Lejnar
Click here for a virtual tour of the camp, researched, photographed, and organized by a Strongsville Girl Scout. It takes a few minutes to download - but is well worth the wait.
Camp Lejnar (pronounced LAYnur - accent on first syllable) was founded in the early 1960's as Camp Cheraga. Miss Inez Verby donated substantial funding for the continued maintenence of the camp. In gratitude, the council changed the name of the camp to Lejnar after Miss Verby's family.
CLICK HERE for article about the history of Camp Lejnar and its acquisition by Jean Miller, the last president of the Cleveland Girl Scout council and the first president of the Lake Erie Girl Scout council.
From the article: "...but her [Jean Miller's] most satisfying accomplishment was the acquisition of the beautiful Verby property - later named Camp Lejnar."
Other Camp Lejnar Information and Links:
Camp Lejnar Features as Described by GSNEO members:
"The traditional thing to do at Lejnar in summer is to slide down the waterfall." --Lynn
"Mimi Henry knew everything there was to know about Camp Lejnar - - the wild roses were planted as a barrier to keep the cows contained in days of yore.…Mimi was an amazing treasure to the camp and anyone who happened to be on the property. She would take my cadettes out to lop low hanging tree branches on the trails. Feisty broad, in the best sense of the word. Her blood was as green as the best of us. Stickler for the wanting to get the girls out doors." -- Lynne
"To get to the waterfall you need to go to Lindstrom Cabin. Behind and to the right is a path, take the path all the way to the cliff. At the cliff you will take the path to the left and you should come to a rope that goes down the side of the cliff. You need to go down the rope. Once you get to the creek you need to go to the right to get to the waterfalls. I suggest asking Mike (the camp manager) before going to the creek if it is ok or not. He usually knows if the creek is running to fast or not." --Cathy
"-Visit the nature center.
-Visit Lindstrom Cabin and sign the guest book.
-Find the Camp Margaret Bates Memorial Garden near the Wildlife Lake.
-Look at the Butterfly Garden.
-Look at the Legacy Plaza - information about the site is in the foyer of the Ruth Weigand Memorial Building.
-The slippy slide is available at Day Camp - don't know about other times - talk to the Camp Manager, Mike Locher.
-Follow the Orange Trail starting near Beaver Ridge - find the wooden serpent climbing out of the ravine (a fallen tree that looks like a Loch Ness monster)
-The waterfall and its path are not on GSNEO property. Talk to Mike Locher." --Barbara
"There's a pizza/bar down the road that delivers if you're interested. They will deliver to the main parking lot only. At dusk, when the fireflies are out, be sure to walk along the "road" (i.e. camp road) from the pond by Alice Heisey towards the bend leading further back into camp (or the opposite direction, depending upon where you are staying). There is a pocket of openly wooded area on the opposite side of the pond where the fireflies are very visible. My daughter called it Nature's Paparazzi. Tiny flashes of light going off all over at random times, and there are so many of them... its really a sight to behold." --Lorraine
"Re Forest Grove Cabins: Those cabins are great fun, but can get warm. Be sure to open the windows as much as possible to get any breeze throughout. Some of them may be stiff and may need one person inside as well as one person outside to assist them in opening. They do have 1 indoor bathroom each, which is nice, and bunk type beds and 2 square tables with benches. Make sure you lock up the storage bins tightly, use the upper ones as much as possible, leaving non-food in the lower ones, preferably inside your transporting bins/tubs. Also, chain the garbage cans tightly before bed. The raccoons WILL attempt to get into them and they are very good at their job. Try to use only 1 garbage can, and I suggest you bring a recycling bag to take home any recycling since unfortunately they don't have that feature at camp. There is a wooded area right around that site which is a good place to find s'more sticks and firewood. Over by the Ruth-Wiegand building there is a flagpole with commemorative bricks surrounding it. There is a brick placed by the Bedford SU650 Service Unit. Feel free to see if the girls can find it. There is also a commemorative bench and trail signs for Camp Margaret Bates, a former Girl Scout Camp which is near the upper lake towards the back of camp; another thing for the girls to hunt out and look at. If your girls like hiking, they should hike further back into camp (a right turn when leaving the driveway for the site). They can follow the road back towards the "primitive" campsite and see a very tiny cabin which is probably never used, but open, along with (usually) a nice unmowed area that is home to many butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies. --Lorraine
Camp Lejnar (pronounced LAYnur - accent on first syllable) was founded in the early 1960's as Camp Cheraga. Miss Inez Verby donated substantial funding for the continued maintenence of the camp. In gratitude, the council changed the name of the camp to Lejnar after Miss Verby's family.
