Tee Pee Ted’s Wilderness Adventure is back
For decades, Tee Pee Ted’s Wilderness Adventure was the highlight of the summer for thousands of children on the East End. That ended last year when the camp’s founder, 75-year-old Ted Strickroth, lost a 20-year battle with cancer.
But this month, one of Ted’s former colleagues will revive the immersive summer camp for one week on the grounds of the Mattituck Laurel Historical Society and Museums on Main Road in Mattituck.
Environmental educator and artist Tony Valderrama plans to continue the legacy by teaching local flora and fauna, leadership, and wilderness survival. Campers will experience the inside of a 25-foot teepee, create clay pots, and absorb the music, art and culture of Native Americans.
“We’re losing their cultural connections. It’s important for our young people to understand the connection and respect the environment,” explained Mr. Valderrama, who worked alongside Mr. Strickroth. He now is an environmental educator around Long Island. His Wilderness Traveling Museum is also at the Center for Environmental Education and Discovery in Brookhaven and at Downs Farm Preserve in Cutchogue.
“I met Ted when I was a little boy,” he explained. “He inspired me to teach the amazing world of indigenous culture, history, music and clam shell crafts … He lived with the Lakota nation at one point.”
This edition of the camp will be on a 50- by 100-square-foot area at the historical society, according to Mattituck-Laurel Historical Society president Charles Gueli.
“It’s great that the camp is being resurrected. Ted created a lot of activities for the kids in the way the indigenous people did it, such as jewelry, tools, artifacts, grinding corn and crafts,” he said. “Many of the kids came to his camp for five years consecutively.”
Some of those kids are now old enough to become counselors, and one of them is Mr. Valderrama’s son, Skyler. “Ted was super down to earth and passionate about what he was teaching,” he said. “I’m excited about passing down some of the things I learned to younger kids.”
The camp will run from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., from Aug. 18 to Aug. 22. Parents can sign up for the week for $400 or daily for $85 a day. Further information is available from Mr. Valderrama at [email protected].
