The Remembering Camp Scott archive was created to preserve and share joyful memories of the former Magic Empire Council of Girl Scouts beloved Camp Scott, a sleep-away camp founded in 1918 and situated on 400 acres in northeastern Oklahoma. This archive is a visible, interactive way to revisit the camaraderie, beauty, and sisterhood that made Camp Scott a beloved place in the hearts and memories of Girl Scouts who spent time there. All of the contributions are from former campers, counselors, and staff who were active Girl Scouts in eastern Oklahoma between the 1950s and 1980s.
Tragically, Camp Scott closed on June 13, 1977 after the devastating sexual assaults and murders of three young Girl Scout campers by a male intruder on the first night of the camp’s summer season. Besides the irreconcilable loss to the families of Lori Farmer, Michelle Gusé, and Denise Milner, the tragedy also robbed generations of Girl Scouts of their beautiful, wooded camp and traumatized many girls and women for years to come. It would never reopen.
Beginning in 2007, adult Girl Scout Michelle Hoffman began reconnecting with Girl Scout friends and campers. In 2018, she and historian Amy Sullivan, both former campers at Scott, invited everyone they could contact to contribute camp memories and Girl Scout artifacts to a History Harvest, a one-day event that helps groups digitally preserve and share special documents, photos, and objects online. Although a few small gatherings had occurred in the ten years prior to this one, the History Harvest in 2018--forty-one years after the camp closed—was also a long-overdue reunion. Despite the camp’s tragic ending, they gathered for one day to sing and celebrate the delightful, positive force that Girl Scouting and Camp Scott had long provided them.
We honor their memories here, and especially the memories of Lori Farmer, Michelle Gusé, and Denise Milner. We will never forget them.