Kiwanis Camper Perspective on life at Interlaken

A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp explores the history of the land that we have all called Olympia Sports Camp for the last 50 years. The book looks at the Indigenous beginnings of the area, the European settlement process from 1850 to 1920, and the purchase of the land in 1942 by the Royal Norwegian Air Force to be used as Vessel Skaugum,  a training adjunct to their training base at the Muskoka Airport. The land was sold in 1945 to the Kiwanis Club of Toronto, which ran a camp for underprivileged children until 1975, and then ultimately the property was bought  by Dave Grace for his permanent location of OSC in 1979. 

The Kiwanis years bring another layer of the use of the land for the good of others, and we're sure that the stories from those 30 years mirror what has taken place at Olympia since.

People who love Olympia Sports Camp will love the story of Doug Pasley.

Just a few weeks ago Greg Rogers was coming out of his cabin and noticed a man leaning against the white fence that lines the property at Limberlost Road and struck up a conversation. It was so inspiring a story that Greg contacted me and I, in turn, pursued what turned out to be a missing piece of the beautiful history of a camp site that was making the world a better place, for decades.

My conversation with Doug and his wife Anne was another example of the phenomenal people I've met on this journey, and the great people  that we all meet through our lives, and what they can teach us. It was an honour and thrill to speak to someone whose experiences captures a segment of the history of Interlaken just after the second world war. 

Doug Pasley, now 86, was a camper at Kiwanis Camp from 1947-1951. Needless to say, his description of life at camp is much different than the facilities enjoyed these days at Olympia, but his experiences and stories are just as priceless.

Doug was raised in the Regent Park area of Toronto and went to Central Tech High School. He would never have been able to afford a summer camp experience if it wasn't for the Kiwanis Club. The first two years he went, the cost for two weeks was $10; and that included the bus ride up from the city. He joked that the price went up in year three- to $12 for the two weeks! Inflation! He went on to become a plumber by trade but also served on the police force for 6 years. What a fine gentleman.

Doug learned to swim in Long Lake, which Olympians now know as Dotty Lake, and actually most of their swimming was in Long Lake, but made use of Fatty Lake, now called Oxbow Lake. Every morning the boys would head to the lake, take a towel and a bar of soap to wash up. They also would take the camp's only rowboat, which could hold six people, and explore the beautiful Muskoka waters. I smiled when Doug told me they had one rowboat, thinking of the array of watercraft that Olympia campers now have access to.

How much did Doug love his time at Kiwanis? For years he and Anne have taken their canoe and set it in Dotty Lake and go for a spin, and sometimes would cross the road and go for a stroll around the grounds of Olympia. That's what they were doing when they ran into Greg Rogers.

Daily life at Kiwanis involved swimming, fishing, boxing, softball, camp fires and a whole lot of fun. To Doug a favourite part of the morning, which echoes life at Olympia years later, there was a motivational Thought For the Day that was explained at breakfast. Every Day. He remembers hearing the story of Jesse Owens, who won 4 gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics; in a sense beating the Nazi's on their own turf, something the RNAF had just helped do to end WW ll. He also remembers stories of the exploits of baseball star Babe Ruth, who had recently died in 1948.

Doug also remembered having overnights on nearby Tasso Lake, just a few kilometres from camp.  Back then Limberlost Road ended at Tasso Lake. Modern Olympians may know that the road was extended through all the way to Camp Lake, more than 12 kms from camp. Doug remembers that they would hear wolves all night.

Every day there would be a fishing derby, where the biggest catch garnered the winning angler a chocolate bar. The fishing derby would take place in the brook that runs through the camp, and the current location of the Walker D Russell bridge. There would be staff/ camper softball games, with a cold drink and chocolate bar being shared afterward. At the end of the two weeks there would be an Olympics, with cabin vs cabin in various events. 

With the war being so fresh in everyone's mind, and the mutual respect that existed between the Canadians and the Norwegians, the Norwegian Flag would be flown for a day and the stories of the brave airmen would be shared. Doug still looks back at the Norwegians as heroes and loved seeing the monument to the fallen just outside the main dining hall. 

Doug first went to Kiwanis in '47 but already there was a story that would shake any young camper. In 1946, the very first post-war year at the new camp, a boy went exploring in the woods and got lost. He was missing in the woods for 3 or 4  days and  400 soldiers from Base Petawawa were brought in to aid in the search. Luckily the boy was found in good health but the event called for some rule changes!

Doug also loved when Mounties came to visit the camp. They would come and talk to the boys about the importance of citizenship and their role in a great society. The picture above is one such Mountie sharing time with Doug and another boy just outside the Hudson Bay Building, where the boys stayed. The Hudson Bay building was built in 1873 and was used by the RNAF, Kiwanis camp, and Olympia Sports Camp until it was demolished in 2000, to be replaced by what staff now call "The Box."

Another legendary hero often came to visit the camp to do good work teaching the boys life lessons and how to take care of themselves. World Champion wrestler Whipper Billy Watson was a regular at camp and would donate his time and help raise money for the Kinsman Club to help subsidize the cost of camp.

Doug said that the food was always great and plentiful but the highlight was a corn roast, where each camper got two cobs. Doug often connived staff in his attempts to get a third.

The summer's schedule would have girls come up the first two weeks of camp, and the rest of the summer was made up of 3 different groups of boys coming for two weeks each. There were about 100 campers per week.

When the RNAF sold the property after the war all they wanted was that the camp to be used for young people to enjoy the beauty of Muskoka and a camp setting. They saw its legacy as a way to thank Canada for their help throughout the war. The Kiwanis Club took it a step  further by offering the camp to kids who may not have ever had a camp experience. From that opportunity a great man like Doug Pasley got to learn and grow. He appreciated the opportunity so much that he frequents the area to this day.

By the way, I asked Doug for a picture if possible to go with the story and he took this picture out of a frame and mailed it to me! He said he's seen the picture a thousand times and it was time to share it with others who may appreciate the history and the journey that the picture captures.

Thanks for sharing of your passion and everything Interlaken Doug and Anne. 

The people we get to meet on our journey.

Upcoming Book Event

Mistletoe Market 

Date:  Saturday, November 23, 2024

Time:  9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Location:  St. John the Baptist Church, 2016 Blairholm Ave., Burlington, Ontario 

Books Also Available at: 

 - Amazon and Indigo.ca

-  Indigo, Burlington Brant Street location.

- The Different Drummer Book Store on Locust Street in Burlington\

- Cedar Canoe Books on Main St in Huntsville

- Etransfer me $30 and I'll drive it to your house ! 

- available online at aherosjourney.ca

- audiobook version is available at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes 

If you would like us to come to your town for a book event or get copies into your favourite bookstore , email me at coachdools71@gmail.com. We travel well.