Evening star., 1937-07-29
YOUNG ART BUDS
AT MUSICAL CAMP
InterloChen Resounds With
Efforts Of Nations Boys
and Girls.
By the Associated Press.

INTERLOCHEN, Mich, July 29.-
The National Music Camp, wooded
scene of one of Americas best efforts
to do something with the thousands
OF young musicians being created now
adays, began as dramatic stunt
Before it took root here. between the
Michigan cucumber pickle belt and the
famous Traverse City cherry district,
it was merely a group of high school
instrumentalists gathered from all
over the land to play for the Music
Educators National Conference.
This was in 1926 in Detroit, with
Dr. Joseph E. Maddy and Ossip
Gabrilowitsch as conductors. After
four days rehearsal the program was
80 good it began generating ideas IL
numerous heads-those of Dr. Maddy
and r. P. Giddings, director of public
school music in Minneapolis, predomi-
mating.
Young Players Respond.
The stunt was repated twice, and
was found to have marked and good
effect upon the young players them
were done by other boys and girls from
other communities, and what things
were possible to high school players.
Then. in 1928, the first music camp
OF its kind in the world was born in
this Northern Michigan forest.
Many a man has been dragged dead
drunk from camp bu!ldings-that was
IN no nj dow urhpI1 q
lumber camp a saw mill stood where
1nterlochen bowl is now, and seven OF
the camp cottages, bought with the
property, were saloons running tor
speed day and night.
The 300 campers and the staff OF
70 come from 28 States, Alaska, Can
ada and the District of Columbia
Things are financially fairly secure
now. but up to 1888 they were not
In that deeply "depressed' year. en-
rollment and other things swung up
The year before the camp had bought
q fsherman's hotel and its 40 build
ings and 500 acres Of land, which now
are operated in connection with tbs
camp Sportsmen from al over the
country knew the hotel as Penning-
tons.
Crazy-Quilt Pattern.
Physically, the camp is a curiously
successful hodge-podse. 1t lies be-
tween two very blue and crisply cool
lakes-one lake for the boys camp
one for girls
The stage Of Interlochen Bowl is a
rustic shell supported by seven 5000
pound tree trunks taken from the
property. A red school house came
with the land and it still is red. The
composers work there. Many OF the
studios and dormitorles are frame
like the old saloons.
Buildings of rubble have the call
now-thev are practically indestruc-
tible, cooler and cheap to build. They
look like Siberian farm houses.
The soil is sandy, supporting little
growth beyond trees, bracken. occa-
sional blueherres and few very few
weeds. Wherefore the entire lack OF
hay fever. Roads and paths are
beaten sand, some very remantically
winding through virgin pine groves Of
tremendous age Sixty boats or SC
are for campers use The camp eats
10000 meals every Summer, and this
year it probably will eat more. Every
body now feeds at the hotel, mostly
cafeteria style.
Junk Gift Salvaged.
Perhaps because the camp Is 8
Michigan non-profit corporation, its
luck has been better than some sur
rounding business enterprises, hit
viciously BY the 1888 crisis.
Luck like, for example, six carloads
of Junk" given the camp by one OF
Henry Fords superintendents Much
camp plumbing came out OF the junk
which was material taken from eagle
boats" bought by Ford
Many metal Standards first used
at Interlochen for boat anchors, were
later made into table bases. Several
miles of rope were included, as well
as water pitchers and even more
homely porcelain utensils, the better
shaped of which are used for flowers
on Sunday.
Luck, too. determined the marvellous
dCOuStlCS Oh lle UONl lIOln dly seC-
ton of which except the first few
feet out from the stage" the merest
whisper can be heard to the back
fence, half a block and 5000 people
away.
And luck had even a small shar'
in developing the friends Of the camp
Men like Edgar Stillman Kelley
Ernest La Prads Nikolai Sokoloff
and many others have gladly givel
their time and their knowledge II
the enterprise.
Work Goes With Luck.
But mostly it's been work ant
watching corners. From the momen
the young campers pop out of thei
double deck beds at until they shet
their blue, informal uniforms and pol