Lou and Omer choose the site on South Tea lake surveyed and rejected by Taylor Statten for their girl's camp. Original building/ clearing crew included Omer's brothers, Jim and Wam Stringer, his uncle, Alex Culhane, and Kate and Harry (the Horses). Archive 1354 has more info on other sites where camp might have been.
First year of camp. Construction of the Dining Hall (Beaver Lodge), Log cabin, and Office.
Construction of Main Camp camper cabins. The 1942 movie shows the Musclow lease (now our boat landing and "Lou's Cabin") as the site of the proposed girl's camp.
Camp is closed due to WWII. It resumed in 1946.
Construction of Rec Hall, Boy's camper cabins, biffies, and Power House.
Waterfront Cabin built
Construction of The Slope, Medicine Lodge, and Girl's cabins. Ada Bandalene's first year. First year of Girl's camp, or is it Girls' Camp?
Construction of Boat House and Tuck Shop.
On the Last day of camp, the boat 'Jennifer Jo' explodes in the boathouse with Jackie Boldt on board. Jackie survives, but the boat and boathouse are lost to fire. Old Tamakwans still refer to the existing boathouse as the 'New' Boathouse.
David Stringer enters Forester 1.
Waterskiing activity comes to camp with the ski boat "Wee Esta", pictured on the 1957 plaque. Also, Elaine Fanning (then Bowman) becomes the full-time secretary in Detroit and starts a twenty-year span at camp.
The current pump house makes its debut. It replaces a pump in canoe bay that fed the concrete tank up on the hill. The pump house base became the "beaver dock". The retired girl's camp pump house can be seen in archive #155
Jerry Cohn, Chris Thompson and John Fanning lead the first Tamakwa 13 day canoe trip which paddles via Kiosk to the Ottawa River then to Pembroke, returning to the park via the train to Brent.
Kal Bandalene starts as assistant director
Camp cuisine changes dramatically with the addition of a french fryer machine. The 100 pound bottles of propane have to be replaced with a 1000 gallon propane tank to run it.
During the winter of '67-'68, the dead cedar falls and becomes the Lucky Log.
Marilyn Mendelson comes to camp
Esta passes
Libby Sadick at age 12 begins her life-long journey at Tamakwa.
Lou passes. A memorial service is held on the slope.
A terrible spring-time fire demolishes the old boathouse and the black pointer. Ironically, the black pointer's name officially was 'Jennifer Jo II' (See 1955). Kal's last summer as Camp Director.
Mike Kraft passes
Ken Elder begins a 40 year run as chief engineer.
Club Med cabin debut.
Major renovation of the Dining Hall, and the first year of the Bayview cabin.
Bert and Ernie replace the 4th and 7th cabins on Girl's Hill. Construction of Half-Court Tennis courts. Art room remodeled and Art Decko is born.
First year of half-court tennis activity.
Omer passes
Debut of Ropes, and Clay (as separate from Arts & Crafts).
Filming of 'Indian Summer' and the final year of waterskiing.
Debut of "Plat-Forum", basketball court and hockey rink. Trail Biking activity's first year.
Happy Isle cabin replaces the old Medicine Lodge in the swamp.
Construction of the "Beachers". A fire wipes out three staff cabins near the tennis court, which are re-constructed just in time for the summer.
First year of Sunbeam cabin.
The ballfield gets leveled, and home plate is moved to the north side. New dugouts. Marge the Barge is new. First year of Woodshop activity.
Eustache (formerly the 8th. cabin on Girl's hill) is re-born with a major renovation. Probable year of the re-built "Ranger" biffy on boy's hill.
Rec Hall structural renovation.
Phyllis Handler (Lou's wife) passes. Opeongo debuts on the site of the 5th. cabin on Girl's hill.
The 2nd. cabin on Girls' hill replaced with Namakootchie
On the original site of Forester 1 (aka "Cheers"), the new medical facility sprouts. It is huge, so Stringer dubs it "The Monstrospital"
Loon Lodge Debuts on the site of the original first building. Also a reno of the kitchen's original walk-in Fridge and freezers.
New massive sewage system installed with giant tank displacing the swing set. The ball-field is dug up to install "infiltrators".
Kal Bandalene passes.
Howard Perlmutter passes.
John Fiddes passes.
Dave Bale passes.
Ken Elder retires after 40 years, having built or renovated 99% of camp.
Covid-19 prevents camp from opening. A small crew renovates the Art Room, TeePee Hill cabins, Half-Court, Staff Rec, Dining Hall, kitchen, and Office roofs, A director cabin (Kudlats), Unca and Esta guest cabins. As well, the office floors are restored to 1940's condition, and the Girls cabins are decorated with colored accents. The Slope is entirely re-built from scratch in cedar, and the Radio Station (Forester Biffy) is re-built. CAMP Radio streams to the world for the first time.
Pickleball replaces half-court tennis. First year of the new boathouse (number 3 on the same location), and Yamaha engines on all three pointers.
