Camp Quidnunc

By Cindy Gavrity

Camp Quidnunc was a Girl Scout summer camp nestled in the idyllic mountains of Harriman State Park in upstate New York. It was in operation from the 1920's into the 1970's and served as a home away from home for thousands of girls over the years. This book recounts fond memories and stories from many of the girls who attended the camp and the effect their experiences have had throughout their lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cindy Gavrity
• Release date: Apr 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370685820

Cindy Gavrity

Cindy is a Wife, Mother, Grandmother, retired nurse, homemaker, lifelong girl scout, and the proud caretaker of three cats and a dog.

Book preview

This book could not have been written without the extraordinary memories of the Camp Quidnunc alumnae. Their stories and experiences helped form the basis of this book. I would like to thank everyone who shared photos and especially the PIPC for sharing their collection of historical data. A big thank you to the girls who took the time to answer my many questions and wrote stories for me.

On a personal note, I would like to thank my husband Peter for reading and editing my rambling thoughts without questioning my mental stability. Also to Judy Henn who assisted in editing the first draft.

Finally, to my parents who made it possible for me to attend camp and strongly suggested I should go.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter 1 - Camp History

Chapter 2 - The Camp

Chapter 3 - Double Decker

Chapter 4 – Infirmary

Chapter 5 - Foot Locker Follies

Chapter 6 - Travelling Girl Scouts

Chapter 7 - Directors and Staff

Chapter 8 – Hikes

Chapter 9 - Canoe Trips

Chapter 10 - Camper Banquets

Chapter 11 - Camp Food

Chapter 12 -Special Events

Chapter 13 - Camp Jobs

Chapter 14 – Worship

Chapter 15 - Scout’s Own

Chapter 16 - Program Aides

Chapter 17 - Roughing It

Chapter 18 - The Lake

Chapter 19 - Opening Campfire

Chapter 20 - Closing Campfire

Chapter 21 - Splash Party

Chapter 22 - Catch Me If You Can

Chapter 23 – Socials

Chapter 24 - Forgotten Places

Chapter 25 – Canteen

Chapter 26 - The Little House

Chapter 27 – Singing

Chapter 28 – Friendship

Chapter 29 - Reunion Time

Chapter 30 - Uppsy Daisy

Chapter 31 - Girls Tales

About the Author

Prologue

A girl’s life in the late 50’s and through the 60’s was changing rapidly no matter what age you were. From preteen to young adult, you were affected biologically, socially and economically. As far as role models went, well, there were very few to look up to or careers to choose from. You had your choice of becoming a wife and mother, a secretary, a teacher, or a nurse. Usually, you followed in your mother’s footsteps, unless you were lucky enough to have experienced living and learning on your own and with the guidance of a leader who could teach you otherwise. You could find all those things at camp.

Camp for the girls of New York City was an escape from the busy, crowded, and hot streets. Escape from boredom, family issues, and the loneliness of not really belonging to one type of group or another, except Girl Scouts! But if you were a teen girl in those days, you didn’t let on that you were still a Girl Scout…It wasn’t cool.

Girl Scout camp for us New York City girls was located in upstate New York, Harriman State Park to be more specific. To us it was home away from home, the most wonderful place on earth, a place where we could swim, canoe, hike, rekindle old friendships, make new friends, and leave all our personal problems behind.

The camp itself sat off a winding road that seemed to twist and turn as it wound around the mountain. Our lake was across the road, and for us campers, it was only accessible by a wooden bridge built over the road. We weren’t allowed to cross the road any other way.

Up in camp we had platform tents in groups of 3 or more that were spread throughout its many acres. Inside each tent were cots with metal springs to sleep on and an orange crate for storing our personal items. The trunks that held our clothes were sent ahead of us and dropped off at each unit for us to pick up and carry to our tents and then store under our beds.

The bathroom facilities were called the La, which basically was a two-sided outhouse with no privacy. There were no showers, bathtubs, or flush toilets. At mealtime, we went to the dining hall. There was a two-story administration building for the director and her staff, called the Double Decker...for obvious reasons...and the infirmary staffed by two nurses.

There was only one paved road into camp. It ran back to the dining hall and it was used to deliver food and supplies. And the famous pump, painted red of course. It sat in front of the DD, and it put out the most delicious, cold, spring water you've ever tasted. Rustic yes; but loved by all.

The stories that follow are actual experiences that we had at camp. Some are funny, some are not. They are tales of young girls learning to be independent, inventive, and open-minded, while cultivating new and lasting friendships. For many of us even now, a song, the smell of pine trees in the woods, or a single picture will evoke memories of those times long, long, ago, and it has affected us so that we have enjoyed seven reunions in the past eight years.

Long live Camp Quidnunc!

