When it comes to camp, most of our memories tend to be centered on people and events. But the various “landmarks” around camp can also play an important role in our camp experience.

 

Seeing the totem pole the first time you pull into camp.  Lounging in the Longhouse on a cold, wet evening. Meeting friends on the basketball court for a quick game of 21. Catching a few rays on the dock on a sunny afternoon. The landmark isn’t the memory, but often it's the peg that the memory hangs upon. 

 

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The Bayer Den –In 1957, the camp committee secured the support of the Mount Hamilton “Y” Men’s Club to fund the creation of a new health centre. Bought at the Sportsman Show in Toronto, it is pre-fabricated log cabin produced by Pan-Abode. Once constructed it had three bedrooms, a sitting area, a small kitchen/dispensing area and indoor plumbing. It was added onto over the years, and eventually became the home of the hemophilia program. Falling into disrepair, it was significantly refurbished through a grant from the Bayer Inc.

 

The Doghouse – Don Hambly recalls “I started as a Junior camper in ’55. You used to cross over the swamp on what used to be a bridge. There was a tiny little cabin just on the other side place called the Doghouse. It only had room for six people — five campers and one counsellor. I was in there my first year.”

 

Corey’s Place (The Old Rattray Cottage, The SC Cottage, The Museum, Outtrippng) – Built in the early 1940’s and bought by the Y in 1964, this building has served many purposes. Beautifully located on 1.5 shoreline acres slightly away from the main campsite, it is now Corey’s Place with a shoreline santuary, amphitheatre and hosts in summer the performing arts programs. It was named in memory of Corey Buffo, a family camper who, in 1998, was diagnosed with a rare heart and lung disease. After Corey’s passing, the Buffo family became lifetime supporters of the camp. “I wanted to help ensure that all children had the opportunity to benefit from a YMCA Wanakita experience, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances,” said Brian Buffo, who became involved in the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign. “Corey’s passing was an unspeakable loss. To know something positive came out of this tragedy has really helped me. In fact, it became a lifeline.”

 

Cumberland House – A log cabin located at the far end of camp.

 

Day Camp Central (a.k.a. The Office, The Ice House) – The history of Day Camp Central is a prime example of camp ingenuity and evolution. Built at the tail end of the 1930s, the two-storey building was originally constructed as an ice house. Ice was cut from the lake in March and hauled up to the ice house. Carefully packed in sawdust to keep it insulated, the ice easily lasted until the fall. Throughout the summer, the ice was hauled, as needed, to the adjacent dining hall where it was used for refrigeration. Records indicate that a new ice house was built in 1942, leaving the structure available for other uses. During the ’50s, ’60s and into the ’70s, the camp’s summer office was located on one-half of the ground floor, while the tuck shop was located in the other half. The office was moved to the Longhouse during the 80’s when the camp started to run year-round and needed winterized office facilities. The tuck shop was moved to the Core in 1991. 

 

Fenton Hall – Built in time for the 1967 season, it served as the dining hall until The Core was built in 1991. It boasts beautiful church-like arches and could easily seat 250 campers and staff. The location of Fenton Hall was a major decision. For several years, development of the camp hung in limbo pending a decision on where to build the new dining hall. When the camp committee settled on a location, the decision was also made to move cabins across the causeway. In short, the way was cleared for expansion. With the construction of an even bigger dining hall in 1991, Fenton Hall’s role as a dining hall came to an end. Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, it has served a dual role – grand hall and craft shop. “If it’s pouring rain and we have an opening campfire, we can fit the whole camp in it – 400-500 of us can be in that hall,” says general manager Steve Heming. The hall is filled with summer history. Each year a new panel is added listing the names of campers and staff for the previous year. The walls and ceilings are lined with such panels, dating back to the early 1970s. The kitchen – where meals were once cooked – now serves as the craft shop. Colourful murals adorn the walls, while the old walk-in refrigeration is used to store craft supplies. In the fall-winter session of 2012-13 Fenton Hall was used again as a dining hall while a new kitchen was being built on the Core.

