CACHE: Camoed container with small items.
HISTORY: The camp was located at 3279 McKeen Lake Road, with GZ being near the southwest corner of the camp. It was fairly large, with 465 acres of woods, cabins, the main hall for banquets, kitchen, and many other structures, most now gone. What wasn't auctioned off was demolished. The land is still for sale. Activities included camping, swimming in the lake or pool, archery, boating, campfire stories, and the teachings associated with the Girl Scouts.
Excerpt below from MLive:
The camp was established in the 1930s. Wally Green can't imagine not having Camp O'Fairwinds just across the lake. Green's father purchased all the property around the lake in 1917. In 1930, the Girl Scouts approached him about buying several hundred acres to build a camp. "My dad was in the depths of the Depression, he was losing everything," said Green, 76. "And they rescued us." The historic 465-acre camp was abruptly closed in the summer of 2009 after the old Fairwinds Council was merged with three others to form the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan. Green still lives in his family's home on the lake. For decades, he and his family have volunteered at the camp, advocated for the Scouts, listened to the Scouts' songs and laughter across the lake. "It's heartbreaking," Green said. "I will be certain I am not there on Oct. 11 to see my history auctioned off to the highest bidder." Sue Brown, of Imlay City, knows the camp well. Brown served as board president of the Fairwinds Council. "I went there as a Girl Scout, I took my Girl Scout troops there, my daughters went there, my mother was the camp nurse there," said Brown, 59. Brown said it's a shame to see the camp go. "I don't know if the Girl Scouts want to get out of the camping business or what they want to do," Brown said. "But it teaches girls a lot about survival, about the out-of-doors. If you take that away, it's a shame."
Excerpt below from the County Press:
OREGON TWP. — By the time the trillium push their way back up through the leaves liter at Camp O’Fairwinds next spring all that will be left are the memories of nine decades of mid-Michigan girls camping. The Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan auctioned off the 465-acre camp’s equipment and some of its memorabilia earlier this month. The council’s CEO, Denise Dalrymple, said the camp’s nine principal buildings will be razed by the end of November. The council, which serves Genesee, Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, Sanilac, and St. Clair counties as well as parts of Livingston, Monroe and Wayne counties currently has about 40,000 girls on its roles, which is about 7,000 fewer than it had in 2009 when it shuttered Camp O’Fairwinds. She added half as many girls went camping last summer as did the summer the camp was closed. “We’re not in the property management business,” she said. “We’re in the outdoor education business.” Dalrymple said as painful as the decision was, the council couldn’t afford to maintain buildings it no longer had a use for. Five years ago Oregon Township resident Wally Green was active in the fight to keep the camp open. His father bought the land around McKeen Lake in 1917 and sold 465 acres to the Girl Scouts during the Great Depression to keep his family’s head above water. Dalrymple said some of the camp’s memorabilia was returned to Girl Scout Troops throughout the region, some pieces were taken to the Girl Scout’s museum in White Lake Township and others were auctioned off to the public. “We did quite well,” said Bill Fengstock, the council’s director of facilities. The auction brought in more than $50,000. The council hopes to sell the property to the State Dept. of Natural Resources or to a nature conservancy. “We’re trying to preserve the property,” Dalrymple said. She said the permanent closing of Camp O’Fairwinds leaves the council with only two operating camps — Camp Hawthorn in St. Clair County and Camp Playfair on Lake Huron in Sanilac County. Last month the council closed its 995-acre Camp Innisfree near Howell. “Less than 12 percent of our girls are visiting camps,” Dalrymple said. “The camp model is broken. It was a great model for decades, but it’s broken.”
[FTF] goes to nomer4 and [STF] goes to SuperTramp and rutie400