Camp Hayo-Went-Ha held its first summer beginning on August second, 1904. The original camp was an all-boys camp. In 1993 girl’s camp was added at a separate site and the two camps became collectively known as Hayo-Went-Ha Camps. Each location has its own unique history but are cemented together through mission and ancestry.
HISTORY
ESTABLISHED IN 1904
BOYS CAMP
Torch Lake (1904-pres.)
Camp Hayo-Went-Ha for boys began in 1904 and is one of the oldest camps on its original site in the country. Hayo-Went-Ha was established during the tail end of the Camping Movement (1881-1910). This was a period where camps with specific programming tailored to children were being established. At that time camps were established for any number of reasons including health, religion, education, and wilderness adventure.
At the time of its creation, the stated objective of Hayo-Went-Ha was “to provide two weeks of healthful recreation and out-door life under the careful leadership of a corps of earnest Christian men who can help cultivate a manly Christian character among the boys.” – State YMCA Newsletter 1904
The men who founded Hayo-Went-Ha were seeking “some place where, under such supervision, the boys can be given all the freedom they need to have to have a rollicking good time, and yet under wise discipline and watchful care so that accidents and illness will be practically unknown…” – State YMCA Newsletter 1903
Please call (231) 544-5915 or email registrar@hayowentha.org to purchase a history book.
On The Sloping Pine Hills
100 Years of YMCA Hayo-Went-Ha Camping (1904-2004)
Torch Lake Summers
Growing Up at Camp Hayo-Went-Ha
GIRLS CAMP
Arbutus Lake (1914-pres.)
Sisters Clara and Emilie Sargent knew of Arbutus Lake because their parents built one of the first houses along the southwest end. The two University of Michigan students thought it would be a good place for a summer camp. In 1914, they joined with friend and classmate Margaret Steere to start a camp on their parents’ property in the north woods. It was for college freshman and sophomores; and juniors and seniors, such as themselves, were the counselors. Outdoor camps were taking off across the East and Midwest, and they were considered valued activities for young people to stay in touch with nature in an industrializing world. Camps for only girls were a recent idea.
After much haggling from Hayo-Went-Ha alumni and family campers, the boys’ camp director, K. Patrick Rode, started a camp for girls in 1993. A group rented a facility on a small lake called Bows between Gaylord and Boyne City. In 1996 Camp Hayo-Went-Ha purchased Camp Arbutus. It would take years to blend the two cultures, but what emerged was a new entity Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha. The program and activities are Hayo-Went-Ha throughout, but the camp still maintains deep affection for the Arbutus history, alumni, and traditions.
Please call (231) 544-5915 or email registrar@hayowentha.org to purchase a history book.
Our Piney Wood Hills
A 100 Year History (1914-2014)