In the Beginning – Camp Waupaca

Soon after the earth cooled, water covered the place where Camp Waupaca would one day be built. Then there was a mash that covered the spot between the granite and quartz low mountains there. After a while the earth became so cold that glaciers from the north pushed down over the land. As the glaciers pushed back and forth over the land, they ground down the mountains to make them into sand. They also dug out deep ditches that became lakes after the glaciers melted. Forests followed the melting glaciers north.

Over many centuries fish moved into the lakes and people known as Indians occupied the land. Then a new human population drove out the Indians and cut the forest. One of the families to take over the land was named Stratton. They took over all the land around an unnamed lake and called it by their name. In time the Stratton family sold off most of the land to immigrant farmers. The Stratton family had one descendant who lived on the remains of their once large estate. By overuse, the sandy soil was depleted. Sandy soil cannot sustain farm crops forever without the decay of plant and animal remains. By the 1950's the Stratton farm did not have enough life giving nutrients so a farmer could make enough profit to keep working it. The last Stratton family had an auction and put the farm up for sale.

Irving “Skipper” Kuklin and Joe Rosen were looking for a site to build a boy's camp. Skipper had worked at a boy's camp where all the emphasis was on sports. Any boy who was not adept at sports was ignored. Skipper saw that these boys seldom returned for a second year. He wanted a program where every boy could feel comfortable and develop his talents. Joe was a principal of a school and had seen the same kind of problems some boys were not accepted because they were not jocks. Both wanted to give boys a chance to live in a setting where nature played a larger role in their lives.

Skipper and Joe looked all one summer for a site for their camp. They explored sites in Upper Michigan and most of Wisconsin. Everything they looked at did not fit the kind of camp they wanted to build. Sites on polluted rivers, rivers with fast currents, very small lakes, lakes that shrunk in dry spells, and the list of rejected places goes on.

One Sunday, Loretta Kuklin was looking though the want ads in a newspaper. She showed the ad to Skipper of a farm near Waupaca, Wisconsin that had a lake on it. Skipper called the Realtor who was handling the sale of the property and went to Waupaca for an inspection of the farm. Skipper saw the potential of the property for a camp. When Joe looked over the property he agreed that this was what they had been looking for.

They went into Waupaca to see if there would be any racial or religious problems with the surrounding community. The met with Dr. Sam Salan, a respected member of the community. They were glad to learn that there were several Jews living there in peace and friendship with the population. Clover's food and clothing store was owned by a Jewish family and was very popular. The president of the Farmer's State Bank was happy to serve the local banking needs of a Jewish camp. They knew that the camp would be accepted as an asset to the area.

They put down earnest money and began working out the details of the mortgage. That's when the works began. Skipper once said that he did not realize his dream would be so expensive to make it a reality.

They furnished the “white house” and cleaned up the red barn to turn it into a work shop. Trees were planted by Skipper, Joe and their boys. They laid out the site for cabins and a mess hall near the lake. Every chance they had they were at the camp moving the project closer to a functioning camp for boys.

Great Lakes Naval Base was selling the surplus barracks left over from World War II. The barracks that they bought were taken apart and shipped by rail to Waupaca. Clifford Johnson Construction Company, Grant Forest, and Winferd Sterns reassembled the barracks buildings at the sites chosen by Skipper and Joe.

The first year that there were 15 boys at the camp there were Cabins 1 &2 and 3&4. The Mess Hall and Infirmary were also there. The Infirmary was a remodeled garage by the white house with beds for five patients and the camp nurse. Clifford Johnson built all the cabins except for the CIT village.

Potter the plumber dug the pits for the water pumps and pounded sand points to supply the camp with water. He installed the used plumbing fixtures that were salvaged from the Great Lakes Naval Base.

The kitchen was furnished with military surplus stoves, ovens, knives, utensils, pots and pans. Having spent some time as a cook in the National Guard, this room was just like my duty station. Walk in coolers were also rebuilt from military surplus.

The surplus toaster that only worked part of the time was added when I was a counselor.

You might say when the camp came together it was the Great Lakes Navy of the North. Most of the buildings from the 50's to the 70's were made from the bones of the barracks that housed men who fought bravely in World War II. In a sense Camp Waupaca was very historical from the beginning.

The first swimming area called the “Old Beach” when the present beach was established. Water there drops off quickly and is always cold. This is where Cliff and Clem Caldwell mined for marl. Marl is the remains of the shells from sea animals that lived millions of years ago. It was used as lime to spread on the farm fields to enrich them. The sand land in Waupaca County is lacking in lime and other ingredients that make soil fertile.

The “new beach” was developed by digging out marl by scooping it out evenly over a wide area. Then sand from the pit on the edge of the athletic fields was put on the ice in the winter. This process took a couple of years. The result was a sandy bottom swim area and a deep diving area. The deep trench by the ski dock was dug out but not covered with sand.

