Chapter 5 - Society of Camp Directors

141
Chapter V
Navigating Femininity at Private *LUOV¶ Camps
In 1922, Mary Edgar visited the Toronto home of twelve year old Mary
Northway for afternoon tea. That summer Edgar planned an exciting venture- to
open a private JLUOV¶ camp called Glen Bernard Camp (GBC) near her hometown
of Sundridge, Ontario. Mr. and Mrs. Northway wanted to send their only child,
0DU\WR(GJDU¶VFDPSThey thought the fresh air and exercise would do Mary
good, in addition to giving her the opportunity to meet other children her age.
Unfortunately, young Mary Northway would hear nothing of this camp, nor would
she tolerate being separated from her Boston bulldog for an entire summer.1
0DU\¶VXQGHUVWDQGLQJRIFDPSKDGEHHQSDLQWHGE\DIULHQGZKRKDGJRne to a
FDPSDQGGHVFULEHGLWDVD³SULVRQ´DQGWKLVZDVLQQRZD\HQWLFLQJWR
Northway.2 However, after meeting Edgar, later described by Northway as having
³DPD]LQJLQVLJKWLQWRDFKLOG¶VZRUOG´VKHZDVVROGRQGBC.3 The tea with Edgar
convinced young 1RUWKZD\WKDW³camp was the best place in the world because
VKHHQFRXUDJHGPHWREHOLHYHWKDW,FRXOGGRPDLQO\ZKDW,OLNHG´DQGDVD
bonus, Edgar allowed Northway to bring her beloved Boston bulldog with her up
to camp.4 And so began a long and fruitful relationship between Mary Northway
and GBC.
During the school year, Northway attended the prominent Toronto private
JLUOV¶ school, Bishop Strachan School (BSS). Northway was typical of many
upper- and upper middle-class Toronto girls who attended private school during
the year and private camp in the summer. In fact, her best friend from BSS,
142
Adele Ebbs, was the daughter of Taylor Statten who established Camp Ahmek
for boys and Camp Wapomeo for girls in Algonquin Park.5 BSS, founded in
1867, Havergal College (HC), founded in 1894, and Branksome Hall (BH),
founded in 1903, were the biggest private JLUOV¶ schools in Toronto.6 Mary Edgar
herself was a former HC student and maintained her connection to HC through
GBC, where many HC girls spent their summers.7 HC¶V Principal Marion Wood
H[FODLPHGLQWKH\HDUERRN³0DPLH(GJDULQKHU&DPSDW*OHQ%HUQDUGLV
filling the minds of her campers with all sorts of healthy, happy and absorbing
interests for the future, and opening their eyes to the beauty of the out-of-GRRUV´8
GBC¶VEURFKXUHLQFOXGHGUHIHUHQFHVIURP0LVV(0.QR[3ULQFLSDORI
HC, Miss Read, Principal of BHDQGHYHQ0LVV(/-RQHV3ULQFLSDORI5XSHUW¶V
/DQG/DGLHV¶&ROOHJHLQ:LQQLSHJ9 Similarly, Camp Tanamakoon, another
private JLUOV¶ camp, listed references in its 1926 brochure including: Miss Read,
Principal of BH, Miss Walsh, Principal of BSS, and Miss Wood, HC Principal.10
Further, almost all of the six women interviewed for this study who attended
Camp Tanamakoon in the 1920s and 1930s, either attended HC, BSS, or BH.11
Clearly, as with the boys, there was a link between private camps and private
schools, illustrating the exclusivity of both private school and private camp.
This chapter begins with an examination of the link between private JLUOV¶
schools in Toronto and private camps with particular attention paid to ideas about
physical culture and its development since the Victorian era. It then discusses the
philosophies and backgrounds of the directors of four private JLUOV¶ camps: GBC,
Camp Tanamakoon, Camp Wapomeo, and Northway Lodge. Finally, it examines
143
activities and daily life at the four camps in order to elucidate details of how camp
both challenged and incorporated twentieth century femininity. This chapter
examines the role of physical activity for girls in the early twentieth century, and
how it became a way for girls to come together in groups and challenge gender
ideals, especially in isolated communities like private school and private camps.
In addition, similar to ER\V¶ camps, JLUOV¶ camp directors created their own unique
camp culture with rules and values using methods similar to those used at ER\V¶
camps. In these mostly female environments, although girls had the freedom to
experiment with behaviours and activities outside the norm in the city, female
directors held fast to some traditional ideals of femininity. *LUOV¶ work
organizations like the YWCA worked to protect girls and, in a way, camp followed
a similar path. Thus, the establishment of JLUOV¶ camps was both progressive and
at the same time accommodated agreed-upon-ideas about femininity.
Private School as a Safe Haven for Physical Culture
Private JLUOV¶ schools in Toronto afforded girls great opportunity to
participate in sport and physical activity. More so than their public school
counterparts, private school leaders endorsed the connection between a healthy
mind and healthy body. In the words of Ellen Knox, HC¶VIRXQGLQJSULQFLSDO³QR
matter how great good luck goes...you will not succeed unless you have an
HTXDOO\VWXUG\ZKROHVRPHERG\´12 By 1918, HC girls were involved in many
sports including: tennis, basketball, ice and field hockey, cricket, golf, and fancy
(figure) skating.13 By the 1910s, girls from BSS, HC, and BH played in tennis,
basketball, and ice hockey leagues against each other and other Ontario JLUOV¶
144
schools.14 Broadly speaking, by the 1920s, sportswomen were fairly
commonplace in Canada. However, this was not always the case. To understand
the place of sport and physical activity in the lives of women and girls, one must
look back to the Victorian Era as the values and attitudes of this time had an
important role in shaping social norms in Canada in the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries.
Proper behaviours and characteristics of men and women were sharply
defined in the Victorian Era, which spanned 1837 to 1901.15 There was a
widespread belief that women were biologically and mentally different from
men.16 In the words of Dr. Henr\0DXGVOH\LQ³:RPHQDUHPDUNHGRXWE\
nature for very different offices in life from those of men, and the healthy
performance of her special functions renders it improbable she will succeed, and
unwise for her to persevere, in running over the same course at the same pace
ZLWKKLP´17 In comparison to PHQZRPHQ¶VQHUYRXVV\VWHPs were thought to be
more irritable, finer, and more prone to over-stimulation and exhaustion.18 Many
believed that wRPHQ¶V³VSHFLDOIXQFWLRQV´WKDWFRQILQHGthem to pregnancy and
menstruation influenced behaviour, ailments, and social role.19 While society
encouraged women to be passive, nurturing, sensitive, dependent and, above all
else, inferior, men were to be loyal, courageous, strong, and dominant. To the
Victorians, ³WKHUe is sex in mind as distinctly as there is sex in body´20 and, as
such, to engage in masculine avenues like sport, would predispose women to a
variety of mental and physical afflictions.21
145
Attitudes toward physical activity and women started to shift slightly due to
a growing emphasis on DKHDOWK\ERG\DQG&KDUOHV'DUZLQ¶VOLWHUDWXUHRQ
survival of the fittest. This led to a growing focus on the health of mothers in the
mid-nineteenth century. Herbert Spencer, a British philosopher and sociologist,
argued against the idleness of women. He asserted that, in order for the English
race to be strong and protected from racial degeneration, English mothers had to
be healthy.22 While he based these views on concerns about child-bearing, it
created opportunities for women to be involved in physical activity and sport,
traditionally the domain of men. In keeping with Victorian ideals, it was only
acceptable for middle-class women to engage in certain activities that
emphasized the prevailing conception of femininity, such as Swedish gymnastics,
bicycling, calisthenics, and dance. It is not surprising then, that when Victorian
women began to move away from these forms of physical activity toward more
organized sport, they were criticized for overstepping the boundaries of
acceptable female roles.23 This was especially the case when women and girls
moved into the realm of field sports. As expressed in the Badminton Magazine in
³OHW\RXQJJLUOVULGHVNDWHGDQFHDQGSOD\ODZQWHQQLVDQGRWKHUJDPHVLQ
moderation, but let them leave the field sports to those for whom they were
intended ± PHQ´24 As women increased their participation in sport, PHQ¶V
dominion over sport was eroding and, therefore, masculinity was perceived to be
at risk.
By the early twentieth century, the rigid codes of the Victorian Era eased
but not totally. Within the protective confines of private JLUOV¶ schools, teachers
146
permitted students to experiment with different sports, some of which were
roundly criticized externally. Despite this, new activities such as archery and
badminton were added due to their increased popularity.25 While these two were
FRQVLGHUHGPRUHDFFHSWDEOHIRUZRPHQDVWKH\ZHUH³JUDFHIXO´VSRUWVRWKHUV
that challenged femininity were also organized. For instance, in 1922, BSS
became the first JLUOV¶ school in Canada to take up lacrosse ± a field sport that
some felt was best left to men.26 Over a decade after BSS introduced lacrosse,
DQDUWLFOHWLWOHG³*LUOV6KRXOGQ¶W'RLW´E\$QG\/\WOHDSSHDUHGLQChatelaine; it
GHVFULEHGIHPDOHDWKOHWHVDV³OHDWKHU\-legged and flat-FKHVWHG´ 27 Lytle deplored
female athletes for their participation in sport that demanded too much exertion
and compromised their femininity. In describing lacrosse, Lytle contended that
³WKe soft, yielding flesh with which Nature equips the sex, makes them wholly
unsuited, to say nothing of the general unwisdom of arming members of the more
impassioned gender with clubs to be bent over beautiful heads that were surely
created for more entranFLQJSXUSRVHV´28 Victorian ideals did not die with the
passing of the Victorian era.
While sport was integral to BSS, HC, and BH, another component of
physicality at private schools was physical culture classes. Whereas femininity
was subtly challenged in sport, physical culture emphasized femininity. These
classes, given by trained female physical education teachers, aimed to improve
posture and create a balanced body. According to Mary Hamilton, physical
instructor for BH and founder of Camp Tanamakoon, physical training:
...has a beneficial effect upon the health, by improving the action of every
organ, by developing correct habits in breathing, by equalizing circulation.
