Camp Wapalanne: 1950-1985
Camp Wapalanne is Born
When the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the cabins at the School of Conservation, it was with the intent to create a children’s summer camp. That objective was finally realized when Camp Wapalanne welcomed its first 30 campers in the summer of 1950. Marie Kuhnen was hired to be the director of the new camp, a position she held for its first three summers, from 1950 to 1952. Dr. Kuhnen went on to have a life-long relationship with the School of Conservation as a professor and Biology Department Chair at Montclair State.
In keeping with the mission of the School of Conservation, the camp’s main educational goal was to help campers learn, live, and practice conservation as a way of life. This focus remained a common thread throughout Camp Wapalanne’s history. In the early 1950’s, it took the form of visits to the local Snook Family Farm where campers learned about the conservation practices of the day, including contour farming, strip cropping, and pond irrigation. Campers also had the opportunity to work with college students to develop dioramas focusing on issues in agriculture, forestry, and forest fires. These were displayed at the Sussex County Fair in Branchville.
Camp Wapalanne incorporated elements of the decentralized camping philosophy championed by Dr. Sharp, a pioneer in the camping movement and mentor to the SOC director, Dr. Partridge. While younger campers (8-12 year olds) used the numbered cabins on the hill, older, more experienced campers had their own small campsites where they lived in teepees, handmade shelters, or covered wagons with counselors who were completely responsible for planning and directing their own activities. These experienced campers planned camping and hiking trips to Tillman’s Ravine, canoe trips on the Delaware River, and trips to a campsite west of the Delaware River, during which they prepared three meals a day.
Camp Wapalanne enrollment peaked in 1967. Each summer, campers and counselors bonded within a program that consistently offered structure, tradition, and ceremony. The program continued, with only minor changes, until 1985 when low enrollment, likely due to societal and family changes, made it no longer economically viable.
All-Camp trips, camp songs, meal-time procedures, and ceremonial opening and closing campfires loom large in the shared memories of former campers and counselors. The Camp Wapalanne alumni group has been well-represented at the School’s Anniversary programs, with participants returning from across the country and around the globe. The influence of the camp experience has been credited with directing the career paths of many of its alumni.
Dr. John Kirk
Camp Wapalanne during the Kirk Years
Under Dr. Kirk’s leadership, changes were implemented in the Camp Wapalanne summer program as well. In 1963, Kirk modified the camping philosophy from a decentralized to a centralized approach, giving all campers a cabin or unit as a “home base” and encouraging regular scheduled use of the decentralized sites. The covered wagons scattered around the school’s property were relocated to Frontier Town, across the street from the original climbing wall. Wooden domes designed by maintenance supervisor Millard van Dien at Kirk’s request were built to house the Outpost Units, for campers aged 13-16 (the age was later dropped to 14 in the early 1970s).
In 1965, Dr. Kirk began hiring counselors with specialized skills to offer archery, riflery, boating, crafts, waterfront, and natural sciences to all campers. Each Cabin/Unit had two counselors, paired to deliver a balanced program of Environmental Science and Outdoor Recreation. The camp’s focus shifted from camping education to ecological awareness and environmental education. The length of camp sessions increased from three to four weeks during the summer of 1966. Each cabin and unit had a block of 20 hours a week set aside for nature-oriented activities. During rest hour on Sunday, counselors and campers discussed what projects they would like to undertake during this allotted time. On Sunday evening, the plans developed with the campers would be reviewed with the Camp Director, Program Director, and Environmental Studies Coordinator to ensure that the areas to be studied and their presentation would effectively meet the educational goals and objectives established by the camp.
Decentralized camping was reserved as a demonstration camp project for in-service teachers during the last two weeks of camp when in-service teacher courses were in session. Teachers were able to observe the outdoor teaching techniques employed by the counselors, some of whom were National Life Camp alumni. The age of this counseling staff was considerably older than the average age of camp counselors in general, most of whom were students from New Jersey colleges. With courses for teachers, sessions for visiting foreign students, and summer camp, SOC’s facilities were in continual use during the summer with a schedule that was demanding, time-consuming, and required to be self-supporting.
Camp Sequoya
During the summer of 1963, a new building was constructed on the western side of the School of Conservation’s campus – Lenape Lodge. The large, open dormitory-style building was designed to facilitate special needs participants who were unable to navigate the rocky paths to the cabins on the Wapalanne side of the lake. This allowed for an additional 44 participants to stay at the SOC.
During the first two years of operation, Camp Sequoya housed campers focusing on speech therapy. The Sequoya staff and counselors were Trenton State faculty and college students trained in speech therapy. Campers received intensive therapy using the natural environment to inspire and assist in forming sounds and words. Additionally, campers enjoyed the traditional camp program of nature studies and recreation.
In 1965, Camp Sequoya was used by the Garden School for Emotionally Disturbed Children, providing a one-week camping experience for organically brain-damaged children. In 1966, Camp Sequoya was leased to the Salem County School Districts to conduct a six-week camping program for culturally and socially deprived children. For some years after this camp program ended, Camp Sequoya functioned exclusively as a base for teaching summer graduate courses for Montclair State College.
A. Harry Moore
In 1978, the SOC added a new and dynamic summer camp. Under the direction of Dennis Paparello and Jo Bruno, the camp offered a unique recreational and environmental experience for physically and developmentally challenged youth from the A. Harry Moore School in Jersey City, a laboratory school of Jersey City State College, now known as New Jersey City University. The staff of A. Harry Moore Camp were special education undergraduates at Jersey City State College. They provided supervision and the majority of instruction for the children in attendance. This connection allowed college students to gain hands-on experience working with special needs students while simultaneously receiving college credits.
The students, ages 5 to 21, were offered the opportunity to attend one of three two-week sessions held each summer. Campers experienced arts and crafts, music, swimming, boating, hiking, and a nature program. A special one-day field trip was also conducted each camping session. During its first three years, the A. Harry Moore Camp and Camp Wapalanne shared waterfront staff and nature study programs. Counselors from the School of Conservation provided instruction in the natural sciences and aquatic activities.
The A. Harry Moore Camp was a successful program for two decades at the School of Conservation. In the summer of 1999, the A. Harry Moore Camp program conducted its last season. Difficulty in funding and hiring staff were the main reasons for its conclusion. During the camp’s 21 years at the SOC, it offered a memorable outdoor experience for over 1,500 students and their staff members.