Girls' Friendly Society of the United States of America. Diocese of Michigan.

Organization serving girls and women within the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. The group maintained vacation homes for working women, which later evolved into a summer camp for young girls.

From the description of Girls Friendly Society of the United States of America, Diocese of Michigan photograph series. 1940s-1959 and undated. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 55011659

The Detroit Branch of the Girls Friendly Society was started in 1895 when the organization first rented a cottage on Pine Lake to serve as a vacation house for working women. The society members emphasized organizing local fundraising events with the community and planning for the summer vacationers.

By the early 1900's the society owned three cottages and had transformed the property into a summer camp for young girls. In the 1950's the camp moved from Pine Lake to Ortonville and was renamed Camp Holiday. The society used the facilities year round, during the brief summer months it was a summer camp for young girls and for the rest of the year it served as a conference center. As Camp Holiday became the primary task of the society more resources went into the maintenance of the cottages and less time was spent connecting with the community through social events.

In the later 1970's the camp found itself financially strained. The society had altered the mission of the camp and no longer taught religious studies. The financial concerns and the lack of a strong mission forced a reorganization of the society in the 1980's when the Diocese of Michigan took over administration of the camp. The camp became co-ed and a strong Christian camp program was adopted. The camp continued to falter economically throughout the decade, membership slowly dwindled, and by the later half of the 1990's the society was considering disbanding.

From the guide to the Girls Friendly Society of the United States of America, Diocese of Michigan, records, 1896-1997, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)