147
It is a remedy by means of prescribed exercises for defects such as round
shoulders, flat chest, weak ankles, etc. it gives grace and beauty to the
body and the carriage. It develops courage and self-possession, muscular
and mental control.29
In class, girls practiced Swedish gymnastics, apparatus work using rings, the
horse and parallel bars, wand drills, dance, and club swinging using Indian
clubs.30 These activities were considered acceptable for girls and women in the
Victorian Era. Correcting posture was a goal of physical culture classes. At HC
there was a class called Special Gym to assist those girls who had particularly
EDGSRVWXUH$SRHPHQWLWOHG³6SHFLDO*\P´DSSHDUHGLQWKH\HDUERRNDQG
explains the purpose and experience of the class, illustrating the importance of
good posture for girls at this time:
For girls that do not stand up straight,
Or are too fat, or else too slim,
There is a cure called Special Gym.
Four times a week you take the dose,
And it is guaranteed to cure
Within a year, you may be sure.
With breathing you commence and end,
And use the ladder, and the rings,
The table, bench, and other things.
Miss Ivey stands and watches you,
And Miss McGregor does the same,
Or pulls your arms till you are lame.
But after all it does you good,
For I have had three terms and know,
And that is why I tell you so.31
The culmination of physical culture classes was the yearly Drill
Demonstration put on for friends and family at each school. At the BSS
Demonstration of Physical Education in 1918, the program included folk dances,
148
dumb-bell drills, wand drill, Indian club drill, and dances.32 The HC Gymnastics
Exhibition in 1928 began with the whole school marching in singing the school
song. The program included an exhibition of fundamental gymnastics, relay
games, fencing, gymnastics using apparatus, and a badminton match between
staff and school champions.33 The Demonstrations illustrate that schools
considered physical activity and drills to be important to the growing girl. These
displays were acceptable because they emphasized femininity through
gymnastics, dance, and other more feminine drills. As stated about the 1939 BSS
'HPRQVWUDWLRQ³7KHZKROHGLVSOD\JDYHDQLPSUHVVLRQRIILWQHVVERWKLQPLQG
and in body, well in keeping with the ideals of to-GD\´34 Thus, there was a dual
message at private schools. While participating in games, such as cricket and
lacrosse, nudged the boundary of appropriate games for girls, the school also
incorporated feminine activities like gymnastics and dance into the program to
ensure a balanced, feminine, and graceful body.
While private schools created a safe haven for physical activity, the
experience of girls in the public system was much different. Despite being coeducational, the public system developed a gender-segregated curriculum.
School educated girls for the private sphere, whereas it educated boys for public
life and military duty. The separation went so far as to institute separate
entrances and stairways for girls and boys. This was accompanied by separate
school yards and gyms ± if girls were allocated a gym at all.35 In 1907, the
Ontario Education Department passed five regulations concerning obligatory
physical training in high school.36 The Strathcona Trust, established by Lord
149
Strathcona, invested $20,000 annually for use by elementary and secondary
schools across Canada to promote and teach physical education and to
encourage military and physical training.37 A Syllabus of Physical Exercises,
based principally on the Swedish system of gymnastics used in Britain, was
distributed to every school. It advised girls in the public school system to focus on
calisthenics and Swedish gymnastics, whereas boys should train in a military
fashion. Lack of facilities and the unequal distribution of funds limited the access
of girls in public school to physical education and sport.38 Further, the
development of competitive sport in school was not included in the curriculum
because of the emphasis on military drill and lack of facilities.39
Public school girls were at a definite disadvantage in terms of access to
sport and physical activity compared to their private school counterparts. Private
schools were more willing to introduce physical culture to their students and were
more likely to have the money to purchase equipment and build facilities.40 For
instance, in order to accommodate the growing sports curriculum, BH, HC, and
BSS moved farther north, away from downtown, to more spacious properties.
Construction began at HC in 1902 for an addition to the school including a larger
gymnasium and a swimming pool that opened in 1906. 41 BSS moved in 1915; at
its new location BSS built a new gymnasium, pool, and tennis courts.42 In 1925,
BH moved to its current location in Rosedale. As explained in the school journal,
it was thH³DPELWLRQRIHYHU\WUXH%UDQNVRPLWHWKDWZHZRXOGRQHGD\EHIXOO\
equipped with an up-to-GDWH*\PQDVLXP´ 43 Students got their wish when the
school built a new gym including a basketball court with removable baskets, two
150
badminton courts and rings and ropes for gymnastics.44 The following year,
administrators installed a new swimming pool.45 Clearly, sport was a priority at
private schools and the girls benefited from the opportunities the schools
provided for them. The exclusivity of private schools meant that girls were
exposed to more physical exercise than public school girls.
Physical education instructors educated at special physical culture schools
for women in the United Kingdom, United States, and in Canada taught physical
culture classes at private schools. Physical education was a burgeoning field for
women, developed in response to the increased importance of physical activity
for girls. In 1902, HC principal, Ellen Knox, went to Boston herself and selected a
graduate of the well-known Sargent School of Physical Education, run by Dudley
A. Sargent, a medical doctor who promoted his own system of exercise based on
a diagnostic and therapeutic approach.46 Catherine Steele, a student at HC from
1923 to 1928 and later the principal, commented about the Sargent instructors:
³7KHJLUOVZHUHDOZD\VYHU\PXFKLQWHUHVWHGLQWKHPEHFDXVHWKH\WHQGHGWREH
attractive looking, vigorous and young. They were well trained. Sargent was one
RIWKHOHDGLQJVFKRROV´47 The most well-known school in Canada was the
Margaret Eaton School (MES), first known as The School of Expression opened
in 1901 in Toronto by Emma Scott Raff.48 In her first quarters at Yonge and Bloor
Streets, Raff offered classes in elocution, pedagogy, literature, and physical
culture.49 Margaret Eaton, wife of salesman Timothy Eaton, took classes from
Raff at her school in 1903, and later convinced her husband to donate money to
build a new facility for the school. The new building opened in 1907 and was
151
named the Margaret Eaton School of Literature and Expression, in honour of
7LPRWK\(DWRQ¶VZLIH50 Eventually, literature and drama classes merged into a
distinct stream, separate from the physical stream. By 1923, the school awarded
its students WHDFKHU¶VGLSORPDVLQOLWHUDWXUHDQGGUDPDWLFDUWRUSK\Vical
education.51
In 1910, Mary Hamilton, a graduate from the Sargent School, joined the
staff of the MES.52 Hamilton also worked at BH in physical education.53 At MES,
5DIIHQGHDYRXUHGWRSURYLGHDEDODQFHGHGXFDWLRQE\LQWHJUDWLQJWKH³KHDG
hand, and hearW´ 54 $FFRUGLQJWR5DIILQ³7KHUHDOSXUSRVHRIWKHVFKRROLV
a threefold education for women. We believe that head, hand and heart should
be trained at the same time, and so are working for mental and physical
VWUHQJWK´55 Though Raff aimed for a balanced education, she focused more on
the aesthetic and intellectual interests of the school rather than the physical.56
This changed in 1925 when the school was reorganized into two departments ±
Dramatic Art and Physical Education, with Mary Hamilton as director of the latter.
Soon after, the school discontinued the Drama department and Hamilton became
principal of the school.57 For the next several years, under the direction of
Hamilton, the MES focused solely on physical education.58 The physical
education culture in the 1920s showed girls and women that exercise was
important for health and that sport could present them with new opportunities. As
one graduate of physical education exclaimedSK\VLFDOWUDLQLQJ³PDGH\RX
strong, muscuODUDQGILWDQGDEOHWRPRYHLQWRWKHZRUOGZLWKFRQILGHQFH,W¶VKDUG
152
to look back on it all and believe that I actually did it: but I did. I felt I was opening
XSQHZDUHDVIRU\RXQJJLUOVDQGZRPHQ´ 59
In the 1926-1927 school calendar, there were three components to
obtaining a degree at MES. In the practical component, students learned
gymnastics based on Swedish and American principles, folk and aesthetic
dancing, fencing, swimming, life saving, archery, track and field, field and ice
hockey, basketball, baseball, and tennis. This list gives an indication of which
sports were deemed appropriate for women. Theoretical lessons were taught in
anatomy, physiology, hygiene, theory of games, psychology, first aid, and home
nursing. The third component of the degree was spending the month of
6HSWHPEHUDW+DPLOWRQ¶VFDPS&Dmp Tanamakoon in Algonquin Park. This idea
developed from a summer spent at a camp run by the Sargent School. While
there, Hamilton recognized the benefit of camp for girls. She realized that the
burgeoning popularity of camp for girls meant there was a need for counsellor
training.60 Beginning in 1925, Hamilton put this idea into action and leased land in
Algonquin Park for her training ground in the wilderness, likely influenced by
camps established previously, such as Wapomeo and GBC. In September, MES
students spent a month taking courses in riding, canoeing, tennis, lacrosse,
archery, field hockey, track and field, camp administration, recreational
programming, campcraft, and sailing. They also went on canoe trips led by
experienced male guides.61 MES was unique in that it was the only institution in
Canada that offered training in camp leadership combined with Physical
Education courses.62 +DPLOWRQ¶VFDPSFRntemporary, Mary Edgar, explained:
153
³VKHKDGDGRXEOHSXUSRVHLQPLQG$FDPSIRUJLUOVLQ-XO\DQG$XJXVWDQGD
training camp for students of the school in September,´LOOXVWUDWLQJWKHFRQQHFWLRQ
between physical education and camp.63
Figure 5.1: Mary Hamilton, 1920s, director of Camp Tanamakoon and Principal
of the Margaret Eaton School. 08/005/1/1, TUA.
