As a teenage counselor at Camp Massasoit, Mike Shea learned how to drive and parallel park his parents' car.

Jane Mandley attended the camp as a kid with her two brothers and followed in her mother’s footsteps to become a camp counselor.

On July 28, the camp at the Mattapoisett YMCA celebrated its 50th anniversary with an all-day gala for campers past and present. With the camp's Alumni Committee hard at work, the days to celebrate are far from over.

Formed last year to organize the festivities, the committee is planning to follow up the gala with commemorative plaques and videos, cocktail parties and a barbeque.

“We have a rich history that we celebrate here,” said Dan Berry, executive director of both the New Bedford and Mattapoisett YMCAs. “We’re looking to connect people by doing something every year.”

Over the years, camp reunions have been few and far between, said Berry. On Wednesday, the committee met to discuss getting the ball rolling for the next get together before too many years pass by.

Committee members Shea, Mandley and Nancy Tessier have been with the camp since they were campers themselves. They all grew up to become camp counselors, and even though they have moved on to their respective careers, the three say the camp has always had a special hold on them.

“There is such a connection here,” Tessier said. “It’s a place where you could grow up. Every year we came back and became a family of sorts.”

Shea agreed.

“You knew everybody and every year you looked forward to it,” Shea said. “At one point, we had 500 kids a week enrolled here. It was an experience that brought us all back many years later.”

For Mandley, the gala was a chance to reconnect with old friends who now reside all over the country.

“It’s incredible when people recognize you,” Mandley said. “It’s fascinating to think that there were some people you hadn’t seen in 30 years at the 50th reunion.”

To prepare for the event, Berry said the committee spent a year holding fundraisers and eventually gathered $10,000.

Still in the early stages of planning the next reunion, the committee is aiming to have something in the works for the summer.

“It’s all about connecting people and celebrating the past while also building for the future,” Berry said.

For a blast from the past, check out the video slideshow with photos from 50 years at Camp Massasoit.