A Lifetime at Camp: Ann’s 45 Years of Friendship, Family, and Food at YMCA Wanakita

When Ann Francis first walked into the kitchen at YMCA Wanakita in July 1980, she didn’t know she’d still be there 45 years later. She certainly didn’t know that the camp tucked quietly into the Haliburton woods would become her second home, or that the people she met there would become family.

“I didn’t even know this place existed,” Ann laughs. “My cousin was working here and told me they were looking for help. I got interviewed by Wayne Perkins and Arlene, and I’ve been here ever since.”

Over the decades, Ann has seen Wanakita change and grow. The camp started accepting more campers, which meant more staff, new buildings, and new ways of doing things, but the heart of the place, she says, has always stayed the same.

“When I first started, it wasn’t as busy,” she says “You got to know everybody. We’d work hard, but we had fun, real fun. Now we’re bigger, and it’s different, but we still try to keep that feeling going. There’s still a bond here.”

Some memories come with laughter—like the time a few staff members got locked in the walk-in fridge and stacked milk crates against the door to get revenge on whoever opened it next. Or the day a batch of pudding went wild in the mixer, leaving Ann covered head to toe in chocolate just minutes before serving time. “I was dripping pudding, trying to serve at the counter,” she laughs. “I had to go straight for a shower after that.”

Other memories are quieter, like the closing campfires she used to attend at the end of each session. “Those nights were special,” Ann recalls. “Everyone would come together—campers, staff, everyone—singing the same songs, sitting by the fire. You really felt part of something. Like you belonged.”

It’s that sense of belonging that has carried Ann through long days and changing times, and through some of life’s hardest moments. One of her more recent memories involves the kitchen renovation, when staff spent a winter cooking out of a trailer.

“You’d come in and couldn’t even open the doors because they were frozen shut,” Ann recalls. “We were wearing ski pants and boots inside because it was so cold. But we made it work, we always do. We laughed our way through it.”

Ann says the community she’s found at Wanakita is what’s kept her going.

“If something happens in your life, the Wanakita family is there,” she says.

This past year has been one of the hardest of Ann’s life, moving from her lifelong home, facing change, and navigating loss. But the people at camp helped her through.

“There’s a bond here,” she says. “Without that family, I don’t know if I would’ve gotten through the last year.”

Even as camp evolves, that bond that connects generations of Wanakita staff and campers remains steady.

After 45 years, Ann still starts her day the same way she always has: ten minutes early, ready to get things going before anyone else arrives. “I’ve always given 110% every day,” she says. “That’s just who I am.”

She smiles when she thinks about all the summers, winters, and meals that have come and gone because she knows the laughter, the chaos, and the friendships stay with you long after the season ends.

“I miss the old days sometimes,” she admits. “But I still love it here. It’s been a good place to work. A good place to belong.”