ASOCIACE HOSTYN

Father Josef Janík

Hostýn camp was founded in 1954 by the Czech Jesuit P. Bohuslav Janíček S.J. (1919-2002). Father Janíček’s goal was to provide an affordable summer camp for the children of Czech immigrants. For the camp’s first year, Father Janíček rented a piece of land in the Laurentians’ forest, near the town of St-Calixte. The 25 children that participated to the camp slept in tents for the five weeks the camp lasted. The following year, in 1955, Father Janíček bought 23 acres of the land and started to build permanent summer camp facilities with the help of volunteers such as the Štrbáňek family, Magdalena and Josef Janíkovi, Milan Bojsa and others. In that year, they build the main building with the kitchen and rooms for the cooks. On May 9 1955, the camp was put under the administration of the Czechoslovak Welfare Association, a charity organization. In 1956, the volunteers were able to complete the dining room, and in 1957, electricity was installed, a well was dough and running water was made available in the kitchen.

For the first few years, both children and counselors slept in tents. In 1959, cabins begun to be built, which gradually replaced the tents for lodging.

Father Janíček in 1994 with one of his Slovak friends, Mrs. Štrbáňek

The cabins each held 3 beds, one wooden table, an electric light, an a shelf above each bed. The cabins were built in two circles of 11 at different locations, one group for girls and the other one for boys. Two additional cabins were added for counselors. Near each group of cabins, an activity room was built.

In the girl’s part of the camp, a little church was built, sacred to Mary Svatohostýnska. The bell for the church was brought by Father Janíček from the province of Saskatchewan and was consecrated on August 11 1961 by Father Bishop J.A. Papineau from the town of Joliette. This consecration was in fact the first annual gathering in the name of Mary Svatohostýnska, gathering which has been held since and is known today as the annual picnic. For various reasons, the date of the gathering varies slightly every year. The summer camp continued to have a great success, with about 140 children attending it per year. At first, the children were mainly form Montreal, but with years children from Cleveland, Chicago, Toledo, Toronto, London, Hamilton, Windsor, Ottawa and even New York, Texas and Sweden began participating. After the revolution, children from the Czech Republic also attended the camp. These children are now grown have a webpage named Tribute to the Father.

In front of the girl’s activity building in 1999, From the left: Ivan Strážnický, Jiří Horák, Marta Strážnická, Father Janičík from Slovakia, Mrs. Štrbáňová and cardinal Špidlík

The camp was also visited by some important clergy people like cardinal Josef Beran and cardinal Tomáš Špidlík, which attended the 50 year celebration of the camp in 1999 (see picture).

In 1992, Father Janíček decided to retire and donated the camp to the Loyola High School because he thought that the camp’s attendance was falling too much. The Czechoslovak Welfare Association was also shut down. Unfortunately, after doing a few repairs, the new owners, a group of Montreal Jesuits, soon abandoned the camp. The camp was left unused and in a pitiful state until the foundation of the Hostýn Association in 1997.

If anyone would like to provide additional information about the camp’s history, please contact the webmaster at: health.vifad@sympatico.ca