HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1972-08-03, Page 17George Simons, di .rector of the camp and chairman of the board of directors for "Goderich Summer
School Inc. ' holds open the flap of the one of the tents at the camp. The tents are on a wooden base, with
bui•It-in. bunk's.
Upon entering the. camp, a 400 -year-old Iroquois `radian greets
you. Artist Jai* McLaren is creditedwith the,painting of this
authentic Indian.
Mrs. Ethel Furtney ofSt, Marys gives, religious instruction in the cool shade to a group of campers
during a "Discovery" session.
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'Camp counsellors play games on the lawn with a group of young campers. To the left can be seen the
swimming pool where other couniel tors are giving swimming lessons..In the background is one of the
cabins that sleep between eight and ten campers,. In the foreground is the games court where .activities
such as volleyball:, basketball, soccer and tennis are played.'
d Ayoung camper smiles obligingly for the camera after mailing a letter., The old building is also used
for registration at the camp,
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This is the last
Summer School
of the original cabins at Camp Menesetung, built when it was known as Goderich
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1 25 YEAR— 3 1 THURSDAY, AUGUST •3, 1 972 w SECOND. SECTION.
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Going strong for 41 rears
,Y'
Menesetung-th� 1
Camp " Menesetung spreads ,
out before you as you drive u
the. dirt road leading to its
buildings . and, grounds.
The camp, just outside of
Goderich,' is a project of the
Huron -Perth Presbytery of the
United .Church of Canada. It
hasbeen "`rad since 1931,
'when the land was purchased.
At that time :it was. known as
•Goderich Summer School.
You know you've reached the.
camp when -you see the profile -of
an Indian painted on a
:trianglular sign posted„ in the
ground with the words "CAMP
MENESETUNG". The artist
who drew the - Indian is .Jack
McLaren, an associate of the
'Group of Seven. He researched
.carefully to come up with a pic-
ture of the original Iroquois In,
dian who lived peacefully here
about 400 years ago.
The' word "Menesetung", for
which the camp is named, is'an
Indian word that is fast dying
out. It means "laughing waters"
and was applied to the nearby
river.
The camp offers many ".forms
of recreation to its campers. Its
facilities are excellent. Together
• with the natural advantages of '
Lake Huron and the Maitland
River, the camp has a large,
swimming pool with a diving
board.. It also has a games
court, an archery course, •two
different camping grounds, and
buildings for wet weather
recreation.
Scheduled activities at the
camp, are swimming, sports, and
religious instruction, crafts,
music, and camperaft,
Camp Menesetung has five,
camps throughout the summer:
a junior girl's camp for ages
eight to •,teri, a girl's camp for
' ages eleven to twelve, a junior
boy's camp for' ages nine to
twelve, a . co-e.dcamp.. for _ageti
'tth'rteen to fifteen, and a Parents
without Partners camp.
Registration is. between 60 and
70 campers for each camp.
There are eleven cabins on
the grounds, .each cabin holding
eight to ten bunks. There are
four tents in the"`bush and two.
tents on -the other° side Of the
to make the camp run suc
cessfully.
The camp's -business
manager, Mr. Snider, says he
changed the system' in the camp
so that it would pay.. He either
built or revamped most of the
sixteen buildings now here. In
1961 ntw cabins for 76 children
were built. In 1962 a swimming
pool and hospital -,with a nurse.
was added. Then in 1.964 'the
cafeteria, with dining facilities
upstairs for. 190 and downstairs
for 74 campers, was built.
.Mr.. Snider says there are ire
the average 900 children 'a sun
' mer, coming to 'this camp. %Ie
also rents the' camp out on May
and •June weekends. The camp
is already hooked' up ever;i'
weekend in May.
There is a chapel on the,cam'-
pgrounds. It used to be Leeburn
Unifed Church, but was moved
to the camp when th:e
parishioners couldn't afford to
keep it any more. It is a
welcome lonaticrn to the
religion -oriented camp.
'" Co -directors of the junior
boys' cam.p, Mari and Albert
Furtney start the day off for the
boys• 'at 7:30 a.m. with the
ringing of the old hell on the
- grounds. Eight. o'clock is "fags"
-- an old camp term for setting
tables and preparing the dining
hall. Cabin groups take turns
for each meal.
At 8:15 a.m. can be heard the
tired little voices of the boys
trying to bellow out "0
Canada" at the flag raising.
And finally, breakfast is served
to these bundles of energy, with
bottomless pits for stomachs.
' Of course, after breakfast
comes the chores — clean-up.
Finally the noisy, active boys
are split up into their activity
_ groups: sports, crafts, swimming,
discovery, or camperaft. This
goes on until noon, when the
-boys. ==get- : ...ha l f.bour...befor,
i.
lunch to write letters praising or
condemning camp ' life. After
lunch the boys get a rest period
until 2:30, when activities begin
again.
• Then at 4 p.m. each cabin'
does whatever activity it enjoys
most -•_- swilijOtdng, hiking, a
discussion, nature study, debate,
or other ideas,
Before supper is free time
again for more letter writing. At
supper is announcements, mail,
and a sing song. In. the .evening.
there is organized sports for the
children and a campfire or'
evening program. Then before
lights out at 9:45 there is a bed-
time snack,_ The counsellor_4
sleeps in the same cabin as his
charges. ' -
The counsellors play a big
role in a camp, says Mr. Furt-
ney. They are like big brother or
sister to the child, and provide
leadership. They can encourage
a child to take part in activities,
and build up confidence in •
, them. Without counsellors, says
Mr. Purtney a camp couldn't
function.
Canip Menesetung Has come a
long sway from the days --when
the idea was just a seed. Let us
1to,o `that 'the. campgrounds'
remain an ideal site for children
. to enjoy°centuries from now,
gully. These are usually Used for
overnight sleeping. Groups also
get to sleep on the beach, under
the stars.
George Simons, camp direc-
tor, says that a ' little while ago
some campers who were
sleeping on the beach started to
get wet when it began to rain.
They slid under canoes where
they -stayed dr`yaand-eozy-for- the
rest of the night
The camp used to be losing
money, but since Joe Snider
came tenty years ago, the
" camp' can pay for itself. •
fri 1931 it all began when the
property was purchased from a
farmer. Mrs. Mabel Pair, of
Dungannon, who still helps out
at Menesetung, teaching Bible
study at the time and along with
the board, conceived the idea of
• starting a camp.
l uildirrg- unit an 1932•
provided.. Poem. for .76 campers...
Then buai,:'nessmindtd .toe
Snider came in 1952'with a way
dial campsit
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The Leeburn Chapel at Camp Menesetung provides housing for church services for the five groups of
campers thatcomeevery summer. It was once Leeburn United Church, and was donated to the camp. ,
Camp counsellor Sue Simons supervises a young group of girls•stringing beads in the'.craftsbui Iding.
The building was' used as,a cafeteria before the new one Was built.
Children sing and frolic in tho camp's swiminidg pool. The camp pravidis swimming.' inn+ttructors to
teach lesions to the camp's +children,