Camp Highlands

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Camp Highlands for Boys is a private summer camp in Sayner, Wisconsin. The camp was founded in 1904 by Harry O. Gillet, Director of the University of Chicago Laboratory School. (Mr. Gillet was the successor to Lab School founder John Dewey.) At the urging of Lab School parents, property on Plum Lake was purchased, removing the boys from an industrial, soot and stockyard choked Chicago, and immersing them in the Northwoods, where they would experience a summer of physical activity, wilderness and fellowship. Star Lake, adjacent to Plum, was the end of the line for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul railroad. Until 1922, the only transportation into the area was by rail and water. Boys were dropped at Plum Lake Station by the "Camp Special" (originating at Union Station in Chicago) and ferried to the opposite shore.

William J. Monilaw M.D., Laboratory School Doctor and Athletic Coach, bought the camp from Mr. Gillet in 1914. The former Drake University and University of Missouri athletic coach (football, track & field), directed until 1959, creating the physical and philosophical structures still in place today. Under his leadership, the camp experience grew to include athletic training, character building, and wilderness tripping. Today's tripping program includes sailing and sea kayaking excursions through the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, canoeing in the Canadian Boundary Waters, and hiking in the Porcupine Mountains, Isle Royale National Park, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Notable early alumni who may have been impacted by Camp Highlands and its philosophies include Senator William Proxmire, Cold War strategist and Ambassador to Russia George F. Kennan, and Heisman Trophy winners Jay Berwanger and Nile Kinnick. Berwanger spent the summer prior to winning the first trophy at Camp Highlands in 1935. Kinnick spent the summer of 1938 at Camp and won the trophy in 1939.

More recent alumni include comedian John Roy, philosopher A.J. Julius, photographer Mario Sorrenti, and professional basketball player Steve Goodrich (Chicago Bulls).

Camp Highlands has been owned by former camper Mike Bachmann and his wife Sharon since 1969. It one of the oldest camps in the country.