News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Methodist Camp celebrates 90 years

Last updated May 01, 2012 12:0pm0
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Jerry Baldock count

Suttle Lake United Methodist Camp and Retreat Center dedicated a new welcome center.

The Suttle Lake United Methodist Camp and Retreat Center is one of the most venerable institutions in Sisters Country. It's older than the Sisters Rodeo and nearly as old as the centenarian Hotel Sisters.

Campers celebrated the 90th birthday of the retreat on Saturday, April 28. Four new facilities were dedicated, the culmination of years of work by volunteers, contractors, generous benefactors and camp staff.

Attendees at the event included campers who were active, or at least present, in every decade of the camp's history. This included one who was there as a four-month-old baby, and another who was there as a 7-year-old child who played in the hole that had been dug for the Pioneer Lodge in 1947.

The largest, and most visible, building dedicated on Saturday was the "Nellie Watts Welcome Center." Nellie Watts was one of the original young people who worked tirelessly to form Suttle Lake Camp. At the camp, in the church, and in her community Nellie offered a welcoming spirit and was dedicated to education.

The beautiful new building was made possible by her three children, Jack, Lynden and Caryl Ann, in loving memory of their mother. Some 35 members of the family, from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Arizona participated in the event.

Two handsome open-air pavilions were also dedicated. They are used as special gathering places for projects or small groups, and the roofs will protect some outdoor activities. Clarkes United Methodist Church was primarily responsible for the pavilion on the north side of camp. It is named "Lois' Place" in honor of Lois Marshall. The second pavilion, on the south side of camp, was dedicated in honor of Rev. Tim Stover.

For campers, a most welcome addition to camp, the new shower house, replaces the original 52-year-old structure that was built in 1960.

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The story of Suttle Lake Camp

In the winter of 1921, a group of young people from the Prineville, Redmond, Bend and Madras Methodist churches met in Redmond to consider the possibility of starting an Epworth League Institute (a Methodist youth organization).

The result was the inaugural Suttle Lake Institute, which was held July 31 to August 6, 1922, under the auspices of the Central Oregon Methodist Young People's Association.The group camped by the lakeshore at the point where Lake Creek flows from Suttle Lake.

In 1926, a special-use permit was obtained from the Forest Service. At that time a small open-air dining hall and faculty cabins were built on the present campsite. The work was done largely by the volunteer labor of young adults from Madras and Bend.

With the building of modern highways, young people from the Willamette Valley began to flock to Suttle Lake, and attendance increased and reached 300 in 1945.

In 1947, Fredrick T. Martin constructed a building with a vastly expanded use in mind. The building was not only a dining hall, but also a lodge with a full basement, providing activity room for recreation, education, meetings and dormitory space. This lodge became known as Pioneer Lodge. Workers on strike from the mills in Bend contributed greatly to the construction of the lodge.

Cabins were built through the '40s and '50s, establishing two "villages," each with 10 cabins. Surrounding community and churchmen's groups built a cabin each weekend a group was available until all 20 were complete.

A new retreat center and Wesley Meadow Lodge were completed more recently.

Over the years the camp has built relationships with many community organizations and groups - hosting church groups from a variety of denominations, schools, and other community groups. Now the camp partners with area non-profits to offer nearly 80 different retreats in addition to the 30 year-round Christian programs already offered at Suttle Lake.

The Crook County School District has continued a strong tradition of weeklong outdoor schools since May of 1957, still providing instruction in forestry, plant studies, wildlife, creative writing, water quality analysis and survival skills. They call the week of Suttle Lake "Camp Chinquapin." Each year the participating classes have planted a tree or bush on the campgrounds.

Other well-known groups that count on Suttle Lake for hospitality include Hospice of Redmond-Sisters (Camp Sunrise); St. Charles Medical Center (Soaring Spirits - family cancer survivor camp); Janus Youth program - residential programs for at-risk youth; Oregon Fish and Wildlife - for their program "Becoming an Outdoor Woman," and more.

Suttle Lake, initially a United Methodist camp, has joined forces with other denominations to broaden services and to make camping experiences more widely available.

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