just a Fish house
Many of the well-known fixtures at camp have not-so-well-known beginnings. Knowing more of their history builds our appreciation for the camp and the people who made it what it is today.
In the summer of `77 the electricity on the original campus flowed through rotting wire, suspended on scant 8’ poles. The fraying insulation and wobbly supports had to be replaced. The area’s electrical company offered the camp a trench digging tractor for a day at a $100 rent. The electrical company’s foreman went over operations of the cable laying machinery with LeRoy Murphy. “Watch this throttle control closely,” he said. “It must stay within this range for safe use. Don’t let it get out or this thing will just take off.” Fully briefed (an oxymoron), LeRoy and crew set out to replace the aging electrical system.
When they cut the old overhead wire, the twig-like poles collapsed in domino fashion. Now they were committed. LeRoy set the mechanized beast in motion leaving new underground line in his wake. As they rounded the Old Dinning Hall, they headed toward a small shed, their ultimate destination. Suddenly the tractor lurched forward out of control - a moment’s inattention to the throttle. In the blink of an eye, the ultimate destination was under the front wheels of the tractor.
The roof of the small shed was all that was left. Well, as is often the case with our hardy forerunners, they weren't going to let a catastrophe go unanswered. They picked up the rooftop remnant and made a Fish Cleaning House. It served to prepare a lot of fish-fries at many a session. They later replaced the Fish House with a cleaning station as part of the old bathhouse-to-laundry renovation. This new fish cleaning station received running water. You see the pattern.
There's a lesson here. God can use catastrophe to stop us long enough to repurpose our Kingdom efforts into something we never would have seen otherwise. Next time this happens to you or someone you love, look up. This might be a call to produce more fruit with a different spiritual gift.
In the summer of `77 the electricity on the original campus flowed through rotting wire, suspended on scant 8’ poles. The fraying insulation and wobbly supports had to be replaced. The area’s electrical company offered the camp a trench digging tractor for a day at a $100 rent. The electrical company’s foreman went over operations of the cable laying machinery with LeRoy Murphy. “Watch this throttle control closely,” he said. “It must stay within this range for safe use. Don’t let it get out or this thing will just take off.” Fully briefed (an oxymoron), LeRoy and crew set out to replace the aging electrical system.
When they cut the old overhead wire, the twig-like poles collapsed in domino fashion. Now they were committed. LeRoy set the mechanized beast in motion leaving new underground line in his wake. As they rounded the Old Dinning Hall, they headed toward a small shed, their ultimate destination. Suddenly the tractor lurched forward out of control - a moment’s inattention to the throttle. In the blink of an eye, the ultimate destination was under the front wheels of the tractor.
The roof of the small shed was all that was left. Well, as is often the case with our hardy forerunners, they weren't going to let a catastrophe go unanswered. They picked up the rooftop remnant and made a Fish Cleaning House. It served to prepare a lot of fish-fries at many a session. They later replaced the Fish House with a cleaning station as part of the old bathhouse-to-laundry renovation. This new fish cleaning station received running water. You see the pattern.
There's a lesson here. God can use catastrophe to stop us long enough to repurpose our Kingdom efforts into something we never would have seen otherwise. Next time this happens to you or someone you love, look up. This might be a call to produce more fruit with a different spiritual gift.