History
Since 1910, Camp Wigwam has remained a thriving, dynamic cultural experience renowned for the high quality of its innovative sports and fine arts programs.
In the autumn of 1964, Mandy, who had two years earlier purchased Pop’s interest in the camp, sold Camp Wigwam to Ned & Helen Strauss. Ned & Helen resurrected Wigwam to its former glory, reignited its storied traditions, and operated the camp until 1977 when their son, Bob, took over its reigns.
Camp Wigwam, on the shores of Bear Lake in Waterford, Maine, was founded in 1910 by Abraham “Mandy” Mandelstam and Arnold “Pop” Lehman. Together these pioneers of the industry forged a program that would be a model for the summer camp industry for most of the first half of the twentieth century. Pop was an athletic and energetic leader, whose strength was the day-to-day operation of the camp. Mandy was a creative genius, established in the arts and theatrical community in Manhattan, whose well-connected friends were frequent visitors to Camp Wigwam.
Today, thousands of men from all over the country share a bond born in their childhood that still burns brightly within their soul, the cherished memories of a Camp Wigwam summer.
Wigwam entered the new millennium under only its second ownership as Bob and his wife Jane Strauss continued the amazing legacy of the camp. After nearly 50 years leading the community, Neal Goldberg and Cameron McAllister stepped forward to carry on Wigwam’s traditions for generations more.