The connection between physical education, private school, and private
camp is further illustrated by the fact that public schools did not recognize the
MES diploma. As a result, MES graduates found work at exclusive private
schools and private camps, in addition to settlement houses and YWCAs.64 The
1926 BH FDOHQGDUVWDWHGWKDWSK\VLFDOWUDLQLQJZDV³XQGHUWKHGLUHFWLRQRIWZR
graduates of the Margaret Eaton School. All pupils are required to attend the
154
3K\VLFDO7UDLQLQJ&ODVVHVXQOHVVH[HPSWHGE\WKHLU3K\VLFLDQ´65 During the
summer of 1933, seventeen of the twenty-five MES students had summer jobs,
including five at CGIT camps, three at YWCA camps, and eight at private
camps.66 The 1926 Camp Wapomeo brochure indicated that Miss Esther Webb,
graduate of MES and Director of physical education at the Winnipeg YWCA, was
in charge of the senior campers 67 The fact that many camp leaders had a
background in physical education and that students at private JLUOV¶ schools were
the campers, made it quite natural that physical activity would be central to JLUOV¶
camps. Hence, the exclusive education at private school and private camp
isolated girls from outside influences. The isolation meant that they were exposed
to more sport and physical education classes led by physical education teachersconsidered a suitable profession for women. The fact that MES graduates could
not teach at public schools is indicative of the strong connection between private
school, private camp, and physical education. The isolation of private school also
meant that it protected girls from unseemly influences that may have
compromised their feminine qualities.
The next section examines the pioneering women who established JLUOV¶
camps and how their actions and the atmosphere of the first camps challenged
traditional ideals of femininity.
Challenging Conceptions of Femininity with a Hatchet in one Hand
Fannie Case, a teacher from Rochester, New York, had a dream to open a
small private school for girls. After teaching for several years, she wanted to try
155
WHDFKLQJLQIRUPDOO\ZLWKRXWWKHSUHVVXUHRIWUDGLWLRQ&DVHH[SODLQV³:HZHUH
ripe for a break in the usual physical circumstances also accompanying
education ± close air, hard seats nailed down in rows, the clock ticking away our
precious time and the bell cutting in just as an absorbed interest was reaching a
FOLPD[´68 &DVH¶VFRQFHUQVDERXWVFKRROHFKo sentiments expressed by her male
counterparts, such as Statten. While on a camping trip in Canada, Case met Dr.
Howard A. Kelly who, during a conversation about education, pointed out the
need for a JLUOV¶ camp. He offered the use of land and a ready-built camp owned
by his family for the following summer on Lake Ahmic, part of the Magnetawan
river system near Parry Sound, Ontario.69 &DVHKHHGHG'U.HOO\¶VDGYLFH,
thereby changing the path of her life.
In 1906, Camp Northway opened on Lake Ahmic with ten girls aged 14 to
16 whose parents were friends of Case.70 Two years later, Northway moved to its
present location on Cache Lake in the more rustic Algonquin Park. It was the
same year that the Highland Inn opened in the Park, but other than that there
were few establishments, let alone JLUOV¶ camps in the area. In fact, the only camp
for boys or girls in the park that opened before the 1920s and still exists today is
Camp Pathfinder, an American ER\V¶ camp that opened in 1914. There were no
other JLUOV¶ private camps in the park until 1924 when the Stattens opened Camp
Wapomeo, a sister camp to Ahmek. A private JLUOV¶ camp at this time was
progressive indeed. In a 1971 issue of Canadian Camping, Charles Plewman,
one of the founding members of the Ontario Camping Association, explained:
To understand the camp situation in the first two decades of this century,
one KDVRQO\WRUHFDOOWKHIDFWWKDWFDPSVZHUHIRUER\VQRWJLUOV«In those
156
GD\VLWZDVDFDVHRIµURXJKLQJLW¶&DPSLQJZDVPRUHRIDZLOGHUQHVV
adventure, minus buildings, doctors or women in any capacity. In a word, it
was very much a rough and ready he-man affair with nary a skirt in
VLJKW«$OORIWKLVZDVDFDUU\-over from the Victorian era when it had been
considered a greater asset for a fragile girl to be able to swoon at the right
moment than to stand on her own two feet. Young ladies, so it was felt,
should not soil their lily-white hands by roughing it in the great outdoors.71
Thus, establishing a JLUOV¶ camp in the 1910s was an ambitious venture. Even in
1924, when Taylor and Ethel Statten established Camp Wapomeo for girls
across from Camp Ahmek, there were misgivings about a JLUOV¶ camp.72
According to Adele Ebbs, daughter of the Stattens, ³LWZDVJHQHUDOO\EHOLHYHGWKDW
this was a ridiculous idea [to open Wapomeo] because having a ER\V¶ camp and
Figure 5.2: Fannie Case, early 1900s, founder of Camp Northway.
72-007/1/1, TUA.
157
a JLUOV¶ FDPSRQWKHVDPHODNHMXVWZRXOGQHYHUZRUN´ 73 AGHOH(EEV¶EHVWIULHQG
from school, Mary Northway (who attended GBC) contended that some of
6WDWWHQ¶V%RDUGRI*RYHUQRUVeven resigned when he opened Wapomeo.74 There
were about 60 or 70 campers in the first year of Wapomeo and, despite concern,
Wapomeo thrived. By 1928, the camp was expanded to a nearby island, showing
WKDWDER\V¶FDPSDQGDJLUOV¶FDPSRQWKHVDPHODNHFRXOGLQGHHGZRUN.75
Organizing the first JLUOV¶ camps in the early twentieth century were
courageous ventures. Further, there was little guidance in terms of camping
guidelines and how to start a camp in the remote wilderness.76 Fannie Case and
Mary Hamilton established careers in education prior to starting their camps.
Mary Edgar of GBC also had a reputable career as part of the YWCA and as a
writer. Edgar grew up in Sundridge, Ontario, where her father had a general
store.77 After high school at HC, Edgar pursued her love of literature by enrolling
in literature courses at the University of Chicago and the University of Toronto.78
She was an accomplished writer and published poems in the Ladies Home
Journal and Canadian Magazine.79 (GJDU¶VDVVRFLDWLRQZLWKFDPSLQJVWarted
through the YWCA where she ZRUNHGDVWKH*LUOV¶:RUN6HFUHWDU\IRUWKH
Montreal YWCA and director of the Montreal YWCA¶V&DPS2RODKZDQ80 Edgar
was a well-rounded and worldly woman; she worked in Japan for four months as
part of the YWCA and then continued on a trip around the world.81 After
graduating from the YWCA training school in New York and working at
Oolahwan, Edgar endeavoured to open her own camp.82 In 1922, the opportunity
158
arose when the land across the lake from her town went up for sale. With money
loaned from her father, Edgar bought the abandoned farm.83
Edgar, Hamilton, and Case were all ambitious and employed single
women who had experience working in all-female environments. No doubt, these
experiences influenced their camp philosophies. Ethel Statten of Wapomeo had
the bHQHILWRIKHUKXVEDQG7D\ORU¶V experience in establishing camp. These
pioneering directors faced many challenges in their new venture. The struggles of
the first years of camp presented an opportunity for both campers and directors
to confront some firmly held ideals of femininity.
The conditions of the first years aW)DQQLH&DVH¶V&DPS1RUWKZD\ZHUH
YHU\UXVWLF³,WZDValmost perfect pioneering ± no other campers or people about;
drinking water was carried laboriously from a spring across the lake «7KHGLQLQJ
room and lodge were large rented tents. The little kitchen was finished the day
EHIRUHWKHFDPSRSHQHGWKHURRIPDGHVRIODWE\DPDWHXUEXLOGHUV«´84 Fannie
Case suggested that camp should resemble a canoe trip as much as possible.
Thus, Camp Northway was established as very basic with only the most
necessary buildings. Further, buildings had partly open sides and heavy curtains
to be let down only when necessary.85 Campers VOHSWLQWHQWVDQG&DVHIHOW³,WLV
DQRYHOW\DQGDGYHQWXUHWROLYHZLWKQRWKLQJEXWDµUDJEHWZHHQ\RXDQGWKHVN\¶´
86
Case never had a motorboat, electricity, or running water in camp.87 She was
quite deliberate in her decision to keep Northway as basic as possible. Much like
DWER\V¶FDPSVWKH basic quarters and lack of modern conveniences were part of
159
Figure 5.3: Mary Edgar (middle front) with some of the first GBC campers, 1922.
72-007/1/1, TUA.
&DVH¶VWHPSRUDU\FDPSVRFLHW\)RUJLUOVIURPWKHXSSHUDQGXSSHUPLGGOH
classes this certainly was a different way of life. But, the literature suggests that
they welcomed this change as it was all part of the adventure of camp.
Sixteen years after Case opened her camp, JLUOV¶ camps were still a rarity.
In 1922, the first season of GBC, thirty-five campers braved the long journey to
Sundridge, Ontario, ³FRQVLGHUHGWKHIDUQRUWKODQG,´DFFRUGing to Mary
Northway.88 Similar to Camp Northway, GBC ZDV³YHU\VLPSOH´LQWKRVHGD\V
Campers lived in wooden cabins with open windows. The program was not
RUJDQL]HGVLQFHLWZDVVRVPDOO³DQGQRERG\UHDOO\NQHZKRZWRRUJDQL]HD
program. You thought up things \RXZDQWHGWRGR,WZDVYHU\VSRQWDQHRXV´89
The campers cut trails, experienced overnight trips in rowboats, and went berry
picking as it suited them.90 Indeed, Northway explained: ³,WZDVFRQVLGHUHGTXLWH
160
VRPHWKLQJIRUJLUOVWRJRFDPSLQJ,WKDGQ¶WEHHQ done. And we were thought to
EHTXLWHDGYHQWXURXVWRJRZD\RIIWRWKLVUHPRWHSODFHDQGOLYHRXWGRRUV´91
)XUWKHU³Iew Canadians were venturesome enough to send their daughters two
hundred miles from the city to a spot accessible only by a rambling train.´92
Setting up camp in the remote Ontario wilderness is an example of how
these pioneering female directors challenged prevailing notions of femininity.
