Naples' Keewaydin in Full
Spin
St.
Pat's Weekend 2009
Off Naples Beach
[cruising spin and mizzen staysail]
The name Keewaydin was taken from Song of Hiawatha, a poem by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The native indian word means northwest or
homeward-bound wind, but we are talking Ojibwe indians from the Canadian
border. So how does that fit in here in Naples?
A 1995 Naples Daily News
story explains: "The concept for the Keewaydin clubs was initiated in 1893,
beginning a network of summer camps that reached their peak in the 1930s. A
lawyer named Chestman Kittridge convinced the original
Keewaydin
Camp in Ontario to expand its reach to Southwest Florida. He
envisioned the Keewaydin Club in Naples as a resort where parents could bring
children for a respite from the harsh northern winters."
"Kittridge, a
member of the board of directors of an international chain known as the
Keewaydin Camps, saw this unspoiled island as the perfect locale for a
rough-hewn inn edged by a number of quaint cottages. The resulting resort on
now Keewaydin Island opened to the public in 1936 but ended in 1995 when much
of the island was turned over as a state preservation area.
"In the
summer of 1909, after the planning and discussion of several years, there was
formed an honorary society of old Keewaydinites, and it was called The
Gigitowin, the Indian name for Council."
-- from The Keewaydin
Kicker, 1915
The old Gig pin design --100
years ago
The 108 ft ketch docked nearby on the mainland is
also named "Keewaydin," and the design on the spin and staysail comes from
Keewaydin camp history of the "Gigitowin."
Crewman standing at bow provides a hint of the size
of the Spin.
Keewaydin at Newport Shipyard 2007 |
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