Pinewoods Camp Collection, 1907-2008

Collection number: MC 288 [Stored Offsite]
Size: (14 boxes) (13 cu.ft.)

About the Pinewoods Camp, Inc.

Pinewoods Camp at Long Pond in Plymouth, Massachusetts is the oldest continuously operating facility for traditional dance and music in the United States. It has been in existence since 1919 and attracts enthusiastic participants from throughout America and around the world. Initially founded by Helen Storrow, it was continued by the Conant family until being purchased through the donations of its own campers when it became Pinewoods Camp, Inc.

Helen Osborne Storrow was a Boston philanthropist and an active supporter of the Girl Scouts movement. In 1917 she founded the first National Girl-Scout Leadership Training School at the Winsor School in Boston. In 1919 she moved the school to her property on Long Pond. The Camphouse was built at this time, and the camp was named “Pine Tree Camp” after the Pine Tree Patrol system. The Girl Scout programs continued to be held there until 1935, at which time they were moved to a different property nearby and the name was changed from Pine Tree to Pinewoods Camp.

Mrs. Storrow was also involved in the growth and development of English country dancing in the U.S.A. and was president of the “American Branch of the English Folk Dance Society” from 1916 until her death in 1944. At Pine Tree Camp, she combined her two passions by inviting the staff of the American Branch to teach English Country Dance and the Morris to the Girl Scouts. Dancing has remained a constant part of the program.

In 1925 and 1926, the Boston Centre of the Branch, acting somewhat autonomously, persuaded Mrs. Storrow to let them hold its own summer school at Long Pond. It was at this time that the dance pavilion C# was built – named in tribute to the founding father of the English folklore revival, Cecil Sharp, who had recently died. It wasn’t until 1933 though, when Mrs. Storrow offered the camp to the American Branch as a permanent home for their summer school, that the true nature of Pinewoods Camp took hold. Dance camp continued to be run by the American Branch until that organization was dissolved in 1937. At this time, a new national society was formed in its place with New York as its designated center, and its name eventually became the Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS). It subsequently directed the adult dance program each summer at Pinewoods Camp under the leadership of May Gadd, a teacher and organizer sent from England by Cecil Sharp. She was devoted to maintaining the high standards set forth by the English Folk dance Society (EFDS). Classes were assigned by skill level and attendance was required for each class. Also in 1933, the care of the property itself was turned over to Lily Conant, who had been Mrs. Storrow’s close friend ever since she arrived in America. Lily had been sent by Cecil Sharp in 1915 as a teacher of English Country Dance and Morris for the American Branch. When Helen Storrow died in 1944, she bequeathed the camp to Lily and her husband, Richard Conant.

The Conants ran the dance camp as a labor of love, often operating with a deficit and always with very little money available for capital improvements or maintenance. During this time CDSS expanded its programs to include a folk music week and a chamber music week. The camp was also made available to other non-dancing groups, and some of the houses were rented out to families for summer vacation use. The Pilgrim Fellowship held retreats and workshops there for teenagers, and for 30 years Richard Conant hosted a social-workers weekend called the Pinewoods Institute.

In the early 1950s, the Country Dance Society-Boston Centre started its own weekend session. The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society’s Boston Branch also started a weekend session in 1953 – the first Scottish dance weekend in North America - and the Folk Arts Center of New England scheduled its first session at Pinewoods in 1977.

On the death of Richard Conant, Sr. in 1975, the property went to his son, Rick. Not wanting the continuous struggle of maintaining the camp, Richard Conant, Jr. encouraged the creation of a non-profit organization to which the camp could be sold. Pinewoods Camp Inc. (PCI) was subsequently formed, and proceeded to raise the necessary funds for the purchase of the camp property. A major campaign was conducted to raise the funds from the campers themselves. For over a year, auctions, dances, raffles and bake sales were held, and personal donations solicited. The enthusiasm was contagious, $180,000 was raised – $100,000 for the camp and $80,000 for maintenance - and in 1976 the transfer was completed.

