Camp Kanuka was founded by John D. Plant, Earl C. MacArthur, former president of Paul Smith's College, and E. Arthur Rogers, of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise on Osgood Pond. Later operated by Mr. Plant, the Kanuka Camps moved to Lake Clear. 1 The main building had a fireplace, social room, dining room, kitchen, office, game room and reading room. There were eight bungalows for the thirty to forty campers.
When the camp was closed after the 1935 season, the Kanuka property was divided among the three owners, and it became known as the "Kanuka Camps".
From the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, October 1, 1994
Remembering summers on the lake at Camp Kanuka
Camp Kanuka was a boys' camp located on the southern shore of Lake Clear and was founded by three noted men of academic backgrounds in 1916. John D. Plant of Bucknell University, Clinton I. Sprout and Carl E. Geiger, both of the Peddie School, joined forces to create what became a highly respected and successful summer camp that is still well remembered by Saranac Lake and Lake Clear residents. The three founders elected to operate Kanuka on the premise that their programs would emphasize individual participation in all of the camp activities. By contacting boys from varying communities and backgrounds a proper balance could be maintained between the applicants. One boy from Argentina proved to be the most distant attendant. A firm belief was held in the tradition that "there is no better place for teaching the lessons of good citizenship than in a small summer camp directed by men who have a sympathetic understanding of boys' problems."
A camp brochure for the 1929 season asks "Why Kanuka?" and responds with the claim that Kanuka is unique. It is a camp policy that there will be no insistence on cut-and-dried programs that allow no choice but rather to offer a wide variety of recreational activities where each boy is considered to be an important member of the camp family. Monotonous rules and routines are deemed unnecessary while a comradeship prevails. Do these established precepts produce results? The answer is apparently yes, since the campers of 1928 returned 81 percent strong in 1929 and over three-quarters of the boys attended for their third season.
At the campsite the main building overlooked the lake and featured a large fireplace, social room, dining room, kitchen, office, game room, and reading room. Each separate bungalow houses four boys and a counselor with choice of quarters granted according to the order of registration. A sizeable gym supports basketball and other indoor games. The menu boasts an array of fresh local grown vegetables, wholesome meats, fruits, and milk is served at all meals.
Quite naturally, athletics played a major role in the camp activities and prizes are awarded for excellence in each category. John Plant, director of physical education at Bucknell University, is supervisor of the recreational programs while Clinton Sprout coached baseball and swimming with Carl Geiger taking on the basketball seminars. The three owners of Kanuka made up a formidable faculty indeed!
Competition was encouraged in tennis, golf, boxing, and swimming in both intramural and outside engagements. Boating and fishing was available along with hiking and nature studies. Canoe trips of from one to six days duration allowed the campers to enjoy the lake and river attraction while viewing the Adirondack scenery. Side trips to Lake Champlain and Montreal could be arranged under counselor supervision.
The Camp Kanuka season ran from July 5th to Aug. 30th with a fee of $300 per applicant. There were eight bungalows and other accommodations to house 30 to 40 students each season. Visiting fathers and brothers could stay on the premises for $35 per week.
Another summer camp across the lake on the north shore operated as the Taft School. It was located where the Lake Clear Girl Scout Camp presently maintains its scouting program.
The Kanuka season ended with the awarding of medals to those winners of athletic contests and personal achievements. Former recipient of the athletic awards have gone on to outstanding careers at Annapolis, Colgate, Brown, Dartmouth Georgetown, Princeton, Cornell, Yale, and of course, Bucknell. Considering the small enrollment such accomplishments achieved by members of the camp's alumni is remarkable indeed.
The 20th season at Camp Kanuka ended in 1935. At that time the Peddie School opted to operate its own summer camp in New Jersey and the two were more or less entwined.
Clinton Sprout's son, John, and his wife, Carol, have maintained their summer home on a portion of the original Kanuka property, which was divided among the three owners, when the camp was closed after the 1935 season. John's memories of the camp date back to the years when, as a young boy, he spent his summers here. A few of the former bungalows are still visible on the shoreline as nostalgic reminders of a more genteel era when summer camping was not such a frenzied activity.
Many thanks to John Sprout for his help in garnering the material for this article and for the loan of the accompanying photograph.
Lake Placid News, August 11, 1916
The Saranac Lake boys defeated Camp Kanuka by a score of 2 to 0.
Adirondack Record, August 15, 1919
The Saranac Lake baseball team was defeated by the Camp Kanuka team at Paul Smiths before a large crowd last week Friday by a score of 9 to 2. Shea, who occupied the hurling mound for Saranac Lake, blew up after several rounds and Camp Kanuka romped away with the game. Quinn caught for Saranac Lake.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, June 14, 1948
Mr. and Mrs. Sigmund Samuelson and daughter, Jane and Mr. and Mrs. Irving Grossman and daughter, Judy, arrived Saturday night from New York city to spend the summer months at the Kanuka camps, Lake Clear.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, September 18, 1952
Mrs. John D. Plant left today for her home in Lewisburg, Pa., after spending the summer at Kanuka Camps in Lake Clear. Her son, Allen Farrington, has taken an apartment at 8 Broadway until next summer.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, July 26, 1954
Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Newmark, of Jamaica Estates, are spending the Summer at Kanuka Camps, on Lake Clear. Mrs. B. Rothschild, of Long Island, is a guest of the Newmarks this week."
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, August 4, 1954
Dr. and Mrs. Harold Sandhaus and children, of Malverne, L.I., and Joseph Sandhaus, of Lancaster, Pa., are spending two weeks at Kanuka Camps, Lake Clear.
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Footnotes
1. Adirondack Daily Enterprise, February 22, 1954
