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homerhorizon.com NEWS
the Homer Horizon | July 20, 2017 | 3
Shady Oaks Camp celebrates its 70th anniversary
Record crowd turns
out for annual open
house event
Jason Maholy
Freelance Reporter
In 1947, some 50 parents
of children with cerebral
palsy opened a camp in the
woods of unincorporated
Homer Township where their
children could spend a few
weeks together during the
summer.
Situated on 35 acres they
had purchased for $18,000
— on the west side of Parker
Road, a half mile south of
159th Street — Shady Oaks
Camp for Individuals With
Cerebral Palsy, as it was then
known, was in the middle of
nowhere. The camp provided
a quiet, secluded place for
the children to enjoy a camp
experience at a time when
few services of the sort were
available to people with disabilities.
Fast forward 70 years, and
Shady Oaks is regarded as a
one-of-a-kind summer camp
whose campers, staff and
volunteers continue to return
year after year. Today’s version
of the nonprofit camp
serves people of all ages and
with all disabilities, whether
physical or intellectual, and
operates on an annual budget
of between $300,000 and
$350,000.
On July 9, Shady Oaks held
its 70th annual open house on
its property at 16300 Parker
Road. Campers and their parents,
along with staff members,
donors and volunteers,
enjoyed a good old-fashioned
summer picnic under the
oaks from which the camp
gets its name. There was a
DJ, a water balloon-tossing
contest and a musical performance
by staff members and
campers during which they
Quinn Cardinal, 5, throws a water balloon during a game at
Shady Oaks Camp’s open house event.
expressed their love for the
camp to the melody of John
Denver’s “Take Me Home,
Country Roads.”
An estimated 250 people
— a record crowd and about
100 more than the typical
turnout — attended the
event, according to Shady
Oaks Camp Executive Director
Scott Steele.
For the first 50 or so years,
the open house served as a
fundraiser and chance for
the parents of the camp’s 50-
60 campers to get together
with their children and each
other. The event’s complexion
changed dramatically
about 20 years ago, when
the mother of a camper took
over its organization.
“When I started 26 years
ago, it wasn’t this big of a
production,” Steele said.
“Back then, it was mostly
parents coming out for the
kids and just getting the
chance to hang out at camp.”
Today, the open house
serves as an opportunity to
showcase the camp to parents
of people with disabilities,
while bringing together campers,
parents, staff members,
volunteers and donors for a
celebration under the oaks.
“The main point is to bring
in new families to see the
camp in operation and give
everyone the chance to see
what we do out here,” Steele
said. “The best time to do it is
this time of year, because not
only is camp in session, but
it’s a day where all the staff
and campers are really up for
the day, so everybody’s on
their best behavior, the place
looks great, the grass is cut
just a little bit shorter.
“And it brings in everyone
who has helped throughout
the year, as sort of a thank
you.”
Seventeen campers, each
who has his or her own
counselor, attend the camp
during eight two-week sessions
that begin the Monday
after Father’s Day. The camp
offers two-, four-, six- and
eight-week sessions.
Many campers, once they
get their first taste of Shady
Oaks, cannot help but return.
Dave Swanson is an eightweek
camper who is spending
his 31st summer at the
camp this year. Swanson, 55,
of Lockport, learned of the
camp from a woman with
whom he attended college,
he said.
“I came out to visit, and
there was an empty bed in
the dorm,” Swanson recalled.
“And I stayed for a
Shady Oaks Camp counselors and summer campers perform a song as part of the 70th
anniversary festivities July 9 at the camp. PHOTOS By Jason Maholy/22nd Century Media
week, and I kept coming
back.”
Dave’s father, Ralph, said
his son still looks forward to
coming to Shady Oaks every
summer.
“This is like a vacation for
him,” Ralph said.
And some staff members
and volunteers find it difficult
to stay away, too. Katie
Clark is spending her third
summer at the camp, despite
trying to convince herself to
do otherwise. Clark, 24, of
England, counts down each
year to the day she leaves for
the United States.
“I try to stay away, but
I can’t,” said Clark, who
works with elderly dementia
patients back home. “I
need to pass my driving test,
I need to go to school and
I can’t because I can’t stop
coming. I don’t know how
to stop.”
Clark said she initially
planned to spend just one
year at Shady Oaks and then
move on with her life and
career.
“I thought that was it,”
she said. “I needed to concentrate
back home. But I
just can’t leave these guys.
I can’t imagine not being
here. The love and the happiness
this place brings, it
makes me complete. My life
is complete when I’m here.”
Homer Glen resident
Bob Szajkovics became acquainted
with Shady Oaks
eight years ago, when his
daughter, Lisa, attended the
camp for the first time. Two
years later, he started vol-
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