 

Flagpole – The position of the flagpole has not really changed much over the years, although the pole itself has. In the early years of Lagakelo, the owners decided they needed a flagpole. The chosen location was between the old dining hall and the beach (then known as the girl’s beach). There was a tall, straight balsam in about the right spot. Barney Howe, the aging camp handyman (he was reportedly 65 plus at the time) climbed up the tree with his double-edged axe, cut off the top, installed a rope and pulley, and then worked his way down removing limbs and bark as he went. Near the top of the tree, he had seriously gashed the back of his hand from one side to the other. Rather than climb down and interrupt his work, he simply used balsam gum to seal the wound until he finished the job and got to the doctor.

 

H-Dock – Built to replace the T-dock in the 1960’s, the dock is still in use today at the West Beach. It has been turned 90 degrees, so more accurately should be known as the ‘I’ dock.

 

Health & Wellness Centre East – Renovated in the late 1990’s, this building serves the same purpose as the west Health Centre.

 

Health & Wellness Centre West – With the growth of Wanakita through the 1980s and into the 1990s, the need for a larger health facility became apparent. In the spring of 1995, the camp erected a new health & wellness centre. The new structure was built adjacent to the Old Health Centre (The Bayer Den), on the site of the all-camp campfire circle. (Of course, nobody remembered to dig up the Wanakita Charter first. The charter had been buried in the old campfire circle at the last closing campfire. That led to a bit of a panic just before the next opening campfire, where the charter was to be dug up as part of the ceremonies. Staff searched frantically but could not find it… ) The 2,000-square-foot health centre contains six bedrooms, a full kitchen, dispensary, examination room, nurse’s quarters, office, 4 full bathrooms, and a multi-use area. In the summer, the centre is an active health care facility. In the fall, winter and spring, it provides accommodations for Outdoor centre teachers and groups. The building was raised in what can be described as a modern-day barn-raising: a group of 100 from Toronto volunteered their time and skills over two weekends to put the building up.

 

Kybos –In the early days, kybos were communal: no partitions, just a series of porcelain “thrones” lined up in a row. One kybo boasted six seats (although it was later cut in half to create two three-seaters). With their multiple seats, kybos often became the location for many impromptu “staff meetings” – a place where staff could sit, have a smoke, catch up on the day’s gossip and, of course, use the facilities. “As the times changed and we went from boys to girls, we had to add partitions,” recalls Steve Heming. Not only were the traditional, multi-seat outhouses no longer socially acceptable, they were stretching the environmental envelope. In the mid-1970s, there was a move to more environmentally friendly and less aromatic flush toilets. As Wanakita evolved, more changes occurred. Development of the Core washrooms in 1991 and in 2003 two new major “wash houses” on the West side of camp, complete with proper flush toilets and showers. And all new year-round cabins being planned for the future will have their own bathrooms. (Kybo is an acronym for “keep your bowels open.”)

 

Lagakelo Lodge (WEP, Woodslore, Onalea) – A two-story, barn-like structure with a double hip roof, this building was erected over a long weekend in May 1941. It was originally named Onalea after the wife of the carpenter who helped put up the building. It was designed to provide open space and a room for a program director on the ground floor with sleeping accommodation upstairs for two cabin groups. Over the years, the lodge has had multiple uses and almost as many names. In the early days of Wanakita it was used to house campers and student counsellors. Through the 1960s it was used for woodslore on the main floor and staff accommodation on the second floor. The main floor was converted to a museum in the 1970s. By the 1990s it was being used for outtripping and WEP.

 

Lakeview Lodge Since the building of the Core the dining hall on East has been a very important program building housing crafts, a nature centre and an open hall for major indoor activities. Built in the mid 60’s when the Hockey Camp opened, the lodge is beautifully situated with large picture windows overlooking the East waterfront. It was featured extensively in the film, Camp Rock.

 

Longhouse (a.k.a. The RecHall, New Dining Hall) – Originally a cinder block building, the Longhouse was built as a temporary dining hall. A large stone fireplace made it an ideal place for the camp to congregate for all-camp sing-songs in inclement weather. With the aid of a Wintario grant, the Longhouse was revamped and winterized in the fall of 1977, in preparation for year-round operations. The upgraded building included a lounge area with a second fireplace, several bunkrooms, washroom/shower facilities, and a garage/workshop. A second addition in 1998 allowed the camp to move its registration facilities from its Hamilton office to the Wanakita site.

