The Badge Archive

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Echoes from Camp Kenneydell

Brownie through Senior, 1960s • Camp Alum • Lifelong Scout

“Seven summers in nirvana. The memory brings me to my knees in longing to have the days back. I am grateful for the echoes.”
— Gretchen S., on her Girl Scout camp experience

Seven Summers, One Camp

Gretchen attended Camp Kenneydell in Washington State for seven consecutive summers (“every year of eligibility”) under the Tall Timbers Girl Scout Council. From Brownie-age tent platforms in Sleepy Hollow to A-frame cabins in Sherwood Forest, camp offered her adventure, independence, and lifelong friendships.

Her troop backpacked #10 cans of vegetables across camp to condition for mountain hiking, sang on long lodge porches, and told ghost stories until Taps echoed from the flagpole. Reveille called them back to duty each morning. Flashlights off. Then they slept.

Earning the Canoeing Badge

On the chilly lake at Kenneydell, Gretchen earned her canoeing badge by learning to flip, right, and re-enter a sunken canoe. This was an achievement she vividly remembers decades later. She credits camp with teaching both outdoor survival and quiet bravery.

Camp Culture & Counselors

Gretchen recalls the training of counselors in the CIT compound (“those girls were gods”) and following stocky Scotty in her Scottish plaid tam through trails lined with stinging nettles.

There is a vivid memory of the not-so-glamorous kaper of pouring “johnny juice” (a pungent disinfectant used to manage camp latrines) into outhouses each morning. The camp’s traditions of Reveille, campfire songs, bugle calls, and buddy hikes became part of her personal compass.

A Memory Etched in Place

Though Camp Kenneydell is now a public park and many landmarks have disappeared, Gretchen’s memories remain sharp. “The trails are unrecognizable… But I flash back to the single-file line following Scotty, Turtle, and Skeeter.”

Gretchen’s story reminds us that Girl Scout camps of the past were more than buildings and trails. They were places where girls became themselves.

References:

Staebler, Gretchen. “Memoir of a Girlhood: Tall Timber’s Calling.” Writing down the Story, 18 May 2013, writingdownthestory.com/2013/05/17/tall-timbers-calling/. Accessed 5 July 2025.

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