Harry Truman's Summer Camp Helped Youth Appreciate Nature

In 1945, Harry Truman bought an old logging camp near Granite Falls. Over the years, he and his wife transformed it into the Hidden Valley Camp for boys and girls - the kind of magical place that breeds nostalgia for the lost summers of childhood.

He had a philosophy about camping. While he wanted to teach children about horseback riding, hiking, swimming and living outdoors, the most important skill he wanted them to take from Hidden Valley was the ability to work well with one another.

When he died Nov. 13 at 79, he was still an outdoorsman with an undiminished passion for the mountains and woods of the Northwest.

"Harry had a profound effect on thousands of people," said Andy Harris, who worked as a camp counselor at Hidden Valley during the late 1960s. "He really dedicated his life to helping others."

He built most of the camp buildings himself, starting with the lodge, which is still in use. Campers slept and ate in tents on platforms, put up and taken down each year by Mr. Truman.

The setting on Mount Pilchuck, six miles from Granite Falls, was rustic - and so was the camping.

In 1947, Harry and his wife, Imogene, hosted 10 boys. By the time they sold the camp in 1973, about 200 children of both sexes came to Hidden Valley for the summer - many of them second-generation campers.

Imogene Truman said the camp turned into a close-knit community.

"It was wonderful, like your own little world," she said.

At the heart of it was Mr. Truman, a 6-foot-4-inch man blessed with a good nature and the energy to keep up with hordes of campers, year after year. He had a fondness for joking with the campers and counselors.

"He had a hundred old sayings he used to use," Harris said.

One of those sayings was, "You've never really been out in the woods unless you've been lost in the woods."

Mr. Truman wanted the children who came to his camp to gain a lifetime appreciation for nature, and by all accounts, he was successful.

Mr. Truman was born and raised in Siegel, Pa., a small town near Pittsburgh. He graduated from Slippery Rock State Teacher's College. During World War II he served as the assistant director of the Red Cross in the Middle East, stationed in Egypt. He also worked in New York City as a social worker.

The couple moved to Seattle in 1944, after Mr. Truman took a job as the director of the United Seamen's Service. Of primary concern to him was finding hotel rooms for African-American sailors, who still weren't welcome in many establishments.

During the 1940s, Mr. Truman took a lot of ribbing from phone pranksters for his name. People sometimes called him late at night saying, "This is Joe Stalin." But Mr. Truman took it all in stride. He was named after his father and was no relation to President Harry S Truman.

Following his retirement, Mr. Truman and his wife traveled to China, Egypt, Spain and Mexico and took a cruise on the Danube.

Between trips they continued to hike and camp. Mr. Truman also enjoyed golfing.

Besides his wife of 55 years, he is survived by a daughter, Brigid Stricks of Seattle; a son, Barry Truman of Seattle; a sister, Catherine Arthurs of Brookville, Pa.; and three grandchildren, Elizabeth and Benjamin Stricks and Dietrich Truman, all of Seattle.

A gathering will be held 2 p.m. Dec. 5 at the University Friends Meeting center, 4001 Ninth Ave. N.E. The family is planning a memorial service at Hidden Valley Camp in the spring. Donations in Mr. Truman's name may be made to the American Civil Liberties Union.