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Crossroads United Methodist Church Camp to hold fundraiser

Fall Festival aims to help build new lodge

Photo by Jeffrey Saulton Lisa Withee, Crossroads Camp Board of Directors chairperson, left, and Darryl Tucker, camp manager, right, look over drawings for the new lodge at Crossroads United Methodist Church Camp.

PARKERSBURG — Since 1945 the Crossroads United Methodist Church Camp located just outside of Parkersburg has been a destination, but the facilities are in need of an upgrade.

Today’s Fall Festival at the camp from 3 to 7 p.m. is a fundraiser for the Great Things Campaign to build a new lodge at the campground, located at 6827 Old St. Marys Pike, at the intersection of West Virginia 2 and 31, to replace the lodge that was built in the early 1950s.

Lisa Withee, Crossroads Camp Board of Directors chairperson, said the Little Kanawha District took possession of the 17.48-acre camp on July 1, 1945 as the district youth camp. Since that day a number of cabins and other buildings have been built.

Withee said the festival will have a car show, weather permitting, along with 12 vendors and a couple of mission projects. She added the Lubeck United Methodist Church will have its ice cream truck on hand.

When word got out about a planned car show, it grew into the festival. She said they have had pancake suppers to benefit the project and other events are planned.  She said they hope to make the fall festival an annual event.

Photo by Jeffrey Saulton Built in 1950 with a kitchen added later, the lodge at Crossroads United Methodist Church Camp is slated for replacement with a much larger modern facility.

Those coming are asked to bring a food pantry item for donation or a monetary donation for Crossroads Camp.

Pantry items include peanut butter, cereal, canned goods such as soup, vegetables and fruits, diapers, formula and wipes.

Over the years the camp has been host to youth groups from churches, United Methodist and other denominations, from West Virginia and other states along with many Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops. Adults have been to the camp over the years through the Emmaus Walk and Kairos prison ministries conferences, among others.

Withee said the camp has a lot of guests from mid-March to October and there are some weekend retreats in the winter in December through February.

Now, she said, some of the older buildings have been removed and others are outdated.

“We’ve been updating the buildings we use regularly,” she said. “We have three sleeping cabins and a medical building that allow us to sleep 80.”

Withee said there are plans for a new lodge to replace the one on site since about 1950. Withee and Darryl Tucker, camp manager, said the old single floor lodge with a kitchen addition will be replaced with a planned three-story building with a modern kitchen. It will also raise the number of people they can accommodate to 150.

However, the new building will come with a hefty price tag.

“Cost for the new lodge unfurnished will be $500,000,” Withee said. “We have been having fundraisers for that.”

Withee said construction is not slated to begin for at least another year.

“We have drawings and we’ll have blueprints soon,” she said.

Tucker added there may be some grant money available.

“We’re working on that, but it takes time,” he said.

Withee said the change has brought out mixed emotions regarding the old lodge.

“There are people who are bothered by us having to take this down eventually, but it’s for safety reasons,” she said. “We are going to keep what we can of some of the framework beams. They won’t be part of the structure in the new building but they’ll be there for character and memories.”

“A lot kids have been through here since the 1950s,” Tucker said, “but this old girl has seen better days.”

However, despite all the changes there is one thing that is not going to change, the current lodge’s brick chimney is going to stay put.

“We will have a large gazebo built around it,” he said. “It will be used for different events.”

Withee and Tucker said the lodge will not look over the highway like the current building, but will look away from the road to the campgrounds, replacing three cabins they no longer use.

“It will be handicapped accessible with elevators,” he said. “We will be able to have two events at the same time.”

In order to save money, several items, such as much of the kitchen equipment and recently installed water heaters, will move to the new building. Something else making the move will be the overhead lights in the main hall made by Tucker’s brother David who died earlier this year. He was camp manager at the time.

Tucker made the light from buckets to add to the rustic feel.

“The kids just love them,” Withee said.

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