ALEXANDRIA — For Wendy Neiner Pelhan and hundreds of Girl Scouts from central Pennsylvania, there was no cooler place to spend the summer than Camp Barree.

Located in Rothrock State Forest in northern Huntingdon County near Alexandria, Camp Barree was a thriving residential camp for Girls Scouts for more than 45 years.

“I grew up in Belleville and started going to Camp Barree in 1962, at the age of 9, for two weeks each summer, and loved it,” said Pelhan, who now lives in Willow Street, Lancaster County. “I continued going through 1971 and then became a counselor for three years during college.”

As young girls, Pelhan and others were taught campcraft skills, such as fire building, outdoor cooking, safe handling of pocketknives and, as they got older, more advanced skills like lashing, use of hatchets and long-handled axes and cooking with reflector ovens or in bean holes.

“There were girls of all ages at camp, and young girls looked up to the older girls,” Pelhan explained. “We had camp chores to do, but it never felt like work because we were outside, working side by side with friends, and always singing as we worked.

“We learned we could do just about anything when we worked together – rain or shine – and that it was OK to ask for help if needed,” she added.

Many Girl Scouts came from Mifflin County as well as north of Williamsport, western counties of Blair, Cambria, Centre and Clearfield to the southern regions of Harrisburg.

Camp Barree closed in the mid-1980s as it was constructed on land, which was leased from the state. It eventually gave way to two larger, newer scout-owned camps — each more than 200 acres — which offered more security and events, including horseback riding.

Costly repairs to the scout buildings and openness of the camp to public state trails proved to be contributing factors to its demise.

A dedicated group of former campers and counselors known as the Barree Reunion Committee has moved forward with commissioning an engraved plaque to be installed at the site of Phillips Lodge, the dining hall which was at the center of the camp activities from 1938 to 1983.

The cost of the project is $2,300, of which $1,365 has been raised online.

This plaque will honor the history and highlight the importance of the camp to generations of Girl Scouts. Today, the chimney and front steps are all that remain of Phillips Lodge.

Elizabeth England also spent many memorable summers at Camp Barree.

“The camp was special because of its location in the woods with a pond and a variety of accommodations from primitive to platform tents to cabins,” said England, who started attending the camp in 1966 and served on the staff from 1972 to 1975.

“It also offered a wide variety of unique programs that weren’t found anywhere else: not just canoeing but a river trip (Viking) down the Juniata and Susquehanna; hiking skills and a 10-day primitive trip through the forests with a horse and wagon (Gypsy trip); learning leadership skills that I have used and relied on my entire life; and shared experiences that shaped my life,” she added. “I think the most important thing about the camp was the people I met and the friendships I made that have endured to this day.”

During its time, Camp Barree provided programs that nurtured girls into adulthood with outdoor skills, friendships and ethical foundations. Campers and counselors lived in tents or cabins that surrounded the lodge, swam and canoed in a lake formed by McClain’s Run and hiked in the surrounding forest.

“There was a special program for biking and another for hiking and backpacking – called Pioneers – that went on a multi-day backpacking trip, a program to teach basic canoeing, generally followed the next year by becoming a Viking,” Pelhan recalled. “The Vikings took a multi-day canoe trip down the Juniata River from Huntingdon, passing through Lewistown and ending at City Island in Harrisburg, or if the Juniata was too low that year, the group would paddle down the Susquehanna from just south of Williamsport to City Island.

“Girls a little older could sign up for Gypsy, which originally was a three-week program involving primitive camping at a remote spot at Greenwood Furnace State Park and later was changed to a two-week program, still with primitive camping but staying at different sites nearly every night,” she added. “Whether two or three weeks, the group had a covered wagon pulled by a horse to carry our gear while we walked alongside, like a band of gypsies.”

Spending so much time together, working and learning and laughing and singing, many campers became life-long friends. 

“I grew up in Hershey and now live in Palmyra, Lebanon County,” England said. “I have kept in touch with many of the women I went to camp with even though they are now scattered throughout the country. Our committee members hail from Newtown Square, Willow Street, Lebanon, Harrisburg, Camp Hill, Mechanicsburg, Lewistown, Huntingdon, Hollidaysburg, Tyrone and State College.”

The two popular programs for advanced campers were the Viking canoe and Gypsy primitive camping trips. In 1947, the camp was the site of the Girl Scouts’ 35th Anniversary International Camp, hosting 96 girl scouts and guides from all 48 states, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia and 23 countries.

The camp benefitted from local community members who provided strong support in essential services, such as meals, maintenance and overall operations. The lake was stocked with fish that were available to all when the camp was not open.

Anyone interested in donating toward this project or learning more about it can visit https://gofundme.com/f/camp-barree-historical-marker.

Funds will be used to prepare and maintain the site and to purchase and install the engraved bronze plaque. The project is expected to be completed by spring 2024. Any additional monies raised will be used for maintenance of the site where the plaque is installed.

“The camp holds a special place in the hearts of so many for those reasons and more,” Pelhan said. “There are only a few physical reminders of the camp left, and we want to place a plaque on the chimney where the camp dining hall was, so anyone wandering by who sees it will know a little about the place that meant so much to so many of us.”

The history of the camp is documented in the video, “Abandoned Girl Scout Camp Barree,” created by YouTube creator “Scott’s ODDySEEy, of Alexandria, in September 2019. It has more than 4,100 views to date.