Mrs. Holt focused on designing the program, recruiting staff and boys, blazing trails, and raising dormitories and infrastructure. Most of today’s buildings date from her era. Hiking, singing, watersports, 15-mile walks to Plymouth for haircuts(!), crew and the multiday Long Trip were all features of a boy’s summer, many of which remain. It was also during this time that the Cub program for younger boys was born. Go to THE HOLT ERA to learn more about how the Camp grew and boys lived at Mowglis more than a century ago!
Col. Alcott Elwell became Assistant Director in 1920 with Mrs. Holt and began to influence the development of the Camp program. His academic and military backgrounds are strongly reflected in the values Mowglis holds today. It was Col. Elwell who formalized “Industries” to develop boys’ in-depth skills in their chosen activities and who added “School of the Open” to Mowglis’ name. He became Director after Mrs. Holt’s death in 1925. Go to THE ELWELL ERA to learn more about camp life during that time including people like Wah-Pah-Nah-Yah!
While the historical record for this period is thin, we know that the Camp was bought and sold twice. Darwin P. Kingsley, III, a former counselor and assistant director, bought the camp from Col. Elwell in 1953. In 1958, Kingsley sold Mowglis to John C. Adams of Wellesley, Massachusetts, an executive with Boy Scouts of America. Go to THE INTERLUDE YEARS to learn more about their distinctive contributions during their tenures.
John Adams’ personal injury, low enrollment, and financial strain forced the sale of Mowglis again in 1962. Adams could have sold to a developer but he wanted to preserve Mowglis as a camp. The death of Col Elwell in 1962 brought together many formidable Mowglis men who forged a plan to save the Camp and put it on a firm footing for the future. The non-profit Holt-Elwell Memorial Foundation was founded and continues to underpin and support Camp Mowglis. Go to THE HOLT-ELWELL FOUNDATION ERA to learn how Mowglis has flourished since then!
