Camp Highlands
Encyclopedia
History
The camp was founded in 1904 by Harry O. Gillet, Elementary School Principal at the University of Chicago Laboratory School. At the urging of Lab School parents, property on Plum Lake was purchased, removing the boys from ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and immersing them in the north woods, where they could experience a summer of physical activity, wilderness and fellowship. Star Lake, adjacent to Plum, was the end of the line for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul railroad. Until 1922, the only transportation into the area was by rail and water. Boys were dropped at Plum Lake Station by the "Camp Special" (originating at Union Station in Chicago) and ferried to the opposite shore.
William J. Monilaw, Lab School instructor, bought the camp from Gillet in 1914. The former Drake University
Drake University
Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
and University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
athletic coach (football, track & field), oversaw the camp until 1959, creating the physical and philosophical structures still in place today. Under his leadership, the camp experience grew to include athletic training, character building, and wilderness trips. Today's trip program includes sailing and sea kayaking excursions through the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is a U.S. national lakeshore consisting of 21 islands and shoreline encompassing 69,372 acres on the northern tip of Wisconsin on the shore of Lake Superior....
, canoeing in the Minnesota Boundary Waters
Boundary Waters
The Boundary Waters — also called the Quetico-Superior country — is a region of wilderness straddling the Canada–United States border between Ontario and Minnesota, in the region just west of Lake Superior. This region is part of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota, and in Canada...
, and hiking in the Porcupine Mountains
Porcupine Mountains
The Porcupine Mountains, or Porkies, are a group of small mountains spanning across the northwestern Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Ontonagon and Gogebic counties, near the shore of Lake Superior. The area is part of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park...
, Isle Royale National Park
Isle Royale National Park
Isle Royale National Park is a U.S. National Park in the state of Michigan. Isle Royale, the largest island in Lake Superior, is over 45 miles in length and 9 miles wide at its widest point. The park is made of Isle Royale itself and approximately 400 smaller islands, along with any submerged...
, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore on the shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. It extends for 42 miles along the shore and covers...
.
Alumni of Camp Highlands include Senator William Proxmire
William Proxmire
Edward William Proxmire was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989.-Personal life:...
, Cold War strategist and Ambassador to Russia George F. Kennan
George F. Kennan
George Frost Kennan was an American adviser, diplomat, political scientist and historian, best known as "the father of containment" and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War...
, and Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winners Jay Berwanger
Jay Berwanger
John Jacob "Jay" Berwanger was an American football halfback born in Dubuque, Iowa. He was the first winner of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy in 1935 ; the trophy is awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding college football player...
and Nile Kinnick
Nile Kinnick
Nile Clarke Kinnick, Jr. was a student and a college football player at the University of Iowa. He won the 1939 Heisman Trophy and was a consensus All-American. He died during a training flight while serving as a U.S Navy aviator in World War II...
. Berwanger spent the summer prior to winning the first trophy at Camp Highlands in 1935. Kinnick spent the summer of 1938 at the camp and won the trophy in 1939. Actor Bruce Dern
Bruce Dern
Bruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
was a camper. Photographer Ray Metzker
Ray Metzker
Ray K. Metzker is an American photographer known for both his work in cityscape and landscape photography.His work has been collected by the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Museum of Modern Art, New York and many others.He is...
was on the staff in the early 1950s; he taught photography.
More recent alumni include comedian John Roy, philosopher A.J. Julius, photographer Mario Sorrenti
Mario Sorrenti
Mario Sorrenti is a photographer and director best known for his spreads of nude models in the pages of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar....
, professional basketball player Steve Goodrich
Steve Goodrich
Steven Withington Goodrich is a former National Basketball Association player, who played center for the Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets in the early 2000s. Although after a remarkable career in college, he was seldom used in the pros...
, and comedian and television star Dave Coulier
Dave Coulier
David Alan "Dave" Coulier is an American stand-up comedian, impressionist, television and voice actor, and television host. He is well-known for his role as Joey Gladstone on the ABC sitcom Full House, which ran from 1987 to 1995....
(Full House).
Camp Highlands has been owned by former camper Mike Bachmann and his wife Sharon since 1969.