Summer camps for children in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York have been a fixture now for over a century, but perhaps none quite so extraordinary, controversial, and unique as the Gardiner-Doing Camp, founded by its two female proprietors, Gail Gardiner and Ruth Doing.
It began in the early 1920s, shortly after World War I, when Ruth Doing—a former dancer and disciple of the legendary Isadora Duncan—joined forces with her business partner and life partner, Gail Gardiner, to establish a camp for young girls and boys, emphasizing the arts and progressive education.
Upper St. Regis Lake, NY. 1906.
Nestled against the tranquil mountains of Upper St. Regis Lake, and surrounded by the affluent, private residential camps of New York’s elite society, the Gardiner-Doing Camp thrived for decades as an oasis of creative expression. Based on the teachings of Isadora, who had established her school for young girls just outside of Paris, Ruth and Gail set out to continue the cause, particularly where dance was concerned.
Isadora Duncan, surrounded by her young students.
Andrea King’s own mother, Belle McKee, was also a disciple of Isadora Duncan, having danced with her in New York and Paris. Belle knew Ruth Doing from those earlier rewarding days, and she joined in at the camp as a dance instructor every summer for many years. They would teach Isadora’s method of rhythmic exercise, or “rhythms” or “eurythmics,” as they were often called back then.
Andrea, known then as Georgette, would attend the camp each summer. She loved every minute of it, and when her younger sister Anne McKee was old enough, she too attended the camp.
Pictured in the center of the back row: Ruth Doing (holding her dog) and Gail Gardiner. Front row, second from the right: Georgette (Andrea King), approximately age 10, with her arm around her sister Anne, age 3. Circa 1929.
Andrea King’s mother Belle McKee, pictured in the back row, next to the post. Andrea and her sister Anne are in the front row together on the right. Circa 1929.
The Gardiner-Doing Camp in the Adirondacks. Upper St. Regis Lake, NY. Circa 1929.
Andrea King, approximately age 7, at the Gardiner-Doing Camp in the Adirondacks. Upper St. Regis Lake, NY. Circa 1926.
Decades later, when Gail and Ruth began to sell off sections of their serene waterfront campgrounds, Belle bought her own special part of it, right on Chickadee Creek. Belle’s private camp became her favorite spot in all the world. She held onto it until she was 91 years old.
Belle McKee sits proudly behind the wheel of her jeep at her camp in the Adirondacks, part of the original Gardiner-Doing Camp. Late 1970s.
The Gardiner-Doing Camp as it appears today, now known and operated as Camp Regis-AppleJack:
The Gardiner-Doing Camp today, known as Camp Regis-Applejack.
The Gardiner-Doing Camp today, known as Camp Regis-Applejack.
Read more about the history of the Gardiner-Doing Camp, its controversial yet brilliant proprietors, and Belle’s many summers spent in the Adirondack Mountains of Upper St. Regis Lake in “More Than Tongue Can Tell,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle formats.
