CPBS Campus Postcard Flashback

By: Johnica Morrow

As you may or may not already know, the CPBS campus was once a girl scout camp. The construction of the cabins and the lodge, in addition to the property itself, was funded by the Goodall family and by the Gainsforth family. The dining hall, which is one of the original buildings, is therefore named the "Goodall Lodge". (Additionally, a building erected much later was named the "Gainsforth Resource Center".) 

The Goodall Lodge is an iconic piece of architecture for the campus. As one of the original buildings, it is an amazing reminder of the station's history as it has stood through hoards of girl scouts, college students, and professionals attending meetings. Recently, our associate director, Jon Garbisch, was able to find a postcard featuring this building. The postcard has no official date, but was probably printed sometime between the late 1950s and early 1970s. It certainly pre-dates the building's use as a mess hall for dirty, sweaty, enthusiastic biologists!

Finding pictures from the earliest days of CPBS is difficult. Finding pictures from the campus' days as a girl scout camp is near impossible. This postcard was quite a treasure and it seems that only a few other photos of this area exist at all. The station has need many changes since the photo for the postcard was taken all those years ago. We have new facilities; we have many more red cedar trees; and we see a much more diverse group of faces during our summers here. It's pretty amazing to think what all the walls of Goodall have experienced during the decades. Below is the front and back of the postcard.

As you can see from the photo, the GRC has yet to even be conceived of at the time that the photo was taken. The girl scout camp also boasted of a dock/swimming area and a flag pole. It is also noteworthy to point out the minimal red cedar growth visible in the picture. What a wonderful step back into history!