Camping is such fun! And it provides so many educational and personal growth opportunities. Why not have a camp for persons with disabilities? A camp experience, a social experience, a growth experience - this would be something to look forward to all year. The family or caregiver could enjoy a much-needed rest from the constant care and supervision that a person with a disability requires.



This was the dream of John (Jack) and Reta Fowler in 1957 when they took nine boys with cognitive impairments from the city of Detroit out to Brighton for their first summer camp at Camp Happy Hollow. Within three years, 50 campers per summer were coming from three states and Canada. Soon the site at Brighton could not hold that capacity. Camp Happy Hollow needed a new location, which was found in a 40-acre leased campsite in Dryden, Michigan. From there, Camp Happy Hollow kept growing. Within another five years, summer enrollment reached 118. In 1963, Camp Happy Hollow became a non-profit corporation with a Board of Directors.



By 1968, the summer camping season serviced 180 different campers. Yet there was no possibility to enlarge the living accommodations at that time. Therefore, 98 acres were purchased on Harmon Lake through the generous contributions of the Gordon Foundation. An architect was hired and the Board of Directors launched a financial campaign. The process was slow and tedious with many blocks and obstacles to overcome. In the meantime, the camp continued to operate a summer program at Dryden until 1976, when the camp's lease expired and could not be renewed. It would be 1977 before Camp Happy Hollow moved into its new and permanent site at Mayville.



Why not further enlarge the camp facilities? Why not make Camp Happy Hollow a year-round experience? A persistent, visionary Board and generous donors such as The Holden Fund, The Kresge Foundation and the Gordon Foundation, along with many individual donors, provided new opportunities for expansion over the next two decades. Staff housing, transportation, new cabins, and an ever-increasing number of campers for a year-round program were some of the advances made.



In 1985, Camp Happy Hollow was renamed Camp Fowler, Inc. in honor of its founders Jack and Reta Fowler. Then in 1994 the Board took two more bold steps into the future. They changed the name once again to The Fowler Center for Outdoor Learning, to reflect the increasing activity from a purely "camping" experience to a total outdoor recreational facility. Secondly, they took steps to purchase an additional 102 acres. This added a barn and a horseback-riding arena to increase the opportunities and experiences for outdoor recreation and education. A successful financial campaign "Acres of Accomplishment" engaged hundreds of individuals in reducing the indebtedness incurred by the acquisition.



Today, The Fowler Center is poised and ready for yet another step into the future. Jack Fowler's perspective is this: "It really isn't so great a challenge when you think of all that has been accomplished over the years on behalf of disabled children, youth and adults who constantly seek to find solace and reward in the outdoors. I have no fear or hesitation that we should embark upon our most ambitious feat to date to keep the standards high and deliverance of our programs top priority. We have the faith to know that our mission is sound and our purpose resolute. We have done it before, and TOGETHER WE CAN do it again."