Last summer I had the pleasure of attending a birthday party for a very special lady named Daphne Smith who was turning ninety years old. The last time I saw Daphne was about 40 years ago at Camp Huronda, and honestly – she hasn’t changed! She is still the same vibrant, joyful, active, caring and fun-loving person I remember from Camp. Daphne was a big part of Camp Huronda, particularly in the early days, so I asked her if I could interview her and put together her remembrances for the whole Camp community to enjoy. This is the result…
Daphne was born in London, England in 1934 and grew up in Sussex. When war broke out, her father joined the army. The war effort took over their house, and she was evacuated to the North of England. She spent the next twelve years at boarding schools, as this was the norm in England at that time.
She finished school in July of 1952, and by November, was sailing with her family to Bermuda where her father, a banker, had been transferred. She spent most of the next year in Bermuda and even attended a Garden Party where the guests of honour were Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip!
Next, it was off to Montreal and nursing school, training at the Royal Victoria Hospital. After completing her training, she worked at the hospital for a year – all night shifts. She then moved to Toronto and got a job in the emergency department at Sick Kids. It was here that she met Dr. Ehrlich who was finishing his residency.
Fast forward a few years when one day Daphne saw Dr. Ehrlich on the diabetic unit at Sick Kids. He asked her if she wanted to go to camp. Dr. Ehrlich explained that the Ontario Diabetes Association planned to open a camp strictly for diabetic kids, as up until then, most children with diabetes could only go to “medical camps.”
Daphne’s first question was “What is Camp???” Having summer camps for kids was not a popular activity in England, and Daphne had never been exposed to the concept. However, Daphne was always up for a challenge!
That was 1971 – Camp Huronda’s first year – and the first summer of 14 that Daphne would serve as a camp nurse. That first summer was a bit like the “Wild West” of diabetes care, as trying to adjust once-a-day insulin shots for kids coming to camp for the first time was a challenge. And there was only one doctor! As Daphne said, “we had gallon jugs of corn syrup that we put into plastic ketchup bottles to treat lows – and boy did we go through a lot of corn syrup!”
That first summer, Daphne drew the short straw and ended up being the medic on a canoe trip with fourteen campers and staff – all male. She had no idea how to paddle or portage, and when they got to the campsite on an island, she was sent to swim on one side of the island, so all the boys could swim naked on the other.
According to Daphne, “the designated Medical Hut had a verandah, which the kids all gravitated to, especially when they were homesick. Uncle Don (Camp Huronda’s first Camp Director) said no to giving the kids a ‘cuppa’ tea, as it might encourage more campers to come by. I loved all the kids, but the Harfoots were the needy ones”.
The designated medical hut did not have a camp name that first summer, but sometime during the first couple of years, it became known as the “Insul-Inn,” a name that Daphne coined, and one that has stuck for almost fifty-five years now. Thanks Daphne!!!
Daphne really appreciated the encouragement and support given to the medical staff (a.k.a. The Nerds!) by Uncle Don and Aunt Jane during those first years. Marcia Frank, who coordinated all of the nurses for camp, was also wonderful – a truly lovely person.
Throughout our conversation, Daphne spoke about some memories and events that stood out for her across the decades that she attended Camp Huronda:
- Sitting on tarps and wrapped up in sleeping bags watching the northern lights from the top of the hill
- Many early-morning sore throats made better with a salt water gargle and a cup of tea!
- Capture-the-Flag and Dance Nights that meant so many trips to the Insul-Inn to treat lows and injuries
- Returning from a Canoe Trip in Algonquin Park where the lake was so choppy, they had a hard time making it to shore. They were very late getting back, and Uncle Don contacted Search and Rescue to find them.
- Being the designated nurse on another canoe trip, only to find on the second morning that only one needle and one syringe had been packed. The campers had to share, and they sterilized the needle and syringe after each use, as this was in the days before cell phones or satellite phones.
- Counsellors pleading for a bath in the Insul-Inn after a canoe trip
- Chapel – such a reflective, peaceful, inclusive and serene time.
- The corn roast at the end of the summer.
- Watching the buses get loaded at the end of camp, singing “Huronda, hats off to you!”
- “One of my fondest memories was one evening when Keith Anderson made a campfire and took it out onto the lake. There were five canoes circling the campfire, Dr. Mo Jenner played his flute, all was quiet, and we heard a loon calling. Magical!”
Daphne has two daughters, Jennifer and Megan, who also attended camp with their mom. As soon as she was old enough, Megan became a staff member and eventually found her true calling as the “horse-lady” for a few summers. Daphne remembers travelling with Megan to the horse farm in April to pick 5 horses for the summer. Those horses were then placed in a field together for the next couple of months so they could get used to each other. The horses added a wonderful dimension to camp, from overnight horseback trips, to swimming with the horses, to providing an exciting start to the Great Race on Native Day.
During the year when camp was not in session, Daphne had a busy nursing career. After a few years, she left Sick Kids Hospital and worked at Lindhurst, a facility for people with spinal cord injuries. Daphne loved this job, but after four years she was unable to continue due to her own back injuries from lifting patients. In trying to determine how to continue her career without front-line nursing, Daphne started a company called “The Foot Friend,” providing foot care in the community – primarily to seniors. She built the business and had five nurses working for her. Eventually she sold the business to two of the nurses and moved to British Columbia – for a warmer climate and to be closer to her brother and sister. She lived in Victoria for twenty-seven years, and re-started “The Foot Friend” there, working closely with both seniors and the homeless population.
In June 2024, Daphne decided to make the move back to Ontario to be closer to her daughters and granddaughters, and celebrated her 90th birthday in July, which is where I re-connected with her.
At ninety years young, Daphne is thoroughly enjoying reconnecting with many Huronda friends. When I asked her what camp has meant to her, she struggled (as we all do!) to articulate the many feelings that camp inspires:
“You can’t go to Camp Huronda and not be affected. The atmosphere there is everything – caring and kindness is everywhere, and nothing is too much of a bother. It is a bit of Utopia. And oh, the music! Always the music, and the singing and laughing. Camp just makes you feel whole.”
By Lynda Beetham