Fifty years ago, an innovative facility for people with disabilities opened its doors, becoming an important part of the Maple Lake community in the process and putting a small town in rural Minnesota on the national map.
Camp Courage, located west of Maple Lake, welcomed about 300 campers for its first summer session in June of 1955 and Minnesota children with physical limitations were allowed to explore life without isolation.
The concept for Camp Courage originated in 1953 when Wilco Schoembohm, founder of the Minnesota Association of Crippled Children and Disabled Adults (MACCDA), currently known as the Courage Center, formed a committee to seek out and build a new, rural camp for children and adults with disabilities. Harry N. Gough of St. Cloud was president of the board and he appointed Nobel Shadduck of Annandale to chair the camping committee even though Shadduck told him, “You’d better not make me chairman of that committee. It might wind up near Annandale.”
Shadduck was assisted by other members of the committee from St. Paul and Fairmont. The committee began the search for land right away, hoping to find something on a lake within 50 miles of the Twin Cities. Throughout the search, the committee turned down offers for free, but inadequate, land. Eventually, the project did wind up near Annandale. Shadduck found a beautiful 40-acre wooded area with 3,800 feet of shoreline on Cedar Lake northwest of Maple Lake on County Road 7.
Director of camping for the Courage Center and former Camp Courage director, Bob Polland, said that he feels the location of Camp Courage has fostered its success. “It’s been great because its location is so central,” said Polland.
Camp Courage isn’t much more than a four-hour drive from anywhere in the state of Minnesota, which Polland cited as another advantage.
Fortunately, the owner agreed to sell the land in 1953 for $8,500. Unfortunately, that was almost all the money in the society’s development fund, but they purchased the property and immediately began fund-raising. Volunteers and staff contacted friends and potential donors, traveling around the state to speak to clubs and organizations for support. By March of 1954, the fund-raising crew had brought in $60,000.
Also during this time the committee began construction plans, turning to Thomas Ellerbe, owner of Ellerbe Architects. Ellerbe assigned architect Larry Hovick to design a unique camp.
The camp project was underway, but the facility didn’t have a name. William Dobson, from a Minneapolis advertising firm, suggested the name Camp Courageous which was instantly adopted and shortened to Camp Courage.
“It’s been a good name for us,” said Polland. “It’s second only to the Mayo Clinic for positive name recognition in the region.”
Polland said that the name was so fitting that even the founders of Camp Courage, the MACCDA, later decided to change their name to the “Courage Center.”
The construction plans, money and name set the foundation for Camp Courage and a ground-breaking for the camp was conducted on July 7, 1954. Glenn Cunningham, a national track star who overcame disabilities caused by severe burns, spoke at the groundbreaking. Cunningham also participated in the groundbreaking along with Shadduck, and Governor C. Elmer Anderson.
Though the success of a camp that caters to the needs of people with disabilities was difficult to foresee, Polland said that Shadduck had a dream and he worked hard, living on camp and experiencing the community first-hand in order to build the camp into a nationally-recognized facility.
By late winter of 1954, six cabins and the dining hall/recreation center were underway. Just when things began to fall into place for the camp, the MACCDA ran short of money. Les Park of the Baker Foundation in Minneapolis gave the Society a $15,000 grant which allowed construction to continue and enabled the camp to open.
Camp Courage opened for its first session in June of 1955. About 300 campers, from the ages of eight to 19, traveled west of Maple Lake to the beautiful and rustic Camp Courage. The first campers had a variety of disabilities caused by polio and cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, rheumatoid arthritis, blindness, accident injuries, congenital deformities, and head injuries.
Although the camp wasn’t complete for the first session, the finished buildings included six cabins, the dining hall/recreation center, a therapy building and a craft shop.
Time passed and Camp Courage progressed with the help of several generous donations. “It’s not just big donations towards buildings” said Roger Upcraft, Camp Courage director of programs. “You get people that send in 10 or 15 dollars. And because of those donations, we’ve never turned down a camper just because they can’t pay.”
In 1956, a nature building and chapel-amphitheater were built. Later that same year, cottages for the caretaker, resident doctor and camp director were added to the campsite. Landscaping changes also took place in 1956, with the addition of a fragrance garden, trailside garden, Boutell self-guiding nature trail and small animal zoo.
Generous donors were not the only ones who helped Camp Courage grow. In 1959 Hubert Humphrey provided his assistance to gain a 17-acre island adjacent to Camp Courage. The island was named Humphrey Island and was developed into an overnight camping and nature study site. Humphrey, as vice president of the United States, spoke at the August 14, 1966, dedication of the Speech and Hearing unit. The Speech and Hearing facilities construction began in 1964 on an additional 30-acre parcel purchased in 1963.
Other additions included a gym and stage in the Judith Ann King recreation center, an adjoining farm, and a second 17-acre island, known as Winther Island, which is located on Lake Koronis near Paynesville.
A fire in 1974 set back the new additions by burning down the reception center and nature museum, destroying books, records, films, and other artifacts. “The building was lost completely,” said Polland, “but we were able to rebuild it.”
An enlarged, fire-resistant building was constructed on the same location with a similar design. Polland said that the reconstruction allowed the camp to accommodate a greater variety of people with disabilities. The new reception center and nature museum opened doors to the remodeling of other existing facilities and services on camp.
Polland said that widespread support from both the Maple Lake and Annandale communities, as well as from throughout Minnesota and the entire Midwest region, has helped to make the camp the success that it is. Maple Lake residents have made a big impact on Camp Courage. Tom Fogarty and his wife, Mimi, were employed by Camp Courage and Tom was a camper there as a youngster. In 1989, Tom was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Minnesotans of 1988 by the Minnesota Jaycees for his efforts at Camp Courage. Dr. S.J. Raetz of Maple Lake also offered his help to ill campers before Camp Courage could afford to have a doctor on staff.
Upcraft said that local families have volunteered time to help keep camp running. “Folks are just good neighbors, and people look upon us as part of the community,” he said. In addition to Camp Courage’s great location, Polland said he felt that they were in the right place at the right time. “We were there when people needed us.”
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