The Inaugural Week of Camp in 1943

1943  A circus tent or a revival tent? 

A large colorful circus style tent with red fringe was the shelter for most of the girls and army surplus cots were arranged like spokes of a wheel radiating out from the two center poles.  

An Urban legend says that the tent was actually a revival tent. Rev. Jacobson of Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish, MT bought the tent for $50 from a boarding house after it was left there by a traveling evangelist in lieu of rent. 

1943 Four friends dressed for Sunday camp worship.
1943 Four friends dressed for Sunday camp worship.

The first...

and only week of summer camp in 1943 began on Sunday, July 18 with the arrival of 247 high school campers and adults from across Montana.  Many arrived in pickups, farm trucks and cars that would be called vintage today.   Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp was dedicated to the glory of God on Sunday July 25 in a special worship service at camp.  

By the summer of 1943 the Dining Hall was usable in spite of the tarpaper exterior. And there was a a volley ball court in front.
By the summer of 1943 the Dining Hall was usable in spite of the tarpaper exterior. And there was a a volley ball court in front.

It was camping the old-fashioned way: a wood cook stove in the kitchen, water in buckets from the lake, no indoor plumbing and several wooden outhouses.  The only electric lights were in the dining hall.  Campers remember a table outside the dining hall with white porcelain basins of cold water for hand washing and colorful towels strung on clothes lines between trees.

Women’s church groups sewed mattress covers for the boys.  The boys were responsible for filling the mattresses with straw or wood chips and then finding places to sleep somewhere under the trees. The adult leaders slept in the rustic cabins or brought their own tents. 

  • Swimming area before the dock
    Swimming area before the dock
  • 1943 The Dining Hall doubled as the lecture hall. The blackboard on the north wall was eventually replaced by a fireplace. The log ceiling beams still exist in the older dining area. All of the wood including the heavy floor planks were milled from trees cut on the property.
    1943 The Dining Hall doubled as the lecture hall. The blackboard on the north wall was eventually replaced by a fireplace. The log ceiling beams still exist in the older dining area. All of the wood including the heavy floor planks were milled from trees cut on the property.
  • Dr. Reidar Daehlin, who had been a Missionary in China and Pastor in several Lutheran churches in Montana, was a speaker at the first camp week in 1943.
    Dr. Reidar Daehlin, who had been a Missionary in China and Pastor in several Lutheran churches in Montana, was a speaker at the first camp week in 1943.

  • Camper Remembrances from 1943

  • Faye Manley Hegland, Kalispell

    “I liked the morning classes.  Missions came alive.  I liked the stories of faith and I loved the singing we did at chapel and at campfire.  We had to bring our own shelters the first year.  My father brought a mattress for my friend Hildie McMyre and me.  Her father brought the tent for us. It was good to meet people from all over Montana.”

  • Thelma Tutvedt Johnson, Kalispell

    “After vesper services we would gather around a huge campfire where we sang and spent an hour of fellowship.  We learned a lot of new songs and would gather in three groups, singing and echoing each other.  When the music strains floated through the air, the whole world seemed at peace, because for a while we forgot about this terrible war and the hustle and bustle of the outside world… We all had the most wonderful week of camping we could ever imagine full of inspiration, study and fun.”

  • Bob O’Neil, Kalispell

    “That camp week in 1943 was very influential in my life. The theologians stimulated my thinking about faith and life. They put Jesus and his life into perspective and how he related to our life.  It was an important week for me and I have always remembered it.  I also got to know other youth from around the state and that was a good experience in 1943.  We boys slept on the uneven ground or in tents we brought from home.  The girls were on the flat land in the big tent.”

The first week of camp was rustic.  But then, Montana youth were rugged and they had an amazing experience!