Collecting history

MCCUTCHENVILLE — The history of the former Camp Pittenger as a camp for disabled youth has prompted the owners to apply for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Now the Northwestern Ohio Christian Youth Camp, an outdoor space along the Sandusky River east of McCutchenville, hosts summer camps for youth from Ohio and throughout the region. But in years past, the camp focused on youth who were in wheelchairs, disabled by polio or similar circumstances. "Capturing that history is extremely valuable," said Jeff Endicott, a camp director working on the application. "The vision is to let people know about the history, to appreciate and be proud of it." The timeframe involved is 1925-1978, and the application covers the entire camp, including Tappan Lodge. "The timeframe is during the time we didn't even own the property," he said. "We want to recognize the historic significance of this place. It's beneficial to capture the story and understand it." The history is tied to the national Easter Seals organization, which has been working for more than 100 years to improve the lives of disabled people. All this was happening long before the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, Endicott said. History First known as Camp Sandusky when the land was purchased by Findlay YMCA in 1931, the name was changed to Camp Pittenger when Tiffin YMCA bought it in 1938. From 1940-1978, Endicott said the Ohio Society for Crippled Children – the forerunner of the Easter Seal Society – operated an annual camping program at Camp Pittenger for disabled children and teenagers. Each August, for nearly four decades, campers with physical and intellectual disabilities participated in adaptive recreation and built connections with other disabled peers from throughout Ohio. Most of Camp Pittenger's permanent buildings and structures – including cabins, Tappan Lodge, pool and bridges built in 1940 and subsequent years – remain largely unchanged today. There were no rules for providing handicapped accessibility until ADA was passed in 1990, Endicott said. "We don't have a single handicapped accessible much of anything," he said. "Back in their day, somehow they made it work." Endicott said campers would have assistants and "wheelchair pushers" that helped them navigate the camp. "They would come and stay the week and help the disabled kids to have a good time," he said. "It was literally life-changing to many of them. It certainly helped shape the lives of those individuals. "And they had maybe a little more gratitude in their own lives after seeing what other people struggle with," he said. Treasures "Most of this information is coming from a first-hand account of these 'treasures' as Dee (Knapp) calls them," Endicott said. "Treasures" are people who spent time at camp when they were young. He said there also are "oodles of newspaper articles." In one account, for example, a boy who had polio as a baby and had one leg affected attended camp and learned there were many people with worse disabilities than his. He had been feeling sorry for himself because he couldn't play baseball with the other boys. When he got to camp, he learned there were lots of kids with worse disabilities than his. He was soon pushing wheelchairs and helping others. "After the second or third day, I knew I was blessed to have only one leg affected by polio," the man said. The man, who attended camp from 1957-1959, was one of the "treasures" that have attended six camp reunions hosted by camp personnel during the past year. "We've let these treasures walk into a time capsule," said Dee Knapp, a camp staff member. 'Bursting with stories' During the COVID shutdown, Knapp said she was browsing social media. "We stumbled across a Camp Pittenger group on Facebook," she said. "Our eyes were opened. "They had a group I didn't know about," she said. "They liked to communicate among themselves." She posted on the group, "Guess what? Your camp still exists and you're welcome to come visit." She said the six planned reunions drew more people each time – from 12 for the first one to 46 for the last one. "Every time it was new people," she said. "We hardly had any repeats. There seems to be an endless supply of locals who have come out here. They keep spreading the word. "We have found campers and staff from the Easter Seals, Girl Scouts, Boys Scouts, National Machinery scholarships, Girls Reserve and 4-H dating back to the 1940s," Knapp said. "The stories and memories shared are very powerful. We want to record and document them all. I believe we are onto something here – something big and positive and powerful that can be shared as inspiration and encouragement in a lost and confused culture." The former campers told about their experiences with wheelchairs and crutches and the fun they had interacting with other campers. "This ground has dramatically changed the lives of many for the better between 1930 until today," she said. Local organizations In the application, Endicott said one of the focuses of the national YMCA organization was to provide youth camps to foster positive developmental experiences that encouraged friendship, confidence and self-reliance. "As is evident from newspaper accounts and historical photographs, Camp Pittenger fostered a wonderfully diverse mix of campers, across race/ethnicity and gender in the summer programs," the application states. "Camp buildings on the property also reflected the efforts and labor of local community organizations. The Kiwanis Club of Tiffin built the suspension bridge – fondly known as the "swinging bridge" – that connected two sides of the camp across the ravine, and the Lions Club contributed the arts and crafts building." The Rotary Club built the chapel and called it the community center. Local organizations such as Rotary and Lions Club also provided scholarships for the annual summer camp for children and teens, and later for adults. Beginning with week-long, then two-week sessions, and finally month-long camps, campers with physical and intellectual disabilities took part in adaptive camping experiences. "We are proud to learn how Camp Pittenger played a unique part in our nation's history of cultural growth and inclusion of people with disabilities," Endicott said in the application. "Because our organization has maintained the camp virtually untouched, we have a unique opportunity to preserve the historical buildings and capture an important glimpse of disability history in Ohio and the United States more broadly. "We are currently engaged in capturing this mid-century history of disability through work with an academic researcher who specializes in disability history and has a family connection to the camp," it said. Tappan Lodge In 1940, the dining hall and its historic fireplace were donated by E. Tappan Rodgers, who Knapp said was the general manager of The Advertiser-Tribune. Today, the hall contains the kitchen and dining areas. Outdated as a dining facility by today's standards, camp personnel are raising funds to build a new dining hall and restore Tappan Lodge into a community center. If the camp is accepted into the historic registry, Endicott said he hopes that knowing the background of the camp will help with fundraising efforts. One of the newest additions to the grounds is an ADA restroom that was built with funds from a Tiffin Community Foundation Betty Jane Fund grant. In addition to the dining hall, the property has 14 sleeping cabins, a chapel, an amphitheater, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, basketball courts, a fire circle, a recreation field, Sandusky River, a recreation room, a nurses station, a canteen, an arts and crafts building and housing for directors and cooks. Since 1978, Northwestern Ohio Christian Youth Camp has operated the site. This year, the camp hosted five youth camps, including one for teens, and one adult camp. She said 30 adults attended the camp, which raised $10,000 toward the new dining hall. Four of the adult campers camped there as children. In addition, the adult camp hosted adults from the Opportunity Center for one day. She said the Opportunity Center was one organization that used the camp in the past. "We've really come full circle," Knapp said. "This is big for us. "It's a collaboration of goodness for Seneca County and beyond," she said. "It's a really beautiful thing that we're all coming together. It's you'alls history more than ours." As a fundraiser, Knapp said the camp is open for rent for groups and organizations who want to spend a weekend. "What you see is what you get," she said. "We're open to anyone who would put up with our conditions."