MILEPOSTS #1021

TITLE: WALTHER LEAGUE CAMP IN ARROWBEAR: This week’s image is a photo of the Walther League Camp from the 1930s in Arrowbear. The Walther League is a youth organization sponsored by the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and is named after Carl Ferdinand Walther (1811-1887). Walther was a prominent German American Lutheran theologian who was the first president of the Missouri Synod. The Walther League was formed in 1893 shortly after Walther’s death. The League was international in addition to League organizations across the United States and was divided into junior and senior societies to support the younger and older children. There were several camps in Southern California including the one in Arrowbear and another near Seven Oaks called Camp Yolijwa. The camp in Arrowbear was only active a short period of time during the 1930s. In 1940 the Walther League Camp was used for one season by the Girl Scouts. In 1941 the camp was used for the last time by the Walther League and their activities were discussed in the camp paper, the “Arrow Bear Echoes.” In 1942 the camp was acquired by Fred and Edna Ohlendorf where Edna’s parents, Ferdinand and Emma Schinnerer, had been involved in the original Walther League camp. The camp became the well-known Arrowbear Music Camp. Fred Ohlendorf and Edna Schinnerer were both musicians and married in 1941. In the summer of 1942, the Ohlendorfs offered a one-week session for 60 campers. The next year the music sessions expanded to a total of four weeks divided between junior and senior high students. The Arrowbear Music Camp has now been a thriving and popular institution for nearly 80 years providing children with a wonderful camping experience with a background of music.

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