Chapter 1 - Camp History

There are many stories about the meaning of the name Quidnunc, and the reasons the camp was so named. Some say it comes from Latin quid nunc meaning what now. It's also been said to describe a person who was forever asking, what now or what’s the news?; hence a gossip-monger. However you want to look at it, the word has been reborn in recent years.

The origin of Camp Quidnunc began in 1925. It was located on Lake Tiorati (T-18) in Harriman State Park. That location was short-lived, existing there for only one year, and then it moved to a larger site on Lower Twin Lake (LTL) in 1926. It stayed there until 1930, when it moved to its final site (K-11) on Little Long Pond, where it remained until 1972 when the camp closed for good. For many years, most of our alumnae thought that the original campsite was located on Lower Twin Lake. Why did they make all the moves? Most likely it’s because they needed a larger area to hold all the girls who wanted to go to camp. Tales of storms and fires have been circulating for decades as the reason for the moves. Credit and kudos go to Boni for saving her staff manual after all these years and bringing this to my attention. Her information at first was surprising...none of us had a clue...but after further research, there it was! Thanks, Boni!

The Little Long Pond property was originally established as a Boy Scout camp named Camp Matinecock. It was there from the beginning of the park, when group camps were first established, all due to the generosity of the Harriman family. Edward and Mary Averall Harriman owned 30,000 acres in Arden N.Y. as part of their estate. They opposed the state's decision to build a prison at Bear Mountain, and wanted to donate some of their land to the state to build a park. A year after the death of her husband in 1909, Mary Harriman proposed to the governor that she would donate 10,000 acres of land and $1 million for the creation of a new State Park. As part of the deal, the state would do away with the plan to build the prison, appropriate an additional $2.5 million to acquire additional land, and construct park facilities. The state agreed, and in 1910, W. Averell Harriman presented a deed for the land and a million dollars to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC), and Harriman State Park was born.

In 1912, Major William Welch constructed a road from Bear Mountain to Sloatsburg, known today as Seven Lakes Drive. There were also numerous other roads completed around Bear Mountain and Dunderberg Mountain to make it easier for people to reach the new park. The park also benefited from a large influx of free labor during the Great Depression, when the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) offered work to thousands of men building roads, trails, camps and lakes.

The group camping program started a little over 100 years ago, with the belief that parks should be accessible to all people, particularly the underprivileged city people who did not have access to fresh air or leisure time. To address the needs of the urban poor, particularly in New York City, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission instituted social relief programs at more than 100 camp facilities in Harriman State Park. Sponsored by social and philanthropic organizations, thousands of New York and New Jersey children came to the park every summer to experience nature. This plan was so successful that it was repeated and implemented throughout many states. Lucky us!!

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Chapter 2 - The Camp

The overall layout of camp through the years has more or less stayed the same, with a few exceptions. The Double Decker (DD) and the infirmary have always remained in their respective places, but we can’t say the same for the dining hall and some of the units.

The original Dining Hall was located just above Neppies Nook and below Sky Blue (which is another story you will hear about). Very rustic looking...what else would it be...built from logs and boards. I believe it even had a wooden slat floor. It served us well until 1963, when the new, updated building was constructed, with new tables, a modern kitchen, and a cement floor. Our new facility also had a new location, in the back of camp where Caravan originally sat. A paved road now led from the DD back to the new Dining Hall.

So where did Caravan go? Caravan, once a pioneer unit, now shared the field with Gypsy Skies. At any given time, there were 8-12 units depending on the years you attended camp. There was Sleepy Hollow, Sherwood Forest, Hundred Acre Wood, Gypsy’s Skies, Caravan, Trails End, Neppies Nook, Hilltop, Journeyman's, Pioneers, and the ever-changing Sky Blue. Sky Blue remained the same until 1960. Then it was renamed Upper Sky Blue and Lower Sky Blue, split up probably because of its size. Over the years, it has also been known by a few other names such as Cricket Hill and the short-lived Rocky Ledges.

Sleepy Hollow was designated for the youngest of our campers, aged seven and eight. They used tent-a-lows instead of the usual platform tents. Tent-a-lows were different because they had wooden sides which went halfway up to the roof. Because the unit housed young, first time campers, it also had its own washing machine, dryer, and refrigerator, just in case they were needed.

Sherwood Forest, Hundred Aker Wood (HAW), and Sky Blue housed girls aged nine to eleven. There was a mixture of new first-time campers, and returning girls. Having experienced campers nearby made the new girls feel more at ease, and it also helped to take the stress off the greener staff that we occasionally had.

Caravan, Gypsy’s Skies, Trail’s End, and Neppie’s Nook were comprised of older girls, and were designated specialty units. The special interests were swimming and boating (waterfront unit), sports and games, and at times a hiking unit. In 1966 there were two waterfront units, Caravan and Trail’s End. The older girls, older by one or two years at the most, were in Caravan and the rest were in Trail’s End. Apparently, there were more girls interested in swimming and boating that year. This wasn’t recalled until one early reunion when