Soon
after the close of WWII Wilbur Nelson, a young Navy veteran from “the Garden
State,” entered the New Jersey State Teachers' College. At about the same time
he was hired to work for several summers as a counselor at Camp Winnebago in
Fayette. He expected to become a teacher but little did he know that owning his
own boys’ camp was also in his future.
In
the years that followed Wilbur spent two weeks to a month of each summer in
Maine which gave him ample time to explore and become familiar with the area.
“During all the early years of me coming here” related Wilbur “the (original
Mowana) camp in West Mount Vernon stood idle. I asked around about it and
someone told me to go see Charlene Adams in Readfield; she owned it but I was
told it wasn’t for sale” said Wilbur. He found out from Charlene it could be
and the two of them struck a deal. He bought the camp in 1956.
“It
was a small piece of land a little over an acre with 350 feet along the shore.
All there was for buildings was a two story house with a walkway down the
middle. There were rooms for the kids upstairs, the mess hall was downstairs.
That same summer Wilbur bought some abutting land from Ruth and Stanley Hight to
increase the size of his camp’s grounds to twenty-eight acres. The expansion
provided space for an athletic field and more buildings.
During
the spring of 1956 Wilbur took the existing structure down and burned it, then
he cleared an area and built four 15x15 ft. sleeping cabins that could accommodate
six to eight boys each. He put up an A Frame recreation hall which also served
as the lodge. Then he named the camp Skoglund which is Norwegian for “Woodland”
explained Wilbur. “Both of my parents were born in Norway.”
Skoglund
opened in 1957 with twenty-five boys in attendance. Enrollment gradually
increased to seventy-five and ultimately to one-hundred campers ages 9 to 15. They
came from New Jersey, Sweden, Germany, Mexico, Japan and other parts of the
U.S. All of the counselors had been campers themselves at one time or another
which helped assure smooth operations.
Activities
included athletics, water games, canoeing and swim meets. Campers also trekked
to the Rangeley area and Moosehead Lake for canoe trips; and to the White
Mountains and Tumbledown Mountain for hiking and climbing. More locally an
annual canoe adventure down “Thirty Mile River” was enjoyed. Each morning the
boys were provided with music books and they joined together in song. This
author, who once lived a short distance from Skoglund, well remembers hearing
their bugle reveille every morning through most of July and August. It was a
welcome sound that cast the vision of a group of hearty, smiling boys who were
eager to begin their day on the lake.
When
asked if he had any humorous stories to share Wilbur told about his strategy
when the boys got rowdy in their cabins late at night. “We had midnight rides.
I loaded them up in the camp truck and drove them out to the Armstrong (Five
Seasons) Road and dropped them off. They were ready to sleep by the time they
walked back to Skoglund.” The “night walkers” did not know that adult eyes were
watching from a distance to make sure they safely returned.
“Uncle
Will”, as his campers called him, soon gained a reputation as a “second Dad” –
for some he was the only Dad they ever knew. Many of the boys worked through
problems and gained self-confidence at Skoglund according to Wilbur. One former
camper explained that Uncle Will liked the lost cause kids. “He took them under
his wing, turned them around and had a big impact.” Another revealed that if it
had not been for Wilbur he probably would not be here today. “I was an angry
kid. My father had just left… Coming to Skoglund was a make it or break it for
me” he said with a quiver in his lip. He made it! One alumnus described his
experience as “empowering”. And yet another related that his years there were
the happiest in his life and that he still thinks about the camp all the time.
In hearing a dozen or so former campers speak about Skoglund and Uncle Will
their love and admiration is undeniable! One remarked “He commanded respect and
you gave it without question. Wilbur Nelson is the best human being I have ever
met”.
Nelson
is the late comer compared to other camp founders. But unlike most of them who
kept up the fast pace of running a kids’ camp for fifteen to twenty years at
most, he did it for thirty-three years! Skoglund ceased operating as a boys’
camp in 1990 but Wilbur wasn’t done yet. He and his daughter Rondi converted
Skoglund into a family summer resort. “I’m so happy that Rondi is interested”
he said “and that it will still go on.” Since they converted to rental cottages
many Skoglund alumni return to stay there with their families during the
summer. “I can still hear the kids playing on the waterfront” said Wilbur. “I
like that.”
Wilbur
is still going strong at age ninety-one - six decades after he founded Camp
Skoglund for boys. Today he and Rondi run Camp Skoglund for their love of the
place and the people who return year after year. These words on their web site
convey their sentiments well – “We want to continue
sharing our idyllic summer home…”
This story is an
excerpt from a newly released book “The Founders and Evolution of Summer
Resorts and Kids’ Camps on four lakes in Central Maine”, co-authored by Dale
Potter-Clark and Charles L. Day, Jr. Copies of the book can be purchased online at http://readfieldmaine.blogspot.com
This article appeared in Lakes Region Reader August 26, 2016.
Wilbur died peacefully in his sleep Oct. 14, 2016 at his home in Summit, New Jersey soon after Rondi had returned him there from Camp Skoglund after sixty successful seasons. Rest in Peace, Wilbur.
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