PCI’s Board of Directors was constructed to represent the three then-current user groups (program providers) with the majority from CDSS, as it was the largest user of the camp. Also included was a Conant family member, a Six-Ponds-area neighbor, and four At-Large directors. (A representative of The Folk Arts Center was added in the 1990s.) The first camp manager hired by PCI was Gerda Conant, wife of Richard, Jr., and so a seamless transition was made. The first task, after the purchase, was to set about attending to the many years of deferred maintenance.

About the Pinewoods Camp Collection

This collection contains legal/real estate materials from the early Girl Scout camp, as well as correspondence, photos, financials, publications, and organizational materials from the running of the Pinewoods Dance Camp. Included are deeds, maps, water tests, and environmental reports, both from the early Girl Scout Camp and the later Pinewoods Dance Camp. Correspondence from May Gadd, director Rick Conant, and many others is supplemented by photographs spanning the entire 101 years represented. Financial and organizational materials from running the dance camps are complimented by camper lists, donor lists, and the like. The collection concludes with a small number of CDSS publications and Pinewoods Post newsletters.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

This collection is open.

This collection is housed in the Library Storage Building; access requires 48 hours notice. Please contact the Special Collections staff prior to visiting the library.

Copyright Notice

Contents of this collection are governed by U.S. copyright law. For questions about publication or reproduction rights, contact Special Collections staff.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], [Folder], [Box], Pinewoods Camp Collection, 1907-2008, MC 288, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Gift of the creating organization, 2010-2014

VC 1: Gloria Berchielli: Photos of Pinewoods Through the Years

Collection Arrangement

Collection is in original order as received.

Collection Contents

Series 1: Correspondence, Physical History of Camp and Lands, 1913-1998

(3 boxes)

This series contains correspondence related to Pinewoods, as well as physical plant materials such as water tests. A small number of photographs are included.

