The History of Camp Minikani

In 1891, the YMCA was active in Milwaukee, having three branches, a Central Branch, a German Department, and a Railroad Department. They established an outing park, which was located in the city library lot on the corner of Grand Avenue and Ninth Street for tennis and running. That year they also established camping trips to Washington County, where groups of “Juniors” camped on the banks of Lake Five. They pitched tents, fished, hiked, and made sails for the boats out of bed sheets. The boys stayed for two weeks, going on occasional trips to Bark Lake, Merton, Colgate, and Menomonee Falls. This excursion was the forerunner to Camp Hope, and from this humble beginning, the Fourth Street YMCA went on to make a name in camping for itself.

In many ways, the “seed” which blossomed into Camp Minikani was a camp in Mukwonago, appropriately named Camp Hope. Located on Phantom Lake and established in 1894, it was a forerunner to Minikani and was the camp that the downtown YMCA used until 1919. In 1902, the cost per camper was $6.50 for a two-week session. In 1908, it became the first Wisconsin state camp, named “Phantom Lake.” It was begun under the leadership of Max Otto, and later run by Phil Willis, J.F. Judin, and finally T.M. Elliot. In 1908, Walter H. Wories, who later worked at Minikani, suggested that Camp Hope be operated by the state YMCA.

Camp Minikani was established in 1919 by the Milwaukee YMCA, which was located on Fourth Street when it purchased the original 40 acres of open pasture land on Amy Belle Lake.  When YMCA purchased the land on which Minikani now rests, it was a farm. There were only two buildings, a farm house, the “log-roller’s den,” which is presently attached to Fireside, and a barn, that was located just to the West. Much of what is now forest, was open fields at that time. The word Minikani may have a double meaning.  In  Menomonee, the word Menekunee means, "a place of beginnings", while in Chippewa a different word, Minikani, means "a place where seeds are planted." At the time of its conception, Minikani was one of the first summer resident youth camps in the United States, whose campers ranged in age from eight to sixteen.  The camp served only boys who were transported from Milwaukee by car and train and stayed for two-week sessions, sleeping in teepee's.  During its early years, Minikani focused on camp craft skills like woodworking, setting up "gypsy camps", and teaching skills with axes and saws.

During these early years, Roy Sorenson was the Executive Director, and his tenure saw a $50,000 fund drive in the Milwaukee area, some of which went for the purchase of additional land to bring camps acreage near current levels. In 1924, 436 boys attended Minikani, and in 1926, when Ed Zeller took over Minikani, 587 boys spent two weeks here. In 1924, Sorenson and F.C. Coggeshall, Chairman of the Committee of Management, oversaw the completion of the Dining Lodge, now known as Fireside Lodge. The Health Lodge (Brown Lodge) and the Headquarters (the Program Office) were built during the same period.

Following the depression, 16 new cabins and a leader's lodge were constructed switching from tents to a more permanent arrangement of a true resident camp.  Camp was  very disciplined military like program at the time, having morning reveille, exercises, and swimming before breakfast.  The focus of this era was on competition and activities such as swimming, boating and canoeing.  Even cabin clean up was turned in to a competitive event. Howard Kustermann ran camp for seven years and his tenure saw the purchase of 24 new acres of land to the east of camp. This is the land on which the archery range and the old corral as eventually build. These additions include: the barn that served as the original handy craft lodge and maintenance building (to the west of Fireside), the line of ten cabins stretching across the bill where the new dining hail was eventually built, an apple orchard between these cabins and Fireside (Kossow Field), the tennis courts, the beginnings of he Council Bluff site, the athletic field (Norris field) along which a second group of six cabins stretched, and the observatory, placed approximately where the camp store now stands.
Kustermann brought not only an energy to camp and a good sense of camaraderie among the staff, but he also created a real sense of structure. The brochures sent to parents and the directors reports to the board during this period were professional and carefully organized. In addition, the administrative staff was organized in more efficient ways.

By the 1940's. Camp Minikani had grown to 110 acres with horseback riding, boxing, over-night camp outs, and picnic like cook-out lunches added to the activity offerings. World War II affected all of American, including Camp's community. The motto of Minikani during this period was, "For Health, For Victory." Camp allowed young boys the opportunity to recapture their precious youth and allowed them to mature in a a more natural way. It was a chance to escape the difficult realities of war.   In 1942 the seedlings for the pine forest were planted by the camp staff in an area that had previously been a field. The horseback program gained in popularity during the Forties. The campers were bused to Joy Farm, where they spent the day riding horses. Eventually the recommendation was made to have an an on site horseback program.    During this period camp started having alumni cabins in camp filled with older boys. The goal here was for these older boys to assist with camp and was the precursor of todays popular LT program.

In 1950, the Health Lodge caught fire. Although the building was not completely gutted by the fire, plans for a new infirmary were considered and a fund drive was set into motion. In 1953, the camp capacity was increased by 160 campers, when tents were added. The United Way sponsorships ended and were replaced by “scholarships,” under the title of Harold Falk Camperships, which eventually became the current campership program. In its first year, this program saw 45 donations for a total of $2,523.00.

This same year, John Quilhot, who became the camp director in 1953, put together a parents manual, in addition to the standard brochure. This manual had information regarding the waterfront, visiting, and camps history, including a list of equipment needed for Minikani and the price. This was done to encourage donations. The older boys program-the predecessor to the current explorer program moved up to what is now Explorer Hill this year and a Kybo was built. The trips to the Wisconsin Dell’s continued, as did in-camp cook outs.

