Camp Mowglis

{{Short description|Boys summer camp in New Hampshire, US}}

{{Infobox campground

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| name = Camp Mowglis

| image = File:Camp_Mowglis_Logo.jpeg

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| location = East Hebron, New Hampshire

| coordinates = {{Coord|43|41|46|N|71|46|15|W|type:landmark|display=inline}}

| pushpin_map = New Hampshire

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| operated_by = Holt Elwell Memorial Foundation

| established = {{Start date|1903}}

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| website = {{Url|http://www.mowglis.org/}}

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{{Infobox NRHP

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| name = Camp Mowglis

| nrhp_type = nrhp

| image = Mowglis campers loading crew boat.jpeg

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| caption = Mowglis campers loading crew boat

| added = June 20, 2019

| refnum = 100004085

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Camp Mowglis is a nonprofit residential camp for boys. Founded in 1903, it is one of the oldest summer camps in the United States. It is located in Hebron, New Hampshire, on the shores of Newfound Lake. It's owned by the nonprofit Holt Elwell Memorial Foundation.{{cite web| title=Holt Elwell Memorial Foundation| url=http://www.mowglis.org/about/holt-elwell-memorial-foundation/| publisher=Camp Mowglis}} Mowglis was founded by Elizabeth Ford Holt and the camp includes some themes from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.{{cite book| last1=Hoflen| first1=Jeanne Mulhern| last2=Hoflen| first2=Kent G.| title=Newfound Lake| date=2011| publisher=Arcadia Pub.| location=Charleston, SC| isbn=9780738576657| page=85| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qbuoyHLNCrEC&q=%22Camp+Mowglis%22+Rudyard+Kipling&pg=PA85}} The camp was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

The symbol of the camp is a wolf cub. The Mowglis Mountain and its Mowglis Trail in New Hampshire get their name from the camp. Many of the surrounding trails were maintained by the camp's boys.{{Cite web |last=DuBOIS |first=GORDON |title=Finding Mowgli on Mowglis |url=https://www.laconiadailysun.com/community/outdoors/finding-mowgli-on-mowglis/article_56c09654-0bca-11ea-8cc7-e74facdcd6ca.html |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=The Laconia Daily Sun |date=21 November 2019 |language=en}}

History

File:1940 atop Mount Jefferson.jpg]]

At the turn of the 20th century, Elizabeth Ford Holt, a reformer from Cambridge, Massachusetts, became interested in establishing summer camps to encourage character development in children. In 1900, she started a short-lived camp for girls, Redcroft, which historian Barksdale Maynard called "the first girls camp of significance."{{cite book| last=Maynard| first=Barksdale| title=Chocorua, Asquam, Pasquaney: Where Summer Camps Began| date=1994| publisher=University of Delaware| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CL-BYgEACAAJ}} Three years later, Holt purchased the Barnard Farm on the shores of Newfound Lake and founded Camp Mowglis, a "School of the Open".{{cite web| title=History of Mowglis| url=http://www.mowglis.org/about/history/| publisher=Holt-Ewell Foundation| accessdate=26 November 2013}} Holt contacted Rudyard Kipling while living at Naulakha in nearby Dummerston, Vermont, and received his permission to borrow names and themes from The Jungle Book.

Rudyard Kipling and his wife Carrie held a lifelong fascination with Camp Mowglis, a summer camp that continues to uphold traditions inspired by Kipling. The camp's wooden structures bear names such as Akela, Toomai, Baloo, and Panther, evoking the imagery from Kipling's stories found in The Jungle Book. The campers, ranging from the youngest "Cubs" to the oldest residing in the "Den," are collectively referred to as "the Pack."

Col. Alcott Farar Elwell, who contributed to the development of many trails in the Mount Carrigan region, was the camp director for more than 50 years.{{Cite news |last=Basch |first=Marty |date=17 June 2018 |title=Outdoor Adventures: The 'Other' Sugarloafs Can Be Quite the Find |work=Valley News |url=https://www.vnews.com/Newfound-Lake-Hiking-18189759 |access-date=28 August 2022}}

File:1956 Camp Mowglis Waterfront.jpg

In 2012, Camp Director Sam Punderson retired, and the foundation hired Nick Robbins as the new director. A graduate of Colorado College, Robbins has been a year-round camp director for the camp since 2013.{{Cite web |last=Hart |first=James |title=The Year-Round Team |url=https://www.mowglis.org/staffbios/ |access-date=2022-06-15 |publisher=Camp Mowglis |language=en-US}} Robbins is active with the American Camp Association and certified Outdoor Emergency Care Provider with the National Ski Patrol.{{cite web|title=Director Page|url=http://www.mowglis.org/about/director/ |publisher=Camp Mowglis}}

Notable alumni

  • Frank Mauran (1925–2022), President of the Providence Steamboat Company (1967–1982){{Cite web |title=The Providence Journal Obituaries in Providence, RI |work=The Providence Journal |url=https://providencejournal.com/obituaries/ppvp0264749 |access-date=2022-08-28 |language=en}}
  • Daniel Dennett, (1945-2024), philosopher{{Cite web |title=Daniel Dennett: Autobiography (Part 1) {{!}} Issue 68 |work=Philosophy Now |url=https://philosophynow.org/issues/68/Daniel_Dennett_Autobiography_Part_1 |access-date=2022-08-28}}
  • David Concannon, deep-sea explorer{{Cite web |date=2018-05-17 |title=New Hampshire Summer Camp Stories |url=https://www.nhmagazine.com/new-hampshire-summer-camp-memories/ |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=New Hampshire Magazine |language=en-US}}
  • Charlie Walbridge (b. 1948), whitewater paddler and author
  • Senator John Heinz III (1938-1991), U.S. senator from Pennsylvania{{Cite web |title=The Holt-Elwell Memorial Foundation 2019 Annual Report |url=https://www.mowglis.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-Annual-Report-Web.pdf |publisher=Camp Mowglis}}

See also

References

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