In June of 1921, Walter A. Maier was invited to speak in Ludington – during his trip, he visited Epworth Heights, a local Methodist summer camp. He wrote of the experience:
“These young people were really engaging in constructive and inspiring work and… some of the best known pastors, lecturers, and professional men of this church would give their services to the young people during the course of the summer… Would it not be splendid if our Church and League could establish similar institutions…?”
Maier and his companions continued to discuss and dream of how this could become a reality. As they were traveling by car during their visit, they had one such conversation. When the obvious obstacles to creating a Lutheran summer camp were brought up, one gentleman in the car remarked, “You can never tell. It may be much easier to start this work than you imagine.”
As it turned out, this travel companion shared the thoughts of Maier and his companions with Charles Starke of Arcadia, MI, who quickly offered the Walther League a tract of 30 acres of land, with a one-half mile frontage of Lake Michigan shoreline, for the purpose of developing a summer Camp.
By August of that same year, representatives of the Walther League traveled up to Arcadia to scout the location offered by Mr. Starke (including Walter A. Maier). Maier described it as consisting “of two connected portions, one to the south, a long and narrower stretch of shore land, with the weird loveliness of dune country, and with sandy beaches, white and dazzling, all bordering on the blue Lake Michigan whose breakers roll in upon this shore in ceaseless succession; the other part to the north, much wider and less hilly, an awe-inspiring virgin forest, pervaded by the pungent odor of the balsam, the pine, the cedar, trees of the Northland, and reaching out to the edge of the lake.”
Upon seeing the land for themselves, the representatives and Starke begin working on a bid to present to the Walther League, acquiring 80 more acres of land (the Bradley farm) and estimating costs of building and materials.
In July of 1922, Robert Starke presents the plan for Camp to the Walther League at their conference in Omaha, NE. After debate over location and resources, the conference approves the resolution which reads:
Resolved: That the convention go on record as endorsing the summer conference plan and be it
Further Resolved: That we gratefully accept the land so generously donated by Mr. Charles Starke, and that we refer to its development for summer camp purposes to the executive board in conjunction with the districts of the central territory.
In August of 1922, Walther League delegates (including W.F. “Chief” Weiherman, E.J. Gallmeyer, A.A. Grossman, E. Kuhlman, and Rev. P. Luecke) visit Arcadia. Soon after this, Chief is named Secretary of this committee and eventually General Manager of the Camp.
Construction began on the “Administration Building” or “Ad Building” (now known as the Assembly) in the spring of 1923. On July 1, 1923, Camp Arcadia officially “opened its doors” with Ted Beiderwieden, Jr. being the first guest to register for the weekly rate of $14.00. During the first several summers of Camp’s existence, Foster House served as the main housing accommodations. A 1923 Model T Ford bus is purchased to help facilitate travel to and from the Betsy River Railway for guests arriving by train.
In the summer of 1924, construction on the Ad Building is finished and Camp Arcadia’s first tournaments are held: women’s tennis, followed by men’s tennis. Lectures are at the heart of the daily program schedule from the beginning – scheduled from 10:00AM – 11:45AM each morning.
In 1926, housing at Camp is improved. The Inn is completed and construction begins on the Schneider cottage, the first cottage built on Camp’s property (interestingly, built to the South of Camp, not to the North, where all of the Cottages remain today).
The summer of 1926 is also when the manager’s report first includes mention of “the family problem.” Primarily designed as a training camp for young Walther Leaguers, Camp was beginning to attract more and more families – facing the problem of housing, feeding and programming for families instead of individuals. By 1928, the first and last week of the season would be devoted specifically to families.
To read more about Camp’s early history and in greater detail, see Camp Arcadia: The First Sixty Years, by Dr. Frank W. Miller, J.B. Publications, Manistee, 1982 and The Hopes and Dreams of All: The International Walther League and Lutheran Youth in American Culture, 1983-1993, Dr. Jon F. Pahl, Wheat Ridge Ministries, Chicago, 1993.
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