Initially, Mary Hamilton thought that Algonquin ZDV³WRRZLOGDQGUHPRWH´IRUD
JLUOV¶ camp and looked at Muskoka and Georgian Bay.93 However, in the end,
she found that the ideal campsite was in Algonquin Park. While obtaining the
lease for the land, the park authorities and government officials warned Hamilton
about starting a camp. They told Hamilton thDW³6HYHUDORWKHUSHRSOHKDGUHFHQWO\
attempted to start camps in the Park, but owing to the remoteness and the
difficulty of getting in supplies the projects failed, and we were told of these
IDLOXUHVZKHUHYHUZHZHQW´94 There were many obstacles working against these
pioneers.
Getting to camp was a journey in itself. Hamilton remembers the first
summer of Tanamakoon and the journey to Algonquin. In July of 1925, thirty-five
campers, two counsellors and Hamilton gathered at Union Station in Toronto.
After the overnight train ride, at 6:30 a.m. the train arrived at Scotia Junction
where the group stopped for breakfast at the hotel before entraining for
Algonquin at 7:00 a.m.95 Scotia Junction was the intersection of the line going
north from Toronto and the east-west line between Parry Sound and Ottawa. It
consisted of a country store, hotel, the railway station, and a few frame houses.96
161
The hotel was basic and, prior to the first season, when the camp was being built,
Hamilton stayed at the hotel occasionally. One father said to Hamilton: ³,VHQWP\
child to Tanamakoon because I figured that any woman who had the grit to take
WKDWWULSDQGVWD\DWWKDWKRWHOKDGWKHJULWWRUXQDFDPS´97 Clearly, camp
directors faced many trials when setting up camp. It took determination and
courage, and surely at times they questioned their actions. In the first year of
Tanamakoon, after the long journey up to camp, Hamilton thought: ³8SWRQRZ,
had looked on Tanamakoon as a veritable garden of Eden; but on this occasion
as I looked at it through the tired eyes of city children, I was not so sure. I
ZRQGHUHGLI(GHQKDGHYHUORRNHGVRURXJKDQGUXJJHG´98
A special element in these first years was the prominent role the campers
played in establishing the camp. This gave the girls the opportunity to contribute
to their lives in a way that most had never experienced. Similar to private
schools, in the predominantly female community of camp, girls could explore
different activities within safe confines. At Northway, campers built most of the
permanent buildings, an example of activities specific to camp (see Figure 5.4).
Ann Russe Prewitt, a camper in the 1920s and later the director of the camp,
commented³&DQ\RXLPDJLQHZKDWDVKRFNLQJFKDQJHLWZDVin those early
days for young ladies to be hauling cedar logs when they were used to sitting
TXLHWO\DWKRPHLQWLJKWERGLFHVDQGKLJKODFHVKRHVGRLQJIDQF\HPEURLGHU\"´ 99
Case programmed a regular PRUQLQJZRUNKRXURU³ZRUNVKLIW´IRUclearing trails,
burning slash, and building or repairing camp boats and buildings.100 The
projects necessitated the use of ³ODUJHWRROVDQGELJPXVFOHVDVDEDODQFHWRWKH
162
XVHRIILQHPXVFOHVLQVFKRROZRUN´101 As can be seen in Figure 5.4, the campers
used saws, hammers, and axes. Years later, in the late 1920s, campers
continued to help with building and maintaining the camp. Pollee Phipps Hruby,
who was at Northway from 1928 to 1944, helped to build the Craft House by
carrying huge cedar logs from the woods for the foundation. The campers
learned to lay tongue-in-JURRYHIORRULQJ³DQGZHZHUHYHU\SOHDVHGZLWKRXU
FDUSHQWU\VNLOO´102 They also built the log Bath House.103 &DVHH[SODLQV³2I
course the purpose is not to procure a building or other object, and there is no
drive about finishing. The valuable results to campers are independence and skill
and attachment to and interest in the camp home which belongs to all, and the
KDELWRIZRUN´104 Certainly feelings of independence and accomplishment were
attached to completing a building especially in the isolated wilderness with few
people around. Similar to ER\V¶ camp, the activity was the platform through which
character was established at JLUOV¶ camp.
Akin to Northway, the campers at Tanamakoon played a large part in the
development of the camp through building and other ventures.105 Hamilton
recalled, ³WKHKDWFKHWVDZDQGKDPPHUEHFDPHFUHDWLYHLQWKHLU [the campers]
KDQGV´,QWKHHDUO\\HDUVFDPSHUVPDGHFHGDUfurniture for campgrounds on
camp property and built an Adirondack shelter ± which was the first of many. The
theatre was also built with the help of campers. The general camp handyman,
George, was foreman and the campers did the shingling on the roof.106 A
newspaper report about the building of the theatre commented on the project:
This homemade theatre was set up this summer at Camp Tanamakoon, in
Algonquin. There are all sorts of snapshots showing campers astride the
163
peak of a roof, industriously shingling, or working away with might and
main at other occupations that her grandmother might have stigmatized as
not quite ladylike, forgetting that her own pioneer mothers and
grandmothers did all these things and more.107
This is a clear example of camp affording an opportunity to push the boundaries
of traditional notions of femininity. Tanamakoon stressed learning by doing and
breaking trails and building campsites, all aimed at giving the campers a sense of
accomplishment.108 7KXVWKHILUVW7DQDPDNRRQFDPSHUV³IHOWWKH\KDGDUHDO
VWDNHLQLWVEXLOGLQJWKH\KDGLQYHVWHGLQLWVRPHWKLQJRIWKHPVHOYHV´109 Breaking
trails and building were also part of GBC and Wapomeo in the early years. The
hatchet even became a symbol at GBC and the cover of the second brochure in
1923 had a picture in silhouette of campers by the lake holding hatchets.110
In the temporary camp society created by JLUOV¶ camp directors, the norm
was to participate in activities that were certainly outside the traditional feminine
sphere of city life. Camp wrote rules that enabled girls to participate in different
and new experiences, which most campers welcomed. The spontaneity and
freedom at camp was a change from the rigidity of school. Camp seemed to fulfill
the adventurous spirits of the girls.
Philosophies of the Founding Directors
Like the goals of their male counterparts, character building was the main
JRDORIWKHFDPSGLUHFWRUVDWJLUOV¶FDPSV7KHSXUSRVHRI:DSRPHRDVVWDWHGLQ
the 1926 brochure ³LVWRPDNHYDFDWLRQWLPHFRXQWYLWDOO\LQFKDUDFWHUJURZWK
through the broadening of vision, stimulating of imagination and encouraging of
LQLWLDWLYHUHVRXUFHIXOQHVVDQGSHUVRQDOLW\´111 ,Q*%&¶VILUVW\HDUWKH
164
Figure 5.4: Camp Northway campers building sometime between 1912 and
1916. White Album 72/007/1/8, TUA.
brochure explained the FDPS¶VSXUSRVH WR³SURYLGHDFRQVWUXFWLYHFKDUDFWHUbuilding program with out-GRRUDFWLYLWLHV´112 There was also recognition of the
importance of education away from the city and in nature. Camp TanDPDNRRQ¶V
1927 brochure explained: ³7KHLGHDORIWKHFDPSLVWRJLYHLWVPHPEHUVD
healthy, happy summer, and a type of education which can be gained only by life
in the open´113 In addition, contributing positively to Canada was an element of
JLUOV¶ FDPSV0DU\+DPLOWRQH[SODLQV³2XU aim is not merely to give our camper a
healthy, happy summer«EXWWRGHYHORSLQKHUDVSLULWXDOGLVFLSOLQHZKLFKZLOO
enable her to live effectively with other people and make a positive contribution to
KHUFRXQWU\´114 Mary Edgar echoed +DPLOWRQ¶VVHQWLPHQWVWDWLQJthat at her
165
camp, ³An emphasis was also placed upon the privileges and obligations of
Canadian citizenship which will carry over into the adult life of many a camper.´115
Similar to ER\V¶ camps, the leaders at JLUOV¶ camps endeavoured to send
campers back to the city rejuvenated. In the words of the 1922 GBC brochure,
GBC ³DLPVWRVHQGJLUOVEDFNWRWKHLUKRPHVDQGWKHLUVFKRROVZLWKLQFUHDVHG
physical endurance and resourcefulness, and with the spirit of good comradeship
and a greater appreciation of the simple, beautiful things of life. It is a camp with
DSXUSRVH´116 While developing character was the goal in both ER\V¶ and JLUOV¶
campsVRFLHW\¶VQRWLRQRIthe desirable character traits for girls differed from
boys, leading to slight differences in the camps in terms of focus and activities.
Society considered boys to be future leaders of the nation and girls to be future
mothers of the nation, leading to different forms of character education at each
camp.
The freedom afforded to female camp directors through opening their own
businesses meant that they had the power to mould the camp based on their
own values and belief systems and build their own camp culture, just like their
male camp director counterparts. As established previously, opening a JLUOV¶
camp was socially progressive in the early twentieth century. That being said,
directors did not intentionally challenge concepts of femininity head on. They
organized their camps in a way that reflected their belief systems and ideologies,
some of which included traditional ideals of femininity. Slight differences in the
ideologies embraced at the camps illustrate the intricacies of the gender order at
the time.
166
While there were similarities between the four JLUOV¶ camps, the differences
between them illustrate the personalities of each woman. Mary Northway
comments that GBC, Tanamakoon, and Wapomeo ³were all very different in
programme, attitude, and outlook. <RXFDQ¶WLPDJLQHtwo more different camps
than Tanamakoon with its detailed organization and everybody in uniform and
0LVV(GJDU¶V$QG,DOZD\VKRSHGWKDWFDPSVZRXOGPDLQWDLQWKDWYDULHW\´117
Camp Northway was left out of comparisons because it was considered to be an
American camp in the early years. Case was American and most campers were
American as well. However, as the years passed, more Canadian campers and
staff joined the Northway community. For instance, Mary Lamont became a
counselor at Northway by answering a posting she saw at the University of
Toronto. Three generations RI/DPRQW¶VIDPLO\FRQWLQXHGWKH1RUWKZD\
tradition.118 Further, Ann Russe Prewitt, who succeeded Case, was originally
American, but moved to Canada after taking over the camp. Her children, one of
whom directs the camp currently, were all born in Canada.
