March 29, 2009

One Life at a Time
Camp Morrow takes a singular look at faith and is working to grow

By Elroy King
The Chronicle

     “One life at a time” is how Camp Morrow Bible Conference works to make its surrounding communities better.
     The camp at Pine Hollow in southern Wasco County has been working on that effort since 1958, when Wamic area rancher Lloyd Morrow and missionary circuit rider Francis Sutton conceived on the idea while Sutton was visiting Morrow’s ranch.
     Sutton supervised a Summer Bible camp program on a rented facility near Bend, and one Sunday in 1958 he preached at the Wamic Church where the Morrows worshiped. After the service he went to the Morrows’ for lunch and he then joined Morrow on a ride over part of the land which is now Pine Hollow Reservoir, according to a booklet prepared for the camps 50th’s anniversary last year.
     While Morrow was checking the water in the irrigation line, Sutton noted what an ideal place it would be to build a campground. Morrow, who recognized the ministry potential, donated the lower 40 acres of the property for that purpose.
     That led to the formation of the Camp Morrow Camp Association, made up of members of many churches in the surrounding towns.
     Under Sutton’s care and supervision it grew into a respected, independent youth camp and around 1980 the Camp Morrow board was able to purchase another 40 acres just across the road for a horse camp.
     The original camp’s facilities sleep 140 at capacity in the 16 cabins and the horse camp, which is only five years old, sleeps 50 in walled tents.
     With that number of people present, state law requires that medical personnel and equipment be on site, Shetler said. The lakeside camp already has a nursing cabin.
     The original cabins were built around 1958. The organization will host its first fundraiser this year to help replace those original cabins (see related sidebar).
     Chip Shetler, executive director of the camp, said the original cabins will be replaced one by one with the goal of having an indoor bathroom in each cabin. It will also increase the capacity of the camp to around 200.
     Camp Morrow is mainly used as a Bible camp with the theme “Changing Our Communities One Life at a Time” and has facilities for both children and adults.
     It draws two types of users. Guest programs use the camp facilities, but set up their own programs. Shetler said that phase of the camp draws users from about a three-hour driving radius from Portland to the Tri-Cities.
     The second group that comes to the nonprofit camp includes programs the camp leadership organizes themselves. They are led by camp employees with the help of a lot of volunteers who are doing mission work within their home churches.
     Children can sign up for the camps or get information through the Camp Morrow website, www.campmorrow.org. These camps are for youths from second grade to the college level.
     The lakeside facilities are open all year, but the horse camp is only open in the summer.
     Most of the youth camps are faith-based, but religious groups are not the only ones to use the facility. It is also used by 4-H groups, Scout groups and outdoor schools, and for family reunions and wedding receptions, Shetler said.
     Some groups or individuals have been coming there for 20 years and Shetler is now seeing second-generation and sometimes third-generation campers.
     The camp started out with just one employee and now has many, some of whom live right on the campgrounds.
     The camp hosts 600 kids in programs each summer and guest group events likely bring around 2,000 visitors a year.
     Some camps are a week long, some shorter. Stays by the guest users also vary in length.
     One fairly recent addition is the chapel, which was added in 2001, and named after one of the Sutton family. Converted from a shop building, it seats 160. There is also a smaller meeting facility on the grounds.
     Located in the lakeside camp is a children’s playground, volleyball and basketball courts, miniature golf and disc golf courses, a water slide, a paintball area and archery range. In the reservoir there are facilities for canoeing, swimming and fishing.      Some of the guest groups include jet skiing in their activities, but the camp-run programs do not, Shetler said.
     The horse camp is a separate facility. Young camp guests stay there in walled tents. The horse camp has its own dining area and a different look from the other camp. All of the supplies saddles, etc. are furnished. It is mainly a program for beginning riders, who can go on trail riding on camp property plus on nearby ranches and some forest service property.
     There are about 30 horses in the horse camp during the summer.

Fundraiser set April 4

For the first time in its 51-year history, Camp Morrow Bible Conference at Pine Hollow will hold a major fundraising event.
That event will be an auction held on Saturday, April 4 starting at 9:30 a.m. at the Dalles Auction Sales Co. at 1400 Highway 197 just outside The Dalles. Rocky Webb is the auctioneer.
So far the list of items that will go up for auction includes storage sheds, two heads of beef, a cord of firewood, a kid’s playhouse, at least two used vehicles, three boats, tools, two riding lawn mowers, a garden greenhouse, a pump organ, a rafting trip, a Hawaiian trip, miscellaneous antiques, camping equipment, tires, tents and even a piano.
Chip Shetler, executive director for the camp, said proceeds from the auction will go into the plans to put new cabins at the site. There are plans in place to replace the original 16 cabins on the site, a project already approved by the Wasco County Planning Commission, a couple of years ago.
The first project will be building a nursing station at the horse camp, located just across Morrow Road from the main camp, which is on the shores of Pine Hollow Reservoir.
In addition to the auction, Shetler said a group of people who support the camp have pledged amounts from one cent to $1 in matching funds for every $1 raised in the auction. Pledges are up to 40 cents on the dollar now.
Those who want to join that group can call Shetler at (541) 544-2025. The main camp number is (541) 544-2971.