Many stories and experiences happen at Camp Hurlburt … those experiences change lives and shape futures …. and nurture leaders. We are pleased to share with you a number of stories and heartfelt poems, showing what personal growth experiences can look like from attending Camp Hurlburt.
Do you ever wonder how campers learn the Christian message while at Camp Hurlburt? This description written by Don McNair may help you understand.
In August, 2007, we created a Vacation Bible Camp for Camp Hurlburt called “Pirates of the Okanagan”.
The idea was to take a group of children on a wild ride. They would all pretend that Hurlburt’s hall was a pirate ship, that they and their counselors were its crew, and the rest of the camp was a sort of deserted island where pirates might hide out.
They watched a number of skits performed by older pirates – skits that re-told, in pirate garb and slang, of course, some stories of old: the one about the Great Feast, about the Good Samaritan, the Widow’s Mite, and the Lost Sheep.
In each of those stories, Jesus taught how we overlook people who, for one reason or another, “don’t warrant our attention.” In the Great Feast they are too poor or sick; the Good Samaritan is too foreign; in the Widow’s Mite and the Lost Sheep, they are too small. Yet they are precious to God; in fact, God is within them.
70 campers - aged 6 to 12 - dressed in headscarves and tattoos, sang pirate songs, and watched strange plays, and made pirate flags and medals and maps for hidden treasure. And all the while, they were also learning to see the people in their own lives that they overlook. What’s more, they were learning about their power and God’s call to befriend these people and be blessed by them.
Here is a sampling of poems and stories written by people who have been deeply affected by experiences created through Camp.
A Psalm of Gratitude for Hands
By Shirley Grabinsky
Thank you, God, for hands
For Ancestors’ hands which secured, toiled,
built and left a legacy.
Thank you, God, for Our hands
creating and recreating
praying, comforting, healing
connecting and reconnecting
offering Christ’s peace, making relationships sacred
Thank you, God, for welcoming hands
greeting friends, reaching out to the unknown
hands that say, “None will be turned away.
You are accepted just as you are.”
Thank you, God, for Jesus’ hands
blessing Tomorrow’s children
saying
“Let them come to me.”
I BELIEVE IN YOUTH
By Maureen J. Thiel
I believe in Youth;
in their strength and in their vision.
I believe in Youth;
in their care for each other,
for the world, and for us.
I believe that what we do for today’s Youth
will shape all the tomorrows that we share.
I believe that with faith,
we can together build a caring community,
founded on God’s love.
I believe in Youth.
Lights Out
Author unknown
“Lights Out……….Camp Hurlburt”
Our lovely day is over……….,
Tired campers need a rest;
We’ve filled the golden hours
With faithful work and happy play;
Cool dips in the sparkling lake;
Study periods on the beach;
Games and hikes, and handicrafts,
Sing-songs with our tasty meals.
And when the sun begins to set,
We walk the path to “Vesper Rock”,
To sing and pray with thankful hearts
For all that we have had this day;
And when our bonfire rises high
The silvery stars shine out;
The wavelets croon a lullaby
Echoing through the evergreens;
“Lights out”...and “Pleasant Dreams!”
Vesper Rock
Little Iodine
(Mrs. Haggkvist)
My friend and I walked quietly down
To “Vesper Rock” one lovely day,
The children’s laughter had gaily flown,
And all the campers had gone away;
The sun was kindly beaming,
A breeze crooned soft and low,
And echoed to the gleaming
Blue waters far down below;
And yet we did not feel alone,
For memories were scattered round,
Of children’s footsteps on the stone,
And crunching needles on the ground;
Of tender voices praising God,
For all His loving care,
The Comfort of His Staff and Rod;
Of little heads bowed down in prayer;
Of “Skipper” in her happy way,
Telling of His wondrous Love;
And giving thanks at close of day,
While friendly stars peeped out above.
If you talk to a “long-time-ago” Hurlburt camper, you are sure to hear stories about Vesper Rock. Here are June Simms’s memories:
To get to Vesper Rock you had to go through the fence and across the White family’s property. They gave us permission. Once through the fence everyone walked in SILENCE. That was the rule! You walked toward the beach to a small cove called White Point. The kids all sat on Vesper Rock looking out over Okanagan Lake while the leaders led them in the Vesper service. Vesper Rock was a very special place.