It is important to consider Camp Northway not only because of its early
establishment, but also EHFDXVH&DVH¶VSKLORVRSK\VWDQGVRXWDVGLIIHUHnt from
the other camps. MoreoverWKLVSKLORVRSK\KDVEHHQPDLQWDLQHGLQWRGD\¶V
camp. In 1906 there were no camping guidelines and so Case relied on her own
belief system influenced by prominent thinkers at the time. William James, father
of modern psychology, was one of the most important influences on &DVH¶Vcamp
philosophy.119 Indeed, after Prewitt took over the camp, she found William
James¶7DONVWR7HDFKHUVRQ3V\FKRORJ\DQG6WXGHQWVRQ6RPHRI/LIH¶V,GHDOV,
167
published in 1899, in the camp library. After looking over the book, Prewitt
realized that Case had patterned Northway on his philosophy. She had even left
comments in the margins.120 James believed that unhappiness was due to
material abundance at the turn of the twentieth century. According to James:
³7KHUHPHG\XQGHUVXFKFRQGLWions is to descend to a more profound and
primitive level. Living in the open air on the ground, the lopsided beam of the
EDODQFHVORZO\ULVHVWRWKHOHYHOOLQH«7KHJRRGRIDOODUWLILFLDOschemes and
fevers fades and ails; and that seeing, smelling, tasting, sleeping and daring with
RQH¶VRZQERG\JURZVDQGJURZV´121 This philosophy is reflected in the
foundation of Northway. As discussed SUHYLRXVO\&DVH¶VFDPSZDVYHU\UXVWLF
with only the most essential buildings, most of which were open to the air. Case
believed WKDW³WKHEHVWUHVXOWVZRXOGFRPHIURPOLYLQJWKHSLRQHHUOLIH´122 Further,
unlike other camps that welcomed expansion, Case capped the enrollment of
campers at 50 to encourage a small community atmosphere.123 Certainly, the
other three camps were also rustic, but not to the same degree. Nor did they
maintain the same minimalist standards as the years went on.
/LNH)DQQLH&DVH0DU\+DPLOWRQ³NQHZOLWWOHRIFDPSLQJDQGQRWKLQJRI
dLUHFWLQJWKHEXLOGLQJRIDFDPS´124 However, Hamilton knew girls well because
she lived in school and college residences throughout her teaching career.125
Hamilton looked to American camps as a guide for setting up her camp.
+DPLOWRQ¶VDLPZDVWRWHDFKYDOXHVWRJLUOVDQGWXUQRXWJRRGFLWL]ens.126
³Hamie´ as the campers called her, was involved in the Protestant evangelical
religious movement known as the Oxford Group, founded in the 1920s.127
168
According to the founder, F.N.C. Buchmann, ³7KH2[IRUG*URXSLVD&KULVWLDQ
Revolution whose concern is vital Christianity. Its aim is a new social order under
the dictatorship of the spirit of God, making for better human relationships, for
XQVHOILVKFRRSHUDWLRQIRUFOHDQHUEXVLQHVVIRUFOHDQHUSROLWLFV´128 Hamilton
was attracted to the small group interaction, personal discipline and the four
absolutes of honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. She suggested that this
could act as a model by which to live.129 Thus, Hamilton had a definite set of
ideals about what constituted the right kind of living that influenced the daily life
of Tanamakoon. Former campers described Hamilton as a ³GLVFLSOLQHGDORRIW\SH
RISHUVRQWKDWUXOHGZLWKDQLURQILVW´130 Each director defined the details of her
own society based on her beliefs and values.
Like ER\V¶ camps in the early years, timetables were fairly open and girls
could choose to participate in activities that interested them, other than swimming
and canoeing that were usually compulsory for safety reasons.131 Mary Hamilton
of Tanamakoon took a different approach that reflected her personality. She
explained: ³7KHSURJUDPPHZDVRQHRI6SDUWDQUHJLPHQWDWLRQ(YHU\RQHZDV
expected to participate in every activity even to setting-up exercises and morning
dip at 7:DP´132 Hamilton often repeated the saying, ³ZHGRQ¶WZDQWDQ\RQH
IULWWHULQJDZD\KHUWLPHDQGZDVWLQJKHUIDWKHU¶VPRQH\´133 Mary Edgar, by
contrast, was a free sort and this was reflected in her camp.134 According to a
GBC EURFKXUH³7KHUHLVDIUHHGRPDnd spontaneity about the program which
delights the campers. They have a part in planning theLUDGYHQWXUHV´135 John
*LOFKULVW(GJDU¶VQHSKHZ explains ³6KHIHOWVWURQJO\WKDWFKLOGUHQVKRXOGEH
169
children and believe in fairies and make-believe. She was always dreaming up
special programs, whether it was a hunter breakfast or...farmer BURZQ¶V
SLFQLFZHKDGDOLVWRIFKDUDFWHUV\RXZRXOGQ¶WEHOLHYH´136 Edgar had a vivid
imagination. For the Juniors, the Wendy House was built on stilts five metres
above the group. Peter Pan invited groups to camp there for a night.137 Aboriginal
culture also greatly influenced Edgar and, as will be examined in Chapter VI,
Indian lore fed her imagination and played a large role in GBC.
At all four camps, there were commonalities that differentiated them from
ER\V¶ camps. The literature about ER\V¶ camps referred to the land and
wilderness as rugged and untamed, while the literature about JLUOV¶ camps
discussed the surrounding wilderness in terms of beauty. When examining the
concept of wilderness, it is important to consider the association between gender
and nature, especially since nature is still cast in a female gender. Indeed we still
use gendered language terms VXFKDV³YLUJLQODQG´DQG³PRWKHUHDUWK´WR
describe nature.138 Nature was assumed to be feminine and the control over it,
masculine. Elements of power, like mountains, were thought to be masculine
while water was thought to be feminine.139 Affection for the natural world was an
extension of socially acceptable sentiment to protect nature from exploitation and
keep it safe within parks and reserves.140 Just like society endeavoured to protect
and confine nature, the same can be said for girls and women. In camp literature,
the focus on the ruggedness of the land in literature about ER\V¶ camp points to
strength in a masculinity ready to conquer the untamed wilderness, while the
appreciation of its beauty shows that JLUOV¶ camp directors¶ aims were not to
170
conquer the land but to learn from its beauty. The 1926 Wapomeo brochure
stated that ³7KLVLVWKHODQGZKHUHJLUOVGRWKLQJVWKDWDUHZRUWK-while and
develop a love IRUWUXWKEHDXW\DQGJRRGQHVV´141 The 1937 Wapomeo brochure
echoed these VHQWLPHQWV³$W&DPSone learns to love nature, and to see
beauty in sunsets, in moonlight, in rain, in clouds, and in foreVW´142 In 1940 Mary
(GJDUJDYHDWDONFDOOHG³:KDW,([SHFW&DPSWR$FKLHYH´%HDXW\ZDVRQHRI
the main expectations Edgar outlined. She stated:
Beauty. May an ever increasing number of campers in 1940 know the
adventure of paddling through silent streams, exploring wilderness lakes
when the pines and white birches are reflected in the still waters. May they
know the joy of making camp at sunset on a rocky point...May they know
the thrill of sleeping out under the stars...Marvelling at the immensity of the
heavens and feeling the deep VHQVHRIDZHWKDWLVERUQLQRQH¶VVRXO
when one realizes for the first time that RQHLVSDUWRI*RG¶VYDVW
universe...sXFKZRQGHULVIRRGIRUWKHVRXO´143
In 1907, the Northway brochure had a similar focus on beauty and using that
beauty to influence activities. It reads: ³7KHLGHDRIWKLVFDPSLVWRPDNHEHWWHU
more gentle, and more courageous girls. First, by our simple, free wholesome
ways of living to make permanent impressions of the beauty and value of these
ways. Second, to make use of the chances afforded by our beautiful
surroundings to do some work in nature study, wood-craft, sketching, basketry,
HWF´144
Another element that differentiated JLUOV¶ from ER\V¶ camps was the focus
on a family atmosphere in small groups and helping one another. While ER\V¶
camps referred to these small groups in terms of democracy, at JLUOV¶ camps the
focus was on comradeship and fostering good relationships throughout the
camp, indicating an ideological difference in the camp cultures. In the 1937
171
Wapomeo brochure, Ethel Statten was VDLGWRDSSURDFKKHUFDPSZLWK³WKH
viewpoint of a PRWKHU¶VLQWHUHVWLQWKHZHOIDUHDQGKDSSLQHVVRIKer girls, and has
FUHDWHGDGHOLJKWIXOIDPLO\UHODWLRQVKLSIHHOLQJWKURXJKRXWWKHFDPS´145 GBC¶V
PRWWR³7KHEHVWRIHDFKIRUWKHJRRGRIDOO´H[SUHVVHG(GJDU¶VSKLORVRSK\
concerning group living.146 Fannie Case started the Junior and Senior Foresters
that carULHGRXWWKHSKLORVRSK\RIWKH³VHHLQJH\HDQGWKHZLOOLQJKDnG´± if you
see something that needs to be done then you do it. The Foresters set a warm
tone for the camp; ensuring kindness and consideration was central to camp
life.147 As explained in the 1907 bURFKXUH³IRUWKHHWKLFDOVLGHwe rely upon the
small family groups, into which the girls will be formed, as well as upon the
refinement and nobility of character of those who are in charge, to arouse and
keep alive the impulses to thoughtfulness and kindly affection, which lie at the
URRWRIULJKWOLYLQJ´148 In addition, camp encouraged comradeship between older
and young campers.149 $VLQGLFDWHGLQWKHEURFKXUH³(QYLDEOH
opportunities are afforded by camp-life to show the beauty of co-operation and
interdependence. When one is learning the practical lessons of this pioneer life, it
is easy to learn respect for the lowliest helper, and thought for the general
good´150 2QHRIWKHSLOODUVLQ&DVH¶VFDPSFXOWXUHZDVKHOSLQJWKHRWKHU
Another area in which girls¶FDPSV differed from boys¶FDPSV was in
service, a traditionally feminine endeavour and a major focus of organizations like
the YWCA and CGIT. One of the aims of Northway expressed in the 1926
EURFKXUHZDVWKH³ORYHIRUZRUNDQGVHUYLFH´151 GBC girls organized the Glen
Bernard Camp Club, the objective EHLQJ³WRKROGWRJHWKHULQDFRPPRQLQWHUHVW
172
the girls and leaders, past and present, from the first and following years of camp
DQGDOVRWRGRVRPHKHOSIXOZRUNDPRQJWKHSRRU´152 They held meetings once
per month in Toronto from September to April. At Christmas, they filled over one
hundred stockings with presents and sent them to needy families near
Sundridge. In the summer, the club hosted a picnic at camp for the children and
their parents. There were games and races with prizes, a Fairy Play in the
outdoor theatre and refreshments.153 The club also supported organizations that
contributed to fresh-air camps, which were not-for-profit camps for children of
low-income families. The club members felt that there existed in such camps ³D
certain comradeship for children who have never known the mysterious beauty of
the great out-of-GRRUV´154 In 1926, the club gave fifty dollars to three different
organizations that helped children to attend camp in the summer.155 In 1928, the
club made a donation of a cabin to Bolton Camp which cost 250 dollars and, as
well, donated playground equipment to The Gables Camp.156 In 1931, along with
another cabin donated to Bolton Camp, the club donated a large stone fireplace
LQWKHPDLQEXLOGLQJWR0RRUODQG¶V&DPSDQGFRQWULEXWHGWR the Down Town
&KXUFK:RUNHUV¶$VVRFLDWLRQWRVHQG³GHOLFDWH´FKLOGUHQWRFDPS157 One of the
ways that the club raised funds was by putting on plays. In 1928, the club put on
³7KH(QFKDQWHG3ULQFHVV´DWWKH0DUJDUHW(DWRQ7KHDWUHLQ7RURQWRThey used
the proceeds for the social service work of the club.158 Focus on the beauty of
surrounding nature, family atmosphere, and service was unique to the social
structure of JLUOV¶ camp.
