HAWTHORNE YOUTH CAMP
I picked this subject to write about this week, as it was one of the most memorable events of my childhood. This is something everyone that attended 6th grade camp can identify with. The Hawthorne Historical Society, in its own way, wants to support the Parks and Recreation Foundation and you can help by becoming a member of HHS. Please consider joining……
How It All Started:
The Hawthorne Youth Camp was an integral part of the recreation program in Hawthorne. It is located 100 miles northeast of the City, near the 6,000 foot level of the San Gabriel Mountains in the Angeles National Forest.
The idea for a camp originated at the local youth center, Club Gunga Din in 1950. The youth center had been constructed by the high school students in Hawthorne in 1945.
A local citizen, Mr. Loren Barton, asked the director of the Club Gunga Din if he could get five volunteers to help “set-up” the Inglewood Girl Scout Camp in Wrightwood for the summer camp program. In a matter of five minutes there were over thirty volunteers. With this much interest, the idea for Hawthorne Youth Camp came about. The site was obtained from the U.S. Forest Service after much investigation, persistence and work. Organizers had to pay $400.00 to the Glendale Girl Scouts who had put a road into the camp area. To get this money, the Hawthorne Elementary School District donated an old school building to be demolished and the lumber sold for salvage.
(In future stories I will explain more in detail about the old school)
With the help of service clubs, the Hawthorne Fire Department, school teachers, P.T.A.’s and other interested individuals, the Club Gunga Din members dismantled the old school building and made the initial $400.00. The Hawthorne Youth Camp was on its way!
Through volunteered money, materials and labor from organizations and private citizens of the community, the Youth Camp was transformed from a dream to a reality. From its inception in 1950 until its eventual transfer to another organization in 2009, it was a project in which residents of Hawthorne made their contribution to the future welfare of the community. It was conceived, designed and built by volunteers to provide for a complete camping experience.
Centrally located is the 4,600 square foot Main Lodge, featuring a kitchen that could serve 200 people. The kitchen, at the time, was the only all-electric facility of its kind in the wilderness area. All working surfaces were stainless steel, including the institution-size cooking equipment. A steam dishwasher, two walk-in freezers, a vegetable cooler and a meat locker were all major assets to the camp cooks and kitchen crew. There was even an automatic ice-cube maker for thirsty campers in need of a cold drink.
Adjacent to the Main Lodge was a ten-bed infirmary. It was staffed by a registered nurse during the summer program and was always well equipped to handle any emergency. The Camp Director also had his office and sleeping area in the infirmary.
A stone-stepped Fire Ring and 200-seat Amphitheater immediately beside the Main Lodge provided the setting for nightly camp fires, movies and mass gatherings of all the campers. This area was constructed in a natural amphitheater and offered an outstanding view of the desert, 6,000 feet below.
Located within easy walking distance of the Main Lodge, yet secluded because of the use of natural terrain were eight individual sixteen-bed cabins. They were situated throughout the camp and their locations lent an atmosphere of seclusion to each of them. Each cabin also contained a room for two camp counselors. Three of the cabins included toilet and shower facilities, while the rest were serviced by two large shower buildings.
There was another completely self-contained living unit located some 200 yards away from the main camp area – Sherman Lodge. This facility could sleep twenty-two people and had its own kitchen and shower facilities.
The Arts and Crafts building contained the necessary materials and space to easily handle sixteen campers at any time. It was self-contained and there was adequate storage room for all of the various supplies for a summer’s program.
The 45 foot by 75 foot pool was put to good use throughout the summer program. It was staffed by an aquatics specialist and was used for recreational swimming and various water carnival events.
Outdoor volleyball and basketball courts and secluded archery ranges rounded out the facilities of the camp. In addition, fishing and boating were part of the summer program, at Jackson Lake, which was right across the road from the camp entrance.
In keeping with the ecological trends of its day, the camp provided a primitive campout area of four acres. This natural environment was used during the summer camp program for overnights and the outdoor cooking experience. To make maximum use of this primitive area, the camp extended the program to include local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, naturalists, and other groups and families interested in “back to nature” activities.
During the summer, these facilities were used by a total of 900 youngsters during the nine-week summer program. Every Monday morning, 100 children between the ages of seven and fourteen years were transported from the City to the camp by bus. They remained in the mountains all week and then returned home by bus on Saturday morning. Cost of this program for the residents was $20 (1971), while non-residents were charged $50. This cost included supervision, food, lodging, transportation and insurance. A campership program was also developed with community support to insure that no child was ever turned away because of an inability to pay.
The camp was also put to good use during the remainder of the year. The Hawthorne School District used the camp each spring to send their sixth grade students for a one-week outdoor educational program. In 1970 over 600 students were involved in the school program over an eight-week period.
Each year during Christmas vacation, the Youth Center, sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department, used the camp as their base for a day in the snow.
Hawthorne residents could also rent a portion of the camp during the winter when there was no programed camping. 1,138 people used the camp in this manner during the period of September, 1970 to May, 1971.
What was a dream in 1950 became a standing reality. The citizens of Hawthorne conceived, financed and built their mountain facility and looked on with pride.
(this is the first part of a continuing series relating the whole story of the Hawthorne Youth Camp . . . please watch for future chapters)