Camp Junipero Serra

[john morris]

Hello, I was a camper in 1968 and a junior counselor in '69 at Camp Junipero Serra on Jackson Lake. I believe that it was a Catholic boys camp, the Catholic girls camp was Teresita Pines. I would like any information about Camp Junipero Serra. How long was it active, other campers memories, personnel, and what happened to it. I can find no reference to it on the internet and satellite imagery shows nothing. It had stables with horses, who ran that? Thank you in advance for your response.

[Leftfield]

The Lions Club now owns or leases Teresita Pines.  You can see photos on MSN images.   Some of these camps have $1 per 100 year contracts with Non Profits. 

[john morris]

Thank you for that information. Perhaps I'm asking the wrong question. Does anyone know when Camp Junipero Serra closed? Thank you, John

[Elk]

[lagomorphmom]

I would also suggest contacting Terry Graham (Graham_Ranch) on this forum, he knows a lot about the history of the area (as you can see in the Wrightwood History section of the forum.
Wrightwood also has a small museum, I don't know if there is a phone contact number.
Oh, and also the Wrightwood History website. Some of the articles may lead you to your answer through other contacts:
http://www.wrightwoodcalif.com/WrightwoodHistorical/index.html

[john morris]

Thank you for the information. I have sent a message to Terry and I will continue reading the history website, perhaps I will figure it out eventually. Thanks again, John

[Elk]

John Morris - I have been trying to figure out how I can be of more help to you and your quest for info on your beloved camp experience.

I can show you where I have been "told" the location is for the old Camp JS. It is behind and above Jackson Lake just to the west.

I may also be able to help you connect with some Catholic Daughter Alumni from Camp Teresita Pines from back in the day. Some of these ladies still come back to Teresita Pines each year for a reunion. I have heard some of these ladies tell stories of dances with the "boys" from Camp JS from their youth. They have a Facebook page I can share with you privately.

Please PM me and I will provide you with my contact info.

[pyrofxguy]

I was also a camper at J Serra. Some great memories there. I was there in '69. I think I have a picture of me by the camp sign.

[duitoit]

I attended Camp Junipera Serra in 1958 and still have my camp photo. I think a Mr. Sever's ran the camp. Around 1965 I lived in Atascadero. There was a small market in town that was ran by the Drury family. The Drury's son made grocery runs to most of the camps. If he is still in Atascadero and you can track him down he would probably know about it.

[Ted Baumgart]

My first camp experience away from home was at Camp Unipero Serra in the middle 1950s. I remember most of the layout such as the craft room, dining hall, tent cabins, Jackson Lake, and also an 8 mile hike that ended at night in a red ant colony where kids were jumping out of their sleeping bags like Mexican jumping beans. Some of the things that went on would not be PC today but make for colorful stories. I may have a photo or two plus the lonely letters I wrote home that my mom may have saved. This will take some digging. I am interested in anyone else's memories and especially photos of the grounds because I may do an art project very soon based on the camp.

[duitoit]

I still have my camp photo, panorama, from 1958 and my shoulder patch. I'm away from home although when I return I will try to scan them and post them. One of the things that I always remember was when the buses left the highway to get to the Camp and everyone wondered if they would make that tight turn between the trees on one try?

[Ted Baumgart]

Fabulous! The photos would be particularly appreciated but all materials can be important. This art project is within the USFS Artist in Residence program and I intend to illustrate and create a short story about Camp Junipero Serra. This will be donated to the Forest Service. Additionally, with formal permissions from contributors such as yourself all Camp Junipero Serra materials scanned and recorded will be assembled into an augmented reality app for cell phone users who can center their phone's camera on the work and at the actual location near Jackson Lake and see the extra materials associated with it. Ironically the original idea was to get young people off their cell phones while in the forest!

[duitoit]

Hi Ted. Do you have another email address. I can't find how to send a photo to you on this web page.

[Ted Baumgart]

Alright! I do have several email addresses that routinely take big files, especially of photos and artwork. New to this forum I'm not sure if one puts email addresses on the forum for all to see. Maybe someone knows. I will look around the site in the hopes of further understanding what I am doing!

[Wrightwood]

These were sent to me.

[tcaarabians]

Great photos.

Ted, you can send a 'personal message' to someone in the group by clicking on their name. The options come up. Click on send 'pm'  Then you can send your personal e addy to a person off the group site or any other message. You can practice on me if you want to.

I love the idea of your project and hope you can achieve it.  cheryl o7o

p.s. I have my son's 'letters from camp' framed. But, I can't hang them where his children might see them until they're older. They are classics.

[Doherty]

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