By 1956 when I came to work at Camp Waupaca the Rec Hall was new, being built a year or two before. It was the favorite place for Loretta to relax and watch the activity on the lake. A tree that hindered her view of the lake was cut and she was delighted.

All the counselor meetings were held there and counselors gathered to enjoy left-overs from the kitchen after their charges were asleep. Here the counselors could exchange the stories of their lives. Rule: The story does not have to be true, but it has to be entertaining.

Winnie Sterns was seen in camp going from cabin bathroom pulling a cart and carrying a brush. In his pocket was a bible. It was Winnie who made sure there was soap at the sinks and in the showers. He also replaced the toilet tissue rolls and sanitized the fixtures. If a counselor was on a break, Winnie would sit at a picnic table and read a passage of his bible to him. I am not sure what bible he used but most counselors found his scriptures interesting.

Grant Forest and Winnie built all the picnic tables for the camp. They consisted of four posts that had been salvaged from the forest set in the ground. The table tops were made from leftover boards from constructing the cabins. The seats were nailed on short posts close to the table. So close that the counselors usually had to stand when they ate on “All Out Day”. Winnie used surplus paint for the tables and benches. It came from a stock of old paint that did not sell at the store. The cans of paint were in all sizes and colors. Winnie had a large paint pail where he poured the paint and stirred it to make a new color. He may have been color blind. The results were bad and some were such a color that if a camper barfed on the table no one would have told the color from the barf. That is except the paint was not mixed with kosher hot dog pieces.

Counselors were to help campers learn good table manners. Say please and do not “short stop” food as it was passed to the boy who had asked for it. These were just two of the most difficult manners to teach. Everyone at the table was to take a “no thank you helping” of a food that was new to them. That included counselors. The portion was to be a table spoon in size. Also as the camp dietitian planned healthy balanced meals, no boy or counselor should fill their plate with just one or two items. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were not to be substituted for the food of a meal except for dinner on Thursday. In spite of these rules there were some who rebelled. They had a talk with the nurse. Still one year a boy at my table did not eat much until Thursday.

Rest hour was strictly enforced. Many days either Skipper or Joe would stop in each cabin to make sure that the first half hour was spent on a bunk time. The first half hour was comic book reading and exchange time in most of my cabins. The second half hour was to be some quiet activity. I am not sure how other counselors coped with this. Chuck Cooper and I always had some activity for the campers.

Any boy's camp would not survive without sports. Of course competition games were played with winners and losers, but often the competition time was devoted to learning skills. The teams were taught the fine points of catching, pitching, and running the bases for baseball as an example. After the practice and lessons “Let the games begin”. Whenever Skipper had a chance he would personally coach a camper who needed to develop skills. He especially liked to coach horseshoes. Years ago Skipper had been the State Horseshoe Champion of Massachusetts.

Saturday afternoon was a staff softball game. At one game Joe was on first base. The next two players struck out. As I stepped up to bat, Joe yelled “Get me home and I'll double your salary”. I made a good hit. The fielder juggled the ball and dropped it. Joe got home and I got to second. I was always sorry that Joe did not remember the double salary.

Sunday was track day. There were not days off on Sunday for counselors so all the camp was involved. Statistics were kept for each boy for each event. Many campers practiced track events during the week so they would improve their stats. During free time most counselors would time or coach individuals who were working on a track event.

Rifle class was the most popular class so there was an age qualification. Boys who could not get a spot on the first two weeks had first chance the second two weeks of camp.

Joe was the one to counsel a boy who was having trouble adjusting to life at camp. You could see Joe with his arm on the back of a camper walking through the camp. The problem could be homesickness, a fight with a cabin mate, or somebody took his best comic book. Joe had a way of helping the boy through the problem.

Before the Friday evening meal, Joe, Mae, and a camper held the ceremony to begin the Sabbath. This was the only time that the crowd in the Mess Hall was truly quiet.

Friday after dinner the cabin had to be dusted and mopped by the campers. Every shelf had the contents folded and refolded until they were perfect. Swim suits drying on the side of the cabin had to be hung in a uniform way so they were neat. When everything was in order the campers and counselors waited at the cabin's picnic table for the call to services.

Friday services at the Rosen Bowl were special. Services were not mandatory for all counselors, yet I cannot remember anyone who did not attend. Campers put on their best clean clothes or cleanest dirty clothes. The mood was solemn. Campers and counselors worshipped their God together as they had been taught. All listened respectfully to the lesson of the week.

Every year there was one learned counselor who would teach the boys who were preparing for their Bar Mitzvahs. The student and the teacher would meet in a quiet place during the second half of rest hour or during free time.

Skipper and Joe were great men to work with. I say this because they made the counselors and other staff a part of the team. They set the goals and coached their “team members” to do their best. There was a feeling that what we were doing together was much more than we could have done on our own. Their dream is not lost as long as a camper or counselor from their days exists.

Manny Desnet and his partners bought Camp Waupaca. They enlarged and upgraded the camp to meet another generation of campers.

Forever and forever, Camp Waupaca lives in our hearts.