The YWCA Metro St. Louis is planning a reunion for all the women who attended the girls-only summer camp, some as long ago as 1939. The reunion is set for Wednesday, July 20, 2:30-5 p.m., at the YWCA’s Phyllis Wheatley Heritage Center, 2711 Locust St.
Camp Derricotte began in 1939, in Troy, MO, as the “only camp for Negro girls in Missouri.” During the era of segregation and Jim Crow, the camp along the Cuivre River provided a place for African-American girls from all over the St. Louis area to enjoy the great outdoors.
By 1955, the camp was integrated, and continued to operate into the early 1980s. Today, although the camp itself is no used, the tradition continues through the YWCA’s summer day camp program, also named Camp Derricotte.
To find out more about the reunion or to provide information about Camp Derricotte alumnae, call (314) 531-1115, x 235.