AS GOD GAVE US THE FIRE, SO GAVE HE US 
THE WARMTH OF FRIENDSHIP

The initial part of this segment are sections from the first draft of Lou Ehrenreich’s The History of Camp Kawaga which he completed only two days before his death, December 25, 1974.  Lou had been asked to prepare a history of Camp Kawaga for the American Camping Association.  In so doing, he documented the founding and early development of Camp under the guidance of his father, “Doc E,” who founded Kawaga in 1915.  He also paid tribute to the ideals and philosophies which remain the backbone of Kawaga’s influence on campers and staff.  

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        The ‘saga’ of  Kawaga began in 1878 when an immigrant family landed at Ellis Island.  In addition to the Mother and Father, there were three children in this Ehrenreich family – a six year-old daughter, a son Bernard, and a baby brother.   The parents, speaking only German, settled in an area where they could converse with compatriots.  Their trials and tribulations were many; poverty and austerity was their way of life.  Yet from this most humble beginning the one son, Bernard, became a Rabbi; the other son, Herman, a Doctor of Medicine. 

      From his very early years, Bernard had a keen interest in the youth of his country.  His attendance at the City College of New York was made possible by working as one of the first Playground Directors for the city of New York.  He graduated from City College in 1898 and in 1900 received his degree as Rabbi from the New York Theological Seminary. 

      After serving in the pulpit in Atlantic City and Philadelphia he accepted a call from the congregation in Montgomery, Alabama.  Besides his religious duties, his primary interest continued to be the youth of his country.  This was graphically shown by an article in the Montgomery Advertiser dated November 18, 1906 with the following headlines and quotes: 

PLEADS FOR YOUTHS

DR. EHRENREICH ADVOCATES JUVENILE COURT

RABBI TELLS HIS CONGREGATION THAT IT IS DUTY OF THE STATE
 TO PROVIDE SUCH A TRIBUNAL  

“The sermon was pervaded throughout by the earnestness and deep interest in humanitarian work that has characterized the Rabbi’s efforts  since his assumption of the duties of his new charge, and showed not only his philanthropy, but his thorough knowledge and sympathy with this important subject.”

      The years rolled along, and “Doc E”’s interest in youth continued to burn unabated.  For many years the family summered in the state of Maine, where one of his primary desires was to find a suitable site for a boys’ camp.  During one of these summers he made the acquaintance of George Kohut, owner and Director of Camp Kohut for boys.  Dr. Kohut kept alive in “Doc E” the desire to found a boys’ camp and was most helpful with the general organizational plans for such a camp.

      Not having found a site suitable to himself of his pocketbook, “Doc E” decided to summer in Wisconsin in 1915.  After much searching, no site was found, but on the last day of his vacation, lo and behold, he found a spot that he considered ideal – 160 acres of forest land with about a mile of lake frontage.  This was the birth of Kawaga. 

      The summer of 1916 was the first year of operation for Kawaga.  There were 13 boys enrolled as campers, including “Doc E”’s son, Lou.  From the first day of operation there was a Resident Physician as well as a very small hospital room, and as the numbers of campers increased in 1918, a Registered Nurse was added to the staff.  Good medical attention was recognized right from the beginning.  There were two counselors during the summer of 1916 sharing counselor duties with both the physician and “Doc E.”

      When Kawaga first opened, camps were practically unheard of.  There were only three other private boys’ camps in Wisconsin: Camp Indianola, Camp Minocqua, and Camp Highlands.  At that time, the common question asked by parents were: 1) Why send a child to camp? 2) What IS a camp? 3) So far away from home!?!  Yet today, camping is well accepted and the main thoughts of a parent is “What camp for my child?”  This evolution came about through the basic concepts of the early founders – their foundations were laid firm and solid.  In an early Kawaga leaflet of 1917, one finds the fundamental thought behind the founding of Kawaga:

“The Director of Camp Kawaga, Dr. B.C. Ehrenreich, because of his contact with boys for many years, felt that he could accomplish more of real value for the growing youth than through the active ministry in which he was engaged at that time.  It was with this thought in mind that he resigned from pulpit activities so as to be able to devote all his time to camping.”

Another early Kawaga brochure carried the following information:

“Why Camps? Camp life is an educational institution.  Play is essential.  Trained Counselors.  Every boy an active participant.  Kawaga is healthy.   Good food!”

      Kawaga continued to thrive and grow and in 1919 an additional tract of 160 acres of forest land was bought including another one-half mile of lake frontage.  This new acquisition bordered the original purchase.

      Originally, Kawaga was a tent camp.  Ever so much had to be learned.  There was no road in to Camp.  Boys, supplies, building materials, etc. had to be brought to Camp via motor boats and a barge.  Of course there was no telephone, and on many a trip to meet the train in the town of Minocqua – a distance of about three miles by water – invariably the train would be two or three hours late and there was nothing to do but wait!

