My Memories of Camp

Memories of Camp Kirkwood- By Karen Osler
Ah, take me back to 1976…….my brother, Brian, and older twin sisters- Beth and Beverly, Mom, Dad and of course Fritz Von Schnooper, our daschund. Let’s put them all in a tent that sleeps 6, close to a hillside. The evening fire smells great- just like gasoline……..let’s have gasoline flavored pizzas, made with bread, pizza sauce and cheese in the “pie irons”. Best food ever. Sh! I hear something………is it an animal? Flashlights shine everywhere. Oh, it’s the dog.
This place is great! It’s too bad that storm is brewing. It’s time to go to bed. Oh, started raining. We’ve never pitched a tent before and it is collapsing around us. Mom is yelling “Don’t touch the sides it’ll make a hole.” Beth mentions she’s getting wet. Brian says “Aren’t we on a hill?” Lightening is everywhere. Fritz is barking and chasing his tail in the excitement. Glad there’s room in the tent for that……. Dad, our brave warrior, gets a rope and ties our tent to a tree. BOOM! Crack of lightening! Gosh, I hope he comes back. In crawls a very wet, angry Dad says “Turn the lights out and go to sleep!” That is how our family camping experience began at Camp Kirkwood.
My siblings were old enough to go to the youth camp that summer. We see they are going to put in a lake between the lodge and the youth camp. There is a huge hill where the lake will go. Oops, Brian fell down it and skinned his knee. I get to visit the youth camp. They get to sleep in covered wagons and tents that look like something from F Troop. Someday I’ll be old enough to go there……….
Later we got a pop-up trailer. Betty Sunday and I are attending Jr. Camp. I feel so mature now. I’ve never connected with God like this in nature. I love the campfire. Re-dedicate my life? You bet I want to!
We now camp with the Woebers almost every weekend at Kirkwood. Now we weather the storms without fear. Once after a storm we went down to the creek and played in the “rapids”. I recall sitting on rocks as the water poured over us. The water carried me away and Beth rescued me by my hair. Thanks Beth! Hey, let’s go to the cliff and slide down it in the mud! 3 hours later all the kids, Dad, and Denny greet Mom, Verna, and Rev. McKnight (the camp manager) covered in mud. We still submit this is THE best Kirkwood memory.
We keep attending the camp, through our teen years. Our friends are now joining us, and dedicating their lives to Christ. Brian meets a man from Judson College and is now going to go to college there. I get to be a counselor this summer for the first “New Adventures” camp. The following year I get offered a staff position as kitchen staff. I meet Esther Goodall, the Camp manager’s wife, who was an RN. She encourages me to consider nursing as a career. Thanks Esther!The next year I am hired back on staff as camp “nurse”. The following year I enter nursing school. Kirkwood is continuing to help create who I am as a Christian, and now, as a young adult.
Fast forward to 2007- My parents practically live at Camp Kirkwood in their RV. My boys attend youth camp and weekend retreats. Our neighbors are introduced to Kirkwood. My cousins Roy and Pam have now joined my parents at camp on a regular basis. My parents still camp next to the Woebers. They have golf carts now to get around easier. Our family plans their vacations around the camp schedule. I walk around with Camp Kirkwood t-shirts and talk about it every chance I get. I am gently suggesting we get a trailer to my husband Jim, so we can introduce the boys’ friends to camp. Let more memories begin………….