This note is from a former Vernon parent who has moved to California:
Please accept this donation on behalf of my daughter who passed away March 12, 2003.
Camp Hurlburt was my daughter’s favorite place. She made many great friendships and most of all felt love there and thus felt very good about herself. Keep up the good work.
Althea Naundorf grew up in Vernon and left to become a nurse … when asked “What does one congregation, two locations mean to you?”, she replied:
I’ve always thought of Trinity United Church and Camp Hurlburt as being two parts of one congregation. As a small child living near the Vernon Airport, I would walk with my brothers and sister into Vernon to go to Sunday School which was held in the Burns Hall because there were too many children for the church to accommodate. In 1949 the age for going to Camp Hurlburt was 9 and I was only 8. I wanted to go to Camp so badly that I begged to go. Finally they agreed, but only if I promised not to get homesick.
The leader of my first camp was Mrs. Dan McIvor. She was wonderful! Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Dawe also played a big role in my camp experience. One of my best friends was Sharon Dawe. I recall that Lillian Galbraith brought supplies out to camp. She made the most delicious hot dog relish for us. There were many others that left a huge impression on me. Later in life I became a Camp cook.
Camp Hurlburt has played a vital role in the Christian education of all children who attended. It has served Vernon’s children as the “outdoor church” while the church on 27th Street was the “indoor church”. To me, it will always be one congregation in two locations – it’s now Camp Hurlburt and Trinity United Church on Alexis Park Drive.
Regena Warner’s story
I love CAMP HURLBURT! Why? Am I able to put into words my feeling for that place - probably not adequately. Perhaps such inadequacy comes with many holy experiences. Biblical writers speak of "a burning bush", "a still small voice" or angel visitors. What were those experiences really?? I have no idea, but let me start trying to explain my holy relationship with camp with some basic facts.
I first went to camp when I was just 3 years old. My mother had volunteered as nurse and I expect that at least one of my older sisters was also there as a camper. Finally, when I was 8 I got to go as a real camper without Mom. Each summer, I could hardly wait for camp to come. In my early teens, I got to go twice: once as a junior leader and then with my own age group.
What was the something in all those times at Camp Hurlburt that captivated me? A friend told me that her favourite part was "Tuck Time" - (chocolate bars right before "Horizontal Hour". Another reminisced about how moved she was by Vespers watching the sunset over Okanagan Lake from Vesper Rock. Also we shared stories about campfire with skits and singing, meals together and singing, doing dishes and singing, cleaning and decorating our cabin and singing. I remember us as a silly singing bunch of girls, but I also remember quiet times. Each day we had "Morning Watch" and during this time we all found separate, private spots to read in a small booklet. Of course I had a favourite "private spot".
However sad, I did grow up and had to go away to nursing school.
Would Camp Hurlburt be only a happy memory, part of my childhood? I rather think that I spent much of my adult life trying to recapture the affirmation and joy that I had experienced there. As a nurse, I volunteered at camps in Oyama, in Nova Scotia, in New Hampshire. In 1987 I even came back to Camp Hurlburt with my own small children in tow. I was camp nurse for 3 weeks under director Norda-Jean Behrick… wonderful to be back on Okanagan Lake even though we had to go back to New Jersey at the end of the summer.
When I was away, my memories sustained me in a very specific way. I have had M.S. since I was 22. M.S. is a neurological disease that can be crippling and had no treatment until recent years. I used Alternative Therapies. My favourite was a Guided Meditation. At the beginning of each meditation, I was supposed to take myself in my imagination to a "safe place", your very own special spot. For the 35 years that I was away from Vernon, that "safe place", "the special spot" in my meditations was always the place at Camp Hurlburt where I liked to do my “Morning Watch” as a child.
In 2003 I convinced Craig, my husband, to move to Vernon from New Jersey and a job in Manhattan. In 2005 and 2006 we had the privilege of being chaplains/camp grandparents. I again had the chance to sit in "my spot", only this time I shared it with a young camper as she told me stories of her home life – such a sacred relationship, such sacred times, such holy ground!