173
Challenging and Embracing Femininity through Camp Activities
With the exception of the masculine activities of boxing and wrestling,
deemed inappropriate for girls and women, girls at camp participated in many of
the same activities that boys did including: swimming, life saving, canoeing,
sailing, sketching, painting, photography, music, riding, archery, tennis,
woodcraft, drama, nature lore, arts and crafts, and canoe tripping.159 Some
camps, like GBC, included more organized sport such as golf, basketball, and
badminton.160 Most of the other camps intentionally avoided the organized sports
featured in city programs, which distinguished the camp experience from city and
school life. The opportunity provided at camp to participate in regular physical
activity was certainly a positive step for the physicality of girls in Canada and also
indicative of the exclusivity of private camp. Pursuing physical activity surrounded
by nature afforded the girls a freedom from the restriction experienced to some
extent in the city. The campcraft activities, as an example, provided a sense of
adventure to campers that they did not have at home. At Tanamakoon, campers
took part in cook-outs, exploration trips, and all day or overnight trips. They
learned to use a map and compass, to cook over a fire, and how to chop
wood.161 There were even awards that campers could earn in woodcraft:
Bushman, Forester, and Ranger. The highest of the three was the Ranger,
awarded to those who could cook outdoors, select firewood, split kindling, chop
down a tree, build a shelter, blaze a trail, and use a map and compass. The
Worthy Woodsman ± the highest honour in camp ± was awarded to an all-around
camper skilled in campcraft who was enthusiastic and took responsibility for
174
others. She was awarded a bronze hatchet.162 Similarly, Wapomeo incorporated
woodcraft into its camp program and campers went hiking and learned to make
fire, build shelters, and make trails.163 Like at boys¶FDPSV, woodcraft and
campcraft activities exposed girls to activities they would rarely find in the city
and served to identify camp as special.
There was a similar understanding at both JLUOV¶ and ER\V¶ camps that the
experience should differ from the city in terms of activities and routine (GBC was
an exception). As Fannie Case explains:
We leaders knew that the greater the contrast between the ways of living
and playing at home and those at camp, the more interesting the summer
would beWKDWQRYHOW\DQGDGYHQWXUHDUHHQWLFLQJ«7KHDWWHPSWKDVEHHQ
made to build our daily program on the principle of avoiding
consciousness of routine and in favor of individual desires and tastes as
well as upon group welfare.164
,QWKHZRUGVRI(GJDU³0D\FDPSPHDQDVHQVHRIIUHHGRPIURPURXWLQH,QWKH
city every day is scheduled. Children live by timetables. Time does not belong to
them, it is doled out to them by adults. At camp we may let them know that time
LVWKHLUV´165 Mary Hamilton endeavoured not to spend too much time on activities
that could be done in the city as to maintain the distinction between city and
camp.166 Ethel Statten of Wapomeo maintained the same opinion at her camp
DQGH[SODLQHG³The type of girls who come to Wapomeo, prefer to spend their
WLPHLQGRLQJµFDPS\¶ things, rather than in holding organized games and
FRQWHVWV´WKDWDUHSUHYDOHQWLQWKHFLW\167
175
Figure 5.5 and 5.6: GBC juniors doing setting up exercises before breakfast ± a
common practice at both ER\V¶ and JLUOV¶ camps (above). Life saving instruction at
Camp Wapomeo (below). 82-009/3/3, TUA; Wapomeo brochure, 1926, TSCA.
176
Similar to the early years at ER\V¶ camp, some JLUOV¶ camps gave out
awards. GBC, for instance, awarded The Northway Sports Cup, Mrs. A.L.
Ellsworth awards for Cabin Neatness, The Willo Gage Love Trophy for tribal
achievement, and book prize for best original book-plate sketch.168 Tanamakoon
gave awards ³WRVWLPXODWHLQWHUHVWDQGFRPSHWLWLRQDPRQJVWWKHFDPSHUV´EXW
like at Ahmek, Tanamakoon eventually stopped.169 Northway did not give
awards. ³2YHUFRPLQJWKHREVWDFOHVRIWKHZLOGQDWXUHZRUOGDQGLPSURYLQJRQH¶V
form and skill offer gUHDWHULQFHQWLYHV´LOOXVWUDWHGD way in which Northway
differed in philosophy from the other camps.170 Wapomeo had the most
advanced award system, likely due to the influence of Ahmek. Similar to the
practices at Ahmek, Wapomeo gave every camper a shield with her name on it.
Four grades of bars were presented as recognition of achievement in: astronomy,
birds, trees, flowers, canoeing, diving, dancing, dramatics, entertaining, first aid,
fungi, handicraft, lifesaving, riding, sailing, and swimming.171 Some of the
activities that Ahmek included in its award system were not included at
Wapomeo, including: athletics, boxing, wrestling, public speaking, and
citizenship.172 This is an indication that ER\V¶ camps emphasized rough physical
activities as well as activities related to preparations for future careers, while JLUOV¶
camps did not. Just as Ahmek did, Wapomeo eventually discontinued the shield
award system. Elizabeth Shapiro, Wapomeo camper from 1927 to 1941,
commented on the awards: ³:HZHUHYHU\FRPSHWLWLYHDQGWRRNJUHDWSULGHLQ
our skill level. With the advancement or changes in child rearing this award
system was discontinued, and was not replaced, which I personally think was too
177
bad. I learned more about fungi in an effort to earn a bar than I certainly would
KDYHRWKHUZLVH´173
While there were similar activities at ER\V¶ and JLUOV¶ camps, there were
also some key differences in the range of opportunities offered that illustrate the
features of femininity in the early twentieth century. While :DSRPHR¶V
association with Ahmek certainly ZDVLQIOXHQWLDORQWKHFDPS¶VIDFLOLWLHV
structure, and daily life, director Ethel Statten made certain that Wapomeo was a
camp for girls. She stated:
Care has been exercised to prevent the boys camp program and methods,
XQGXO\LQIOXHQFLQJWKHSROLF\RIRXUJLUOV¶FDPS,QERWKZHDUH
endeavouring to build character, but the ideal character in a girl is not
identical with the ideal boy character. We have always believed in the
emancipation of women from mid-Victorian bondage, yet we realize that
the pendulum is apt to swing too far. Our modern girl may be in danger of
losing some of the charm of girlhood. We know that to be truly happy and
well adjusted to life, a woman must be thoroughly feminine, and, with this
ideal in mind, Wapomeo girls are developing initiative and
resourcefulness in recreational activity...At the same time they are being
exposed to the most wholesome and inspiring influences of a truly artistic,
esthetic [sic] and feminine nature.174
EnsurLQJWKDWWKH³SHQGXOXP´GLGQRWVZLQJWRRIDUFUHDWHGGLIIHUHQFHVLQJLUOV¶
camp culture compared to that of boys camps. In terms of activities, focus on
creativity and handicrafts was one of the main differences.
Creative work such as basketry, beadwork, handicrafts, pageantry, storyWHOOLQJZHDYLQJDQGGUDPDWLFVZHUHUHJXODUDFWLYLWLHVDWJLUOV¶FDPSVDQGFHQWUDO
WRJLUOV¶XQLTXHFDPSFXOWXUH175 7KH*%&EURFKXUHFLWHG³GRLQJFUHDWLYH
ZRUN´DVRQHRIPRVWLPSRUWDQWIHDWXUHVRIWKHFDPS³All kinds of talents
blossom forth under the opportunities that are provided for amateur dramatics,
storytelling, writing in the Camp-SDSHUDQG$UWVDQG&UDIWV´176 At Tanamakoon
178
Figure 5.7: Dramatics at Camp Northway sometime between 1912 and 1916.