Box 1
Box 1, Folder 1Pinewoods Camp Sewage System Locations, Plans
Box 1, Folder 2History of Buildings at Pinewoods
Box 1, Folder 3Application for MA Historical Commission "Historical Registry Status" 2005
Box 1, Folder 4Building Permits: Highlands Cabins, The Fine Companion, 1982
Box 1, Folder 5Maps, 1857-1995
Box 1, Folder 6Land and Building Tax Records, Descriptions of plots on Round Pond, Long Pond
Box 1, Folder 7Deeds on Pinewoods land, information 1710-1828
Box 1, Folder 8Deeds for surrounding lands
Box 1, Folder 8aLong Pond, Round Pond, Long Pond dock
Box 1, Folder 9Buildings: budgets, negatives, sketches
Box 1, Folder 10Demolished buildings - Four-In-A-Square, Joe Brown House, Newbiggen I, The Rise
Box 1, Folder 11Pinewoods land history
Box 1, Folder 12Long Pond water levels, 1907-1998
Box 1, Folder 13Six Ponds area burial grounds
Box 1, Folder 14C# building reconstruction plate, 1984
Box 1, Folder 15Steinway, Ruth Gardner: "Plymouth's Ninth Great Lot and the Six Ponds 1710-1967" (Pilgrim Publishers, 1976)
Box 1, Folder 16Ed Wilfert notes in Pinewoods history
Box 1, Folder 17Archive aids and expenditures, 1984-1996
Box 1, Folder 18Notes on land, buildings, budget, 1980s
Box 1, Folder 19Pinewoods archive: general info
Box 1, Folder 20Budget for archives, 1983-1984
Box 1, Folder 21Camper list tally, 1962-1997
Box 1, Folder 22Notes from an interview between Ed Wilfert and granddaughter of John Raymond, 1997 / song from Scottish Week, 1997 / Ward Littleton's remembrance of 1997 / Pinewoods logo as it evolved
Box 1, Folder 23Miscellaneous notes from Ed Wilfert during 1997 / List of flora and fauna sighted at Pinewoods, 1997
Box 1, Folder 24Correspondence from Ed Wilfert to various people / Schedule for 1995 Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend (at the University of New Hampshire)
Box 1, Folder 25Miscellaneous letters and notes by Ed Wilfert, 1997
Box 1, Folder 26Correspondence between Eileen and Ed Wilfert, 1994
Box 1, Folder 27Correspondence of Ed Wilfert with Hanny Budnick and Celia Wakefield, 1998
Box 1, Folder 28Boston Public Library archival use and notes
Box 1, Folder 29Environment of camp
Box 1, Folder 30Evidence of people at camp during the 1930s and 1940s / photograph of camp and other sites, 1950s
Box 1, Folder 31Photographers of Pinewoods in the early days / lists of photos by Gloria Berchielli, Stan Levy, and Suzanne Szasz Shorr / short bio about Suzanne Szasz Shorr after her death / Obits for Suzanne Szasz Shorr
Box 1, Folder 32Correspondence with Margory Shrigley
Box 1, Folder 33Correspondence with Shag Graetz
Box 1, Folder 34Information about Jack Langstaff
Box 1, Folder 35Correspondence with Kitty Keller
Box 1, Folder 36Correspondence with Bob Paul
Box 1, Folder 37Correspondence with Bob and Kathleen Hider
Box 1, Folder 38Correspondence with Russell Houghton
Box 1, Folder 39Correspondence with Genny and Jack Shimer
Box 1, Folder 40Correspondence with Simmonds and Blanshard families
Box 1, Folder 41Correspondence with Roberta W. Yerkes (Blanshard)
Box 1, Folder 42Interviews: Winfred Darke Sayer "Windy" conversation / Correspondence with Evelyn Lamond / Correspondence with Mackay family / info re John Hodgkin / Info re Gene Gowing / Info re Phil Merrill / Atossa Herring French (mother of Atossa Kramer) / Info re Mary Buckie / Miscellaneous lists from summer school dances taught / brochure for camp, 1949 / brochure from 1952 / history of Country Dance Society of America, late 1940s / info re Mary Pulverson Judson / New Yorker article on Cecil Sharp, Nov 4, 1961 / Boston Herald article on request for dance stamp, Aug 24, 1947 / newspaper article about dancing with scenes from Pinewoods, late 1940s
Box 1, Folder 43Louise Chapin / CDS-Boston Centre information and history
Box 1, Folder 44Early years of EFDS to 1932
Box 1, Folder 45RSCDS Scottish country dance at Pinewoods
Box 1, Folder 46May Gadd information
Box 1, Folder 47Obits and tributes for May Gadd / Louise Chapin / Ed's notes
Box 1, Folder 48CDSS history
Box 1, Folder 49CDSS publication list for early issues / Ed Wilfert's notes on publications
Box 1, Folder 50CDSS at Pinewoods
Box 1, Folder 51Ed Wilfert's notes, 1982-1997
Box 1, Folder 52EWW & CDS New York Center information
Box 1, Folder 53Other CDS centers and camps: Pittsburgh Center 1963, New Camp 1981