 

New Directors Cabin – Built in 1979 to accommodate an ever expanding camp this 3 bedroom home was built with large living room and fireplace to accommodate staff meetings. It currently is the home for Wanakita’s General Manager.

 

New Stockade – a smaller stockade was built on the East side of camp after it was purchased from the Hockey Haven. It was in the woods in the area behind the dining hall just at the trailhead for the Ridge Trail.

 

Old Dining Hall – A large and attractive building, it is the only major building that has been torn down. The Dining Hall evolved over time. The original structure, put up by Camp Lagakelo in the spring of 1938, consisted of a closed-in kitchen area with a room at each end, as well as a large dining area that consisted of a large canvas-covered frame superstructure. Because the canvas could not be pulled tight, large amounts of water would collect in the sagging canvas during heavy rains. The accepted way of dealing with this build-up of water was to take the brush end of a broom and carefully push the sagging canvas up until the water flowed over the edge. The dining area was enlarged and fully enclosed for the 1939 camp season, and office space was added. In 1941, two 2-storey additions were added at 45-degree angles to the main structure to create an enlarged kitchen area, more living space for staff, and provide space for an office and tuck shop. This building served as the main dining facility until 1967. Throughout the 1950s, numerous annual reports talked about the poor condition of the building. After a new dining hall(Fenton Hall) was built in 1967, the old dining hall was used briefly as a craft shop. In the late 1960s, it was labeled unsafe for use and was torn down. As you look from Day Camp Central toward the water, you can still see the original concrete steps – now known as the “Steps to Nowhere.”

 

Old Stockade – The stockade began as a pen for raising chickens and later pigs in the 1940s. In his camp memoirs, Garth Kaye noted that his family raised chickens as a special Sunday dinner treat. The chickens were reportedly kept in pens “in the bush behind the boys camp.” When Wanakita moved in, the fortress-like appearance of the stockade with its slat-board walls made it an ideal location for “Indian Pow Wows” during the early days of Wanakita. Large rocks within the stockade were brightly painted with so-called native symbols and a fire pit was added. The walls were replaced with taller log-pole walls. The stockade fell into disrepair and was taken down in 2003 in order to make room for a series of new, winterized cabins.

 

Physo – A three-section motel-style cabin – dubbed Physo Cottage – was donated and built by the Hamilton Y’s Physo Club in the summer of 1954. This cabin is located on the south side of the Government Road outside the main camp area. It has been winterized and is still in use as staff accommodation.

 

Ski Lodge The Ski Lodge was built in 1979 as part of a major capital expenditure to prepare the camp for year-round operations. The lodge provides a home for the camp’s cross-country ski equipment. Located in the playfield, the lodge has easy access to the camp’s 25 kilometres of trails. Before the lodge was constructed, cross-country skis and snowshoes were kept in the Waterfront Cabin during the winter and stored away in the summer. In summer’s the lodge has been used as accommodation for staff.

 

T-Dock – It was the swimming dock in the 60’s with two major rafts. Used as the F canoeing dock in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the same wood and structure was moved to create a bridge to span the inlet to get to the middle beach and Corey’s place.

 

The Bell – As long as anyone can remember, campers at Wanakita have been roused from their slumber by the sound of the bell. It’s believed the original bell was damaged and replaced in 1961. The 1961 annual report notes: “Our new camp bell was a great acquisition and really proved effective.” The bell – believed to be a brass bell from a locomotive – is also used to announce meal times and camp activities. Originally, the bell was located on the second-floor porch of what is now Day Camp Central. When cabins were moved to the other side of the causeway in the late 1960s, the bell was subsequently relocated to a new site adjacent to the West canoeing area where it remains today.

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The Core Built in 1991, Fully winterized to serve the newly expanded(addition of the Hockey Camp property) Wanakita, 14000 sq.ft…upper floor dining and kitchen, lower floor program offices, washrooms,laundry, bulk food storage. It can seat over 500 in summer and has allowed Wanakita to host summer camps and fall/winter/spring school, family and adult groups as well as weddings, conference dinners etc.The dining Hall has always been the central, most important building in camp and the Core took this to a new level.

