Camp Mintahama

I can still picture waking up on a morning in early summer, spending the whole night before packing and triple checking my checklist to make sure I had all the things I would need on the adventure that would greet me the next morning. The beginning of magic, summer camp.

Camp Mintahama was allegedly formed after Camp Nicagaha was shut down to make room for Highway 80. The Girl Scouts had secured 180 acres for an all-girls camp in the Ozark area. The story behind the name alleges that Mintahama was a Native American daughter of a Chief in the Tsi-shu Clan of the Osage Tribes. An official ceremony was held in May 1946 for the opening of the camp overlooking two beautiful lakes located on the property. Over 350 Girl Scouts, Brownies, parents and staff were there to join in on the festivities.

The inclusive camp was a special spot for the “Negro Girl Scouts” who held a series of camp sessions at Mintahama. Camp festivities would include a color guard ceremony, gathering around the campfire for songs and stories, camp director at the time Opha Jackson told “The Citizen”. The atmosphere was a time for fun and creativity, some of the arts and crafts made were wooden boxes and the tooling of leather coin purses.

All girls were put into one of three groups upon arriving. The younger ones going to the “Wihi” unit, which was said to mean “younger sister” in a Native language. The intermediate girls would spend their time in the “Talahi” unit, said to mean “in the peaks. Lastly, the older girls unit was called Arrowhead. Just its second year open the season closed in August with a total of 156 girls throughout the summer.

In the 1950s the camp really became a destination spot that many Girl Scouts wanted to attend. Those that sold the most boxes of girl scout cookies would even be entertained at Camp Mintahama for a weekend of fun, games, camping and prizes. It was common for many different troops to come spend some time here.

The amount of traffic attending the camp called for some improvements to be made in 1952. Foundations for a dining room and kitchen to serve the hundreds of girls the camp saw in a season. Bathrooms were also constructed and the caretaker’s house received a complete makeover. Other plans were made to construct showers and toilets on the lower floor of the lodge. At this time the average attendance in a season was almost 350 girls.

In 2002, trouble struck the camp when one of the girls, Jessica Lewandowski, fell ill with bacterial meningitis right after leaving the camp. Worry spread amongst parents, camp officials and girl scouts as the young girl lay in critical condition at the hospital fighting for her life. The camp was immediately closed on July 17th and parents were notified of the case and symptoms to look out for in their children. Bacterial meningitis is contagious when in close contact with the nose and throat discharges. Jessica, unfortunately, passed away from her illness and no other cases were reported to come out of the camp.

The closure of the camp was one that arguably happened over time. Matter of fact 5 years before its official shut down there were talks of closing the camp. In a bid to keep the camp open ‘Friends of Camp Mintahama’ was formed, a group of volunteers that aimed to keep the camp open.

The property was listed for sale in December 2018 at a whopping $941,000. While the exact sale price wasn’t disclosed it was sold to Mark Cupps who lived in nearby Newton County just a month later. His plans for the property were not disclosed. The Girl Scout Council removed items from the land/buildings offering this explanation for the sale, “The sale of Mintahama and other council properties allows our council to take a significant step forward in providing more girls in every county that we serve the chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success. GSMH will be able to shift budgeted dollars and staff time to membership support and recruitment.”

Gallery Below of Camp Mintahama

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