Thanks, Jan, for letting me stop and visit your blog today. Jan and I are fellow members of Write by the Rails, and she also helped me as a home health nurse when I was recovering from a knee replacement last summer.
At one of our Write by the Rails meetings, I had the pleasure of hearing Jan read an excerpt from of a piece she wrote about being a camp nurse. It made me think about my friend, Kathleen McClelland, who is now a certified nurse midwife at Manassas Midwifery & Women’s Health Center, and used to be a camp nurse at Camp Glenkirk in Bristow, Virginia. Camp Glenkirk doesn’t exist anymore. The land was sold and part of it is now a housing development. But while it still existed, Kathleen secured permission to use the camp lodge for her winter wedding to Dan Nellis, who is now an outdoor educator at The EDGE at George Mason University. Kathleen decorated the walls of the lodge with borrowed quilts. She wore her mother’s wedding dress from the 1950s. During the ceremony, the bell choir from her family’s church played the music. For the reception, we ate hot soup and bread, apple pie and then danced, danced and danced to a live square dance caller and band. When we left, one of my best memories was driving away through the camp woods and looking back at the lodge and, seeing through the windows that people were still dancing, dancing, dancing and having a good time. On February 14, Kathleen and Dan will celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary.
Photo: Dan Nellis and Kathleen McClelland
I’m sorry Camp Glenkirk isn’t a place you can visit anymore, except in the minds and memories of those who shared time there. If you go on Facebook, yes, you can probably find a group that remembers Camp Glenkirk with their memories and photos. But there’s nothing like walking the paths again.
One last note before I move on, Jan. I also visited Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument back in 1984. Korczak had a vision of not just the sculpture, but also a Native American university there – it’s been 30 years. I hope his full vision will be realized one day, though I realize it may be many more generations before his descendants see it through. Happy and safe travels, Jan!
Cindy Brookshire
Freelance Writer/Editor
703-361-6941
http://cindybrookshire.mymediaroom.com/home.aspx
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Cindy, Thanks for the memories of camp!