Girl Scouts Camp Alice Chester
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About this ebook
Jean Krieg
Author Jean Krieg was a CAC camper in 1970, 1971, and 1972 and a counselor in 1980. As it is for others, CAC is a source of rich memories for her. Photographs featured in Images of America: Girl Scouts Camp Alice Chester were obtained from the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast and the collections of campers and staff.
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Girl Scouts Camp Alice Chester - Jean Krieg
38.
INTRODUCTION
Camp Alice Chester (CAC), also known as the Alice Chester Center (ACC), is recognized today as the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast’s first and only resident (summer) camp, and a much-loved one, at that. Situated on Booth Lake, CAC is located 30 miles southwest of Milwaukee, in East Troy, Wisconsin. It is accredited by the American Camp Association, licensed by the State of Wisconsin, and abides by strict safety guidelines set by the Girl Scouts of the USA.
CAC was a dream made possible by many people, most notably Alice Miller Chester. When Alice and her husband, William, returned to Milwaukee after serving abroad in World War I, a good friend of Alice’s thought she might be interested in Girl Scouting. This was the start of nearly 50 years of local, national, and worldwide leadership in the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts movement.
In 1912, Juliette Low founded the Girl Guides (later renamed Girl Scouts) in Georgia. Thereafter, troops began forming all over the nation. In 1917, Milwaukee’s Troop 1 met at Clarke Street School. The following year, Adelaide Werner became its leader. In 1919, she organized the Milwaukee Council, and in 1921, the constitution and by-laws were adopted, with Alice Chester as the first president.
As Scout camps began to form across the nation, Milwaukee was no exception. Its first Girl Scout camp, known as Beulah Camp or simply Girl Scout Camp, was established in 1922 on rented pastureland at Lake Beulah (East Troy). With a capacity of 32 girls, the camp featured a camphouse, Kenyon tents, and regular wall tents with flooring,
along with activities such as swimming, games, and instruction. For transportation, the electric carfare was 58¢ one way; those motoring took Highway 61 from Mukwonago. The camp continued there in 1923.
When the Beulah site was unexpectedly sold after the summer season of 1923, Alice Chester and Mrs. Robert Phillips began their search for a property to purchase. They found an approximately 100-acre site on nearby Booth Lake. Alice led a successful fundraising effort to purchase it and make it camp-ready.
Originally known as Rose Lake, Booth Lake is glacially formed, with no inlet or outlet, and there are many groundwater springs within its basin. Booth Lake spans 118 acres with a maximum depth of 24 feet and has a one-acre island. Glacial kettles are found in the northwest area of CAC, behind the former Woodland unit. At one time, the property was probably a prairie with oak trees.
Once home to Indians, the area’s pure water, fish, wild berries, and game made it a good site. An Indian mound is thought to exist on the CAC property, but its location is unknown. Another story relates that early settlers on the north shore had a station in the Underground Railroad for slaves seeking freedom in Canada.
For CAC’s first year, 1924, there were eight one-week sessions, each accommodating 72 girls and 14 staff. Camp facilities included a kitchen, dining room, recreation hall, infirmary, Kenyon tents, regular wall tents with flooring, and shacks. Each day, campers participated in any number of the following activities: posting the colors, swimming, basketry, games, nature study, folk dancing, dramatics, and scoutcraft. Included in the list of equipment to bring were two or three blankets, a cheerful disposition, and musical instruments. Sundays and Thursdays were visiting days, with a special campfire held on Thursday evenings.
The 1929 units were Indian, Woodland, and Viking. The 1933 units were Robinhood, Gypsy, Indian, and Viking. Over the years, the Viking name was changed to Frontier, and Indian to Trailblazer, along with the creation of new units: Border Trail, Wilderness, Pathfinder, Walden, and Tappa Wingo, some of which no longer exist.
In 1976, CAC encompassed 416 acres, with access to both Booth and Swan Lakes. Sessions ranging from one to three weeks were offered. For example, the three-week Pedal Pusher program included a 10-day bike trip; the one- or two-week Tappa Wingo sessions were held for girls with learning disabilities.
In 1984, CAC accommodated 156 campers in seven units. The staff supplement booklet described Camp Government
as three levels: the unit, managing program plans and unit issues; the camp council, involving all-camp programs and issues; and the staff council, responsible for staff training, recreation, and issues. Each unit had patrols of six or eight girls, and patrol leaders and assistants were elected. Patrol leaders, the camp council representative, and a unit leader planned the activities for each unit.
As CAC continued to grow and expand, so did its program offering. Among the programs available to campers in 1985 were Drama and Music Dabbler, Pioneers, and Wheel and Sprocket. Some 1989 programs were Curtain Call, Sporting Daze, and Art Attack. In 2004, programs became even more varied and plentiful, with It’s a Small World (exploring African, Chinese, and Latino heritages), Animal Daze (horseback riding, petting farm, observing an owl or hawk close-up), Art Odyssey (jewelry making and fabric art), and Rockin’ High (belaying indoors and climbing at Devil’s Lake).
A Girl Scouts of USA 100th Anniversary Camporee celebration was held at ACC in 2012. More than 1,000 attendees participated in camp activities as well as an aerial photograph of a human trefoil and the numeral 100.
Numerous programs continue to be offered. Highlights from 2013 were Not Your Average Princess (archery, swimming, canoeing, obstacle courses, and scavenger hunts) and Sports Spectacular (volleyball, soccer, tennis, and basketball). Campers could also participate in a 7:00 a.m. polar bear swim, yoga, or aerobics.
The resident camper council meets during the school year so that campers are able to have input into the next summer’s activities as well as the annual T-shirt design and patch.
There is no shortage of enthusiastic praise for ACC from campers and staff. They all have rich memories: making hand-crank ice cream, seeing the northern lights for the first time, cooking a turkey dinner by solar oven, sleeping under the stars, camp names, diving for stones in Booth Lake, hearing the bird songs of the red-eyed vireo and eastern wood-peewee, experiencing a storm, roasting s’mores, signing swim caps (campers) and pillowcases (staff), learning the waterfront buddy tag system, playing crab soccer, taking toothbrush hikes, participating in a hootenanny (watermelon hunt), hearing Tajar play taps, and pitching a pup tent for an overnight at Swan Lake—just to name a few. Many comment that they first learned to appreciate nature’s wonders while at camp.
Throughout it all, experiences were shared, friendships were formed, and confidence was gained, in addition to acquiring life skills, both tangible (like fire building and canoeing) and intangible (like leadership and responsibility). Girls learned more about themselves, as others demonstrated ways of being the persons they wanted to become. The all-female group was unique and powerful, with strong role models. Camp had the security and comfort of belonging to a family. It was an opportunity to shine, to approach life with a