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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
This historical record has been
compiled at the request of the Hartland Board, in an attempt to as
accurately as possible record the events of the early days of our
experience at Hartland. Some of these experiences are a matter of record
in the Office of Records of Tulare County, Visalia, CA.
Other items are from records of
our own involving sales and purchases where title company or attorney
assistance was used. In addition to these, the carefully evaluated
memories of Hartland members, as well as others who had a direct
participation in each of the early events, became the basis of our
records.
ORIGIN
Mountain
retreats for young people have had the attention of religious leaders for
many years. Intensive periods of study in Bible, character building, and
leadership training have been instituted by church groups and religious
organization and many of them have been carried out quite successfully.
For the
summer of 1945, a committee dealing with this matter made arrangements
with park officials to hold camp meetings at General Grant Park. What was
at first planned to be a 4-week program was extended into a 7-week, well
attended program. This fact accelerated the effort to establish a
permanent camp of our own.
On October 14, 1943, a few individuals met
for the purpose of considering primary steps toward the establishment of
retreat grounds. At this meeting, the "Millwood Christian
Association" was formed, named after the property located at Millwood,
which was being considered on a lease basis at that time. This
location did not have all the desired features of a retreat camp, so
further investigations of other available sites were made.
On October 16, 1945, a decision was made
to purchase a plot of 80 acres at Hartland, and the deal was closed
shortly thereafter. This led to the change in the name of the
organization from "Millwood" to the "Hartland Christian Association."
At this time, the membership had grown from the original five to about 12
members, and additional members joined the group shortly after the
purchase of the property.
To safeguard the camp against interference
by undesirable establishments in the near vicinity of the camp, the
association decided to also purchase the 80 acres adjoining our property
on the north. This would also give the camp additional area for future
development.
Early in May 1946, all members who could
spare the time, and many others who joined into the spirit of the camp,
commenced intensive work to clear the area, and to erect the necessary
buildings and other structures in order to conduct the summer retreat.
This work was soon completed and early in June 1946, appropriate
dedicatory services were held on the location.
LOCATION OF THE CAMP
The
property is located in Tulare County, approximately 10 miles east of
Badger. At that time, the last four miles were not paved. The camp is
easily accessible and, at the same time, sufficiently isolated to create a
peaceful mountain environment. It contains many desirable features,
such as large groves of timber, sufficient open spaces for recreational
activities, and an excellent climate.
The elevation is about 4,500 feet and the temperature will average about
20 degrees lower than that in the valley.
Much beauty is added to the camp by the stream, known as
Eshom Creek, which runs the entire length of the property and directly
through the campground area. A concrete dam was built to replace the
former wooden structure, creating a lake of sufficient size to permit
boating and fishing. It is an area that by its own environmental features
has always promoted good timber growth. Some very large cedar stumps
still remain from the turn of the century logging operations.
PURPOSE
Hartland is committed to boldly proclaiming the Living Word of
God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The goal being to produce
Christians committed to knowing, living, and sharing a compelling
faith.
MISSION
The purpose in establishing the Hartland Camp was and is to
offer innovative, relevant, high-quality camping experiences for all
ages. The goal being to serve groups who are in agreement with
Hartland's belief and purpose or where there is, at minimum, an
opportunity for pre-evangelism through contact with our staff and/or
use of our facilities.
FIRST LAND PURCHASE
The first 80
acre parcel was purchased in October of 1945 for the price of $3,000.00.
One of our members knew a Mr. Dungeon of Exeter, California, who owned this
parcel. A committee was appointed to look at the property, and a decision
was made that this would be an excellent site to start a camp. Shortly
after that the 80 acres to the north was purchased for the price of $8,500.
Articles of Incorporation were completed in August 1946.
The lower 80
acres was selected to be the site of our first effort to build a camp. We
needed a lot of lumber, and we had the trees. The owners of the Wortman
Saw Mill, located near Farmersville, were contacted and they selected
several prime fir trees, hauled the logs to their mill, and cut them into
lumber.
Then, after a
brief time to "cure" this freshly cut lumber, our own members who had
trucks hauled this rough-cut lumber to the campsite.
