The NCF Service Committee has hosted 41 Service Days or Weekends since
the incorporation of the NCF. I have attended 40 of those, and have
never been more proud of what we accomplished than this past weekend.
Camp was a mess when we arrived, and looked pretty darned good when we
left. We rolled many many rocks to line the paths, and hauled many many
loads or gravel for the paths and leaves to cover the raw dirt where the
trenches had been covered. Of the 66 folks who attended, 16 had never
been to a previous Service Weekend, 3 folks are on Staff this year, and
6 folks will be first session campers this year.
Chuck was chief cook and bottle washer with help from Jen, Amy KG,
Quaker, Shirley, Alia, Reid, and others. The meals were, as usual, just
fantastic. There must have been eleventy different kinds of pizza on
Saturday night. We sang in the LS after dinner on Saturday. Folks must
have been tired, because the singing broke up about 11:00 pm. However,
there were some young crazies that stayed up until 3:30 am chatting
around a campfire up near Christmas Creek.
The major renovations to Camp are nearly complete. There is a new
transformer at ground level that was installed by BARQ at the base of
the power pole. There are 2 huge electrical panels next to the new
transformer, and during the regularly scheduled May Service Weekend 2
weeks prior to this one, 5 of us built a wooden roof on the metal
structure that was designed and built for us by LG Flint of Lynchburg,
VA. There is new wiring in all the buildings except the caretakers’
house. There is new plumbing in all the buildings that have plumbing.
There are new electrical feeder lines running underground to all the
building. There are new plumbing feeder lines running underground to all
the buildings. There are new sinks in the GTH, BTH, GBH, and BBH, and
the BTH has 4 new shower stalls. There are all new showers, sinks, and
toilets in the Staffhouse and BTM. The new plumbing and electrical work
looks great.
We owe Charlie, the caretaker, a huge debt of gratitude for all he has
done to keep the project moving along. We would not be nearly as far
along with the major renovations as we are without his constant
vigilance. He worked ahead of the electricians to remove sheetrock from
the walls so the electricians didn’t have to take the time. This was
necessary to run new wires in the Infirmary, Education building, and
Staffhouse. Charlie was also there on a daily basis to make suggestions
about where to relocate trenches and breaker panels for better access to
the buildings, and to make certain that no buried cables or pipes were
cut by the backhoe operators. Shake Charlie’s hand and tell him “thank
you” the next time you see him.
Amber gets the volunteer hero award for her help in May. She started
taping, mudding, and sanding sheetrock on Thursday May 15 and made a
number of stops at Camp to continue on the project over the subsequent 2
weeks. By the time I left on Sunday June 1st, nearly all the sheetrock
had been patched and primed and ready for paint.
I did not see the renovation of the playfield before I left. WC Cox and
his crew worked on it this week before Adult Session, which starts
tomorrow. I think the idea for the renovation of the playfield that WC
has is a good one. It will be interesting to see how well it lasts. With
all the rocks in the soil and the cars driving on the playfield it will
always be difficult to maintain a stand of grass.
There were a number of other projects that were accomplished this past
weekend. Most of those involved repairing and reinstalling items that
were dismantled during the utility upgrades. There were 17 of us that
were at Camp on the regularly scheduled May Service Weekend. We had
limited electricity to some of the buildings and no water to any of the
buildings. For that weekend a fortnight ago, thanks to Amber, Andrew,
Charlie, Chuck, Coleman, Flip, Henry, Joe, Julia, Larry, Matthew, Mike,
Peter, Riley, Robert, and Walter.
For this past weekend, thanks to Alex, Alia, Allison, Amber, Amy, Amy,
Andy, Annie, Ariana, Beth, Bill, Bob, Brady, Brian, Cary, Charlie,
Chris, Christian, Chuck, Coleman, Dave, Dave, Don, Doug, Ed, Ellis,
Flip, Frank, Gary, Graeme, Henry, Jack, Janie, Jasmine, Jen, Jesse, Jet,
Joe, Joe, Larry, Leslie, Libba, Louise, Lyt, Maggie, Mark, Matthew,
Mike, Molly, Nick, Paul, Paul, Peggy, Peter, Quaker, Rachel, Rebecca,
Reid, Riley, Robert, Robert, Rosie, Samuel, Shirley, and Sylvia. Y’all
accomplished great things.
See photos here: https://www.naturecampfoundation.org/news/?p=11
Amy K Gonzales has invited you to look at her photos from this past
weekend. She has them posted at the following website:
New Gallery?
Jim Brooks
NCF Service Committee Chair
1041 Hillside Dr.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517-7741