Miniwanca saw the first coed National Leadershiop Conference class, Mama-Wissan (“Many join as one”) with 453 first-year participants. At Merrowvista, Labrador Canoe Adventure Odyssey program begins at Merrowvista.
1980
Kenneth Bryant is named the seventh Executive Director of the AYF, serving until 1985. Due to budgetary reasons, the AYF decides to close Miniwanca Younger Boys camp programs for one year, allocating resources to Merrowvista.
1979
The Voyageur biking trip around Nova Scotia begins for Merrowvista boys in the Four Trails program.
1978
Older Boys and Older Girls camp programs are officially renamed the National Leadership Conference. Miniwanca dedicates the Marie Shaver Center to celebrate Horace’s service to the AYF. The center is still used today for leadership classes during NLC, and as a space to host music Interest Groups.
1975: Experiential Leadership
Dick Phillips is named the sixth Executive Director of the AYF and serves until 1980. Phillips was focused on expanding the experiences offered for leadership instruction at the Older Boys and Older Girls programs. He initiated the Community Forums, bringing in guest speakers to the Council Circle to open and close the conferences, viewing these two keynotes as a convocation …
1970
Joseph Getlin is named the fifth Executive Director and serves until 1975. The Board appoints a long-range planning committee. At Merrowvista, the Four Trails program, the first co-ed AYF program, begins. At Miniwanca, the Jekyll Dormitory is built for additional staff housing.
1969: The origins of Four Trails
Merrowvista creates the AYF’s first Outpost Program, the predecessor to today’s Four Trails program. The first offsite Outpost experience brought campers to Vermont, where they spent three weeks wilderness camping. Younger campers experienced “sleep outs” at the Outpost Campsite on Dan Hole Pond. Outpost was later developed at Miniwanca, following Merrowvista’s model to better engage the participants of the Younger …
1968
Merrowvista dedicates the Dave Green trail in honor of his service to the camp community during and after the camp’s closure due to WWII. Miniwanca builds the Donald Danforth Leadership Center at West Camp and hosts its first Alumni and Family Camp.
1967
Miniwanca builds Orwig Chapel for the Younger Boys program.
1966
Merrowvista builds Holbrook Chapel in memory of former Merrowvista camper Perry Holbrook.
1965
Miniwanca builds the Woods Dormitory to provide housing for the growing number of seasonal staff on site.
1963
William P. Oliver Jr. is named the fourth Executive Director of the AYF and serves until 1970.
1962
Inspired by the early civil rights movement, the AYF actively seeks to increase the number of campers and staff from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Merrowvista builds new villages to meet growing numbers of campers and introduces hogans, covered wagons designed for outcamping adventures.
1961
At Merrowvista, the first two- to three-day White Mountain climbing trips for Older Boys campers begin, and New Jersey lodge is built through the generosity of New Jersey alumni and friends.
1960: A fire at Miniwanca
A fire breaks out during lunch on the last day of Younger Girls camp at Miniwanca. Horace and Dorty sends seasonal staff out of the building to call for help and monitor the situation, then instructs the campers to grab some fruit and head straight down to the beach. Dorty makes sure all the campers face the water so they …
1959
A second Council Circle is built at Miniwanca East Camp for the Younger Boys program.
1957
F. Robert Steiger is named the third Executive Director of the AYF and serves until 1963.
1955
Miniwanca replaces tents with the first primitive cabins, simple structures that used the existing tent platforms with supports at the four corners, roofs, and canvas flaps for walls.
1952
Miniwanca builds a new Eating Lodge on the site of the original at West Camp. The new Eating Lodge features a lamella-style roof, which is self-supporting without pillars or posts, providing a large floor space. The architect used the same design at the former St. Louis Arena hockey rink, also called the Checkerdome.
1950
Older Boys and Older Girls programs recommence at Merrowvista after eight years, under the leadership of Director Dave Green. At Miniwanca, OB and OG class donations fund the construction of The Fellowship Center, and rocks from each of the 49 states are included in the fireplace.
1947
On Labor Day, several Merrowvista alumni meet at Sentinel Lodge to launch a grassroots campaign to reopen Merrowvista after its closure during WWII. Dedicated volunteers run the camp for three years before its official reopening, with camp operations transferred back to AYF.
1944
Miniwanca replaces a wooden bridge over Stony Creek with a concrete one for easier access to the camp.
1942: World War II
The United States’ involvement in WWII impacts every aspect of life in America. Rising to the challenges of the time, AYF programs are adjusted to meet the needs of a wartime world. The country implements national sugar and fuel rations, and the camps and the families they serve feel the strain. Merrowvista closes due to lack of supplies. Miniwanca remains open, …
1941
The I Dare You! Leadership Award is created and available to every secondary school and 4-H program in the U.S. and Canada. All recipients get a certificate and a copy of “I Dare You!” At Miniwanca, The AYF builds the Church of the Dunes.