Box 1, Folder 54Pinewoods archives: general correspondence
Box 1, Folder 55Frank Raymond & Hudson House
Box 1, Folder 56Early English dance NH, Bob McNair, GEorge Baker, Photos of theater, CDSS 1989 anniversary
Box 1, Folder 57Mary Judson Materials
Box 1, Folder 58Eliot Maine dance camp, 1915
Box 1, Folder 60Unidentified tintype of a woman ca. 1860s-1870s, found in a Pinewoods cabin September 1984
Box 2
Box 2, Folder 1Eliot Maine camps 1914-1917; Amherst MA camp 1927-1932
Box 2, Folder 2Storrow dance school / Women's city dance club
Box 2, Folder 3Cecil Sharpe information
Box 2, Folder 4Early English country dance movement: Ted Viehman, Emma Wright Gibbs, Mary Neal, Peabody Family, Ed Yeomans
Box 2, Folder 5Lily Roberts (Conant): EFDS Summer School, 1915
Box 2, Folder 6Obituaries, Interview with Phil Merrill, Storrow lineage, photos
Box 2, Folder 7Lily Roberts in America (typed copy)
Box 2, Folder 8Ed Wilfert: "Pinewoods 1972" interview notes
Box 2, Folder 9Pinewoods in the press
Box 2, Folder 10Articles on English and American dance, 1839-1923 (copies)
Box 2, Folder 11Cecil Sharpe and Maud Karpeles: Letters to Lily Conant (originals), 1915-1924
Box 2, Folder 12Cecil Sharpe and Maud Karpeles: Letters to Helen Storrow (typed copies)
Box 2, Folder 13Article about Cecil Sharpe, Smithsonian Magazine, 1985
Box 2, Folder 14Leaves & Needles album, 1995
Box 2, Folder 15Country Dance and Song article on Pinewoods: "Pinewoods 1939-1941" (1989)
Box 2, Folder 16Folk Song Society information, 1937
Box 2, Folder 17English Folk Dance Schools in New England before Pinewoods: 1915-1932
Box 2, Folder 18Pinewoods memories from Joan Latady, Ellen Tillinghast (1940); Early CDS-BC workshops at Pinewoods (1940s)
Box 2, Folder 19Wilfert: "Dancing at Long Pond: The Early Years 1933-1942"
Box 2, Folder 20-26Pinewoods Early Years: 1933-1944
Box 2, Folder 27Conant's Pinewoods file, 1980s
Box 2, Folder 28Houghton recollections of Pinewoods, 1935-1975
Box 2, Folder 29-36Wilfert: "The Conant Years 1966-1975"
Box 2, Folder 371948 group photos, 1947 work weekenders
Box 2, Folder 38Index of PW articles in the "Country Dancer" 1949-1968; Conant Long Pond ledger 1958-1975; Marlys Bixler letter, 1970s
Box 2, Folder 39May Gadd EFDS program 1936, CDSS Spring Festival poster 1942
Box 2, Folder 40"Great Lady's Dance Shoes" poster copy
Box 2, Folder 41-47Pinewoods Institute materials (social work conference held by Richard Conant): 1940-1968)
Box 3
Box 3, Folder 1English dancing, Storrow farm, 1913
Box 3, Folder 2Helen Osborne Storrow: Biographies, Memoir, Honors
Box 3, Folder 3Joseph Lee (the younger) and the Community Boating connection (one of Storrow's philanthropies)
Box 3, Folder 4Mrs. Storrow's birthday party on the Esplanade, Sept 21, 1997
Box 3, Folder 5Miscellany about Helen Osborne Storrow
Box 3, Folder 6Portrait of Helen Osborne Storrow, 1939
Box 3, Folder 7Fall benefit dance, 1915
Box 3, Folder 8Article on Seneca Falls women's rights meeting, 1848 (photocopy)
Box 3, Folder 9Helen Osborne Storrow memoir by Leonard Ware, 1940
Box 3, Folder 10Storrow / Osborn Family information
Box 3, Folder 11Storrow research / Staturdy Evening Girls
Box 3, Folder 12-13Ed Wilfert / Betty Burchell letters
Box 3, Folder 14Lily Roberts Conant: Writings, Biography
Box 3, Folder 15Lily Roberts Conant: "Lily Roberts in America," "Mrs. Conant Abroad," and "Lily Conant Memorial"
Box 3, Folder 16Pinewoods Post, 1975: biographies of Lily Conant, May Gadd, Richard Conant, Helen Storrow
Box 3, Folder 16aCorrespondence between Helen Storrow and the Conants, 1928-1944
Box 3, Folder 17Camp Crew info, 1975-1990
Box 3, Folder 18Crew book, 1998-2004
Box 3, Folder 19Crew lists and tasks, 1958-ca.2000
Box 3, Folder 20Crew photos by Tony Baker, 2003
Box 3, Folder 21Crew photos 1997
Box 3, Folder 22Pinewoods crew 1984
Box 3, Folder 23Crew photos 1992
Box 3, Folder 24Pinewoods crew 1998 and undated
Box 3, Folder 25Pinewoods crew 2000: "Hillary for Senator"
Box 3, Folder 26Crew photos 2000
Box 3, Folder 27Crew photos 1998
Box 3, Folder 28Crew / Camp history
Box 3, Folder 29"Pinewoods Behind the Scenes" booklet, 1997
Box 3, Folder 30"Behind the Scenes" general notes
Box 3, Folder 31Past crew managers
Box 3, Folder 32Early Pinewoods Post materials
Box 3, Folder 33Leaves & Needles: A samipler of songs, verses, cartoons, and more

