Keystone has a significant milestone on Friday, October 31st. This will be the 20th anniversary of a near-devastating fire that burned our pavilion, gym, and crafts room back in 2005. Not only did we lose the activity areas for drama, dance, gymnastics, and arts and crafts, but because it was the off-season, we also lost a tremendous amount of equipment for other activities. We had pulled all of our canoes, land sports equipment, swimming equipment, trailers, rifles, and more into the gym for winter storage. The fire constitutes the largest property loss fire in the history of Transylvania County, and it was transformative for Keystone and for the Ives/Lemel families.
The amount of loss for us was hard to fathom. My father actually questioned whether or not Keystone would be able to survive. Had we known the many challenges ahead of us to rebuild, it certainly would have been easier to give up. There is no instruction manual on how to recover from a fire loss, much less one of this size. We could only learn as we moved forward, and oh, what I learned, and how it changed me and the trajectory of Keystone Camp.
The milestone of the fire marked a passing of leadership. Since I began my position as director in 1984, my father had continued as the physical plant manager. He was the one I relied upon for new construction. He left the camp programming to me. The fire presented me with an opportunity to take on the rebuilding as Daddy felt lost by the sheer number of moving pieces involved in the recovery. From navigating the insurance claims to making sure we continued to enroll campers, we had to work at a pace none of us had ever experienced in order to open for our 90th birthday in 2006. It was daunting to finally get off the ground with the new building on March 1st, when opening day that year was June 4th.
The challenges were many. We were underinsured on the lost buildings and had to borrow half a million dollars to complete the work. We needed to move the new buildings out of FEMA regulatory floodway, so the footprint of the new structure had to be pivoted ninety degrees and the cost of a new foundation wasn’t covered by insurance. We had to wait on construction materials because Katrina had hit the Gulf Coast earlier in 2005 and their reconstruction was the priority. There didn’t seem to be one thing that went easily, but ultimately, we were better for the experience.The new complex spurred me on to begin replacing other buildings. We began aggressively rebuilding our cabins and considering some of our administrative buildings at the same time. We are super proud of what we have accomplished to date, and two more cabins will be rebuilt this winter.
Over time, Keystone has seen many milestones. Most are people-related as we see the contributions of long-time staff members in the roles of head counselor, director of riding, director of nursing, and others who make the job of the camp director so much easier. Change is inevitable, and we have to look at each change as an opportunity. That can be quite difficult at times! However, Keystone continues pivoting and adjusting.
Let us remember that camp was founded in the midst of the Great Flood of 1916. The girls traveling with Miss Fannie by rail had to spend a week in Columbia, SC, at the YWCA while the railroad bridges were repaired. They then were able to finish their journey to the mountains and enjoy a fun summer in Fairview, NC, beginning the long tradition of Keystone Camp.
Our current location in Brevard was originally purchased in the fall of 1919, and our first summer operating on the site was 1920. Thus, we have just completed 105 years on the same property.
Keystone did not operate in the summer of 1943, primarily due to the rationing in our country during WWII. This closure provided a nice segway from Miss Fannie’s and Miss Florence’s ownership and direction to my grandmother’s. Catherine Ellis Ives brought her two children, my father, Bill, and his older sister, Naudain, with her to Keystone in 1942 to spend the summer under Miss Fannie’s tutelage with the intention of buying the camp and reopening under her ownership in 1943, which she did. Daddy and Aunt Naudain then spent their remaining childhood summers at Keystone as Gee Gee ran the camp.
Daddy continued working for his mother in the summers,while spending his winters as a teacher of history and civics. He purchased Keystone from my grandmother the summer I was born in 1962. Each director of Keystone invests a significant piece of themselves into the organization. My father and my mother were great partners in the endeavor that took them from 1962-1984. Daddy built the physical plant and designed the program. My mother shepherded the camp office, the kitchen, the infirmary, and the crafts program.
Trying to fill both of their roles made for many early challenges for me. However, camping was changing just as I got involved in 1984. Over the years, the complexity of the camp business increased, thus our year-round staff expanded, and the needs and interests of the campers broadened. Now, after 42 years of my leadership, it has been a tremendous pleasure to have my oldest daughter, Catherine, step into the director role at Keystone.
As we approach this 20th anniversary of our fire, and as we look forward to our 110th season, we pause to remember the milestones and reflect on what they have meant to us as a community and an organization. Each change we experienced has given us an opportunity to question the past and how we might want to change things to improve our program and our service to our campers and their families. We continue to make investments in our program and our facilities to show that we are good stewards of your investment in us. Keystone is a collaborative community of campers, their families, our staff, and the 5 generations of Ellises, Iveses and Lemels.
