Camp Zoe Memories
Post script
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
William Wordsworth, from "Intimations Of Immortality From Recollections Of Early Childhood"
The final summer
Camp Zoe closed after the summer of 1986. Changes were evident in this letter dated September 10th:
This summer was an altogether interesting and different experience...Camp itself was 4 weeks, with a week of orientation.
Lei Moncrieff, Assistant Director, 1986
I don't know the specifics of the balance sheet. Perhaps overhead forced a gradual increase in prices that cut attendance. The cost of liability insurance skyrocketed during that time. In the end a bank assumed possesion of Camp Zoe.
Epilogue
I floated the Current River with some college buddies in the fall of 1988. We camped at the Sinkin'-Current junction on a campground owned by Jack & Lois Peters. After doing the Akers to Sinkin'-Current junction float I grabbed my flashlight and walked up the gravel road to the deserted remains of camp. It was dusk when the facade of the barn appeared between the trees. For a moment I felt like Charlton Heston at the end of "Planet of the Apes" when he saw the Statue of Liberty. It wasn't quite that dramatic, but venturing past the "no trespassing" signs into the lifeless ghost town that once was camp gave me a chill. Both the New Shelter and the Old Shelter were gone. The rest of camp looked intact. I returned to Tent Cabin where I spent more time than any other place in camp. The screen door sounded the same when it slammed shut. The bunks were intact minus mattresses. The table in the middle was there with initials carved in the wood. But the energy, the life, and the happiness were gone. It was too quiet. I sat for a moment on the concrete slab that constituted the remains of the New Shelter and drank a can of beer. I thought about my friends who were there for the duration: Stu, Lei, Mary, Willow, and Lori. I thought about the people I knew briefly: Larry Eberle, and Chris and Meg Hirsch. I whispered "thank you" and hiked back to the river.
1990s and beyond
The story didn't end there. The "Land of Zoe" campground opened in the early '90s. The owners let the cabins stand and welcomed visitors. A Texas family purchased the land and buildings in the summer of 2001. The property changed hands again in 2004 and is now owned by Jimmy Tebeau of The Schwag band. He runs the property as a music festival and camping venue. The future of Camp Zoe will continue to change but we will always have our Camp Zoe memories.