7968-R2_LSLA_2022_SummerNewsletter_Web

Camp Arundel on Beautiful Little Sebago Lake! 1920-1961

Share Your Stories The LSLA Historical Committee, in coordination with LSLA Centennial celebration, continues to seek personal stories from those who have enjoyed Little Sebago over the last century. This fall we will be partnering with an oral history class at St Joseph’s College to gather more stories about the lake. We are looking for 40 individuals who have stories and images to share. We are also looking for volunteers to help us with oral interviews and archival work, both of which can be accomplished remotely as well as in person. Do you love Little Sebago and might be looking for a fun summer project? We would love to work with you! Know of someone we should interview? Have a story from your family that you would like to share? Care to join us in the process of collecting info? Please complete this very brief online form (https://docs.google.com/forms/ d/1heqUf-aWrL2NrDJ6457pn1F5orhrrW7zVYgvNwDUf-Q/viewform?edit_requested=true) to let us know!

In the past on Little Sebago there have been several boys and girls camps. The most well known are those named Camp Arundel for Boys and Camp Aquilla for girls. These camps were located in what is now called Little Sebago Lodges in Gray. I have always wanted to know more about these camps and have been fortunate enough to have spoken to at least 4 of the former campers who had

the camp from June to the end of August was $500 and monthly it was $250.The camp closed in 1961 More history was provided from a heartwarming conversation from Ken Linden. Ken, who was also a former camper, spoke of a hike to the “house that Jack built’ up the road. Sometimes a lunch was packed and they would stop to eat at the fish hatchery and then would continue into town. Sometimes they would take a trip to Naples to get a haircut and see a movie. He added that the camp also had tennis courts, a baseball field and a shooting and archery range. Ken’s mom worked for Mr. Gans as a purchasing agent for the camps and that is how Ken and his sister were able to go to the camp each year. When the camp was closed for the season, he, his sister and a few other kids were able to stay awhile and enjoy the beauty and splendor of the site. It was the best part of his summer. With both of these gentleman, the love of Little Sebago shines through even after all of these year and they would love to return someday. All of us have memories that are tucked away inside of us and when someone gives us the opportunity to bring them to the surface, we get to enjoy them all over again. Ken gave thanks and gratitude for the affirmation of his memories. We thank him and Nelson for allowing us to be a part of them also! Stay tuned for the article on Camp Aquilla in the next news letter.

so much history to share. In this article, I will focus on Camp Arundel which was part of the Gansmere Camps owned by Abraham Gans. Nelson Myers, my former camper historian, is a delightful man whose memories are still so vivid they sees to jump right off the page. Nelson shared that Camp Arundel was a Jewish camp as were many in the area during that period in time. Nelson was quick to point out that even though Jewish, there were boys of other faiths there also and they were all respectful of each other when services were attended. The camp was built in 1920 and was run by Abraham Gans, hence Gansmere Camps. In 1952 Mr. Gans sold the camp to Harold Moffie who owned it for just a year at which time Mr. Gans took back ownership. It had the largest basketball court inside a recreation hall in the state. There were 8 cabins which accommodated 7 campers each and a large dining hall. The maximum capacity was 120 boys. A day at the camp started with taps at 7:00 am with campers arising and getting ready to say the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Some of the activities during the day consisted of canoeing, waterskiing and a game called color war which pitted the maroon group against the gray group. The awards were tiles with the name of the person who won and the name of the award. Nelson won two awards as the best camper and athlete. He shared that he was afraid to go out at night or into the water after dark because of the stories of creatures that would attack you. Occasionally there would be intercamp contests with other local camps. The dirt road to the camp was called Gans road which is now Gore Rd. The cost to attend

Do you have any amazing photographs capturing year-round activities, sunrises, sunsets, autumn, spring, wildlife, snow, ice, etc. on our beautiful lake? I am always accepting high resolution .JPEG formatted pictures for consideration for the highly anticipated LSLA Calendar. This year pictures can be submitted to me by July 25, 2022 at dburnell@littlesebagolake.com. The 2023 Calendar will be available at the LSLA annual Labor Day Weekend Sale. Picture Request For 2023 Calendar

CampAquilla 1951 with a few boys from CampArundel. Mr. Gans is the gentleman with glasses.

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