CLICK HERE for article about the history of Camp Lejnar and its acquisition by Jean Miller, the last president of the Cleveland Girl Scout council and the first president of the Lake Erie Girl Scout council.
From the article: "...but her [Jean Miller's] most satisfying accomplishment was the acquisition of the beautiful Verby property - later named Camp Lejnar."
Other Camp Lejnar Information and Links:
- Read the page of Inez Verby's will that applies to Camp Lejnar.
- Camp Lejnar History and Info
- Strongsville Girl Scouts Camp Lejnar Geocaching Program
- Lejnar History Geocache Box
Camp Lejnar Features as Described by GSNEO members:
"The traditional thing to do at Lejnar in summer is to slide down the waterfall." --Lynn
"Mimi Henry knew everything there was to know about Camp Lejnar - - the wild roses were planted as a barrier to keep the cows contained in days of yore.…Mimi was an amazing treasure to the camp and anyone who happened to be on the property. She would take my cadettes out to lop low hanging tree branches on the trails. Feisty broad, in the best sense of the word. Her blood was as green as the best of us. Stickler for the wanting to get the girls out doors." -- Lynne
"To get to the waterfall you need to go to Lindstrom Cabin. Behind and to the right is a path, take the path all the way to the cliff. At the cliff you will take the path to the left and you should come to a rope that goes down the side of the cliff. You need to go down the rope. Once you get to the creek you need to go to the right to get to the waterfalls. I suggest asking Mike (the camp manager) before going to the creek if it is ok or not. He usually knows if the creek is running to fast or not." --Cathy
"-Visit the nature center.
-Visit Lindstrom Cabin and sign the guest book.
-Find the Camp Margaret Bates Memorial Garden near the Wildlife Lake.
-Look at the Butterfly Garden.
-Look at the Legacy Plaza - information about the site is in the foyer of the Ruth Weigand Memorial Building.
-The slippy slide is available at Day Camp - don't know about other times - talk to the Camp Manager, Mike Locher.
-Follow the Orange Trail starting near Beaver Ridge - find the wooden serpent climbing out of the ravine (a fallen tree that looks like a Loch Ness monster)
-The waterfall and its path are not on GSNEO property. Talk to Mike Locher." --Barbara
"There's a pizza/bar down the road that delivers if you're interested. They will deliver to the main parking lot only. At dusk, when the fireflies are out, be sure to walk along the "road" (i.e. camp road) from the pond by Alice Heisey towards the bend leading further back into camp (or the opposite direction, depending upon where you are staying). There is a pocket of openly wooded area on the opposite side of the pond where the fireflies are very visible. My daughter called it Nature's Paparazzi. Tiny flashes of light going off all over at random times, and there are so many of them... its really a sight to behold." --Lorraine
"Re Forest Grove Cabins: Those cabins are great fun, but can get warm. Be sure to open the windows as much as possible to get any breeze throughout. Some of them may be stiff and may need one person inside as well as one person outside to assist them in opening. They do have 1 indoor bathroom each, which is nice, and bunk type beds and 2 square tables with benches. Make sure you lock up the storage bins tightly, use the upper ones as much as possible, leaving non-food in the lower ones, preferably inside your transporting bins/tubs. Also, chain the garbage cans tightly before bed. The raccoons WILL attempt to get into them and they are very good at their job. Try to use only 1 garbage can, and I suggest you bring a recycling bag to take home any recycling since unfortunately they don't have that feature at camp. There is a wooded area right around that site which is a good place to find s'more sticks and firewood. Over by the Ruth-Wiegand building there is a flagpole with commemorative bricks surrounding it. There is a brick placed by the Bedford SU650 Service Unit. Feel free to see if the girls can find it. There is also a commemorative bench and trail signs for Camp Margaret Bates, a former Girl Scout Camp which is near the upper lake towards the back of camp; another thing for the girls to hunt out and look at. If your girls like hiking, they should hike further back into camp (a right turn when leaving the driveway for the site). They can follow the road back towards the "primitive" campsite and see a very tiny cabin which is probably never used, but open, along with (usually) a nice unmowed area that is home to many butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies. --Lorraine
