Camp Tannadoonah History
Since 1921, Camp Tannadoonah has been providing camping opportunities for children and adults alike. Campers have come from as far away as Japan, although most are from Indiana and Michigan. Camp Fire USA, (formerly Camp Fire Girls, Camp Fire, Inc., and Camp Fire Boys and Girls) has been a leader in camping since 1910 when Luther and Charlotte Gulick began the program at Lake Lodge in Maine. Camp Fire Girls changed its name to Camp Fire, Inc. in 1976 and opened its doors to boys. Camp Tannadoonah followed suit in 1979.
Camp Tannadoonah is owned and operated by Camp Fire USA River Bend Council (formerly Michiana Camp Fire). When Camp Fire Girls started "on their own" in 1921, it was in true pioneer fashion. They opened the "Wohelo Camp" at Pleasant Lake, Edwardsburg, Michigan that year under the direction of Col. and Mrs. C. Seymour Bullock. It wasn't until the third season that they adopted the name of Camp Tannadoonah. They opened the season with 20 girls and 4 tents. One was used for the kitchen area and dining under cover in case of rain, two for sleeping and the fourth for supplies. They did their own cooking over a cook stove out in the open, washed their dishes in the lake, and one girl usually walked into Edwardsburg each day for supplies. Their icebox was a stone lined dug-out in the side of a hill. The cost per girl for each session was $3.00.
Camp Tannadoonah moved to its present site on Birch Lake, in Vandalia, Michigan in 1930. It is licensed by the State of Michigan, and accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA). An old farmhouse "cottage" at the top of a 100-foot bluff and a small sleeping cottage that became the infirmary formed the nucleus of the new camp. Both buildings are still very much in use on the 45 acre site. The "cottage" is now known as Main Lodge, where the director lives, and the staff gathers. The guest house is now the camp store, and the handcraft building.
The dining hall from Pleasant Lake was moved to the new location and attached to the back of Main Lodge. A portable schoolhouse was moved and rechristened Copp Lodge. Sleeping cabins were donated by the Luta Koda Camp Fire Group, the Exchange Club and the Rotary Club. The Exchange members also donated a canoe and boats and put in cement steps winding down to the waterfront. Senior Lodge (Handcraft building), the Exchangettes (renamed Druids), Demolay, and Wallace cabins were added. Two cabins for Bluebirds were built to accommodate the younger campers.
Since its small beginnings, the camp has been enlarged to include 7 sleeping cabins and Morris Lodge. The lodge was donated in 1938 by E. M. Morris, to house 25 campers and 3 staff, and to provide a large indoor common room with a fireplace. In the late 1940s, a large "H" shaped pier was built to provide for an extensive waterfront program including Red Cross Certified Swimming Classes, sailing, rowing, canoeing, and kayaking. In 1954 the modern dining hall was built to seat 176 through a bequest by Laura B. DeRhodes. The infirmary was donated by the Kiwanis club, and houses the nurse and medical facilities. In 1990 the shower house was built to provide campers with hot water and shower facilities.
A staff of at least 24 - all at least 18 years or older - is hired for the resident camp season. Professional cooks and a licensed nurse are included in the support staff and the college-age counselors work in the programs of the camp.
In addition to the resident camp program, which runs from mid-June through mid-August, Tannadoonah is the site for weekend camping in the late spring and early fall for Camp Fire USA groups from South Bend, Mishawaka, Nappanee, Goshen, LaPorte, and the surrounding Michiana area. Mid and late August see groups from churches, athletic teams, and school bands using the facilities.
Timeline
- 1930 The camp site moved from Pleasant Lake, Edwardsburg
- 1930 Five cabins built (Luta Koda, Exchangettes, Exchange, Rotary, Wallace)
- 1930s Copp Lodge was moved to Birch Lake from the old camp site on Pleasant Lake (This lodge no longer exists)
- 1938 Demolay cabin built (This cabin no longer exists)
- 1938 Morris Lodge built (donated by E. M. Morris)
- 1940 Flagpole given by the Fraternal Order of Police
- 1941 Kiwanis Club built the Health Center
- 1948 Stairway to the waterfront built by Exchange Club
- 1948 New pier was built from Donut Sales
- 1952 One hundred trees were donated by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Fitch
- 1953 Blacktop play area was built with funds saved from Cookie Sales
- 1954 Laura B. DeRhodes Dining Hall Built
- 1955 Two Bluebird Cabins built (from DeRhodes fund)
- 1960 MishaBend Kiwanis Club gave a Dwyer Kitchen Unit for the infirmary
- 1963 Seawall was constructed from funds from candy sales
- 1968 stairway replaced by a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Fitch
- 1971 Three cabins were constructed on Candy Hill to be used for Senior Girls unit. Construction was done by volunteers and members of the apprentice class of the Carpenters Union. A wash house with two showers, two sinks and three stools was constructed in 1971. Fixtures, well, and pump were donated by the plumbers Assn. Mr. Richard White was instrumental in this donation. This unit was completed in 1975. (The Candy Hill property is no longer a part of Camp Tannadoonah)
- 1990 Shower house built to provide hot water and showers for campers
- 1999 New archery shed constructed
- 2004 Murphy Memorial Sports Complex built to provide new tennis facilities for campers, in memory of Mrs. Jo Murphy, camp director from 1971-1997
- 2009 Tennis Courts surfaced and new nets installed at the Murphy Memorial Sports Complex. Also built new sports shed and memorial wall.