      Milk was purchased from a local farmer who brought the milk to Smith’s Landing which was a two mile row by boat each way.  This journey had to be made in the mornings – no matter how rough the lake, and regardless of the weather.  This was a sought out chore by the counselors who were anxious to get the body building exercise.  Or was it the opportunity of getting away for a couple of hours. 

      The first concrete tennis court was built in 1920.  The only gravel was in the vicinity of Windy Point on Lake Tomahawk – about a ten mile trip by motor boat.  The boats in those days traveled at about 10-12 miles per hour, and when towing a barge, only about two miles per hour.  A local contractor had a barge for rent that held about 30 yards of gravel and this was used for the heavy work ahead.  Once Windy Point was reached there was the chore of hand shoveling the barge full of gravel.  Then the slowest of trips back to the dock at Camp – we arrived too late in the afternoon to unload so we tied the barge securely for the night.  The next morning the unloading began – all the gravel had to be hauled up to the tennis court by wheelbarrow, a distance of over 100 yards.  Then  of course the process was repeated to obtain the necessary sharp sand for the finished cast of cement.  'Twas a bit of a project, but what a pleasure that first hard surface court was!

      We had no electricity, and all water had to be pumped by a gasoline driven pump.  With no electric refrigeration the job of getting the ice house filled every winter was a truly exciting experience.  Then in the summer the wheelbarrow was again needed twice a day to bring huge cakes of ice to the kitchen to fill the ice box.  When the fellows caught fish and wanted to keep part of their catch for awhile they scraped the sawdust away from the ice, placed the fish on the ice, marked it with a stick, and covered it with the sawdust.  That way the fish was ready for scaling whenever the fishermen desired. 

      There were ever so many back-breaking jobs to be done.  For instance, something went awry the first day of Camp.  The contractor had not finished the installation of the gasoline driven pump to supply water to the kitchen, which incidentally, would be the only building supplied with running water.  In the Director’s home there was a hand water pump and the year-round Caretaker’s home had two hand water pumps –one on the inside of his home, the other on the outside.  For the first few days of  Camp all water was transported from the caretaker’s home by bucket, after bucket, after bucket to the kitchen.  Water for drinking, for cooking, for washing dishes, pots and pans, to say nothing of the daily scrubbing of the kitchen floor, the mess hall floor, and the various table tops and benches, all had to be transported in this manner.  The mess hall was named the “Filling Station” that first summer, and that name remains until this day.

      The tuition for eight weeks was $200 and there were campers from Alabama, Mississippi, Chicago, and Hammond, Indiana.  There was an Infirmary which was part of the Director’s home.  Tents were the living quarters for the campers, and both campers and counselors participated in the physical development of Camp.

      The summer of 1920 saw the enrollment up to 90 boys and the camp season was for eight weeks.  A basic concept of Kawaga was, and still is, that each and every camper had to be well known by all –campers, counselors, director, maintenance staff, etc.

      How well I can remember when the first cabin was built in 1920. NO ONE wanted to be a “panty waist” and live in a cabin –tents were muchly preferred.  Five boys were summarily placed in Cabin 1, over rather strenuous objections on their parts.  In less than a week, the others were envious of the dwellers in Cabin 1.  The cabins were screened, solving to a great extent the presence of mosquitoes, and what “plush” living that was.  During the next two years all tents were replaced by cabins. 

      The year of 1921 saw the first introduction of a Kohler electric generating plant.  This meant plenty of water, the replacement of the “outhouses” with sanitary plumbing, electric refrigeration, and a few scattered light bulbs.  This was civilization at its zenith.

      From the first days of Camp, Nature and Conservation were strongly emphasized.  In explaining to his charges the name of GOD, “Doc E” did it in this fashion.  Take the “G” from GREAT, the “O” from OUT, and the “D” from DOORS and the GREAT OUT DOORS can be translated into the name of GOD. This was, of course, elaborated on and today, sixty years later, this thought remains strong in the hearts and minds of innumerable boys, and many of these boys are now elderly men.

      The following quotes are basic concepts of Kawaga as established by “DOC E” 
way back during the founding years:

“The underlying ideal of Camp Kawaga is Character Building. FUN, yes, but always with the thought in mind of its final effect on the boy.”

“As God gave us the fire, so gave He us the warmth of friendship.”

“Game and Hike and Swimming ended,

lake aflame with setting Sun,

Campfire glow and twilight blended,

Bugle call the day is done.

In the hush a boy’s voice falters,

Uttering an evening prayer,

Stars and lakes and woods his altars,

GOD is very near him there.”