The following story is about the “Canadian Girls in Training” and is submitted by Maureen Thiel and Marilyn Erdmann. And the CGIT roots are firmly interwined with those of Camp Hurlburt.
The purpose of the Canadian Girls in Training is:
As a Canadian Girl in Training, under the leadership of Jesus, it is my purpose to:
Cherish Health
Seek Truth
Know God
Serve Others
And thus, with His help, become the girl God would have me be.
Mrs. Hurlburt was a CGIT leader and to her, living by that purpose could best be experienced in a camp setting. What a marvelous legacy she left us! In 1980, when CGIT was celebrating its 65th anniversary, we were honoured to have Mrs. Hurlburt, then aged 100, to take part in the ceremony. She was joined by two of her former “girls” – Kay May and Stella Balcombe, along with then current members Susan Boothman and Lyn Hartley.
Over the years, a succession of CGIT groups spent time at Camp Hurlburt, forging friendships and storing great memories.
Weiner roasts on the beach were always a highlight of our time there. There is a very special flavour to well – charred wieners. Our “must have” dessert was always S’mores – tenderly toasted marshmallows topped by chocolate bar squares and sandwiched between two graham wafers.
A “utensil” dinner was often part of the fun. Just try eating spaghetti with an industrial – sized potato masher! And what would camp be without K.P. duty? Food is a great motivator!
From the fun of regional rallies (confirming the nickname of the “Craziest Girls in Town”) to the glow of the graduation ceremony, CGIT and camping have given all these young women a rich legacy.
And from the Brown household, here’s a quick snap-shot of Joe’s experiences at Camp, starting with a poem from Rudyard Kipling:
Who hath smelt wood- smoke at twilight? Who hath heard the birch-log burning? Who is quick to read the noises of the night? Let him follow with the others, for the young men’s feet are turning to the camps of proved desire and known delight!
Our family arrived in Vernon in August, 1962. We soon became active members of Trinity United Church, and we enjoyed weekend drives, hikes and visits to Camp Hurlburt.
With our boys in Scouts, Joe soon became involved as well. He loved the outdoors and helped arrange Cub and Scout camps.
In August, 1965, Joe was delighted to spend one week at Camp Hurlburt participating in an advanced leadership training course. Camp Hurlburt was a superb location and there’s no doubt that Joe suggested using the Camp for the event. The Wood Badge Training Course for Pack Scouters, was attended by Cub leaders from all over the province and included a number of local Vernon scouters.
Joe kept a Note Book of all the daily activities of camp. He often spoke of the week at Camp Hurlburt as one of the finest, happiest outdoor learning experiences of his life.
Submitted by Gwen Brown
And this story submitted by Gail Gauthier … a story that confirms the Rebuild Hurlburt project is very much needed:
I went camping with a group of Beavers .. there were 82 campers for the day and 40 stayed overnight. We arrived at Camp by 8:30 a.m. on a most gorgeous day. The kids had a great time all day, and lunch, snack and supper all went well.
As evening fell we encountered a few utility problems, all which were solved quickly with the camp maintenance person saying: “These things happen. Let’s pray nothing else happens!”
The parents, leaders and kids were all wonderful throughout it all ... but I think they felt relieved when I told them that we are working to rebuild Camp Hurlburt!
And here’s a story, submitted by Bill Hesketh, which shows how Camp Hurlburt has created a sense of value and hope for the community.
In 1965 the first John Howard Society “Howard House” opened in a large home at the West end of 39th Avenue. It accommodated homeless transient men and those on conditional release from prison. In 1970 it burned down.
JHS moved that same day to Camp Hurlburt. The men thought that “they had died and gone to heaven!” . They responded by cleaning up every corner of the property and kept it spotless for the five winter months they were there.
While at Camp Hurlburt, the men, who didn’t claim to be Christian even though their language “often suggested that!”, cut dead timber logs in the Revelstoke area where the John Howard Society had been contracted to clear the area for the construction of the Revelstoke Dam. The men split the logs into rails to build the outdoor Chapel (some are still there as a show of gratitude to the Church that gave them shelter.
This is an example of how different parts of our community work together for the good of all.
If you have a story or pictures to share with us and would like to be included, please write to:
