Having Fun in the Woods

The Wintergarden Youth Hostel was built for the purpose of hosting community events. Initial proposals emphasize the potential uses of the lodge for “church youth groups, senior citizens and other adult organizations… teenage dances, bicycle clubs … potlucks, and picnics.” Most importantly, however, the hostel would provide a “desperately needed” shelter for various overnight camps, particularly those of the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.

Major donations from local banks, organizations, and businesses made the construction of the lodge possible. The committee wanted the building to have a “rustic look.” The lodge was built to house 40 people and the building included dormitory areas, a kitchen, and a common dining area. The cost of renting the space was $10 per night per group.

The lodge was a huge success, hosting over 1000 people in its first few months.

In 1994, after three decades of use, the lodge was ready to receive a “facelift.” While the American Youth Hostel Association wanted to take over the lodge, the Park Board turned down their proposal. Instead, the lodge would be renovated and converted from an overnight facility into a general meeting place. In 1996, the hostel was renamed “The Rotary Nature Center.”

Chris Gajewicz, Natural Resources Coordinator of the City of Bowling Green, recalls the lodge when he was a college student. Still today he has fun in the woods professionally as the city of Bowling Green’s Natural Resource Coordinator. In an interview with Madi Stump, Chris explained why he loves the woods so much and all the fun he had in them growing up.

I would immerse myself literally into mud, into dirt, into whatever. And I’d just be this filthy, dirty kid, head to toe completely naked in the woods, but loving every second of it, because I was just at this total level of freedom that I don’t think anybody really gets to experience these days. 

In his role as Natural Resource Coordinator, he spends a lot of time teaching the public how to learn about the natural world around them while having fun in the woods. 

But if I’m talking to just a member of the general public, I don’t use Latin to show how much I know. They don’t care and there’s no connection between that average listener. Now, I will use Latin when I find a funny Latin name. And if you want to get kids laughing, the American Robin is Turdus migratorius. Well, turds that migrate. Oh my gosh, that’s hilarious. And you get them laughing and they’re like, “Oh okay.”

 The interview can be found here. 

Learning More

Alfred Runte’s book National Parks: The American Experience and Ken Burns’ documentary The National Parks: America’s Greatest Idea recount the national history of preservation, the creation of national parks and the challenges throughout the process. However, many local treasures such as our Wintergarden Nature Preserve, date from the 1980s and 1990s, a moment in which budget support for national parks and forests waned, while community-based land trusts became more dominant.

Sources

Photo Credits

  • The sketch at the bottom is from American Youth Hostels, Inc. “1970 Report for Wintergarden Lodge.” February 26, 1969.
  • The image featured in the poster is not local, it is a stock photo of Canva©.

Text, research and content created by Addison Kennedy, M.A. student in American Culture Studies. Edited by Dr. Amílcar Challú, Associate Professor of History, Bowling Green State University, and Carolyn Dailey, history senior.