      As it must to all of us, Eternal Sleep came to the Founder of Kawaga on March 10, 1955.  Following are just a few samples of the hundreds of letters that were received from campers, both past and present, at that time.  All attest to the impact on their lives that “DOC E” and Kawaga had made.

 “His friendly and charitable Spirit combined with a brilliant and scholarly mind made him one of the most magnificent personalities I have ever known.  How generously the good Lord used him and his abilities.”

“As long as there is a Camp Kawaga building boys into men, and men into gentility, he can never die.  We who have had the privilege of knowing “DOC E” and in sharing in his teachings and his leadership know that we have absorbed the finer things of like throughout our association with him.”

“DOC E” and Kawaga are so engrained in my soul that often I find myself quoting many of his meaningful phrases:

“As GOD gave us the fire, so gave HE us the warmth of friendship”

“Build me a son . . . humble and gently in victory”

“As the moon wends its way across the Heavens.”

“GOD is in his Holy Temple.”

      The preceding history of Camp Kawaga is testimony to the devotion of “Doc E” to Kawaga.  The remaining history of Kawaga continued when his son, Lou, took over in 1941.
 
      Both “Doc E” and Kawaga were fortunate that when time came for him to retire in 1940, his son Lou was not only willing, but eager to carry on the Kawaga tradition.  Lou had been one of Kawaga’s original campers during the first season in 1916 and throughout his years as camper, counselor, and Director, never missed a summer.  Together with his wife, Dag, Lou Ehrenreich built Kawaga into one of America’s finest boy’s camps.

      In Lou’s words, “the life and continuance of Kawaga, with all that it means was of concern for both Dag and me” in the years prior to his retirement in 1968.  That year, in a ceremony which will be long remembered, Lou and Dag passed the perpetual torch of Kawaga to Ron and Liz Silverstein, confident that putting Kawaga first, they had chosen “a man and his wife who would carry on, enlarge, and elaborate on all that Kawaga means.” 

      In that ceremony, Lou addressed the Kawaga Nation with a short history of camping, describing his early days at Kawaga as a ten year old camper, and his subsequent career at Kawaga.  Lou closed his speech by saying:

“Time hurried along and in 1940, Doc E retired and I became Director.  Success of Kawaga depends on not one individual, but is a combination of loyal alumni, campers, parents, and staff.  As Director I can only set the tempo and I am eternally grateful to the hundreds of Kawagians for your devotion for these many years.

“Kawaga is not just another camp – Kawaga is a heritage and a way of life.  ‘As God Gave us the Fire, So Gave He us the Warmth of Friendship.’  I am sure this is deeply engraved in your hearts as well as mine.  This devotion, this love – was inherited by me from Doc E, and it has been my proud privilege to carry on and not only perpetuate, but to add to and increase.

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         Ron and Liz Silverstein carried the torch for eighteen years and under their leadership Kawaga continued to reach the highest standards of Sportsmanship, Fellowship, Enthusiasm, and Spirit.  With the close of the 1986 camping season, the torch of Kawaga was passed for only the second time.  In a ceremony similar to the one eighteen years earlier, Ron and Liz announced their retirement and the passing of the torch to a Kawaga family, the four Fisher brothers: Bob, Michael, Marc, and David (“Duke”). 

      Having grown up at Kawaga, the Fishers were committed to the ideals, traditions, and philosophies of Kawaga.  The Fisher brothers brought youth, energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to Kawaga, to lead Camp toward the completion of its first 100 years.  That first year, they also brought along Hollis Herrell, a long-time Kawagian, to serve as Associate Director.  That summer, Duke took over as Director, where he remained until 1992.  In that time, Duke was an integral part of Kawaga.  Similar to Lou, Duke spent eighteen consecutive years on the shores of Kawaguesaga as a camper, counselor, and Director.  Modeling the goals embodied in Kawaga’s Ideal, Duke served as an example for all campers and staff under his direction, as he always put tremendous stress on Sportsmanship and Fellowship. 

      In 2002, David Tasner, better known as "Taz", became just the 6th Director in Kawaga's illustrious history.  As a 3^rd generation, born and bred Kawaga Brave, Taz spent 16 summers at Kawaga prior to becoming Director.  Going from Best All-Around Camper to counselor, Program Director, and Assistant Director, Taz has been intimately involved with every aspect of camp.  He will most ably carry on the traditions of Doc E, Lou, Ron Silverstein, David Fisher and the Shiners.  Under the guidance of the Fisher family and Taz, Kawaga will continue to have superb and innovative programming, a first-rate facility, outstanding staff, steadfast traditions, and great fun.  The future for Camp Kawaga has never looked brighter!

Kawaga Alumni Association