camps_agq_history

HISTORY

Camp Al-Gon-Quian was originally a farm until the land was purchased by Ann Arborite Herb Twining. Herb was a University of Michigan graduate who initially wanted to be a medical doctor. However, an eye injury as a child prevented him from pursuing a medical career. Herb instead pursued a profession that he found parallel.

Mr. Twining chose a Native American tribe name for the camp because of the great campers they had been. The name Al-Gon-Quian comes from a predominate Native American language. In the English language, Al-Gon-Quian means “bow of a canoe”. Along with the name of the language, Twining also borrowed several names for camper groups. He divided the campers into groups by age, grade, height and weight. Throughout the years, the tribes included the Ottawa, Chippewa, Cree, Ojibwa, Miami, Nipissing and Mississauga. Today our five tribes are divided by age and grade and are names Miami, Cree, Ojibwa, Nipissing and Mississauga. One common element that joins these native tribes together is that of them were a part of the Algonquian linguistic family and spoke Algonquian when together. Al-Gon-Quian is still the universal language for the children who spend their summers with us.

In 1925 Herb opened camp for its first season. Sessions lasted 8 weeks, and boys came from all over Michigan and surrounding states. Prominent families from the Ann Arbor community and the Midwest sent their sons to Camp Al-Gon-Quian. By 1939 Al-Gon-Quian attracted campers from all over the Eastern United States, including: Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Alabama, New York, and Florida. Herb was on the forefront of the camping industry, and was very active with the American Camping Association in its early years, including being the national ACA president from 1935-1936. Herb and his family ran the camp until it was purchased by the Ann Arbor YMCA in 1968. Since 1968, the Ann Arbor YMCA has run Al-Gon-Quian as a coed camp. Most campers come from Michigan, but we also have campers from Ohio, Indiana, Texas, California, and even Mexico, France, Japan, Korea. Over the years the schedule and activities haven’t changed too much, and neither has the magic.