In 1956, Minikani saw the creation of the Peter Scott Wright Memorial Health Lodge. A large gathering took place to christen the new infirmary. That same year, three recreation buildings and thirteen new cabins were completed. The three Kybos had also been finished. Thus, the three units were fully operational, and similar in structure to the way they appear today.

Camp put advertisement in its brochure for Clear Lake, Phantom Lake, Olson Farms, and Manito-Wish. This cooperation between camps was important for the camping services aspect of the YMCA; however, the competition between the camps was perhaps a motivation for change as well. All three of these camps had established programs for girls. Both Olson and Manito-Wish had taken the lead on northwoods camping programs. Minikani would spend the sixties and seventies not only including these programs, but also defining its mission as one that focused on the camper’s needs and intense training for the counselors.

Harlan and Stover also began two programs that have lasted until today. The first, begun in 1958, was the use of camp facilities by school groups during the fall, winter, and spring. The preparation for this program included the winterization of the Findley cabin and an addition to Robertson Lodge. The second program of Harlan and Stover was started in 1959 and involved bringing younger campers, ages seven and eight to Minikani for day camp and short overnight programs. This was the forerunner to the current Mini-Kamp program, which is run with the help of the Leadership Trainees.

In the early 1960's Minikani started the Raggers program, which had originally been created in California This program was molded to fit Minikani's overall program. The original site for Ragger's Point was on Indian Hill. There was a clear view of Chief Heineker (Mud) Lake from here as the vegetation had not completely recovered from the earlier farmland yet.

In 1962 Gerald Broadway became Camp Director and during his two year term he instituted an evaluation of campers by their counselors, which listed some 13 social and emotional categories. This was the precursor of todays Individual Camper Program evaluation.  During this time 94% of oru campers came from our local YMCA branches and the remainder came from United Community Services. 

Camp also purchased an additional 36 acres of land. Originally this land was leased out to a local farmer to grown corn in exchange for hay for the camp horses. It is now the site of the new Halquist Family Leadership Lodge and Equestrian Cross Country course. The early 1960's also saw the start of our first family camp which still continues today with our Memorial and Labor Day camps as well as our Alumni weekends.

By the late 1960's more changes started to happen at camp. The first was a reduced emphasis on competitive programs, with an increase in challenge by choice and the start of making camp fully co-educational. In 1967 girls were allowed to attend Minikani for the first time during a ten day girls only session. This continued for two summers and by 1969, nearly half of the summer was dedicated to female campers. At first, the ratio of female to male campers was about 1:3 but by the late 1970's girl campers outnumbered boy campers.

1969 saw the 50th anniversary of Camp Minikani. Howard Kusterman, who was camp director during the thirties and early forties was thrilled to see the growth of Pine Forest, which he had helped plant 27 years earlier.

In 1972 Minikani became a fully coeducational camp. Camp also launched a capital campaign which raised enough money to begin the construction of a new dining hail, kitchen and pool. Fireside Lodge was designated as a recreational building. These projects were completed in 1973. The dining hail complex was billed in the camp brochure as being a “conference center,” in hopes of attracting more off-season groups. In 1975, Stew Brown became Director of Minikani. Minikani, in conjunction with other Milwaukee YMCA branches, began an international exchange program sponsored by the YMCA’s national offices. Campers, ages fifteen to seventeen, were given an opportunity to visit Hanover, Germany and camps outside the city. Bruce Rassmussen lead this trip, and the program lasted one month. Brown agreed with the program and goals with Minikani and did not make any sweeping changes. He worked with the staff to promote more wilderness programs. He also helped revise the Explorer Program to provide campers with small group activities. Better sailing equipment was purchased, and the maintenance and kitchen staff were increased.
The role of Unit Directors was also changed, prior to his tenure, Unit Directors were assigned to cabins, so that they were charged with the tasks of counselor duties and with the direction of their respective units. Brown insisted that it was the Unit Director’s primary responsibility to oversee the unit and supervise the counselors.

Safety remained a fundamental concern of the staff. One potential hazard was the old camp barn, located just to the West of Fireside Lodge. The building had long been the headquarters of both the maintenance department and the crafts skill area. The staff began to weigh the historical significance of the building versus its unsafe condition. For a time it was used merely for storage, and then it was torn down.

In 1976 during the school year, 88 groups used Minikani, a dramatic increase from the 64 groups in 1975 and 65 groups in 1974. The comments from parents of campers were for the most part positive. Quoting from one parent’s letter, “David returned from camp with renewed vigor and self-awareness, and apparently at ease knowing he was able to accomplish skills he desired to do without having to prove himself.” Another parent wrote, “She feels better about herself as a person- the orange rag helped bring this about.” A third parent said, “He certainly enjoyed his stay and had new experiences. There is a noticeable gain in his self confidence and independence. All in all it was a rewarding experience for all of us. It made him less dependent on his circle of friends here at home and he is more willing to try things on his own.”

In 1979, the old barn, located behind the Indian unit, caught fire. This was the original stable, which was built by Phil Leweki. The stable was saved, but the fire raised the question of safety; these decision was made to build a better corral, but it was put off until funds were available in the mid 1980’s.

In the 1980's....