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to Camp Sears and Camp Channing |
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On Thursday, November 12, 1953, the Allegan News gave an introduction to the Upper and Lower Scott Lakes in Pullman. About 40 years ago the resort business started. Upper Scott Lake and Lower Scott Lake have many beautiful cottages around them. Many of these are owned by Chicago people. Frank Clark's first undertaking parlor was on the southeast corner of the Pullman main corners. Taylor had it moved and Allen Robins had it remodeled into a home. It is now owned by Albert Gouts. The oldest remaining house, the old Dunn house, is across from the post office and has been remodeled. One of the older buildings, a log cabin built by Thomas Pickitt (buried in Malloy Cemetery in Allegan County) in 1872, a civil war soldier. It has been made into a pretty cottage, by the Paul & Natalie Lowers (buried in Lee Township Cemetery in Pullman, Michigan), the present owner, Mrs. Lower ran a private girls camp here for 14 years. At present she has a gift shop on the ground, and does not have the girls camp any more. The old Sigmiller place, a log cabin, and the first cottage to be built on Lower Scott Lake, has not been lived ln for the post 15 years, but it is rumored that it is going to be remodeled. In 1916 the largest drainage project in this part of the country was on. A large number of people congregated here for the letting of the Scott Creek drain. The lowest bidder was Annis Ipe, of Nappanee, Ind., who was awarded the contract at $6.00 per rod. Camp Channing, the Division St. Y.M.C.A. camp, Chicago, is located on the south side of Upper Scott Lake, on 103 acres of woods. It Is two miles south of Pullman. It was a resort owned by Kendrick Robbins (buried in Lee Township Cemetery in Pullman, Michigan) before the "Y " bought it. Stienbergs owned It before the Robbins. The large house is still being used.
The following are articles with dates indicating some of the events relating to the Pullman property. On Saturday, June, 17, 1916, the Allegan Gazette reported that the community was shocked to learn of the sudden death of Charles Horn. Shortly after noon Tuesday he complained of not feeling well, but was around and not thought seriously sick, the remains were taken to Chicago, Tuesday night, for burial. On Saturday, July 12, 1930, the Allegan Gazette reported that the Scott Lake Hotel in Pullman was sold. On Friday, July 28, 1944, the Allegan News reported that Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kolas have sold their Upper Scott lake resort property to Sears Roebuck Camp Channing company. The deal was closed Monday, July 24th and Mr. and Mrs. Kolas will have a sale of household goods at the place Aug. 5th. On Friday, August 2, 1946, the Allegan News reported that Thursday night this week was the last night at the Green Valley Boys of WKZO will be at Oakdale Park, Upper Scott Lake, as the Sears Roebuck Camp who bought the property are taking over and will make some changes, as they plan to use the hall for craft work. A large number of people are sorry to lose the Oakdale Park grounds, as many groups have met at the grounds for many years and the Soldier and Sailors reunions were held there every year till World War II. The Thursday, July 2, 1953, the Allegan Gazette gave a description of the newly created camp. They said that all boys and girls between the ages of eight and fourteen were invited to participate in a day at Camp Sears. This made available thru the courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Dragoo (buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Carroll County, Illinois with his wife Emily) competent caretakers and some of the staff members of the Sears YMCA. Twenty-six children registered a 2 p,m. with the camp director, Bill Zophy. This is his first year, at the camp. Mr. and Mrs. Zophy and two children, Ann and Jeff will live on the grounds at the cottage called " Eagles Nest." First there was a tour of the main building, which houses the doctor and registered nurse and first aid is given. The Quarterly Paper "Lee Crossings", of Lee Township in Allegan County Michigan - Published this article Summer of 2010. FEATURED ARTICLE.......YMCA CAMP CHANNING REMEMBERED...."CAMP CHANNING, CAMP CHANNING, THAT'S WHERE THE REAL GUYS GO" the mantra as sung for generations by boys and young men who traveled up the dirt road to Camp Channing. Both Camp Channing and Camp Sears were located on Upper Scott Lake in Pullman, Michigan. The Y.M.C.A. (Young Men's Christian Association) via the Division Street YMCA in Chicago Illinois sponsored Camp Channing. The "Y" was a building which not only housed men for short periods of time, but also provided a gathering place for swimming, basketball, running, working out, fellowship and other social advantages regardless of religious affiliation. Camp turned boys into men and built confidence and self esteem. Boys who wanted to attend Camp could either pay their way or work in the kitchen for their room and board as times were tough during the years of the Great Depression. Those fortunate enough to make it to Camp enjoyed a vacation in this "heavenly utopia" and enjoyed swimming, fishing, hiking, goofy-golf, volleyball, basketball, archery, baseball, boating, canoe trips, campfires, crafts, boating & swimming competitions with Camp Sears, and singing camp songs. Lifelong friendships were formed and became the foundation for Camp Channing Family Camp. After returning from World War II, the men, now dating or engaged, were able to come back to camp on holiday weekends like Fourth of July, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. As they married, Camp saw the need for a Family camp program and scheduled the last two weeks of August for Family Camp. And this is where my story begins. It was somewhere in the neighborhood of 1955 that Family Camp was established. The now married men and their families came to Camp to learn and experience all that they had as boys. In addition to the aforementioned activities, Game Night, Bingo Night, Whale Hunts, canoe trips on the Kalamazoo River, trips to Mt. Baldy, hikes to the sand-dunes for campfires and lessons from Smokey the Bear, Hawaiian Night, Italian Night, Christmas in August, Talent Night, The Fishing Tournament, going Blueberry picking at Mulacs' Blueberry Farm, and trips to Shermans' Dairy to be challenged with a "Pig Trough" filled will a scoop of every flavor of ice cream that you had to eat in order to be awarded the "I was a pig at Shermans' Dairy" pin. Sunday mass was held in the chapel at Camp Sears where a visiting priest would come in from one of the neighboring towns. Grace was sung before each meal and later comers would have to sing "I'm a little prairie flower" in order to eat. And then there were the traditional songs that were sung after meals just for fun. Camps' lodgings had something to offer for everyone: the Farmhouse for multiple families, the Hospital (a.k.a. Iodine Inn) for four families, the boys cabins for men and their sons, the Staff House for women and young children and babies, the women's unit on the baseball field for women and young girls and two motels each housing two families. The Camp Director, Mr. Bell and his wife and family stayed in a third motel which was living quarters for them for the summer. Buildings without bathroom facilities shared the K.Y.B.O. (Keep Your Bowels Open). Meals were provided by the kitchen staff that truly made it a vacation for the moms who didn't have to worry about cooking. Who could ask for anything more? The end of the week meant it was time for the Campfire. Children would get their faces painted and don headbands and feathers. Indian braves would guide us the campfire site where we would pray to Great God Manatau to send us fire and magically a fireball appeared and lit our fire. In between songs and skits, "Farmer" handed out fishing trophies and certificates acknowledging their achievements. The lifeguard would pass out certificates for swimming across the lake and other accomplishments. In the 1970's the "Y" built a Metro Y.M.C.A. in downtown Chicago and it was financially burdened. The neighborhood Division Street Y.M.C.A. no longer had a strong membership due to a change in demographics and later was torn down to make way for a fast food restaurant. This lead to the demise of Camps Channing and Camp Sears. The Lodge burnt down leaving only the two gigantic, hand built fireplaces. It was rebuilt but Mother Nature inflicted some damage to the Staff House and we later learned that the Farmhouse had burned to the ground. Damage to the buildings was also inflicted by a bunch of kids who took hammers to the porcelain sinks and damaged others areas as well. We attended meetings with the Board of Directors but our efforts were futile. They had already planned to sell the property. As you can imagine this was heartbreaking to the Channingers and many tears were shed, as this was their home away from home, their safe haven, their utopia. Happily we worked on finding a new location to continue the Camp Channing tradition. We were like gypsies moving from camp to camp until we found a more permanent home at Camp Ravenswood in Lake Villa Illinois. We were there for about fourteen years and had to relocate once again to make way for an after school program for handicapped children. A few years later the three camps on Lake Hastings were also sold. I am happy to report that Camp Channing is still alive and we are in our fourth generation. We've been together for over 50 years that's almost hard to believe when most marriages don't make it to their 25th anniversaries. We have lost some of our original campers but the void has been filled by new baby campers. I myself, a camper from year one, have been involved in the planning and continuation of Camp for over thirty-five years and have loved every minute of it. Carrying on the activities and traditions, from the jellybean guessing and fishing contests to singing the Channing Yen, If You Want To Be A Channinger, We are from Camp Channing, Old Hogan's Goat, My Aunt Came Back, Good Morning Mr.Zip, Rise & Shine, Little Red Caboose, There Were Three Jolly Fisherman, and Oh, You Can't Get to Heaven, to name a few. There is something magical about Camp Channing, about getting together with the same families year after year. A safe haven where families spend time together and adults spend time with lifelong friends. People enjoying people, people enjoying nature, no television, no phones, just peace and quiet. Listening to children sing our camp songs, songs that they have practiced all year long and hearing them sing their little hearts out...and being so proud that they did it! Yes, Camp is magical and out of all the places I've traveled there's no better place to vacation then Camp. Camp is our home away from home and maybe it is so special because" Home is Where Your Heart Is". Written By: Colette M. Sitko Camp Channinger since 1959 (The building once known as Camp Channing is now privately owned by Steve Julian who continues renovations. The two original fieldstone fireplaces still remain and are as beautiful as ever). |
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Updated on 4/10/2022
By Lynn Matt