believed to have been used by a bootlegger or by the Underground Railroad – which is still debated.

The camp is open to the public and to church members. Nonprofit groups may use the Hersey Retreat, also. For information, call White at 567-3420.