White Album, 72-007/1/8, TUA.
handicrafts, such as ceramics, leather work, pewter, and weaving gave campers
³WKHRSSRUWXQLW\RIGHYHORSLQJWKHLUFUHDWLYHDELOLW\DQGJDLQLQJDVHQVHRI
DFKLHYHPHQW´177 Ethel Statten encouraged handiwork as a form of leisure for
girls. She explained:
Our grandmothers knew something of the joy that comes from creating
simple and useful things. They had no time to be lonesome. There was
always plenty to do. But our modern housekeeping gadgets have provided
the woman of today with an abundance of leisure time. How best to utilize
it, is a problem that remains unsolved for many. An absorbing hobby of a
creative nature is the best solution.178
Handicrafts gave Wapomeo campers some downtime from the more physical
activities. Ethel Statten stated WKDW³,WLVYHU\VDWLVI\LQJDIWHUDUDWKHUVWUHQXRXV
period of riding, paddling, sailing or swimming to sit down with a group of
congenial camp mates and engage in some restful handiwork´ (see Figure
179
5.11)179 Weaving was one of the most popular handicrafts at Wapomeo. In the
Weaving Shop there were old fashioned spinning wheels and looms of various
sizes. Campers made rugs, scarves, bags, and other items for home.180
Figure 5.8: Dancing on the dancing platform at Wapomeo.
Wapomeo brochure, 1926, TSCA.
Posture classes, remedial gymnastics, and dancing were activities also
reserved for girls only demonstrating the incorporation of physical education
SUDFWLFHVLQWRJLUOV¶FDPSSURJUDPVFor instance, Pine Tree Day at Tanamakoon
was a day devoted to good posture. Prior to Pine Tree Day campers with good
posture were nominated. A secret group of counselors, usually those from MES,
watched the nominated campers for a week prior to the day to see if they
deserved the Pine Tree.181 Similarly, Fannie Case began the Blue Trees in which
those at camp with the best posture and table manners became Blue Trees.182 In
1936, DW:DSRPHRWKHUHZDV³JUHDWLQWHUHVW´LQSRVWXUHFODVVCampers
180
Figure 5.9: 'LVSOD\LQJWKH³JUDFHIXO´VSRUWRI archery at Wapomeo.
Wapomeo brochure, 1937, TSCA.
participated in general corrective exercises/gymnastics for ten minutes daily after
morning swim.183 Tanamakoon also offered optional corrective gymnastics.184
Activities like archery (see Figure 5.9)UHIHUUHGWRDVD³SUHWW\VSRUW´were
discussed in terms of feminine qualities and posture. In 1931, the archery
instructor at Wapomeo explained:
There is a definite beauty in the weapons themselves...The posture also is
one of erect grace and fine bearing, the head up, and the body in perfect
balance...The strong pull across the chest and shoulders that comes with
each drawing of the bowstring will square your shoulders and force you to
use your chest muscles. The need for good balance and muscle control
will form a habit of grace, and of coordination.185
Though Hamilton did not want to spend too much time on activities that could be
done in the city, she made an exception for tennis, remedial exercises, and
English country dancing.186 Wapomeo also offered dancing (see Figure 5.8), and
LQ$GHOH(EEV(WKHO6WDWWHQ¶VGDXJKWHUVXJJHVWHGhiring a dance
181
Figure 5.10 and 5.11: GBC campers basket weaving (above). Wapomeo
handicrafts (below). Wapomeo brochure, 1926, TSCA; 82-009/3/3, TUA.
182
instructor to teach regular classes the following season.187 In building a camp
VRFLHW\DWJLUOV¶FDPSPRUHWUDGLWLRQDOIHPLQLQHDFWLYLWLHVVXFKDVKDQGLFUDIWV
were integral to maintaining levels of acceptable femininity.
Courageous and educated women, most of whom established careers,
started the camps discussed in this chapter. Their personal belief systems and
ideas about femininity influenced the vision for their camps and contributed to the
unique camp culture they created. Similar to ER\V¶ camp, JLUOV¶ camp directors
endeavoured to distinguish the camp experience from school and city life in order
to instil appropriate character into their charges. In order to do so, certain
elements were put in place to ensure that camp was seen as special, unique,
and a place that campers wanted to be. At camp, girls had the opportunity to
participate in activities that were unavailable in the city, such as building cabins,
woodcraft, and campcraft. Because physical activity was such an important
component of the camp culture, many campers carried this commitment to be
active back to the city and were motivated to take up new sports. In addition, the
rustic lifestyle and basic buildings were welcomed by most girls and emphasized
the anti-modern context of camp.
While there were many examples of pushing the boundary of femininity in
these mostly female communities, there were also examples of conformity to
traditional femininity through the prominence of handicrafts, dramatics, and good
posture in the camp programs. This created a tension between embracing and
challenging femininity that was very much a feature of gender ideology in the
early twentieth century. Women were pushing boundaries, not only in physical
183
activity, but also in politics, education, and sport in general. The isolation of
private JLUOV¶ camps meant there was a freedom from restriction. Girls had the
opportunity to explore, thereby challenging traditional femininity. While camp
directors encouraged this exploration, they were also influenced by prevailing
ideology at a time that distinguished between activities that were suitable for girls
and women and those that were suitable for boys and men. These conflicting
ideologies and shifting boundaries contributed to a distinctive camp culture
created by these pioneering female directors.
184
Endnotes
1
Mary Northway, 83-002/002/005, SVRC, TUA
2
Mary 1RUWKZD\³&DPSLQJZDV$OZD\VDQ$GYHQWXUH´-007/5/5, OCA, TUA.
3
1RUWKZD\³&DPSLQJ ZDV$OZD\VDQ$GYHQWXUH´78$
4
1RUWKZD\³&DPSLQJZDV$OZD\VDQ$GYHQWXUH´78$
5
Sue Ebbs, interview by author, June 11, 2009, Bradford, Ont.
6
Ludemus, 1918, Havergal College Library; The Branksome Slogan, 1919, Branksome Hall
Archives [hereafter BHA]³7KHBSS Jubilee Record 1867-´V(GXFDWLRQ%R[Bishop
Strachan School Archives [hereafter BSSA].
7
Ludemus, 1925, Havergal College Library
8
Ludemus, 1925, Havergal College Library
9
G.B.C. brochure 1923, 72-007/1/2, OCA, TUA.
10
Camp Tanamakoon brochure, 1926, 08-005/1/1, Camp Tanamakoon Fonds [hereafter Tan],
TUA.
11
Tanamakoon, interview by author, June 15, 2009, Toronto, Ont.
12
E.M. Knox, The Girl of the New Day (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1919),19.
13
Ludemus, 1923, Havergal College Library; Ludemus, 1918, Havergal College Library;
14
The Branksome Slogan, 1919, BHA.
15
Colin D. Howell, Blood, Sweat and Cheers: Sport and the Making of Modern Canada (Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 2001), 111.
16
Caroll Smith Rosenberg DQG&KDUOHV5RVHQEHUJ³7KH)HPDOH$QLPDO0HGLFDODQG%LRORJLFDO
9LHZVRI:RPHQDQGWKHLU5ROHLQ1LQHWHHQWK&HQWXU\$PHULFD´in From µ)DLU6H[¶ to Feminism:
Sport and the Socialization of Women in the Industrial and Post-Industrial Eras, ed. J.A. Mangan
and Roberta J. Park (London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd, 1987), 14.
17
+HQU\0DXGVOH\³6H[LQ0LQGDQGLQ(GXFDWLRQ´Fortnightly Review Ed. J. Morley (Jan 1 ±
June 1 1874): 468.
18
Howell 111.
19
Smith Rosenberg and Rosenberg 14.
20
Maudsley 468.
21
Kathleen E. McCrone, Sport and the Emancipation of English Women (London: Routledge,
1988), 104; Richard Holt, Sport and the British (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989), 89.
185
22
Kathleen E. McCrone, ³3OD\8S3OD\8S$QG3OD\WKH*DPH6SRUWDWWKH/DWH9LFWRULDQ*LUOV¶
Public Schools´in From µ)DLU6H[¶WR)HPLQLVP6SRUWDQGWKH6RFLDOL]DWLRQRI:RPHQLQWKH
Industrial and Post-Industrial Eras, ed. J.A. Mangan and Roberta J. Park (London: Frank Cass &
Co. Ltd, 1987),100,102.
23
0F&URQH³3OD\8S´120.
24
-HQQLIHU$+DUJUHDYHV³9LFWRULDQ)DPLOLVPDQGWKH)RUPDWLYH<HDUVRI)HPDOH6SRUW´in
)URPµ)DLU6H[¶ to Feminism: Sport and the Socialization of Women in the Industrial and PostIndustrial Eras, ed. J.A. Mangan and Roberta J. Park (London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd, 1987),
142.
25
Ludemus, 1928, Havergal College Library
26
The Bishop Strachan School Magazine, BSSA (Midsummer 1922).
27
Andy Lytle, as quoted in Brian McFarlane, Proud Past, Bright Future: One Hundred Years of
Canadian Women's Hockey (Toronto: Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd, 1994), 79.
28
Lytle, as quoted in McFarlane, 79.
29
The Calendar of Branksome Hall, BHA (1919).
30
The Bishop Strachan School Magazine, BSSA (Midsummer 1924); M. Ann Hall, The Girl and
WKH*DPH$+LVWRU\RI:RPHQ¶V6SRUWLQ&DQDGD (Peterborough: Broadview Press Ltd, 2002),
28, 29.
31
Ludemus, 1920, Havergal College Library.
32
³'HPRQstration of Physical Education by the Girls of BSS-)HE´6SRUWV-Demonstration,
BSSA
33
Ludemus, 1928, Havergal College Library
34
The Bishop Strachan School Magazine, BSSA (Midsummer 1939).
35
Ann Hall, 29.
36
Don Morrow and Kevin B. Wamsley, Sport in Canada: A History (Toronto: Oxford University
Press, 2005), 190.
37
Morrow and Wamsley, 192-193; Hall, 30.
38
Hall, 30.
39
Hall, 30.
40
Hall, 27, 28.
41
Hall, 29.
42
³7KHBSS Jubilee Record 1867-´V(GXFDWLRQ%R[BSSA
43
-HVVLH:ULJKW³(GLWRULDO´The Branksome Slogan, 1925, BHA.
186
44
-HVVLH:ULJKW³(GLWRULDO´The Branksome Slogan, 1925, BHA.
45
The Calendar of Branksome Hall, 1929, BHA.
46
Hall, 28.