 

The Duplex – Winterized staff living quarters, the Duplex was built in 1978 as the camp geared up for year-round operations. The Duplex consists of two self-contained staff units, each with its own kitchen and bathroom facilities. A basement dwelling has been created over the years as well. This building was the first official dwelling built specifically to house year round staff.

 

The Old Director’s Cabin A small three-bedroom cottage with a stone fireplace built in the late 1930s, the Old Director’s Cabin is located on the western edge of the camp property on the west side of the Government Road. It was originally built as a rental building where renters could prepare their own meals. After Wanakita bought the camp in 1953 it became the camp director’s cabin. When a bigger and better director’s cabin was built in 1979, the cottage became the home of the assistant director.

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The Old Hospital – Built in 1937, the cabin had two hospital rooms on each side and sleeping quarters in the middle for the camp nurse. This small cabin was originally located on the water’s edge at the end of the Government Road. However, this turned out to be an unfortunate location. Annual reports from the early ’50s noted that the low-lying location created a rather damp environment.

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The Swamp and the Causeways There are two narrow stretches of land separating the lake and swamp on the west side of camp running between the waterfront and the canoeing area. The causeways were built in the mid 1950s to span a stream that runs through camp. When water levels were low, the stream was small enough that campers could almost jump over it. But in the spring and early summer, when water levels peaked, a 15-metre stretch of water divided the camp. In the days of Camp Lagakelo, a rope bridge was built to span the divide. But by the mid-1950s, the bridge needed replacing and, in the fall of 1956, it was replaced with a soil and stone causeway. With the creation of the two causeways a pond was created where wildlife abounds and children over the decades have enjoyed catching frogs and watching for the beavers, snapping turtles and the great blue heron that reside in and around the swamp. As well, many a staff has experienced the dunking in the very weedy, cold and aromatic waters of the swamp after being found guilty in a Kangaroo Court case.

 

The West Basketball court – It was tennis, not basketball, that first prompted construction of the court in 1939. Although the court was upgraded in 1940 and surround netting put up in 1942, tennis never really caught on as a camp activity. By the 1960s, tennis at camp was nothing but a memory. Basketball nets adorned each end of the court and a volleyball net was strung across the middle. During the 1970s, the court was the site of many impromptu volleyball games as campers filed out of Fenton Hall after dinner. With the move to year-round operations in the late ’70s, the court took on new roles as skating rink and broomball court. In 2001, the camp replaced the court’s ragged tar-gravel surface with a smooth layer of asphalt, becoming the first asphalt ever laid at Wanakita. New basketball nets were also installed. The upgrade was made possible through money received from the Fergie Jenkins Foundation. Jenkins, a Baseball Hall of Famer and former Harlem Globtrotter, flew into camp to officially open the newly revamped court.

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The Workshop (The Craft Shop, The Rec Hall) – This a barn-like structure located behind Fenton Hall. Records indicate that the Workshop was built in 1942. Part of the bottom floor once served as a woodslore/crafts centre. Throughout the 1970s, the craft shop was located in the upstairs, while part of the downstairs housed a meeting area for student counsellors. The entire ground floor is currently used as a year round maintenance workshop; the upstairs is used for storage.

 

Ville Marie, Cartier, Hudson (a.k.a. Sunrise, middle waterfront, sailing/out-tripping) – Three cabins built in the spring of 1938, in time for the opening of Camp Lagakelo. The cabins are still located along the shoreline on the west side of camp, near the day camp flagpole. The cabins were given names of places or people from the early days of Canada’s exploration. Up until the mid-1960s, these cabins were used to house summer campers. Since then, the cabins have had various uses. One was used for out-tripping supplies in the 1970s. One is still used as the sailing cabin. All three cabins have, at various times, been used to house staff.

 

Waterfront Cabin – The Waterfront cabin is probably one of five log cabins built in the late 1930s. The cabins are believed to have been built by a group of Finnish men from Scots Dam. Excellent builders of log structures, the men were hired by the owner of Lagakelo to build three cabins on the east side of the swamp, one on the west side, and another for renters just west of the Government Road. Since the 1960s, or perhaps even earlier, the cabin has been used by summer camp staff including the waterfront director. In the later half of the 1970s, it was also used during the winter months as the ski and snowshoe hut.