It’s funny how time changes your perspective.
As time moved on and my role at Gravatt changed I began to appreciate the new. I began to recognize the need for updates and had the wisdom and ability to know that updates don’t change the soul of a place. There are still tenets I will hold to in staff meetings and discussions. When someone mentions the heat at summer camp my response will always be – drink lots of water and get in a lake. Camp Gravatt doesn’t need AC.
Years ago I was concerned with the “health of Gravatt” for me. I wanted to preserve my version of Gravatt like a glass snow globe. I looked forward to sitting on the back porch of Tent 5 Girls (now Tent 6) and having it be exactly the same. I wanted the view from the bathhouse (now Holly Hut) to look over the field and see the Director’s Cabin, a nurse’s tent, and our dining hall. Now that view includes an updated Westmoreland Director’s Cabin, the beautiful Byrd Health Lodge, and Beckham, which is no longer a dining hall. Change is real and it has been good.
Those changes are how my sons know Gravatt.
For the last 20 years the “health of Gravatt” has been important to me for my sons and their friends. I often say that the gift of Gravatt was the blessing of my childhood, but it also has become one of the joys of my life to watch my sons develop and grow there. My three sons were all campers at Camp Gravatt. My older two sons, Phillip and Alexander, have been on staff in recent years. The youngest, Timothy, will be a junior counselor this coming summer. They love this “version” of Gravatt. It is all they know. I watch them struggle with changes, yearn for it to remain the “same”, and discuss why it is “just fine the way it is.”
The truth is it was “just fine the way it was” in 1949 and in 1958, in 1974 and in 1990, in 2007 and 2022. Gravatt has served those generations and all the ones in between. For that history, I am grateful.
My sons are no longer campers. This will be the first summer in 17 years that I have not made a bed and taken a picture on check-in day. It was a good ride as a camper parent, one I will always cherish. Today, it is my honor to welcome new guests to Gravatt events. I have the privilege of sharing Gravatt Camp and Conference Center with so many. My newest joy is watching a new guest, often an adult, fall in love with our special place in the woods. They don’t use our bath houses at summer camp – they find peace by a fire pit, solace in our beautiful chapel, or comfort in Pat’s delicious food. Perspectives change, and change can be so good.
I often hear camper and staff parents say, “My child comes home a different person after being at Gravatt. They are engaging and joyful and helpful.” What a beautiful compliment.
The “health of Gravatt” is vital. It is vital to our community – children, young adults, and the oldest among us. Gravatt develops people, builds up those who are downtrodden, restores those who are tired, and forms faith for those who are lost. Gravatt is the space that allows for all this work to be done by people. Gravatt Camp and Conference Center has always been about people. Maintaining the “health of Gravatt, its buildings, grounds and future” is a priority so that the people of Gravatt may continue to do good work for those who find this special place in the woods.