WEHAKEE HISTORY

With the help of two nieces and their friends, Sr. David O'Leary opened Camp WeHaKee in 1923 on the shores of Green Bay, near Marinette, Wisconsin. In the early 1960's, as the camp was outgrowing its Lake Michigan location, Sr. Marie Karen Hawkinson began to search for a new site for Camp WeHaKee. A site, originally developed by Knute Rockne and used as a training camp for the Notre Dame football team, was purchased from the then St. Louis Hawks basketball team. This site was also once the home of Camp Chicagami, a Jewish girls camp. In 1964, Camp WeHaKee moved to this, its current site on Hunter Lake, near Winter in northwestern Wisconsin.

Camp WeHaKee is named after Mary WeHaKee La Batte, a young girl raised by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. Mary's mother was a Sioux Indian and her father was of French descent. After her father was killed, her mother confided her child to Sr. Alberta Duffy, who brought her to the Sinsinawa Mound.

Camp WeHaKee continues today at it's site near Winter, Wisconsin. Girls and young women from around the country and the world attend camp each summer where they begin lifelong friendships, develop new skills, increase their confidence and self-esteem, grow in their faith and have great fun!

If you have stories, pictures, or anything else to share about your experiences at Camp WeHaKee, we'd love to hear from you. Perhaps we can even include your sharing here on our website. Click HERE to let us know!

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