Herb and Dee Sweet, originators of the first day camp in the United States, are the subject of a nice article in the current issue of Traces, the magazine of the Indiana Historical Society. The article is called "Little Acorns: Herb and Dee Sweet and the First Day Camp in America." The authors are Nancy Niblack Baxter and Becky Bowles.
Herb Sweet (1908-2000) and his wife Dee Morris Sweet (1913-2006) attended Butler University in Indianapolis during the 1930s. In 1933, the couple opened the Boycraft Day Camp on the north side of the city, intended for boys too young for the Boy Scouts. Over the years, the camp changed names and locations and soon admitted girls as well. Herb and Dee (married in 1935) became deeply involved in camping, crafts, and outdoor education. They authored Try It, a children's feature for the comics page, while Dee Sweet hosted her own television shows, Sweet Time and Sweet Talk, during the early 1950s.
You can read more about Herb and Dee Sweet in Traces for Spring 2011. See the website of the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) at http://www.indianahistory.org. In the same issue, you'll find "Billowing Clouds, Towering Timbers," an article by Thomas E. Rugh on the life and art of Indiana illustrator Franklin Booth. You can also see some artwork by Booth on my blog, Indiana Illustrators.
Text copyright 2011 Terence Hanley
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TH