The Lodge - from Carter
The first time my dad saw the property that is now Alpine Camp for boys, he was a young camper in the 1940’s on an all day horseback trail ride. As he rode through camp he would have seen a large two story lodge that overlooked Little River. This structure was noted as being one of the most beautiful buildings on Lookout Mountain. When dad purchased camp in the late 1950’s, the lodge was the hallmark building in camp. It held not only a gathering spot for all of the camp but also the offices, dining hall, kitchen and housing for female staff. It was the most vital building in camp!
Fast forward to the early 1970’s, three days before camp opened that summer, my dad was awoken to the news that that Lodge was on fire. Staff sat alongside him on the rock wall in front of what is now the Dining Hall (but then served as the gym) as the building burned to the ground. Only the chimney was left standing tall amid the ashes. They worked around the clock in shifts to help clean up the debris and turn the gym into the Dining Hall. It was a defining moment in our camp history. My dad would still get teary talking about that night. During Covid, my parents sat in front of the Lodge on a summer day that normally would have been filled with the noise of hundreds of boys enjoying camp, and told their grandchildren about the Lodge fire. I had heard it a hundred times, but I heard it in a different way when it was being told to the younger generation. What continues to be most profound to me is the love and support that the community of Mentone showed to my dad (specifically the other camps in the area). They took turns sending food over for our staff or inviting them over to their camps. It is a story I tell summer after summer to our staff to remind them that the same Lord that brought that group of staff and my dad through that very difficult time is the same Lord that is carrying them through the highs and lows of summer and beyond. And that just like neighboring camps showed up for my dad, the Lord will provide support and encouragement from others that they share the summer with. I am still in awe of how the Lord showed up in countless ways to allow my dad and the staff to carry on.
Recently Glenn and I had to make a difficult decision to tear our current lodge down (the one built in the 1970’s after the fire). Major structural issues were revealed when we began a renovation project this fall. The only reasonable solution was for the building to come down. It is so hard to say goodbye to landmarks at camp that hold our own memories and the memories of so many others through the years. A few weeks ago we looked at the empty space where the lodge once stood. We sat on the same rock wall where my dad also saw an empty space where the lodge stood with only the original rock chimney remaining. We were reminded that he sat there in much different circumstances. I spent many happy days playing in the lodge. I would spend hours in the library when I was a little girl. In high school I often crammed in my summer reading on the back porch in early August. From a young age I helped my mom with Summer Christmas in the lodge for our youngest campers, and I can still hear her voice reading the story of the Other Wiseman. For many summers, staff training and regular staff meetings were held there. I can still hear my parents bantering back and forth during those gatherings! As our own family has grown, we have also shared so many memories within its walls and on its porches. Glenn and I have spent hours on the front porch of the lodge discussing details of the day, watching storms roll in, greeting people for the first time to camp, laughing at stories, the list goes on. Many of you also have fond memories of playing checkers or foosball, maybe playing board games or the piano. In the early days of camp, some boys would stay for eight weeks so haircuts were given on the back porch. Rainy days, Lodge game nights, Staff Meetings, the list goes on of how that building provided a backdrop to camp life over the generations.
In making this decision we recollected with Tree that my dad was never very fond of the 1970’s look of the structure. It was one silver lining of many that has come from this. We often talked with dad about taking the lodge back to something more similar to the 1920s era building. And that’s exactly where our plans for the new lodge began. We have pulled photos and paintings of the original. I found a postcard with a photo of the old lodge dated from August 1959 (just days after the first summer drew to a close). It was written from my dad to my great grandmother. It was the first thing I showed our architect at our initial meeting.
Glenn and I look forward to welcoming you into the new Lodge one day soon. For this spring and summer you will pull through camp and see a portion of our offices that we were able to keep and a large tower built to protect the 1920’s chimney. The new lodge will be built around it, the connector of all three structures.
When you come through the doors of the new Lodge, you will still see the original chimney, the same beamed staircase leading to a library just as it did before (holding many of the same books my grandmother and mom collected, along with new editions, for campers to enjoy). The back porch will still hold rocking chairs to enjoy the sights and sounds of the river rushing below it and the large group photos from each summer will be rehung. We will have new uses for the space as well. But ultimately, we want you to walk in and feel like it is welcoming you back to your summer home.
My dad and Glenn have often reminded staff over the years that Alpine is about the place, yes, but it is more about the people. Each of you as campers, counselors, staff, parents, friends and family …you are what make Alpine special. Without you, the physical location would be empty and meaningless. The countless stories of growing up, making a friend, finding faith, are what make Alpine. We are prayerful that this new space will provide a place for those same stories for generations to come.
For For Rapids that Flow, Carter