Time was very
short and, in order to get the camp ready for our first camping season,
the call for help went out to all who could put in the time. At first,
the response was rather slim, but in a short time we had a sizeable crew
at work. Many came up for a day at a time, but some chose to stay nights,
using the cabin on the east side of the creek. This cabin had a wood
burning cook stove where we could prepare meals, and sleeping
accommodation for 8 to 10 people. These evenings also provided a lot of
good fellowship and relating of experiences, including some good fish
stories.
DINING HALL
The first
structure to be built was the dining hall. From the mill we got no heavy
timbers, only dimension lumber,
2"x 4", 2"x 6", 1"x 6", and 1"x 12". We cut
trees from the area, which were to be used for the girls' campsite. We
peeled the bark from these trees, put them down somewhat in the ground,
and then put the floor of 1"x 12" on these logs. The sides were closed
with appropriate openings for doors and ventilation. A fairly substantial
roof, of 1"x 6" and some 2"x 4" material for rafters, was built and then we
put a large canvas cover over all. This canvas was donated for summer use
by one of our members. It served during the winter as a hay stack cover
on the dairy farm of this member.
The first
dining hall was about 30'x60' in size and the north end was used for a
kitchen. Wood-burning cook stoves, dishes and silverware, etc. came from
donations. Iceboxes were also provided, and large pieces of ice brought
in as needed. Lamps and lanterns provided light after darkness.
Tables
made of rough lumber with an attached seating arrangement were built.
This was later changed, because if too many people sat down on one side
before the other side was occupied, the whole table fell to the loaded
side.
The
improvements to the dining hall also continued on a progressive basis.
After a year or two of canvas covering, the framework went up for a large
dining area and kitchen on the original concrete foundation and floor.
Also by this time we were adding all the conveniences that we could,
including inside restrooms, electric lights, and refrigeration. From this
point we continued to grow.
WATER
We had
purchased a "Little Red Engine Pumper" with considerable length of hose to
be used for fire control. However, it ended up mainly in use for the
domestic water supply. It could also be disconnected and carried about to
other locations when needed. It would lose its prime at the most
inordinate times, due to sand or other debris getting into the pump. We
soon became experts in quickly correcting this situation. A kit of tools
was always available.
Cold showers
were located near the north end of the dining hall, with a privy nearby.
This was for the convenience of the kitchen staff.
The
first dining area was located where the patio area is in front of our
current dining hall. The area was fairly level, but to make a suitable
area for the floor a lot of hand shoveling had to be done. We did not
even possess a wheelbarrow at that time. The roof structure usually did
not survive the winter snow and wind storms and would come down. Then we
put it up again and covered it with the canvas.
POWER AND PHONE
One small but
important building we called the "Klink." How it got that name is not
clear. It was built to store shovels, rakes, small tools, nails, and
other hardware. It was also our first power house, after a gasoline engine
generator was secured. This little unit was an Army surplus item,
formerly used in the B-24 Bombers. It was a 24 Volt unit and would light
some 10-12 bulbs. It was fairly dependable, but very noisy. No one would
sleep while that staccato roar was going on. We tried to muffle the
sound, but it blew the mufflers right off the building. We later bought
another more quiet generator from a school district in the area, and this
gave us some more light; but also more trouble to keep it going.
As building
programs developed, the need for both water and power increased.
Larger generators were available, and we took one that the Reedley College
had.
We had a lot
of trouble with this one, so we found another practically new one, with a
self starter. It gave us both 110 and 220 volt energy, so we were
able to get lights to the new buildings. We were also
negotiating with General Telephone Company for telephone service to the
camp. Their lines had reached the Badger area by now, and we agreed with
them to supply and set the poles to that area. Our MCC crew cut suitable
young cedar trees, stripped the bark, and treated the base of the poles
with a Penta solution. Then, again after a time to cure these green
poles, the crew set them in place, going over the mountain, down through
Hyde Ranch, and joining with the Badger connection. Soon after that in
the spring of 1961 we had telephone service. PG&E soon followed the same
route with their service to Hartland.
PRIVATE LOTS
The "Prospectus," which is the
preamble to this record, states among other things, the privilege to
select a building site. In order to provide some order and control of
this, the areas that were judged to be suitable for this were staked out
and numbered, and members were invited to make their choice.
The result was a sort of
"Oklahoma Land Grab" and soon the choice locations were taken up. Most of
these sites were too small, so a lot of informal exchanging took place.
Then after a building was put up and in use, a new lot designation was
provided.
TRANSPORTATION
Transportation of young people
to this camp was mainly by trucks, mostly furnished by Hartland members.
The roads were generally paved up to Eshom Valley, but beyond that point
were very poor. What roads were there were left by some old time logging
operations, and by the residents of the Hartland subdivisions. There is
no record of how they were maintained or by whom.
The county did not provide snow
clearance of the roads at that time, so our own rather meager equipment
had to do the job. An old Model 'A' John Deere tractor, loaned to the
Association, was conveniently stationed at the bottom of the "hill" to
help get cars or pick-ups to the camp area.
FIRST LAKE
As to the dam itself, the term
"weir" would better describe the structure. It has always been a dual
purpose structure, serving also as a bridge connecting the two sides of
the camp area. Floods have severely damaged it on two occasions. One of
these floods went around the east side and not only washed out that side
of the weir but also the cabin which contained some furniture and several
pianos. Several large trees on the east side of Eshom Creek fell to the
west and landed on top of the Coffee Shop. One of these trees landed on
top of an adjoining cabin and badly damaged it.
With the completion of the
weir, we were able to impound some two acre-feet of water into a sizeable
lake. This lake was primarily for boating, as well as an excellent
facility for fishing. Eshom Creek was always a good creek for fishing as
it provided a natural environment for the reproduction of trout. However,
fishing was greatly expanded by planting catchable-sized trout, and an
important program feature was introduced: The Father and Son Fisherman
Conference.
POOL
A large swimming pool was in
order. The site selected was near the lake and roadside, a center for
activity as well as for close supervision. The original heater for the
pool was an old wood burner, probably from an old steam heating system.
It was soon replaced by a newer
unit, using Butane, and with a better control system for safety reasons.
FIRST CHAPEL
In 1961 the Chapel was built.
The facility that we originally called the "Chapel" was laid out on the
hillside near the boys camp area. It was all wood floors and platform,
with portable benches for seating about 100 people.
It also served for outside
classes and discussion groups. About the same time the closer area was
developed as a Fireside Chapel. This is the location where we now have
the Outdoor Chapel. However, we have lost the fireside part of the
services, where many sticks representing sins and/or bad habits were
cast into the fire.
STAFF
By 1959, the need for
year-round help and supervision at the camp was pressing. We had too much
in the area of improvements that were vulnerable to weather, as well as
vandalism. Groups of young people, under the Mennonite Central Committee,
Volunteer Service program, were available.
The first group we received was
six young men. We provided housing and food. One of the boys was
designated to be the cook. The next group included a young married couple
and the cooking was more satisfactory. Hartland paid $60.00 a month to
the MCC for each person on this program.
EARLY PROGRAMS
As the number
of activities involving recreation began to grow, the Program Committee
became more and more involved. A dress code was established requiring
full dresses to be worn at morning and evening services.
For other times, more casual
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but no shorts. Peddle pushers were OK. Charges for a week at camp
were $6.00 for the younger groups and $8.00 for the older.
Over the years Hartland has continued to grow and change but it has not
lost sight of it's purpose, to boldly proclaim the Living Word of God.
Many lives have been impacted as a result of God's redemptive work in the
hearts of thousands of people.
Nearly 10,000 campers attend various camps and conferences at Hartland
each year. Many of those individuals are impacted by Christ during their
time here. Over 300 people gave their lives to Christ and over 1,300
spiritual decisions were made last year alone.
God continues to bless this ministry in every way.
By His Grace
we will continue to share the Good News until He
returns.
Until then, please remember to pray for the
ministry of Hartland Christian Camp.
Hartland
Christian Camp today
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