Lewis Reimann
Encyclopedia
Lewis Charles Reimann was an American
author, camp operator, politician and football
player. A native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
, Reimann played college football
for the Michigan Wolverines
in 1914
and 1915
. He founded the University of Michigan Fresh Air Camp for underprivileged boys in 1921. Six years later, in 1927, he founded Camp Charlevoix which he operated until 1948. In the 1950s, Reimann wrote several books on the history of the Upper Peninsula and the Gogebic Range
. He also ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic Party
candidate for the office of Mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1951, and for a seat in the Michigan State Senate in 1954.
district, and played football at Iron River High School.
where he was a lineman on Fielding H. Yost's Michigan Wolverines football
teams in 1914 and 1915. In Michigan's 1914 victory over Harvard
, Reimann made more tackles than the rest of the Michigan team. He was selected as a second-team All-America at the conclusion of the 1914 season. In 1915, Reimann also won the Michigan and Big Ten Conference
heavyweight wrestling championship. An injury limited his playing time during the 1915 college football season; he appeared only briefly in one game.
While attending Michigan, Reimann also became a leader in the "clean athletic movement." Reimann was an outspoken advocate of banning alcohol from college campuses and in 1916 published an article in the YMCA
publication Association Men on the topic of alcohol and athletics. He noted the prevalence of alcohol on Michigan's campus:
Reimann was also a member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda
fraternity. He later served as the fourth national president of the fraternity, serving in that role from 1925 to 1927.
. At that time, he was employed as the YMCA
Secretary for Barry County, Michigan
. In the late 1910s, he became involved in YMCA camps, the Intercollegiate Prohibition Association, and the Student Christian Association.
In 1921, he founded the University of Michigan Fresh Air Camp for underprivileged boys. The Fresh Air Camp was located on 4,200 feet of wooded lake front 10 miles north of Port Huron, Michigan
. It providing recreation and camp activities under the guidance of Michigan students and alumni for boys from poor homes, the juvenile court, and the detention home. In 1921, Reimann described the first Fresh Air Camp in The Michigan Alumnus:
In 1927, Reimann founded Camp Charlevoix. He first opened the camp in a temporary location in Ironton, Michigan in Charlevoix County
. In 1928, he found a site on the shores of Lake Charlevoix
. The site had 170 acres and three-quarters of a mile of lake frontage. Reimann personally drew the plans for the camp's 23 buildings. The permanent camp was completed in 1929. Reimann operated Camp Charlevoix for more than 20 years. In 1937, he expanded the facilities with the addition of five new log buildings. Reimann sold Camp Charlevoix in 1948.
Reimann became a consultant for some 150 camps across the United States, worked with the American Camping Association, and founded National Boys and Girls Camp Week. In 1958, the University of Michigan Press
published Reimann's book, "The Successful Camp."
. His first book, Between the Iron and the Pine: A Biography of a Pioneer Family and a Pioneer Town was published in 1951. Between the Iron and the Pine contains Reimann's personal reminiscences, local folklore, and descriptions of "memorable local characters." With the success of his first book, Reimann wrote several other books on the region's history, including When Pine Was King (1952), Incredible Seney: The First Complete Story of Michigan's Fabulous Lumber Town (1953), Hurley—Still No Angel (1954), and The Game Warden and the Poachers (1959).
and was defeated by the incumbent Republican
Mayor William E. Brown, Jr. He also ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Michigan State Senate in 1954. He had previously served as a "dry" delegate from Washtenaw County
to the 1933 Michigan Constitutional Convention to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
repealing Prohibition
.
, following a long illness at age 70. He was survived by his wife, Pearle, a daughter, Mrs. Lawrence S. Smith, and three grandchildren. He was posthumously inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author, camp operator, politician and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. A native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded...
, Reimann played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the Michigan Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
in 1914
1914 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1914 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1914 college football season. The team's head coach was Fielding H. Yost. The Wolverines played their home games at Ferry Field.-Schedule:-Letter winners:...
and 1915
1915 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1915 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1915 college football season. The team's head coach was Fielding H. Yost. The Wolverines played their home games at Ferry Field.-Schedule:-Letter winners:...
. He founded the University of Michigan Fresh Air Camp for underprivileged boys in 1921. Six years later, in 1927, he founded Camp Charlevoix which he operated until 1948. In the 1950s, Reimann wrote several books on the history of the Upper Peninsula and the Gogebic Range
Gogebic Range
The Gogebic Range extends from Lake Gogebic to the Wisconsin border in the east. It is located at the far western tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the south shore of Lake Superior. It refers both to the range of mountains that runs along the route and to the surrounding communities that...
. He also ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate for the office of Mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1951, and for a seat in the Michigan State Senate in 1954.
Early years
Reimann was born in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in 1890. A descendant of German immigrants, he grew up surrounded by the lumber and mining booms in the Iron RiverIron River, Michigan
Iron River is a city in Iron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 1,929. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 population estimate for this city was 3,122....
district, and played football at Iron River High School.
University of Michigan
Reimann subsequently enrolled at the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
where he was a lineman on Fielding H. Yost's Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
teams in 1914 and 1915. In Michigan's 1914 victory over Harvard
Harvard Crimson football
The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1873...
, Reimann made more tackles than the rest of the Michigan team. He was selected as a second-team All-America at the conclusion of the 1914 season. In 1915, Reimann also won the Michigan and Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
heavyweight wrestling championship. An injury limited his playing time during the 1915 college football season; he appeared only briefly in one game.