47
Catherine Steele, LQWHUYLHZWUDQVFULSWLQ3DXOLQH2ODIVRQ³6SRUW3K\VLcal Education and the
Ideal Girl in Selected Ontario Denominational Schools, 1870 -´0$WKHVLVWKH8QLYHUVLW\RI
Windsor, 1990), 186.
48
$QQD+/DWKURS³(OHJDQFHDQG([SUHVVLRQ6ZHDWDQG6WUHQJWK%RG\7UDLQLQJ3K\VLFDO
&XOWXUHDQG)HPDOH(PERGLPHQWLQ:RPHQ¶V(GXFDWLRQDWWKH0DUJDUHW(DWRQ6FKRROV´3K'GLVV, University of Toronto, 1997), 34, 37.
49
Lathrop, 37.
50
Lathrop, 34, 64.
51
Lathrop 75.
52
Lathrop 77.
53
³3DWULRWLF )HWH´6SRUWV-Demonstration, BSSA; Lathrop 128.
54
Emma Scott Raff, as quoted in Lathrop, 82.
55
Emma Scott Raff, as quoted in Lathrop, 82.
56
Lathrop, 112.
57
0DU\6(GJDU³$PRQJ2XUVHOYHV´-007/5/5, OCA, TUA.
58
Lathrop, 106.
59
Elizabeth Pitt Barron, as quoted in Anna H, /DWKURS³)URP(OHJDQFHDQG([SUHVVLRQWR6ZHDW
and Strength: Physical-(GXFDWLRQDWWKH0DUJDUHW(DWRQ6FKRRO´Framing Our Past: Canadian
:RPHQ¶V History in the Twentieth Century, eds. Sharon Anne Cook, Lorna R. McLean, and Kate
2¶5RXUNH0RQWUHDl and Kingston: McGill University Press, 2001), 198.
60
Mary G. Hamilton, The Call of the Algonquin: A Biography of Summer Camp (Toronto: Ryerson
Press, 1958), 6.
61
Lathrop, 150, 165.
62
Lathrop, 155.
63
(GJDU³$PRQJ2XUVHOYHV´2&$78$
64
Lathrop, 149.
65
The Calendar of Branksome Hall, (1929), BHA.
66
Lathrop, 156.
187
67
Wapomeo brochure, 1926, Box 1-28, TSCA.
68
Fanny L. Case, The Story of Northway Lodge 1906-1942, 72-007/1/19, OCA, TUA.
69
Case, OCA, TUA.
70
Case, OCA, TUA.
71
Charles Plewman, as quoted in John Latimer, Maker of Men: The Kilcoo Story
(Transcontinental Printing, 1999), 20-³7KH'D\V/HDGLQJWRWKH)RUPDWLRQRIWKH2&$´007/2/11, OCA, TUA.
72
73
C.A.M. Edwards, Taylor Statten: A Biography (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1960), 98-99.
Adele Ebbs, 83-002/002/010, SVRC, TUA
74
Mary Northway 2, 83-002/005/024, SVRC, TUA.
75
Adele Ebbs 2, 83-002/010/009, SVRC, TUA; Sue Ebbs interview.
76
Camp Wapomeo is an exception as it was established as a sister camp to Camp Ahmek by
Taylor and Ethel Statten and not by a woman on her own.
77
Northway, SVRC, TUA.
78
Jocelyn Palm, Legacy to a Camper: The Story of Mary S. Edgar (Toronto: The Canadian
Camping Association, 1982), 6.
79
Palm, 8.
80
Palm, 8; GB Brochure [nd], 72/007/1/3, OCA, TUA.
81
³0DU\6(GJDU´ 82-010/1/5, Mary S. Edgar fonds [hereafter MSE], TUA.
82
Northway 2, SVRC, TUA.
83
Northway, SVRC, TUA.
84
Case, TUA.
85
Brookes Prewitt ed. Camp Northway: The First One Hundred Years, 42.
86
Case, TUA.
87
Prewitt, 42, 70.
88
Northway, SVRC, TUA.
89
Northway, SVRC, TUA.
90
Northway, SVRC, TUA.
91
Northway, SVRC, TUA.
188
92
0DU\/1RUWKZD\³&DPSLQJZDV$OZD\VDQ$GYHQWXUH´-007/5/5, OCA. TUA.
93
Hamilton, 7.
94
Hamilton, 12.
95
Hamilton, 18.
96
Hamilton, 13.
97
Hamilton, 14.
98
Hamilton, 19.
99
Ann Russe Prewitt, as quoted in Prewitt, 67.
100
Prewitt, 67.
101
Case, TUA.
102
Pollee Phipps Hruby, as quoted in Prewitt, 58.
103
Phipps Hruby, as quoted in Prewitt, 58.
104
Case, TUA.
105
Hamilton, 34.
106
Hamilton, 35.
107
Hamilton, 37.
108
Hamilton, 117.
109
Hamilton, 38.
110
3DOP³:DS1HZV,WHPV´76&$.
111
Wapomeo brochure, 1926, TSCA.
112
GBC 1922 brochure, as quoted in Palm, 14.
113
Camp Tanamakoon brochure, 1927, 08-005/1/1, Tan, TUA.
114
Hamilton, 46.
115
(GJDU³$PRQJ2XUVHOYHV´78$
116
GBC 1922 brochure, as quoted in Palm, 14.
117
Northway 2, SVRC, TUA.
118
Prewitt, 21.
189
119
Prewitt, 66.
120
Prewitt, 65.
121
William James, as quoted in Prewitt, 70.
122
Joyce Plumptre Tyrell, as quoted in Prewitt, 42.
123
Prewitt, 42.
124
Hamilton, 6.
125
Hamilton, 6.
126
'DYLG6&KXUFKLOO³2UJDQL]HG:LOGHUQHVV7KH$OJRQTXLQ&DPSVDQGWKH&UHDWLRQRIWKH
Modern WilderQHVV´LQUsing Wilderness: Essays on the Evolution of Youth Camping on Ontario,
ed. Bruce W. Hodgins and Bernadine Dodge (The Frost Centre for Canadian Heritage and
Development Studies, Trent University, 1992), 116-117.
127
Lathrop, 130.
128
F.N.C. Buchmann, as cited in Lathrop, 131.
129
Lathrop, 133.
130
Tanamakoon interview.
131
Wapomeo brochure, 1937, Box 1-27, TSCA.
132
Hamilton, 20.
133
Hamilton, 145.
134
Palm, 14.
135
GB Brochure [nd], 72/007/1/3, OCA, TUA.
136
Barb Gilchrist and John Gilchrist, 83-002/005/017, SVRC, TUA.
137
Palm, 21.
138
John Barry, Environment and Social Theory (London and New York: Routledge, 1999), 110.
139
Susan R. Schrepfer, 1DWXUH¶V$OWDUV0RXQWDLQV*HQGHUDQG$PHULFDQ(QYLURQPHQWDOLVP
(Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2005).
140
Patricia Jasen, Wild Things: Nature, Culture and, Tourism in Ontario, 1790-1914 (Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 1995, 50.
141
Wapomeo brochure, 1926, TSCA.
142
Wapomeo brochure, 1937, TSCA.
190
143
Mary S. Edgar, as quoted in Palm, 30-31.
144
Camp Northway brochure, 1907, 78-006/25/26, OCA Additions, TUA.
145
Wapomeo brochure, 1937, TSCA.
146
Palm, 16.
147
Brookes Prewitt, interview by author, May 12, 2009, Niagara-on-the Lake, Ont.
148
Camp Northway brochure, 1907, OCA Additions, TUA.
149
Northway Lodge Brochure, 1914, OCA Additions, TUA
150
Camp Northway brochure, 1907, OCA Additions, TUA.
151
Northway Lodge Brochure, 1926, OCA Additions, TUA.
152
The Scroll 1926 and 1928 72/007/1/3, OCA, TUA.
153
The Scroll 1926 and 1928 72/007/1/3, OCA, TUA.
154
The Scroll 1926, OCA TUA.
155
The Scroll 1926, OCA, TUA.
156
The Scroll 1928, 72/007/1/3, OCA, TUA.
157
The Scroll 1931, 72/007/1/3, OCA, TUA.
158
The Scroll 1928, OCA, TUA.
159
GB Brochure [nd], OCA, TUA; Camp Tanamakoon brochure, 1926, Tan, TUA; Case, TUA;
Wapomeo brochure, 1937, TSC
160
Northway, SVRC, TUA
161
Hamilton, 115-116.
162
Hamilton, 117.
163
Wapomeo brochure, 1926,
164
Case, TUA.
165
Mary S. Edgar, as quoted in Palm, 32.
166
Hamilton, 20.
167
Wapomeo brochure, 1937, TSCA.
168
The Scroll, 1928, OCA, TUA.
169
Hamilton, 20.
191
170
Case, TUA.
171
Wapomeo brochure, 1926.
172
³Ahmek BDU5HTXLUHPHQWV´%R[-22, TSCA.
173
Elizabeth Shapiro, email interview by author, May 3, 2009.
174
Wapomeo brochure, 1937, TSCA.
175
Palm, 14; Camp Tanamakoon brochure, 1926, Tan, TUA; Wapomeo brochure, 1937, TSCA.
176
G.B.C. brochure 1923, TUA.
177
Hamilton, 121-122.
178
Wapomeo brochure, 1937, TSCA.
179
Wapomeo brochure, 1937, TSCA.
180
Wapomeo brochure, 1937, TSCA.
181
Hamilton, 144.
182
Brookes Prewitt interview.
183
)ORUDQQH(0DUW\Q³:DS'DQFLQJ´%R[-167, TSCA.
184
Camp Tanamakoon brochure, 1926, Tan, TUA.
185
'RULH+DUYH\³$UFKHU\´Canoe Lake Echoes 4.3 (June 1931) 82-016/2/8, RHP, TUA.
186
Hamilton, 20.
187
)ORUDQQH(0DUW\Q³:DS'DQFLQJ´TSCA; $GHOH(EEV³:DSRPHR&DELQHW± ´
1938, Box 5-167, TSCA.