Msgr. Francis Gray – Madison Catholic Herald Archive (2001-2025)

It all started with a parish priest’s simple dream in 1953, recounts the history of Camp Gray.

Msgr. Francis Gray was pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Baraboo. He dreamed of a place “where youths would be free and away from the temptations of the streets; where they could enjoy nature and become acquainted with it firsthand . . . a place where they could commune, under supervision, with their Creator and away from paths so frequently leading to delinquency.”

Dream becomes reality

So, Monsignor Gray scouted out potential sites but became enamored of an unoccupied, uncultivated 100-acre wooded site about eight miles northwest of Baraboo.

Letters to the editor

On November 6, 2013

Ann M. Schirmer

Thanks to all those who have helped at Camp Gray

To the editor:

Reading the articles on Camp Gray’s history brought memories of the time when Msgr. Francis Gray, the founder of the camp, met out at the Baraboo fairgrounds with the men as they dismantled the crates used to build cabins. (The first cabins for Camp Gray were built using surplus ammunition crates from the Badger Ordnance Works. The cabins were constructed near the county fairgrounds, then moved to the camp.)

One of those men was Stewart Schirmer, my husband. Monsignor Gray supported the men with his presence, plus prayers, blessings, and a few “cool ones” on occasion.