Bob Wyer Goes to Camp, Part II - Tunis Lake Camp

 A little over a decade after the Lake Delaware Camp was established, someone established a camp at Tunis Lake. Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Mirski established a boys’ camp at the lake in 1922.  Unlike the Lake Delaware Camp, the Tunis Lake Camp had cabins for the campers. The Mirskis ran the camp until 1944, when they sold it to concentrate on the companion girls’ camp they established on Perch Lake in Andes.  The camp was owned in the 1950s and into the 1960s by George Kaye and Oscar Newman. It became a co-ed during their ownership. They sold the camp in the late 1960s. The last year the camp operated was in 1970. The property was sold to Eric Weidemeyer who created the Tunis Lake development.  Today, the area is occupied by individual homeowners, with the lake as a common ground.

This Wyer image of Mr. Mirski was taken in February 1939.

This first set of images are from the off-season in November 1940:

Wyer was back in the camp in July 1941:

In July 1945, he was back to photograph some indoor activities of the campers: 

In the summer of 1946, Wyer did a series of aerial photographs, including these three images:

Unfortunately, Wyer did not take any photographs of the camp after this time period, though it continued operating until 1970.

If anyone reading this has any memories of attending this camp, I would LOVE to hear from you. 

 

Bob Wyer Goes to Camp, Part 1 - Lake Delaware Boys Camp

The twentieth century saw the advent of two summer camps for children in the Bovina township. The first was the Lake Delaware Boys’ Camp was established in 1911 by Robert L. Gerry. A little over a decade later Mr. and MRs. Aaron Mirski established a camp at Tunis Lake. 

This entry will focus on the Lake Delaware Camp. Next month I'll post an entry about the Tunis Lake camp.

Mr. Gerry started his camp at Tunis Lake in 1909, using tents. He decided to move the camp to his own property on Lake Delaware. The camp exists to this day – and continues to use tents for housing the campers, but it also includes a chapel and other structures. The camp organ, donated to the camp by Robert Gerry’s father, Elbridge, still is used today. It was built in 1877 by Hilborne Roosevelt, a cousin of Teddy Roosevelt. It is not electrified and still operates with a large wheel to provide the air needed. 

During his forty year career, Bob Wyer of Delhi came on two occasions to photograph the camp. 

Here are two images taken of the Lake Delaware Boys Camp August 1942. In the second photo, you can see Bob Wyer's shadow at the bottom of the image. 

And he went back to the camp in August 1947 for more pictures.

Images courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association.