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"I can never summarize what I feel about Chickagami without expressing my appreciation for the beauty
that is Chickagami, which is a gift from God. The lake, the tall pine trees and occasionally a deer coming down
to the water's edge on the other side for a drink makes us ever mindful of the forces in the world for good,
which we have had the opportunity to appreciate and understand a little better because of our summer at the
camp."
— Ruth Isserman, in a speech to campers at a banquet in 1959
Once Ruth Isserman and her husband, Rabbi Ferdinand Isserman, decided to open a summer camp for girls, the
search for the perfect location began. The two scouted sites along the Atlantic seaboard, throughout Canada and
Michigan, until they found perfection in the unparalleled beauty of Chequamegon National Forest in Wisconsin,
once home to the Chippewa Indians.
The breathtaking, pristine, 85 acres of woodland covered two continuous miles of shoreline. The area had
previously been used by a lumber company, as a training camp for the Notre Dame football team, and as a
Catholic boys camp. Already in place were two large buildings and a dozen small cabins over a campsite of about
10 acres, surrounded by majestic pine trees. A winding country road skirted the property's area leading to the
campground. "As we drove on this road and it descended to the water's edge, we had a feeling of being
completely away from civilization amidst the tall pine trees," Ruth recalled in notes about the camp.
Ruth decided to name the camp Chickagami, or, "on the lake" in the Chippewa Indian language. At the end of
June, 1939, Ruth and those who'd helped her prepare the campsite held their first flag-raising ceremony. Soon,
25 counselors and 60 campers ranging in age from eight to 18, descended from cities throughout the Midwest. "I
remember my thoughts and prayers for camp—the thrill I felt and always experienced as I looked out across
the water at the blue lake—the trees on the other shore, the sailboat at anchor, the brightly painted
canoes, the gleaming white docks and tall pine trees. I pledged to myself to make Chickagami a camp that would
be interested in the welfare and personal development of every girl entrusted to us," Ruth wrote.
For the next 23 years, Ruth saw the reality of the camp exceed her dreams. Girls flocked to the camp each
summer to learn leadership skills and gain confidence through group activities, canoeing, spending time in
nature, and learning Native American traditions from the Chippewa Indians who visited every year. (In 1959,
Ruth was initiated into the Santee Sioux Indian Tribe and given the name "Wi Hun Ahe," meaning chief woman or
Indian princess). Many campers returned to the camp as counselors, and most counted their Chickagami experience
among the highlights of their young lives.
The safety and organizational strategies Ruth employed at the camp have been recognized as exemplary by the
American Camping Association and have served as models for countless other summer enrichment programs. By 1962,
when Ruth closed Chickagami to tend to her ailing husband, there were 35 buildings on the grounds, electricity,
running water, fireplaces, an 8-party telephone line, canoes, tennis courts, and a riding ring.
Toward the end of her life, Ruth contacted the American Camping Association (located in Bradford Woods in
Bloomington, Indiana) about archiving and preserving mementos from Camp Chickagami. Indiana University manages
the Bradford Woods facility and has excellent archiving resources in place, so IU's School of Health, Physical
Education and Recreation Library took over the project. After her death at 100 in August 2003, Ruth's son,
Ferdinand, arranged for many of his mother's camp records, mementoes, and prized Kachina-style dolls to be donated
to the university.
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