While attending Michigan, Reimann also became a leader in the "clean athletic movement." Reimann was an outspoken advocate of banning alcohol from college campuses and in 1916 published an article in the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
publication Association Men on the topic of alcohol and athletics. He noted the prevalence of alcohol on Michigan's campus:
"It was customary after a big victory and when thousands of visitors were in town for the average student to go downtown to celebrate. He got filled with 'spirit,' but not the kind that helped his university's reputation. Scenes were enacted that caused the loyal and serious minded student to hang his head in shame. The visitors were not slow in spreading their impressions of the school."
Reimann was also a member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda
Alpha Kappa Lambda
Alpha Kappa Lambda is an American collegiate social fraternity for men founded at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1914...
fraternity. He later served as the fourth national president of the fraternity, serving in that role from 1925 to 1927.
Fresh Air Camp and Camp Charlevoix
Reimann graduated from the University of Michigan as part of the Literary Class of 1916 and married Pearle Shewell on June 2, 1917, in Genoa, OhioGenoa, Ohio
Genoa is a village in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,230 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Genoa is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....
. At that time, he was employed as the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
Secretary for Barry County, Michigan
Barry County, Michigan
-Highways:* M-37* M-43* M-50* M-66* M-78* M-79* M-89* M-179-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 56,755 people, 21,035 households, and 15,986 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile . There were 23,876 housing units at an average density of...
. In the late 1910s, he became involved in YMCA camps, the Intercollegiate Prohibition Association, and the Student Christian Association.
In 1921, he founded the University of Michigan Fresh Air Camp for underprivileged boys. The Fresh Air Camp was located on 4,200 feet of wooded lake front 10 miles north of Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administratively autonomous. It is joined by the Blue Water Bridge over the St. Clair River to Sarnia,...
. It providing recreation and camp activities under the guidance of Michigan students and alumni for boys from poor homes, the juvenile court, and the detention home. In 1921, Reimann described the first Fresh Air Camp in The Michigan Alumnus:
"Three sections of ten days each, beginning July 12, were crammed full of happiness for these street urchins, who indulged in swimming hiking, baseball, nature study, campfire stunts, songs and talks. ... Most of the boys returned home heavier, and surely healthier and happier, because Michigan men and women proved themselves unselfish."One author has described Michigan's Fresh Air Camp and similar programs as "the country’s first attempts to conceptualize and intervene in the lives of 'at risk' youth populations." Reimann served as the chief counselor and camp director; he continued to work with the Fresh Air Camp for four years. Based on his success in running the Fresh Air Camp, friends urged Reimann to develop a private camp.
In 1927, Reimann founded Camp Charlevoix. He first opened the camp in a temporary location in Ironton, Michigan in Charlevoix County
Charlevoix County, Michigan
-Airports:*Beaver Island is served by two airlines:**Welke Airport**Beaver Island Airport-Ferry service:*Beaver Island Boat Company maintains a regular auto ferry from Charlevoix:*The Ironton Ferry at Ironton, Michigan crosses the south arm of Lake Charlevoix...
. In 1928, he found a site on the shores of Lake Charlevoix
Lake Charlevoix
Lake Charlevoix is a lake in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the third largest lake in the state with a surface area of over 17,200 acres and 56 miles of shoreline...
. The site had 170 acres and three-quarters of a mile of lake frontage. Reimann personally drew the plans for the camp's 23 buildings. The permanent camp was completed in 1929. Reimann operated Camp Charlevoix for more than 20 years. In 1937, he expanded the facilities with the addition of five new log buildings. Reimann sold Camp Charlevoix in 1948.
Reimann became a consultant for some 150 camps across the United States, worked with the American Camping Association, and founded National Boys and Girls Camp Week. In 1958, the University of Michigan Press
University of Michigan Press
The University of Michigan Press is part of the University of Michigan Library and serves as a primary publishing unit of the University of Michigan, with special responsibility for the creation and promotion of scholarly, educational, and regional books and other materials in digital and print...
published Reimann's book, "The Successful Camp."
Author
Reimann became known as an authority on the history of the Upper Peninsula and Gogebic RangeGogebic Range
The Gogebic Range extends from Lake Gogebic to the Wisconsin border in the east. It is located at the far western tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the south shore of Lake Superior. It refers both to the range of mountains that runs along the route and to the surrounding communities that...
. His first book, Between the Iron and the Pine: A Biography of a Pioneer Family and a Pioneer Town was published in 1951. Between the Iron and the Pine contains Reimann's personal reminiscences, local folklore, and descriptions of "memorable local characters." With the success of his first book, Reimann wrote several other books on the region's history, including When Pine Was King (1952), Incredible Seney: The First Complete Story of Michigan's Fabulous Lumber Town (1953), Hurley—Still No Angel (1954), and The Game Warden and the Poachers (1959).
Politics
In his later years, Reimann also ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for Mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1951. He ran as a DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and was defeated by the incumbent Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Mayor William E. Brown, Jr. He also ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Michigan State Senate in 1954. He had previously served as a "dry" delegate from Washtenaw County
Washtenaw County, Michigan
Washtenaw County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 344,791. Its county seat is Ann Arbor. The United States Office of Management and Budget defines the county as part of the Detroit–Warren–Flint Combined Statistical Area...
to the 1933 Michigan Constitutional Convention to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition...
repealing Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
.
Family, death and honors
In August 1961, Reimann died at his home in Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, following a long illness at age 70. He was survived by his wife, Pearle, a daughter, Mrs. Lawrence S. Smith, and three grandchildren. He was posthumously inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.