Series 2: Photographs, Audio, Memorabilia, 1910-2006

(4 boxes)

This series contains photographs, photographic negatives, slides, and audio/visual materials of Pinewoods campers and crew. Some reproduced photos from other sources, which Pinewoods only had temporary access to (and also photocopies) are filled with backup material for the appropriate Camphouse Archive albums, for example Girl Scout Years, Folk Music Week I, Prelude to Early Music Week, Conant Years.

Box 3, Folder 34Girl Guides at Pine Tree Camp: Photos from 1919
Box 3, Folder 35Girl Guides Photos, 1919-1926
Box 3, Folder 36Girl Guides Photos, 1919-1926 (reproductions)
Box 3, Folder 37Building and Grounds, undated xeroxed photos (ca. 1970s or later)
Box 3, Folder 38Misc. unidentified camper photos, 1990s
Box 3, Folder 39Hobby Horses, 1940s-1990s
Box 3, Folder 40Misc. photos 1920s-1940s, 1980s
Box 3, Folder 41Pinewoods photos negatives, 1939-1941
Box 3, Folder 42Pinewoods photos 1910-1940
Box 3, Folder 43Photos and negatives, 1930s-1940s
Box 3, Folder 44Contact sheets for folder 43, 1930s-1940s
Box 3, Folder 45Pinewoods photos, Sandwich & Plymouth MA, 1939-1941
Box 3, Folder 46Pinewoods post cards, 1930s-1950s
Box 3, Folder 47Photos of camp and campers, 1930s-1940s
Box 3, Folder 48Pinewoods photos, 1939
Box 3, Folder 49Pinewoods photos, 1930s
Box 3, Folder 50Pinewoods photos, 1937
Box 3, Folder 51Negatives, 1939-1941
Box 3, Folder 52Pinewoods photos, 1940s
Box 4
Box 4, Folder 1Ellen Chafee Tillinghast photos of Pinewoods, 1940s
Box 4, Folder 2Tillinghast and Mary Pulverman letters and photos, 1940s
Box 4, Folder 3Photographs and Interview with Mary Judson, 1940s
Box 4, Folder 4Photo slides from Purdue CLeaver, 1952-1956
Box 4, Folder 5Folk Music Week booklet with group photos from 1950-ca. 1973
Box 4, Folder 6Suzanne Szasz photos and index, 1956-1982
Box 4, Folder 7Post-war photos of Pinewoods, 1950s-1970s
Box 4, Folder 8Photos of Pinewoods, 1950s-1960s
Box 4, Folder 9Suzanne Szasz photos, 1950s-1980s
Box 4, Folder 10Contact sheets/photos from Stan Levy, 1963, 1968-ca. 1970
Box 4, Folder 11Ken LaBarre negatives and contact prints, 1965
Box 4, Folder 12Chamber Music/Early Music phots, 1965
Box 4, Folder 13Folk Music Week: Staff and group photos, 1960s
Box 4, Folder 14Fmaily Week photos from Judy Grunberg, 1976-1977
Box 4, Folder 15Camp construction and renovation photos, including Girl Guide compass on camphouse floor, 1980s
Box 4, Folder 16Photos from Jacquiline Schwab, 1980s
Box 4, Folder 17Misc. photos and contact sheets, 1980s
Box 4, Folder 18Photo Inventory, 1984
Box 4, Folder 19Family Week photos by Kari Heistad, 1988
Box 4, Folder 20Aftermath of Hurricane Gloria, 1985
Box 4, Folder 21Family Week, including Abbots Bromley with bicycle parts, 1985
Box 4, Folder 22Camphouse reconstruction, 1986-1987
Box 4, Folder 23Pinewoods Remembered book, 1987-2002
Box 4, Folder 24Folk Music week revisions, 1988, 1990-1991
Box 4, Folder 25Ellen Chafe Tillinghast: "Pinewoods Remembered [1940s]", 1988
Box 4, Folder 26Bookstore steps before construction, 1992
Box 4, Folder 27Pinewoods camp and Pinewoods Morris Men, 1970s-1990s
Box 4, Folder 28Winter building rehabs, 1993
Box 4, Folder 29Spring building work, 1993
Box 4, Folder 30Mushrooms, 1996
Box 4, Folder 31Pinewoods Photo Contest, and other photos, 1998-1999
Box 4, Folder 32Raccoon tracks, undated
Box 4, Folder 33Photos (including 1 disc), 2000-2003
Box 4, Folder 34Postcard photos, 2001
Box 4, Folder 35Manager's office photos, 2002
Box 4, Folder 36Misc. photos, 1983-1999
Box 4, Folder 37Morris photos, Pinewoods, 1990s
Box 4, Folder 38Misc. photos, 1980s on
Box 4, Folder 39Folk Music Week photos, IDs, schedules, undated
Box 4, Folder 40Folk Music Week 2004-2005
Oversize Box 1
Oversize Box 1, Folder 1Oversize maps and tax divisions, early 1900s
Oversize Box 1, Folder 2Copies of 1870s deeds to Pinewoods, surrounding areas, 1870s
Oversize Box 1, Folder 3Girl Guide officers' Training School brochures, 1919-1924
Oversize Box 1, Folder 4Photographs of "Mrs. Storrow's Camp," 1930s-1940s
Oversize Box 1, Folder 5WPA map, 1937-1940
Oversize Box 1, Folder 6Morris dancing, hymn singing, 1950s-1960s
Oversize Box 1, Folder 7Pinewoods camp house photos, ca. 1940s-1950s
Oversize Box 1, Folder 8Map of Camp Dorothy Carlton, 1958
Oversize Box 1, Folder 9Procession at Pinewoods Office, 1966
Oversize Box 1, Folder 10Runes & Regulations, pre-1997
Oversize Box 1, Folder 11Posters, English Week, 1999
Oversize Box 2
Oversize Box 2, Folder 1Photo album "Folk Dance Camp, Long Pond, Plymouth, Mass., August 1939"
Oversize Box 2, Folder 2"Save Boatman" teeshirt, undated

