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June 3, 2008More local coverage of a member group!
June 12, 2008(Admin note from Alice – I had a little to do with this story, but it was the Dispatch’s idea. I’m glad they did it! It features one of our members, The Salvation Army’s Greenwood Lake Camp and Retreat Center. PR for The Salvation Army is my full-time gig.)
City kids are naturals at camp
It’s first immersion in outdoors for some
Monday, June 9, 2008 3:10 AM
By Mary Beth Lane
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Camp volunteer Batista Hones, 19, kisses a bass after being told that it is tradition to kiss the first fish you catch.
NEAL C. LAURON | DISPATCH
Camp volunteer Batista Hones, 19, kisses a bass after being told that it is tradition to kiss the first fish you catch.
Multimedia
* Watch and listen to the camp audio slide show
DELAWARE, Ohio — By the time their weekend wilderness camp concluded yesterday, 17 city kids had learned how to bait a hook, catch fish and use a bow and arrow.
They had spotted beavers and a little fawn and had learned how to start a campfire with dry wood and no matches.
For many in the group of young people from Columbus’ East Side, it was their first time camping overnight and sleeping in sleeping bags inside tents. And for some of the nine adults who chaperoned, it was their first camping trip, too.
The campers arrived Friday afternoon at 68-acre Greenwood Lake Camp and Retreat in Delaware, about 30 miles north of Columbus, and left yesterday afternoon. The Salvation Army in Greater Columbus has owned and operated the camp since 1926.
The young people, ages 9 to 17, attend the after-school program that the Salvation Army operates at 966 E. Main St. Now, they can count outdoor skills among their talents.
“This is my first time camping in the woods in a tent. It’s fun,” said 13-year-old Chrissy Nebbergall, who displayed her prowess with a bow and arrow yesterday by hitting the target’s bull’s-eye.
Nine-year-old Lauryn Boudreaux reeled in two bass and then released them back into the lake.
Salvation Army Maj. Frank Kirk, a former Marine, led the campers, along with Salvation Army Capt. Yuri Harrington and the volunteer chaperones who are soldiers — or church congregants — at the Salvation Army East Main Corps.
The young people worked in two squads, with members of each taking turns as the leader. The squads took turns washing the dishes, peeling potatoes and performing other chores around the campsite.
“We are creating leaders here,” Kirk said, “building self-confidence and widening their horizons.”
Some of the adults expanded their horizons, too.
“I have had so much fun, and I have injured myself,” said 30-year-old chaperone Tress Augustine, laughing.
“Bruises, allergic reactions, I stubbed a toe, lack of sleep, you name it. This is the first time, and it has been an awesome experience.”
At the Sunday worship service at the camp’s amphitheater overlooking the lake, the campers prayed and then shared the memories they will carry home with them.
Learning to fetch logs in the woods for the campfire. Sleeping outdoors. Eating good meals of hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken gumbo and scrambled eggs and pancakes. Getting dirty and getting bug bites. Swimming.
Alexis Simpkins, 14, told the Salvation Army leaders that she saw God during the wilderness weekend, visible in “all the things he created.”
When the service ended, it was time to strike the tents and eat one more campfire-cooked meal before going home to Columbus.
The Salvation Army also offers a weeklong wilderness camp, Kirk told the campers. Anyone interested? Nearly everyone in the group raised a hand.
For more information about programs, go to www.salvationarmycolumbus.org and www.greenwoodlakecamp.org.
mlane@dispatch.com
