Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast is set to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Camp Alice Chester, which offers day and overnight camps at its 333-acre property in the Walworth County community of East Troy.
A daylong camporee will be held on Oct. 5 on the site, which takes its name from the first president of the Milwaukee Girl Scout Council.
“We are going big to celebrate the anniversary because it is such a community staple with some alums coming back every year to help out with improvements around the property,” spokeswoman Emily Roethle said. “We’re celebrating with a full day of camp activities, everything from fishing to archery to scavenger hunts, s’mores and even historical displays.”
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The event, which will be held rain or shine, is open to families and community members. Current Girl Scout membership isn’t needed.
“During the day we’ll take an overhead drone shot with participants who will form the number ‘100’ to commemorate the moment,” Roethle said. “It’ll be a really special experience. We’ll have alums coming from across the country to come back and celebrate with us.”
As many as 800 to 1,000 participants are expected, she said.
Girls Scouts of the USA started in 1912 in Savannah, Georgia, and the organization launched in the Milwaukee area in 1919, with Chester taking the leadership role in 1921.
“Alice loved the outdoors and in 1924 used money gifted to her on her 30th birthday to buy the camp property in East Troy,” Roethle said. “She was really inspired to give Girl Scouts a place to explore the outdoors and create a sense of adventure, especially at a time when that wasn’t necessarily what girls were doing.”
The camp property covered about 100 acres at the time of purchase and has more than tripled in size since.
During the initial year of operation, about 60 Girl Scouts attended camp activities at the site. This year, more than 3,500 campers, in grades K5 through 12, attended various camp programs there.
This year, Girls Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast also partnered with Milwaukee Recreation, a department of Milwaukee Public Schools, for a grant-funded program that allowed 75 students in grades four through eight to attend camp for free.
“We provided them with everything they needed for camp to create that whole experience for them,” Roethle said.
Registration for the camporee and anniversary celebration is open until two days prior to the festivities.
“It’s really nice to see Alice Chester’s legacy live on 100 years later,” Roethle said. “It’s really giving the space for Girl Scouts to be off their phones in nature and really becoming environmental stewards, getting leadership skills and building independence at any age. It’s great to see that the legacy has remained strong.”
To register, visit Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast’s website.