Series 3: Financials and Program Information, 1917-2007

(7 boxes)

This series consists of chronolocally arranged financial materials related to Pinewoods dance camp (1941-1994), including budgets, donor lists, audits, and program costs. It is followed by program information (1914-1926). Pinewoods started as a Girl Guides Camp (ca. 1914-1926), became Camp Four Winds when purchased by Helon Storrow in 1926, and later became Pinewoods Dance Camp. Other names used were Camp Dorothy Carlton and Camp Storrow. Specifically dance-related program information picks up in the mid-1940s. Program files include Scottish Week, Early Music, Family Week, Folk Music Week, Chamber Week, etc., as well as information related to parking, attendence lists, work files, and more.

Box 5
Box 5, Folder 1-50Financials, 1941-ca. 1992
Box 6
Box 6, Folder 1-30Financials, ca. 1990-1994
Box 6, Folder 31-60Girl Guide and Pinewoods program files, 1914-1974
Box 7
Box 7, Folder 1-60Pinewoods program files, ca. 1964-1980
Box 8
Box 8, Folder 1-60Pinewoods program files, ca. 1980-1984
Box 9
Box 9, Folder 1-60Pinewoods program files, ca. 1984-1989
Box 10
Box 10, Folder 1-60Pinewoods program files, ca. 1982-1992
Box 11
Box 11, Folder 1-60Pinewoods program files and memorial scrapbook, ca. 1990-1994
Box 12
Box 12, Folder 1-60Pinewoods program files, ca. 1995-2007
Finding Aid Image TEMP
  • Building through pine trees