Lutherhaven Turns 50 Camp Celebrates With Party Today

The oil man in the Rolls-Royce knew the 55 acres that roll down to Lake Coeur d’Alene’s Mica Bay like a buckled carpet of green were for sale.

Everything has its price, he suggested to Bob Baker as the towering pines swayed above them in the spring wind. But Baker was adamant. Camp Lutherhaven was not for sale for any price.

“Historically, this camp was here for the kids - and I really affirm that,” said Baker, Lutherhaven executive director. “We’re staying right here. Who would’ve guessed 50 years ago where we’d be now?”

Well, Howard Fetz might have. He suggested building a camp 14 miles south of Coeur d’Alene 51 years ago because he saw its potential.

“I can’t help feel a little pride that the camp lasted so long,” said Fetz, who convinced the area’s Lutherans to take on the back-to-nature project. “I have a lot of belief that God guided the camp.”

Fetz was a young father working in the title insurance business in 1945 when a friend invited him to a Fourth of July gathering.

Fetz’s friend owned 100 wooded acres so remote they were accessible only by boat. Fetz fell in love; the site was perfect for a camp where kids could romp, get as dirty as possible and splash in the lake.

The Inland Empire Lutheran Men’s Club liked Fetz’s idea, bought 16 acres and put Fetz in charge.

Church volunteers built a rustic dining hall and bought a log recreation center and barracks from a defunct Civilian Conservation Corps camp near Avery.

The buildings weren’t quite reassembled when more than 1,000 people gathered on a sunny May 26, 1946, to dedicate the camp.

The joy of dedication day died quickly when bills mounted and money dwindled.

“The board told us that we were out of money and that we’d have to quit,” Fetz said. “I said no.”

Work continued and Fetz sent church checks for payment. Workers held onto the checks until they knew Lutherhaven’s bank account was healthy again.

Churches raised money from benefits and their congregations. The Sons of Norway contributed money from their slot machines, but that provoked some churches to pull out of the project. They wanted nothing to do with “tainted” money.

In June 1946, the first young campers arrived to find cots with no mattresses and dorms with no roofs. Of course, it rained.

“The softball field was a sea of mud,” Reardan’s Pastor Ed Wagner recalled for Lutherhaven’s 40th anniversary in 1986. He has since died.

“We took off our shoes, rolled up our pants legs, sank down to our ankles and had lots of fun.”

Fetz envisioned a year-round camp. But Lutherhaven had years of growing to do before the idea was possible. A hard winter marooned Fetz and his family at Lutherhaven for three weeks in 1949. He stayed for one more summer, then left for Oregon.

“They couldn’t pay a year-round salary and I had a family to support,” said Fetz, who’s 83 and back at Lutherhaven today for the 50th anniversary party.

Lutherhaven has grown by nearly 40 acres. The church began renting the camp to outside groups in the 1960s. In the 1970s, the camp opened year-round and to adults.

Money always was a problem because the church kept camping prices low. A week of outdoor Bible study and fun in the 1940s went for $6. A comparable week this summer will cost $195.

In 1974, Elizabeth Shadwick masterminded the Castaway Fair, a huge sale of secondhand goods that drew swarms of shoppers to the camp for one weekend each May. The sale raised as much as $25,000 a year for Lutherhaven.

It continued for 21 years, until it grew too big for the aging volunteers.

Lutherhaven of the 1990s is stable yet adventurous.

“I like where it’s gone, but I think maybe it’s gone a little too far,” Fetz said. He sees less volunteerism than before and a more businesslike approach.

But apparently, it’s the right approach for the 1990s.

The year-round staff has grown to 14, the summer staff to 45. Nearly every weekend is booked for retreats. Lutherhaven’s frontier experience program for fourth-graders is so popular that schools already reserve spots for next year.

The camp’s challenge course attracts a steady stream of bookings from schools, businesses and organizations. The course is designed for groups and demands cooperation, trust, support and creative thinking.

“The whole philosophy behind the course is to push limits,” said Baker, a former wilderness ranger who joined Lutherhaven two years ago. “Camping is all about taking people out of the familiar. It allows you to make such strides.”

Lutherhaven’s success comes from its willingness to meet the public’s growing demands for comfort and adventure. Now, campers sign on for canoeing programs on the Missouri River and backpacking trips into Montana and British Columbia.

Renovations that start this fall will end the days of communal bathrooms. Each cabin will have its own.

“It’ll be here for the 100th anniversary,” Baker said with conviction. “This camp knows how to keep going.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos (1 color)

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ALL EX-CAMPERS INVITED 50th anniversary activities start at 10 a.m. today with brunch for $6.75. A commemoration ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. followed at 5 p.m. by a Texas-style barbecue for $6.75 per person. All former campers and staff are invited.