Folds to the Door began in 2009 at a reunion of elder and middle-years alums, when the idea arose. At that time we didn’t know the 60s alums had been having reunions since the 80s. With that connection, we were able to make Folds to the Door a complete history of Hagan girls’ camp, beginning to end. The book treats Hagan life in three sections: the earliest years, 1937-1940, the middle years, 1940-1960, and the last generation, that of the 1960s.
There are a few general histories of camping as well as autobiographical memoirs, such as Campingly Yours, by Thomas Adler, and memoir collections, such as Laurie Susan Kahn’s Sleepaway: The Girls of Summer and the Camps They Love. Although these are quite enjoyable, our Folds to the Door is the only one I know of that attempts to lodge the development and success of a particular camp within the larger context of 20th century events – wars, social changes, and attitudes toward women’s and girls’ issues – and themes such as Indian or pioneer life.
Folds to the Door should be seen as a sister-book to the 60s alums’ beautiful Make the Rafters Ring! 60s campers had the good fortune of color film, and the book is full of wonderful photos, which I have not included since they were already there.
Folds To The Door was unveiled at the 2017 Hagan Reunion. You can purchase a copy of Folds To The Door by ordering it through Amazon.com
