Camp Oshkidee (Jeannette Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada)
In 1970 The Jeannette Lake Camping Association Inc. formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with the vision of establishing a camp board. The Board wished to oversee the creation of a permanent camp site for the benefit of organizations like the Christian Service Brigade (CSB), Pioneer Girls and other Christian groups who felt the need for a site for single short camps and retreats. Henry J. Block served as the Board’s first chair. Central Mennonite Brethren Church and West Portal Mennonite Brethren Church both of Saskatoon had registered CSB Battalions in the 1960s and these participated in the well established CSB camping programs on rented sites.
At the Association's first general meeting on 13 July 1971, held in the basement of the Central Mennonite Brethren Church, it decided to form a year-round camp on Lots #4, 5, and 6 on the north shore of Jeannette Lake leased in the Meadow Lake Provincial Park. They planned the building of a camp chalet and passed a budget of $70,000. At the same meeting memberships were sold and a new Board elected, again with Henry J. Block as chair. Shortly afterwards both Christian Service Brigade and Pioneer Girls National offices declined to support this venture. However, the Board decided to continue as an independent Camp Oshkidee. Jeannette Lake is about 30 km north, northeast of the village of Dorintosh, Saskatchewan. By 2010 the camp was fully winterized and set in the Saskatchewan boreal forest, on a sandy bottom of a clear spring fed northern lake with cedar log buildings.
On 22 July 1973 the inaugural camp was held. At first campers lived in tents and the camp kitchen was in a construction trailer. Soon the main chalet was built. Then a program of trailer camping was developed for families, with July designated as Family Camp Ministry. Camp Oshkidee has in addition to the Chalet which serves a dining room, kitchen, bathrooms and meeting area, a lodge, numerous cabins and a workshop. By 2010 the camp was used year round and often leased to many different Christian organizations for camps and retreats. Later the Association name began to operate as Camp Oshkidee Ministries and operated as an independent interdenominational evangelical board of directors. Most Board members in 2010 were Mennonite Brethren. The name Oshkidee is an aboriginal name meaning "new spirit within."
Additional Information
Address: Camp Oshkidee, 2013 Ewert Ave, Saskatoon, SK S7K 1X6
Phone: 306-665-2267
Website: Camp Oshkidee
Maps
Map:Camp Oshkidee (Jeannette Lake, Saskatchewan)
| Author(s) | Victor Wiebe |
|---|---|
| Date Published | October 2010 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wiebe, Victor. "Camp Oshkidee (Jeannette Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. October 2010. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Camp_Oshkidee_(Jeannette_Lake,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=140905.
APA style
Wiebe, Victor. (October 2010). Camp Oshkidee (Jeannette Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Camp_Oshkidee_(Jeannette_Lake,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=140905.
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